Etsy Affiliate Program: How to Promote Etsy Products as an Affiliate

Selling on Etsy is not the only way to make money using the platform. Etsy affiliate program can help you make money through your blog or social media platforms. Sharing affiliate links from Etsy is an excellent passive income source. 

It’s important to note that the Etsy affiliate program is more than just an opportunity to monetize your content by sharing product links. When done strategically, it is a way to offer value to your audience and recommend solutions to their problems. 

In this blog, we have shared all the necessary details that you need to focus on, to be a part of the Etsy affiliate program. Moreover, we’ve also answered common questions such as: 

Does Etsy have an affiliate program for content creators? What’s the commission percentage? Why join the affiliate program? How to correctly promote products? And much more. Let’s dive in, shall we?

What is the Etsy affiliate program?

The Etsy Affiliate Program is an opportunity for users to promote Etsy products and earn a commission for each successful sale that takes place through their affiliate link. The program was launched back in 2014 to increase Etsy’s popularity and enable more sales.

In this way, influencers and bloggers could use their online reach and make money sharing Etsy’s products. So, influencers become a part of the Etsy Affiliate Program and promote products from the Etsy marketplace that resonate with their niche. 

Etsy aims to connect artists and small business owners to a global audience, thus, affiliates all over the world can join the program and bridge the communication. Affiliates worldwide are welcome to join, provided they have a qualifying website or platform. 

How Etsy affiliate program works and how to obtain Etsy affiliate links

Let’s quickly understand how affiliate links work in general.

In posts where affiliate marketers are promoting a certain product, they share a link. When followers come across the link, they click on it, and they get redirected to the product listing on Etsy. If the sale takes place within a stipulated time window, then the affiliate marketer is considered for a commission on that particular sale. For Etsy, the timeframe is usually 7 days for the app and 30 days for the website. 

So, how Etsy affiliate program for creators like you?

Join Awin

Start with making an Awin account to join the Etsy affiliate program. 

(Awin serves as a third-party Etsy referral platform. All bloggers interested in becoming Etsy affiliates must apply through the Awin portal. There’s a separate program for UGC creators.)

Here, while making an Awin account, you’ll be asked to add details such as your social media channels and promotional strategies. Your application may take up to 2-3 business days to get reviewed. Once approved, you, as an Etsy affiliate, get direct access to Etsy’s affiliate resources like Etsy API, Marketing hub, UTM tracking, etc.  

We have given a step-by-step explanation of this in the Etsy Affiliate joining process in our next segment.

Note: In case your application gets rejected by AWIN, you can also try to apply through the FlexOffers affiliate marketing network (applicable only to US citizens).

Obtain affiliate links

Now that you’ve joined Awin, you can access your affiliate program account.

1. Open Etsy.
2. Find a desired product.
3. Copy the URL to the product you want to promote.
4. Open the AWIN affiliate site
5. Go to ‘Menu’ and click on Toolbox. 
6. Click Links & Tools.
7. Then select your Etsy Affiliate account
8. Under Destination URL, paste the product URL
9. Click on Generate Link
10. You can choose to ‘Shorten links’ or simply tap Copy links to start right away.

Upload your content with the affiliate link

Choose your content type— blog posts, product reviews, social media posts, or video content, incorporate your affiliate links, and your promotional post is live. Now as people keep making purchases, you keep earning commissions.

Note: According to policies by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), communicating with your audience with complete transparency is mandatory. Sponsorship posts or affiliate posts should mention their details clearly. 

How to become an Etsy affiliate? 

Follow these steps to join the Etsy affiliate program.

1. Go to Etsy.com
2. Scroll to the end of the homepage, and you’ll find a section called Sell, under which you’ll find ‘Affiliates & Creators’

Choose your content channel from the options given. If you’re a blogger, choose Join our Affiliate Program if you’re a social media content creator, choose Join Creator’s Collective.

Say you’re a content creator, once you tap Join Our Affiliate Program, you’ll have to tap ‘Apply now’. You’ll be led to the AWIN portal, which looks like this.

6. Click ‘Signup and Join Program’ under the Etsy row. (at the extreme left).

7. Choose ‘Join Awin’ if you’re a blogger, or choose ‘Sign up here’ if you are an Instagram influencer.

8. Fill in the details shown below and click ‘Next step.’

9. Subsequently, choose your ‘Promotional type’, and proceed to ‘Next step’.

10. Add your forum and its details under ‘Promotional space’ and proceed to ‘Next step’.

11.  Verify yourself next. Here, you may need an invitation code, or you’ll have to make a payment and verify. Then tick the boxes and agree to the terms and conditions, and click ‘Join our Network’.

13. Now pay an amount of $1 to verify your identity.

And in a couple of days, if your verification checks are successful, you’ll be accepted as an Etsy affiliate program member. 

Etsy affiliate program commission and payment 

As an Etsy affiliate partner, expect to get paid twice a month—1st and 15th. Initially, right after posting the content it might take time as the affiliate link timeframe is still active, and people who have already discovered the products are yet to make a successful purchase. Now, you’ll have to be a bit patient.

Once your commission amount reaches $20, you become eligible to withdraw via check, international wire, or payment to a bank account via ACH.

Etsy affiliate program commission rate for standard publishing(blogs or published media) in the US is 4%, while for affiliates using UGC (social media content) for the Etsy affiliate program is 2%.

Etsy affiliate program and its benefits

Etsy affiliate marketing program​ comes with a few key benefits that can allow influencers to monetize their presence online. Moreover, if you’re planning on becoming an Etsy affiliate, it will help to connect with your audience better, as you can recommend businesses that sell products that they need.

Your easy source of passive income

Joining the Etsy affiliate program can bring you the chance to earn a direct commission for every Sale taking place through your affiliate link. So if you publish a piece of content promoting Etsy products, it can keep on getting clicks as long as it is visible to your audience. Additionally, there’s no requirement to actively work or do anything else. 

You are an influencer, you can publish one reel promoting products for the affiliate program Etsy, and as long as it is available on your account, it will keep generating sales, and thus, you will keep on earning. In case your views drop in your UCG content, you can always share them on your story and gain more visibility. Similarly, if you have a blog promoting Etsy products, you can optimize and update your blog to reach a larger target audience. 

It can bring you an extra stream of income and it will keep generating a steady revenue as long as people interact with it.

Ample product to suit your content niche

Etsy has a specific niche. When the ecommerce market is dominated by mass-produced products, Etsy focuses on small businesses promoting handmade products or vintage finds. So, not only can you pick your niche among fashion, skincare, lifestyle, or home decor, but you can also promote products of a wide range.

It can be as basic as crocheted hats and clay jewelry or as unique as a seashell mirror from the 1800s that a seller pocked from a pawn shop. The key here is to recommend products that appeal to your audience to generate as many clicks as possible. 

Say, you’re a lifestyle blogger who’s known for a gothic lifestyle. You can be sure that if you share the link to a blood-red corset from an emerging Etsy corsetier, your post is more likely to receive good engagement from your audience, and you can get more successful purchases from your content.

Resources for influencers in the Etsy affiliate program

Etsy offers resources such as newsletters and other informative materials to help affiliates stay on top of the recent trends and best practices, which in turn helps make more out of the affiliate links. Moreover, the Etsy Affiliate Program allows you access to a dedicated platform from which you can track the performance of your affiliate links.

Extended cookie period

Etsy has a 30-day cookie period, which means if a potential customer opens a link, does not purchase at once, but comes back within 30 days and completes the purchase, the commission will still be attributed to the Etsy affiliate partner whose link to the customer used to find the product. 

What are the Etsy affiliate program requirements?

There are certain Etsy affiliate program requirements an affiliate has to have to get approved to join the Etsy affiliate program. Here, we’ll discuss a few.

• Your age during the time of application has to be above 18.
• The channels through which you can promote Etsy products can be either of the following:

Personal website,

Social media platforms, including (Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and TikTok) have a substantial amount of followers with a public profile. 

• Content type and quality should match the standards set by Etsy for every affiliate post.
• You, as an affiliate, must attach the affiliate tag to boost transparency. This declaration of affiliate marketing must be present in every post, especially if your regional government mandates it.
• If you run a website that deals in coupons and cashback, Etsy might not allow you to promote their products. You might have to get written approval from Etsy if you’re willing to.
• The process application has to go through Awin’s website.

Before proceeding we recommend you first check if you qualify for those. Here are some added requirements if you are a UGC content creator.

• If you hold an Instagram account and use the same platform to promote Etsy affiliate links, it must have 500 + followers with an engagement rate of 3% and above.
• Pinterest content must be individually curated and must have a link to your blog content. 

How to promote Etsy products as an affiliate?

Let’s start with learning about products that are eligible for promotion, 

Products eligible for the Etsy affiliate program	Products ineligible for the Etsy affiliate program
Personalized products for occasions like, birthdays, weddings, and baby showers. Eg: party poppers, cake toppers, birthday banners, hats, outfits, veils, etc.	Promoting your product (from the storefront that you own) with affiliate links is prohibited by Etsy.
Jewelry made of clay, metal, resin, or any material to reflect edgy styles.	Sharp items, hazardous items with health risks, and medical items.
Craft Supplies	Items promoting hate, such as T-shirts with hate quotes or anything promoting violence.
Pet supplies (bedding, accessories, tags, toys but no edible items)	Anything that showcases nudity and indecency.
Apothecary products	Anything restricted by local government
Home decor items	Highly restricted items such as native American crafts, food products, or baby products

We have a simple guideline to help you promote products on Etsy, 

Step 1: Find your niche 

Step 2: Focus on what you can do best within the niche

Step 3: Make relatable or useful content

Step 4: Analyze data to succeed

Find your niche and figure out what resonates with your audience

Etsy marketplace offers a myriad of varieties. If you’re an affiliate, it is possible that you get perplexed by the choices. As we have mentioned before, your affiliate links will generate the most leads if you showcase products that best resonate with your audience. 

Next comes the content. 

Content is king

Stick to the most popular content format you have the most views. It will guarantee the best response from people. We also recommend you take inspiration from other micro-influencers in your niche to help people gravitate towards the products you’re promoting. A sneaky idea would be to check their posts on the Etsy affiliate marketing program and determine what your target audience has to say about it.

Stick to what your customers need the most

You, as a creator, know your customers best. As you interact with them via comments and replies, you get an understanding of what they want to see. 

If you’re a fashion influencer and your niche is cottagecore, you know for sure your audience would want to get links to milkmaid dresses for the spring-summer wardrobe upgrade. 

So, instead of adding affiliate links to handmade spiral-bound notebooks or seashell necklaces, you stick to your niche, play it safe, and promote products like cottage-core jewelry. This will lead to more clicks and conversions as it will appeal to most of your audience.

Data for correct decision-making

Track your engagement for better direction. The traffic and performance metrics will help you visualize the current performance of the links and next time you promote a product, you can make a data-backed decision. AWIN, the official affiliate website for Etsy, can help you track your performance. Get the updates on your AWIN performance dashboard. 

Tools	Functions
AWIN	Etsy’s official affiliate network helps with joining the program, performance tracking, etc.
Bitly or Pretty Links (for WordPress)	Shortens/ customizes affiliate links
Buffer / Hootsuite	Scheduling social media posts
Tailwind	Automates posts on Instagram
Ubersuggest / Ahrefs / SEMrush	To find the ranking Keywords for blogposts
Mailchimp	Automates email campaigns to stay in touch with the audience
Google Trends	To find the trending Etsy finds
Google Analytics	To track audience interaction with your affiliate link
ThirstyAffiliates	Manages your Etsy affiliate links

Final thoughts

The Etsy Affiliate Program is undeniably one of the best passive income methods, offering lucrative commissions for bloggers and content creators. The wide variety of categories under Etsy ensures there’s something for every content niche. Moreover, it is an excellent tool to maximize engagement. 

As an Etsy affiliate partner, you earn a commission for each qualifying sale that takes place through your affiliate link. So do not let this opportunity of a steady passive income slip through your fingers, apply and become an affiliate today!

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