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In one of my recent blog articles “How I make money blogging” I mentioned that I make commission revenue through Rewardstyle (RS) and Amazon Affiliates(US)! Affiliate marketing is a great way to earn residual income on a monthly basis. The problem, is that there are so many different affiliate networks to choose from! As a new blogger and even as an experienced blogger, it can be very confusing! Today I’m going to go over the difference between two of the most popular networks that I’ve used; Rewardstyle (RS) and Shopstyle!
Affiliate Marketing
Before we get into the differences between the two networks, I want to talk about affiliate marketing. Traditionally, Affiliate marketing is when you advertise a product, then if that product sells, you earn a commission off the sale price. This is how Rewardstyle works. Affiliate marketing relies heavily on how engaged and trusting your audience is. The more you sell, the more you make. Therefore, you want to make sure that your audience trusts your opinion. This takes time to build and won’t happen over night! It took me almost a year building Prada & Pearls before my affiliate sales really took off.
Difference Between Rewardstyle (RS) and Shopstyle
Rewardstyle (RS)
- Pay per Purchase. RS will Pay you a commission only when a purchase is made by a consumer
- You must be accepted onto the Rewardstyle network
- They have their own widely recognized Liketoknowit. platform that allows you to monetize your Instagram
- Brand partnerships on the platform
- Yearly conference for their top earners
How Rewardstyle (RS) Works
In order to use Rewardstyle you have to apply and be accepted into their program. Rewardstyle pays its influencers based on the pay-per-purchase model. This means that you only earn a commission if someone buys something off of your Rewardstyle enabled link. Commissions range from 5%-20% based off of the retailer. You won’t make any money off of clicks, only purchases. For a lot of bloggers, the percentage from one sale is more than what you’d make per click, which is why many bloggers use Rewardstyle.
Brand Partnerships and Conference
Rewardstyle offers brand partnerships to it’s influencers on the platform. However, with that said, these partnerships usually go to influencers with a high engaged following. As I mentioned previously, growing your audience takes a lot of time but it’s worth it in the end! Brand partnerships will happen it just takes some time.
Rewardstyle holds a large conference every year for its top 200 earning influencers. The conference consists of various seminars that teach tips for growth, blogging tools and industry trends. They also set you up with 3 brand meetings (which is HUGE!). It’s a great way to network with other bloggers who are in the same niche as you and provides a great opportunity to meet a lot of brand reps!
How Liketoknowit. Works
Liketoknowit. is Rewardstyle’s monetization tool. Consumers use liketoknowit. to purchase items off of your affiliate links. There is also now a liketoknowit. app that you can upload photos and link products to. Consumers can follow you on the liketoknowit. app to shop your looks more easily! Liketoknowit. also allows consumers to shop your Instagram looks! This is one of the main ways I personally make money from Rewardstyle.
Tips for applying!
1. RS likes to see that you’ve been blogging consistently for at least 6 months
2. You’re posting on your blog or Instagram (you don’t need a blog to be accepted) regularly!
3. That you’re currently shopping and posting about retailers that are on the Rewardstyle platform
4. That you’re producing high quality professional content
5. Being referred by someone already on the platform
RS Referrals
If you’re interested in being referred to RS I can refer you! No promises, however, it definitely helps your chances if you’re referred by someone. Please fill out the information below and I will forward it to Rewardstyle ASAP!
SHOPSTYLE
- Pay Per Click
- You do not have to be accepted onto the platform – anyone can join
- Create affiliate links for Pinterest
- Shopstyle app to monetize your Instagram
- Potential brand partnerships
How it works
Shopstyle uses the pay-per-click method. This means you get paid a small amount every time someone clicks on one of your enabled links. Usually you start around $0.05 per click. If you sell something through one of your affiliate links, you don’t get paid for the sale. However, your rate per click will increase over time. This platform is awesome for when you’re first starting out since anyone can join and start earning immediately!
The Shopstyle App
Shopstyle also has a Shopstyle app that’s similar to liketoknowit. However, it’s not widely promoted or used. As such, I don’t think it’s super effective. With Shopstyle, I would suggest creating blog articles with many clickable images. If there’s more things for the consumer to interact with you’ll get more clicks!
What I Prefer
Hands down I prefer Reward style. After using both platforms I realized I was making money off of Rewardstyle way faster than I was off of Shopstyle. However, if you’re a new blogging, start right away with Shopstyle to get the hang of affiliate marketing! Then, when you’ve been blogging for a bit (refer to paragraph above ” Tips for applying to RS”) you can apply to RS. Shopstyle is a great way to get your feet wet with affiliate marketing, but I think long term Rewardstyle is where you want to be.
The connections you can make through RS, the exposure (the liketoknowit. account has 3M followers on Instagram) and the retailers on the platform are just incomparable. Also many companies hold RS to a higher standard than Shopstyle (I think it’s because you have to be accepted into RS). Everyone has a different opinion, because everyone has a different type of blog! I think you should try both to figure out what you like best!