Some links here are affiliate or referral links. I may earn a commission if you buy or sign up through them, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
I don't suggest joining everything at once. Here is what I'm in, or have applied to, so you can see how the pieces fit. I'm still learning these. This is a map, not a results report. No earnings, no click totals, and no invented approvals.
Where I don't have a working affiliate link, the name is plain text. My own shops are labeled "my shop." They are not commissions.
Want the map first? Read How to start affiliate marketing in 2026.
In this article
- Networks and direct programs, and the caveat I remember for each.
- Applications that are still pending.
- My own shops, which are not affiliate links.
- How approval usually goes, and what I do when a program is closed.
| Name | Status in my notes | How I label it |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Associates | The program these posts follow. Tag lfosterphot0c-20 on a real product link. | (paid link) when a link is on the page |
| Impact.com | Approved with some brands that fit the blog, including Wix and Shopify as brands. Not a link in this post. | Network. Each brand has its own contract. |
| Expedia Group, on Partnerize | Travel creator program for hotels and stays on trip posts. | Affiliate, when a stored trip link is the one I'm allowed to paste. |
| Viator | Direct program for tours and activities. | Affiliate, on a destination post where a tour fits. |
| PartnerStack | Software referrals. I use it for a TikTok ads referral program. | Network. Often pays after the first paid month. |
| Rakuten Advertising | Applied, still pending. | Plain text until there's a link. |
| GetYourGuide | Applied, still pending. | Plain text until there's a link. |
| Wix, Shopify, Payhip, Buffer, Kit, Vista Social | Tools people ask about. No tracking URL in this batch. | Plain text |
| Canva | Free plan for graphics. Ambassador program stored as closed. | Plain text |
| Zazzle, Fine Art America / Pixels, Adobe Stock | My shops or my stock portfolio. | My shop |
| Redbubble | Coming soon. | Plain text |
Impact.com
You create one free publisher profile listing your website and social accounts, then apply to brands one at a time. Each brand approves or declines you, and some approve almost instantly while others take weeks or never reply. I'm approved with brands that fit my blog, including Wix and Shopify. That is a status note, not a tracking link. I'm not putting an Impact URL on this page.
Caveat: each brand has its own contract, and some don't allow certain uses, like paid search or coupon sites. Read the contract before you place a link. A deep link should open the product, not the homepage, unless the contract forbids deep links. The field names are in the link post.
Want the Impact field names? Read How to build affiliate links.
Expedia on Partnerize, and Viator
Expedia Group Travel Creator Program runs on Partnerize. This is for travel content: hotels and stays linked from trip posts. You apply with your site and social accounts. Once approved, you build links inside the Partnerize dashboard. Caveat: travel commissions only count when the trip is actually completed, so payouts lag months behind the click. I don't announce the partnership in a post, and I don't use the program logo as a badge.
Viator Partner Program. Tours and activities. It's a direct program with its own dashboard, and it fits destination posts where a guided tour genuinely helps. Caveat: cancelled tours aren't paid.
I am not pasting a new Expedia or Viator URL in this batch. If a trip post already has a stored link, that post keeps it. This page is the map.
PartnerStack
PartnerStack is a network mostly for software referral programs. I use it for a TikTok ads referral program. Caveat: software programs often pay only after the customer's first paid month. I don't turn that into a promise about when I get paid. The dashboard's own report is the number, and I don't publish it here.
Still pending
Rakuten Advertising and GetYourGuide are applied and still pending in my notes. Approval can take a while and usually needs tax and payment details completed first. Until there's a link I tested, the names stay plain text. I don't build a Rakuten deep link by hand for a brand that hasn't approved me.
An October 27, 2026 pass was also waiting on an email verification for one network and an account verification for another. I treat that as "not finished," not as a decline of the content.
Tools I name and don't link
You need a site you own. My old blog ran on Wix, and you can start there with Wix. If you plan to sell your own products later, Shopify is built for stores. Payhip has a free plan if you sell printables or guides. Buffer has a free plan for a few social channels. Vista Social is another scheduler people use. Kit, formerly ConvertKit, is a common starting point for email. Canva's free plan is plenty for pins and post images.
I don't have a partner link for those that I'm putting in this batch, so they are not links. Canva's ambassador program is stored as closed on both the free-tool row and the paid-plan row. A closed program does not become a link.
Meta Business Suite is the free official place for a Facebook Page and a linked Instagram account. That setup is its own post.
Want the Facebook and Instagram steps? Read Facebook and Instagram monetization setup.
My own shops
When I link my photography, that's my shop, not a commission. I sell prints and products on Zazzle (my shop), Fine Art America / Pixels (my shop), and Adobe Stock (my shop, stock licensing), with a Redbubble shop coming soon.
Print-on-demand shops are a good companion to affiliate work if you make your own art or photos. You upload once, the shop prints and ships, and you earn a markup or royalty. That royalty is not an affiliate commission, and I don't put "(paid link)" on it.
One shop's public grid showed no products on October 27, 2026, while individual listing addresses still opened. The open task is to finish payment and personal details, not to open a second shop. A similar public profile name can belong to a different artist. Match the profile before you send anyone there. Watermarked web files are not the print masters. The shop file stays clean.
How approval usually goes
A real site with original posts, a clear About page and privacy policy, your disclosure in place, and honest traffic numbers. If a program declines you, keep writing and reapply later. Some brands approve almost instantly. Others take weeks or never reply. I don't read silence as a yes.
Amazon is the one with a dated beginner window in the help I read: at least three qualifying sales within 180 days, and your own orders don't count. That rule is in the Amazon post, with the Audible and Kindle Unlimited links.
Before I place any of these links I want the disclosure under the byline and "(paid link)" beside an affiliate URL. My shop links don't get that label. A tool I'm only naming doesn't get a URL.
Want the Amazon rules? Read Amazon Associates basics and rules.
Want the stalls behind the pending rows? Read Warnings: what I ran into.