Blog

Best places to find affiliate partners: 9 places, ranked by sales

Jimi Barkway · 20 October 2026 · 7 min read

The best places to find affiliate partners are the ones where people already promote products like yours. Start with your own customers and your competitors' affiliates, then work down to networks and communities.

An affiliate is someone with an audience who sends buyers your way for a cut of each sale. This list is ranked by how likely each place is to give you affiliates who sell, not just ones who say yes.

What are the best places to find affiliate partners?

Here are all nine at a glance. The detail for each follows.

The times are my rough estimates by hand. Yours will differ.

1. Your customers

Customers who already like you are the warmest leads you'll ever get. They've used the product. They can say so with a straight face.

What to search: your customer list, your support inbox, and your public reviews. Look for people who posted about you, or who have an audience.

What a good one looks like: someone who wrote or posted about your product without being asked, and who has readers of their own.

Time: about an hour. Email the five best by hand.

2. Your competitors' affiliates

People who already promote your rivals have shown they'll promote this kind of product. They know how to do it. They're the best cold leads you can find.

What to search: your competitor's name plus "review", "alternative", "discount" or "coupon". Check the sites on page one and two. Our guide to finding your competitors' affiliates walks through it step by step.

What a good one looks like: a page that reviews or recommends your rival, with an affiliate link in it. Hover over the link. A tracking link usually has a code or a network name in the address.

Time: two to three hours for ten good leads. This is also where finding affiliates for a SaaS product starts.

3. Review and comparison sites

A comparison site ranks or compares products in one category. Buyers read them right before they buy. That's why they convert.

What to search: "best [your category] tools", "[your category] alternatives", and "[rival] vs [rival]".

What a good one looks like: a page that ranks high for a buying phrase, was updated this year, and has an author with a name.

Time: about two hours. Many of these pages list the contact details of the person who runs them.

4. Niche bloggers

A niche is a narrow topic. A blogger who writes only about invoicing for freelancers has readers who all need what you sell.

What to search: your topic plus "how to", "guide" and "tools". Add a recent year to find sites that are still alive.

What a good one looks like: a post from the last six months, real comments, and a topic that matches your buyer closely.

Time: about two hours.

5. Newsletters

A newsletter owner can reach every reader at once, and readers trust them. One mention can send a spike of sign-ups.

What to search: your topic plus "newsletter", "weekly" and "digest". Check the sponsor spots in issues you already read.

What a good one looks like: a clear topic, a steady schedule, and a way to reach the owner. A newsletter that already runs sponsor or affiliate links is more likely to say yes.

Time: about two hours.

6. Podcasts

A podcast host can pitch you in a way text can't. Listeners also act on a host they've heard for months.

What to search: your topic plus "podcast" in the main podcast apps. Open the show notes and look for links.

What a good one looks like: a show with recent episodes, a guest or sponsor page, and show notes that carry links. Our post on finding podcasters and review sites covers the detail.

Time: about three hours, because you listen before you write.

7. YouTube

Video reviews work well for products people want to see in use. You can search by hand, or let RecruitAffiliates.ai find the channels for you.

What to search: "[your category] review", "[rival] tutorial" and "[rival] alternative" on YouTube itself. Open the description box. Creators put their affiliate links there.

What a good one looks like: a channel that posts on one topic, gets real comments, and has a business email on its About page.

Time: about three hours by hand. Our guide on finding YouTubers as affiliates shows the manual method.

8. Affiliate networks and marketplaces

A network is a company that sits between brands and affiliates. It handles the sign-up, tracking and payments. A marketplace is the part where affiliates browse brands.

You get reach fast. You also pay for it, and you share the relationship with the network.

• Awin: its Access plan is free the first month, then $49 a month (checked 20 October 2026).
• ShareASale: closed on 6 October 2025 after Awin bought it. Its brands moved to Awin (checked 20 October 2026).
• impact.com: a partnership platform for affiliates, creators and referrals. Pricing isn't public (checked 20 October 2026).
• PartnerStack: has a marketplace where active B2B partners can find you. Pricing comes after a demo (checked 20 October 2026).

What a good one looks like: a network affiliate who writes about your category, not a coupon site that adds nothing. Our post on networks versus recruiting directly helps you choose.

Time: one to two days to set up and get approved.

9. Communities (Reddit and Facebook groups)

Communities are the best place to learn who matters in your niche. They're a poor place to pitch.

What to search: your topic in Reddit and in Facebook group search. Note who gets thanked and who answers questions well.

Etiquette:

• Read the group rules first. Many ban promotion.
• Answer questions for a few weeks before you mention your product.
• Never post "join my affiliate program" in a thread.
• Message a person, not the group, and say why you picked them.

What a good one looks like: a regular who helps others and has a blog, channel or newsletter you can find.

Time: ongoing. Treat it as a way to build a list, not a source of leads on day one.

How do I get all of this into one list?

You'll end up with sites, emails and notes in ten tabs. RecruitAffiliates.ai reads your website, suggests your competitors, then finds the sites already promoting them. It looks at blogs, review sites and newsletters. It also checks podcasts, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Each one comes with the page that shows it, ranked so the best fits sit at the top.

It also finds their email and shows the page each address came from. When someone signs up, one click hands them to AffiliateRail to track sales and pay commission.

In short

Where should I look first?

Look at your customers, then your competitors' affiliates. Both already know your kind of product. Together they can give you your first 20 leads in an afternoon.

Are affiliate networks worth it?

They suit brands that want reach fast and can pay the fees. Direct recruiting suits brands that want to own the relationship. Many do both.

Can I find affiliates for free?

Every method here except the networks costs only time. A free search takes a few hours for ten good leads.

What should I send once I've found someone?

Send a short, personal email that says why you picked them and makes one small ask. Our affiliate recruitment email guide has a worked example. Decide what to pay first with the commission guide.

Want the list built for you? We find your first 20 emails free. It's 14 days free, no card.

Sources

• Awin, advertiser page (Access plan: first month free, then $49 a month): https://www.awin.com/us/advertisers (checked 20 October 2026)
• Wikipedia, ShareASale (Awin shut it down on 6 October 2025): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shareasale (checked 20 October 2026)
• impact.com, partnerships platform (no public pricing): https://impact.com/partnerships/ (checked 20 October 2026)
• PartnerStack, pricing (Marketplace access, demo-based pricing): https://partnerstack.com/pricing (checked 20 October 2026)