Affiliate Programs

Spring and Summertime are the traditional times when people start thinking about Hiking, Camping, Boating, Fishing, Bicycling and RV Trips. It should also be the time you start thinking about targeting these hardie souls with your affiliate programs as they invade the Great Outdoors.

Here are a few Merchants that service the Outoor Adventurer that I’m familiar with.

Bass Pro

Bass Pro Shops has is the Big Boy on the block when it comes to Outdoor gear. You’ll find gear for all types of activities. Bass Pro’s Affiliate Program pays 5% on orders. The advantage of Bass Pro is they have a household brand name amoung outdoor adventure seekers.

They provide tracking and do not limit your earnings.

The do have a list of keywords that they will prohibit you from outbidding them on.

Bass Pro is part of the CJ affiliate network.

Duluth Trading

Duluth trading is a catalog and internet retailer. Duluth Trading carries a variety of unique and innovative tools and clothing for the Blue collar working guy and gal, many of their products are used while enjoying the Outdoors (I buy a lot of stuff from them myself).

Duluth Trading pays 10% on every sale.

They offer an online management system that allows you to add links to your site, access your sales history, and track your earnings.

Duluth Trading is an independent comapny and runs its affiliate program in-house.

Cabela’s

Cabela’s is in the same league as Bass Pro Shops. They’re a huge retail and online retailer that serves the outdoor community with quality products. You may be able to find Cabela’s affiliate program through Performics, but at last check I was unable to locate their program there. It may be that they’ve dropped their affiliate program all together.

Although I buy a lot of my outdoor gear through Cabela’s, and have for more than 20 years, I don’t know a lot about their affiliate program because I’ve stopped using Performics.

Boaters World

Boaters World sells what you’d think a store with a name like Boaters World sells, stuff for Boaters! (go figure)  Boaters World pays a straight 6% commission on all shipped orders.

Boaters World is part of the CJ Network.

A nice thing about Boaters World is the products they carry have a higher average price than many other Outdoor related merchants. I know I’m guilty of buying expensive boat equipment, just ask my wife!

I particularly like Boaters World because they offer many incentives to get your customers to buy. Things such as no shipping fee for orders over $100, no payments for up to 6 months with the Bill Me Later program, clearance items and seasonal offers.

LandBigFish.Com

LandBigFish.Com is one cool ecommercie website with a very cool affiliate program. It gives you several ways to make some moolaw!

The carry fishing gear including fishing lures and tackle.

With LandBigFish.Com you’ll earn 5% of any order placed through their online tackle store. Their average order is $60. You’ll also get $1.00 for every confirmed registered member you send their way and $.05 for everyone who signs up for one of their newsletters.

LandBigFish.Com is an indepedant affiliate program. 

Sierra Trading Post

Sierra Trading Post has an excellent reputation in the affiliate marketing world. They pay you what they say when they say it. Their affiliate staff is dedicated to helping you push more product.

You’ll earn between 5 and 10% of orders shipped.

Sierra Trading Post was out front in the anti-parasite movement some time ago.  At one time in the past, I remember them stating that they actually removed affiliates from their program due to parasite infractions. That’s says something about their integrity.

Besides that, Sierra Trading Post has some cool outdoor gear!

Ron Kirk Shooting Supplies

The Ron Kirck site has over 155,000 items for sale online. They mainly carry shooting supplies.

They pay on a scale that starts out at 6% and goes up to 8%. They also have specials & coupons on a regular bases to get traffic to your site. They provide their affiliates with a datafeed that contains thousands of prodcuts.

Ron Kirk is part of the CJ Network.

Brigade Quartermaster

BQ as it’s called, carries a huge selection of military surplus items as well as new items. BQ is part of the LinkShare Affiliate Network.

BQ pays up to 5% commission on sales generated through your website.

BQ’s unique and unusual product line can be a real winner if you have a niche in this sector of the consumer market. This niche would include campers and outdoor related consumers as well as paramilitary groups, survivalist and the “back to nature” types.

U.S. Calvary

U.S. Calvary carry’s both military gear as well as gear for law enforcement. As with BQ, a lot of this gear can cross over into Outdoor use and many of their customers are members of both groups.

U.S. Cav pays 3% of items sold through your site. They are a part of the CJ Network. While 3% may not sound like a lot, their prices are on the low side, which can translate into more sales than other retailers carrying the same equipment but at a higher price.

Well, there you have it. Some nice affiliate programs to make a little scratch with the outdoor sector. Many of you could find something in the list above to add to your offerings. You could also open up another section of your sites. Maybe with a “Outdoor Clothing” section or “Military Surplus”.

This is one thing I love about affiliate marketing and making money quick is having such wide range of cool merchandise to choose frome!