Hello there Sea Changers. Welcome back to my series of program lists to assist those of you looking to fund your sea change with affiliate marketing. Today we are going to step out onto the diamond to look at my 10 best baseball affiliate programs to hit a home run with this year. Baseball is an extremely popular sporting and leisure activity and whilst it falls nicely within the lucrative hobby niche where we know people will spend money, there is also the professional use element as well.
- MLB Shop
- Baseball Monkey
- Baseball Savings
- Paragon Sports
- Dicks Sporting Goods
- Fanatics
- X Bats
- Just Bats
- Hitting Performance Lab
- Amazon Associates
That's right! Wealthy Affiliate provided me with all of the tools and training I needed to get this post in front of my audience - a.k.a YOU!
You too can start your very own online business here that can make you money from anywhere in the world!!
Before we begin however, I am conscious that there are a number of different areas or sub niches within this subject hence the quantity of affiliate programs to choose from may be just as large. So how have I picked my best 10? Well… I really just wanted to give you a good cross section of what is out there so I did some searching around and checked a few out and chose them by looking at:
- What they offer
- Commission rates
- Payment terms
- Cookie duration
- Application processes
- Affiliate/Marketing materials provided
Baseball Affiliate Programs
Stats show that people will spend money on baseball gear online if it can make their lives easier so as long as you are meeting their needs and solving problems, then you are on the right track. And to give you a boost, let’s have a look at 10 programs that I have found below:
1. MLB Shop
Let’s start with the biggest competition of all with MLB Shop. As the name suggests, this is a massive baseball based site providing access to just about everything you could need to watch or support the game. They stock gear from all 30 Major League Baseball teams including:
- Jerseys
- T-shirts
- Sweaters and jackets
- Hats
- Shoes
- Accessories
- Equipment and memorabilia
Gear can be browsed for men, women and children as well as by team and/or specific player.
This is a great site for affiliates as it allows you to cover all aspects of professional baseball in the one spot. You could possibly base an affiliate business around it or use it as an addon to any baseball, professional sport or even gift based site too.
Commission Rate: 8%
Payment Terms: Monthly
Cookie Duration: 7 Days
Application required?: Yes, the MLB Shop affiliate program is managed by Impact. You will be required to apply for an account then for the MLB affiliate program. You will need to enter personal and website information as well as promotional plans and platforms to be used.
Marketing material provided: Banners, text links
2. Baseball Monkey
Our next site is Baseball Monkey, an all encompassing site that deals with everything to do with baseball and its related gear. Their main catalogue is nice and big- i.e. they have everything you could possibly need to do with baseball from both a beginner and professional point of view including:
- Bats
- Gloves
- Batting Equipment & Protective Gear
- Balls for Baseball & Softball
- Baseball & Softball Equipment Bags
- Catcher's Gear
- Umpire Equipment & Gear
- Clothing
- Footwear
- Gamewear
- Accessories
- Fast Pitch Gear
- And so much more.
And for those working across the professional arena, they offer a good range of fan gear for all 30 MLB teams as well
This site could definitely be utilized to build a generalist online baseball business around as well as a great addition to any other professional or player sporting niches as well.
Commission Rate: Not Stated
Payment Terms: Monthly
Cookie Duration: Not Stated
Application required?: Yes, You will need to enter personal, website information and promotional plans to apply.
Marketing material provided: Text links, banners
3. Baseball Savings
Baseball Savings continues our range of baseball based sites offering everything needed to get started with, or improve on, your baseball game. Promoting themselves as ” a team of dedicated people who love this great game and believe it is their job to help you enjoy it even more”, they offer eve3rything you could need for your baseball game including:
- Apparel
- Bats
- Shoes
- Gloves
- Catchers
- Bags
- Protection
- Balls
- Accessories
- Softball
And trust me, this list doesn't even come close to doing the site justice.
This site is definitely one that you could build an entire affiliate marketing business around or as a great companion/add on to just about any sporting related niche possible – and maybe even for those dealing with specific sports brands as well.
Commission Rate: 3%
Payment Terms: Monthly
Cookie Duration: Not Stated
Application required?: Yes, the Baseball Savings affiliate program is managed by CJ Affiliates. You will be required to apply for an account then for the Baseball Savings affiliate program. You will need to enter personal and website information as well as promotional plans and platforms to be used.
Marketing material provided: Text links, banners
4. Paragon Sports
Whilst more of an overall sporting goods site than one focuses solely on Baseball, Paragon Sports does however includes a massive range for this sport as well. They stock all of the most well known baseball brands with options including:
- Bats
- Balls
- Gloves
- Jerseys
- Helmets
- Shoes
- Apparel
- Catcher's gear
- Accessories
From here, I was going to list all of the other sports that the site provides gear for, however there are so many that I didn't know where to start. Categories though do include:
- Winter sports
- Personal training and fitness
- Outdoor (camping, surfing etc.)
- Team sports
- Club sports (tennis, golf)
- Skateboards, scooters etc.
This probably goes without saying but there is definitely enough here to base an entire affiliate marketing business around in both the basetball niche and any other sport listed above. And best of all, if you are in the general sport niche, there is something to cover all year round.
Commission Rate: Up to 8%
Payment Terms: Monthly
Cookie Duration: 7 Days
Application required?: Yes, the Paragon Sports affiliate program is managed by Pepperjam. You will be required to apply for an account then for the Pepperjam affiliate program. You will need to enter personal and website information as well as promotional plans and platforms to be used.
Marketing material provided: Text links, banners, product feed
5. Dicks Sporting Goods
Dick’s Sporting Goods is another extremely large sports supplies store with equipment for just about every sporting pursuit that you could think of. And of course their huge range also includes many options for those in the Baseball niche including:
- Bats
- Gloves and mits
- Shoes
- Training equipment
- Protective gear
- Accessories
- Catcher's equipment
On top of all of that (think everything you could need for the above), there is also a range of fan gear for all major U.S. Sports as well as fitness accessories, outdoor and travel accessories and electronic monitoring devices too. Oh, and if there is another sport that is played, they have it as well.
This would make a great addition to any Baseball based site aimed at professionals and hobbyists alike as well as a baseline for those working on the other sports listed above as well. Oh, and they also offer a range of training tip videos and custom uniform design too.
Commission Rate: 2%
Payment Terms: Monthly
Cookie Duration: 3 Days
Application required?: Yes, the Dick’s Sporting Goods affiliate program is managed by Impact Radius. You will be required to apply for an account then for the Dick’s Sporting Goods affiliate program. You will need to enter personal and website information as well as promotional plans and platforms to be used.
Marketing material provided: Text links and banners, product data feed
That's right! Wealthy Affiliate provided me with all of the tools and training I needed to get this post in front of my audience - a.k.a YOU!
You too can start your very own online business here that can make you money from anywhere in the world!!
6. Fanatics
Here we continue our look into the professional sports niche with Fanatics. This is fan gear site on steroids that whilst is stocked with options for every team in every major U.S professional code as well as individual and international sports with obviously is a great range of Baseball based options as well. Their stock range is massive and includes:
- Jerseys
- Hats
- Shirts
- Hoodies
- Memorabilia
- Collectables
- Shoes
- Home Decor
- Women’s gear
- Toys
And so so much more. Gear can also be customized or chosen by team, player or event.
There is really a lot here and the site could be utilized to build an affiliate business around within the professional sporting or fan based niches or as a great add on or gift idea for just about any other sporting site dealing with these particular sports or events. Oh, and you can buy tickets via this site as well for cash back rewards.
Commission Rate: Up to 10%
Payment Terms: Monthly
Cookie Duration: Not Stated
Application required?: Yes, the Fanatics affiliate program is managed by Share-A-Sale. You will be required to apply for an account then for the Fanatics affiliate program. You will need to enter personal and website information as well as promotional plans and platforms to be used.
Marketing material provided: Text links, banners, product feed.
7. X Bats
X Bats starts us on the Baseball bat side of things with a site that offers ” the finest hand-crafted, professional grade wood baseball and softball bats”. Their range includes everything to do with the good old baseball bat including custom, gift and trophy bats as well as their accessories and maintenance products.
As with most sites of this type, there is probably not enough here to base an affiliate business on however it would be a great addition to anything related to baseball, general sport or customization/gift sites as well.
Commission Rate: 10%
Payment Terms: Monthly
Cookie Duration: 90 days
Application required?: Yes, you will need to enter personal and website information as well as promotional plans and platforms to be used.
Marketing material provided: Text links, banners
8. Just Bats
As the name suggests, Just Bats is the second of our bat based sites that offers “the perfect bat for you on time, every time, exactly as promised”. This includes bats for:
- BBCOR
- Coach Pitch
- Fungo
- Tee Ball
- Training
- Wood Baseball
- Youth
- Softball
As with the site above, there is probably not enough here to base as affiliate business upon unless you are working with bats exclusively. However again, it would work as a great addition to any sporting type site based on baseball or coaching.
Commission Rate: 4 – 10%
Payment Terms: Monthly
Cookie Duration: 30 Days
Application required?: Yes, you will need to enter personal and website information as well as promotional plans and platforms to be used.
Marketing material provided: Text links, banners
9. Hitting Performance Lab
Hitting Performance Labs is a baseball coaching based sites that uses “human movement principles validated by REAL Science to hitting a ball”. This includes arrange of bat speed and hitting lessons for students, instructors and coaches alike.
As with the bat sites above, there is probably not enough here to base as affiliate business upon unless you are working with coaching and camps exclusively. However, it would work as a great addition to any sporting type site based on baseball or coaching.
Commission Rate: 50%
Payment Terms: Monthly
Cookie Duration: 30 Days
Application required?: Yes, the Hitting Performance Labs affiliate program is managed by ClickBank. You will be required to apply for an account then for the Hitting Performance Labs affiliate program.
Marketing material provided: Text links, banners
10. Amazon Associates
Alternatively, should you wish to set up your site up with a range from a few different brands or companies on the same site then you can do so via Amazon. Amazon provides access to a good range of Baseball related products and has a fairly good affiliate program as well. So if you wish, join the Amazon Associates program, locate the best products relevant to your site within Amazon itself and you can post links on your own site as per below:
Amazon's commission rates are not too bad and some prefer this avenue due to the sheer amount of traffic and trustworthiness that comes with a company site of this size.
What do we mean by baseball?
I guess this is probably a silly question, but we are of course talking about the sport of baseball where players try and hit a ridiculously small ball that is hurled at them at ridiculous speeds with a ridiculously small round bat – can probably tell I am not very good at it – but I do like watching it.
It is also a sport however that millions spend hours each and every weekend trying to perfect – some even make a little money out of it… So all in all, it might just be something that could make a good little online business.
There is also quite a lot that we could look into when it comes to baseball so for this post, I have tried to cover a good cross section of baseball related affiliate programs covering:
- General equipment
- Bats
- Balls
- Shoes/cleats
- Accessories
- Training gear
- Professional replicas
- Lessons
And of course anything else you can think of when it comes to baseball… So, if you are looking to set up an online business selling baseball gear online, this is definitely a good area to work in.
What can affiliate marketers promote?
There are essentially no real barriers to what affiliate marketers can promote when it comes to baseball. There are however some things to be aware of as you run your eye over baseball affiliate program possibilities that may suit your site. These are:
- Know your audience, some are looking for specifics and want the best whilst others are hoping to just get their equipment on a budget. Choose your affiliate sites accordingly.
- Baseball fanatics and professionals will not take risks if they don’t trust you or your affiliate site. Make sure the programs you choose are reputable and have good recourse options if the purchaser is not happy.
- Those purchasing for a family members, or are new to the sport will need to know exactly what they need and that the products you are promoting will fit in with their requirements. Make sure your programs can provide the products to back up the information that you are covering.
FAQs
What can you sell within the baseball niche?
The online sale of baseball gear and equipment is a popular option with possibilities amongst all levels from beginners to professionals alike. Products that can be sold within this niche include bats, gloves, balls, shoes, accessories, clothing, baseball cards and even lessons for those starting out. And most importantly, baseball falls within the lucrative world of hobbies with a professional element where we know people will spend cash.
How to find your own affiliate programs
As stated earlier, by outlining the sites above I have really just tried to give you a good cross section of the types of programs that are out there by listing the really good ones in each ‘category. That does not mean that you cannot find affiliate programs that better suit what it is that you are trying to do within this space especially as I could never even begin to cover every baseball related requirement or sub niche in the one post. Luckily for us, there is a simple way to find these programs online.
All you need to do is enter “affiliate: niche type” into your search engine (substituting ‘niche type‘ for whatever product it is that you are choosing to sell).
There are baseball related affiliate programs for everything else that we have listed at the top of this page as well – you will just need to have a look around until you find one or two that suit your site. Once you have completed your searches, you can look through and find programs that:
- Relate to your niche/problems that you are solving.
- Have quality products – your brand can be severely damaged if you promote poor quality products.
- Have solid payment and customer service arrangement.
- Pay decent commissions.
- Have good testimonials covering commission payouts and quality of product.
In most cases, you will need to apply for the program before you are allowed to promote their products – don’t take this step lightly or you will be rejected. Affiliate programs will generally want to know:
- Your website name.
- Traffic levels.
- Why you want to join – (so I can make money by selling your baseball gloves is unfortunately not generally a good enough answer).
- How you plan to promote their products.
Conclusion
So… There are 10 of the best baseball affiliate programs to serve up this year. I hope it has been helpful for you as you commence your own baseball based affiliate marketing business and as usual, please do not hesitate to comment below if you have any questions, need some advice or have any experiences to share. Oh, and especially comment if you have any experience with these, or any other programs as well.
Until next time
Have fun
Paul
Note: If you make a purchase from this page, there is a very good chance that I make a commission from it – these commissions do not increase your sale price. This may include sales made via Wealthy Affiliate.
Do you want further assistance with any of the above or need help to build your own baseball based website?
Are you looking for a comprehensive training platform that can give you step by step training, 24/7 support, tools to develop and host your very own website, ongoing assistance with SEO and social media and access to some of the best affiliate marketing minds on the planet, then click on the following link to read more about Wealthy Affiliate.