If you’re in the travel niche then you know that it can be a lucrative niche, especially, if you’re promoting the right programs. I’ve uncovered 7 of the best cruise affiliate programs you can join to increase your income with affiliate marketing.
Why Affiliate Marketing?
If you’re like me, then you started your blog with the hopes of becoming a full-time blogger. Well, with time, persistence and a huge learning curve, it’s totally possible.
Affiliate marketing makes it easy for anyone without any prior skills or knowledge to earn an income online. That being said, it is not as easy as everyone says it is.
This free training will teach you everything you need to know and will cut down on your learning curve.
If you still haven’t started a blog, then let’s take a look at why you might want to consider the travel niche.
How Profitable Is the Travel Niche?
The travel niche can be extremely competitive, that’s why it’s important to choose a sub-niche that you can actually rank in and make money.
A sub-niche or subtopic is nothing more than a smaller topic inside a bigger topic. Here is some a small list I came up with if you’re considering the travel niche:
- Travel Insurance
- Rental Cars
- RV and Motorhomes
- Cruises
- Luxury Travel
You get the idea, all these have to do with travel but will be much easier for you to drive traffic and build an audience. People who subscribe to your blog will be interested in your chosen topic.
Now let’s take a look at some low competition keywords that you can use to help you brainstorm some ideas. I personally use KWFinder to help me find new keywords for my blog posts.
Since using this tool, I’ve been able to increase my organic traffic by over 700% in just two months, read this post to see how I use KWFinder.
Keywords With High Search Volume and Worth Your Effort:
- Cruises from San Francisco: 6600 searches – 29/100 Green Score
- Best honeymoon cruises: 1065 searches – 23/100 Green Score
- 5-day cruises: 2400 searches – 24/100 Green Score
- Royal Caribbean cruise deals: 8067 searches – 27/100 Green Score
- Best Disney cruise ship: 2400 searches – 25/100 Green Score
I could literally find hundreds of profitable keywords for you, but I just wanted to show you how easy it is when you’re using the right tools.
If you want to create a profitable blog, you need to understand how to find low competition keywords.
KWFinder makes it so easy and the best part is that you can get started for free. You’ll get 5 free searches daily that you can use to help you come up with tons of potential blog topics you can write about.
Here’s are some travel statistics which will show you just how profitable this niche can be. Now let’s take a look at some popular programs you can join today to monetize your blog.
7 Best Cruise Affiliate Programs That Will Make You Money
Disney Cruise
Disney Cruise lines provide a one-of-a-kind magic of Disney entertainment while enjoying a relaxing wonder of an ocean voyage and the enchantment of tropical destinations.
You can book a family cruise and enjoy world-class entertainment, modern amenities and experience a vacation like no other.
If you are in the travel niche, lifestyle niche or have a targeted audience who enjoys Disney, you can make money with their lucrative program.
After doing some research online, I was unable to find a direct link to the affiliate program from Disney Cruise, unfortunately, they do not have a program.
However, you can still profit from this program by joining Cruise Direct. They provide access to banner ads, text ads, and other creatives you’ll need to have success.
Top performing affiliates will also have the opportunity to access a personalized landing page and banners which are proven to help increase conversions.
- URL: https://www.cruisedirect.com/affiliates
- Cookie: 45 days
- Commission: 3% of commission gross sales
Why You Should Promote The Disney Cruise Line
Families love Disney vacations and there’s huge potential for you to earn money online. You’ll have direct access to an affiliate manager who is dedicated to helping you increase your conversions.
Cruise Compete
Cruise Compete is a virtual cruise advisor that helps their members find the best prices online. They will help you find the best deal for you and make it easy to request quotes online.
You can compare personalized offers, cabin credits, upgrades and more. Once you’re happy with the offer, you can contact your preferred booking agent.
They make it easy to find and book vacations with some of the best in the industry such as Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and so many others.
You can join their affiliate program by applying directly on their website. They work with travel websites to help you monetize your blog traffic.
They will pay you a commission, everytime your visitor creates a new account and requests a quote.
- URL: https://www.cruisecompete.com/faq_partner.php
- Cookie: 90 days
- Commission: Will vary depending on the cost of the package
Why You Should Promote Cruise Compete
People are always looking for the best deals for their vacation packages. This can be a great program for anyone who is in the travel niche.
Cruise Direct
Cruise Direct is the world’s leading online cruise and travel company dedicated to providing you the best deals on your vacations. They offer a 100% best price guarantee.
They work with the world’s leading industry providers such as Carnival Cruise Lines, Viking River Cruises, Princess Cruises, Disney Cruise Line and etc.
It’s your one-stop booking website for your vacation needs. They do not charge any booking fees and offer flexible payment plans.
The affiliate program is managed through CJ (formerly Commission Junction). Affiliates will have access to the latest features and best deals to help them increase their sales.
- URL: https://signup.cj.com/member/brandedPublisherSignUp.do?air_refmerchantid=965192
- Cookie: 45 days
- Commissions: 3% commission of the gross sale
Why You Should Promote Cruise Direct
They deal with some of the most popular name brands that people are familiar with. You won’t have any trouble turning your website visitors into actual buyers because they are familiar with the cruise lines.
Beach Tours Mexico
Beach Tours Mexico offers the best shore excursion, watersports, and beach tours. They cater to people who want to visit Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Puerto Vallarta.
They provide automatic volume discounts without having to use a coupon. They offer the best deals and attractions in the Mexican Caribbean.
The affiliate program is managed through ShareASale.
- URL: Click Here to Join Beach Tours Mexico
- Cookie: 90 days
- Commission: 30% per sale
Why You Should Promote Beach Tours Mexico
The program has a power rank of 1000+ on the ShareASale network. They offer a product data feed you can use to help you increase your conversions.
The Cruising Insider
The Cruising Insider is a website that provides you with general cruise information. You can read reviews and useful cruise tips that will help you plan, save and make the most of your next voyage.
If you’re new to cruising, you can get your questions answered via their cruise message boards. You can also meet other people who are planning on taking the same voyage as you.
This site was designed to help people plan their first travel experience. They have tons of useful tips to help vacationers make the most of their first experience. You can also pick up some useful tips for what to do for your days at port.
The site was established in 2012 and has opened up their lucrative affiliate program to help you earn money. You can sign up with Clickbank to start promoting.
You’ll be promoting a digital download product, which consists of an ebook. The price of the ebook is $9. It doesn’t say what the commission is, so you’ll have to find out when you sign up.
- URL: https://accounts.clickbank.com/mkplSearchResult.htm?dores=true&includeKeywords=cruise
- Cookie: 30 days
- Commission: Didn’t say on the website
Why You Should Promote The Cruising Insider
People are willing to spend money on a digital download product that helps them get answers to their questions. If the sales page looks good and does a good copywriting job, you shouldn’t have any issues making some sales.
Craft Cruises
Craft Cruises® is unlike any other experience you’ve ever had. If you’re the type of person who has never had this type of experience, you’re going to think twice after reading this.
This company is known for having the highest quality of educational programs onboard. You can choose from knitting, crocheting, needlepoint, Christmas craft, crafts for kids and so many other classes.
They are a full-service travel agency that personalizes the cruise experience by including activities people actually love.
The affiliate program is managed through their website. There are several ways to earn with this program:
- You can earn a free cruise – refer 15 people who all book the same trip.
- Affiliate referral – refer other affiliates and earn $25 when that affiliate generates their first booking.
They have some of the highest client conversion rates in the travel industry. If someone clicks on your link and signs up for their email list, they are tracked via your link.
This means that if they end up booking a trip, later on, you still get credit for the sale.
- URL: http://www.craftcruises.com/affiliate_signup.php
- Cookie: Doesn’t disclose on the website
- Commissions: $25 for affiliate referrals and doesn’t say how much you’ll earn for every booking.
Why You Should Promote Craft Cruises
This is perfect if your audience enjoys hobbies and wants to meet other like-minded people while on vacation. They have a dedicated email that is set up to sell their services if someone joins the email list via your link, you still get credit for the booking.
The cheap Caribbean
The cheap Caribbean provides discounts on vacations and hotels to the Caribbean and Mexico. Their customers get access to some of the best deals on hotel, flight deals that will fit any budget.
This includes the ability to save on holidays and sold-out dates. Customers receive perks for booking their vacation such as exclusive offers, up to 75% savings on fares, and 110% best price guarantees.
The affiliate program is managed through Commission Junction. Affiliates get access to creatives, analytical reporting, and access to an affiliate manager.
- URL:https://www.cheapcaribbean.com/affiliates.jsp
- Cookie: 45 days
- Commission: 2%
Why You Should Promote Cheap Caribbean
People love saving on their vacations and with their 110% best price guarantee, you won’t have any trouble converting website visitors into customers.
How to Get Started
Now that we’ve taken an in-depth look at how you can profit just by monetizing with cruises only. Let’s look at what you need to do in order to start earning an income from home.
Once you have your blog set up, it’s time to take all out massive action. Here’s an action plan you can follow. Join 1-3 of the programs above and start monetizing your blog from day one.
It’s important to avoid spamming your blog with affiliate links. Instead, you want to add them sparingly and focus on creating amazing content.
Write Content
If you’re a brand new blogger, your goal is to write as much content as you can as quickly as you can. You don’t want to just write any type of content.
Focus on content that is targeting the right keywords and doesn’t have a lot of competition. When I started this blog, I wrote way too many articles on keywords that are too competitive.
Don’t do that, make sure you’re researching your keywords before you sit down to write. Create a list of potential keywords and then sit down and start writing.
Promote That Content
Once you’ve written that content, it’s time to get out there and promote it. You can’t sit back and wait on Google to start sending you traffic.
If you optimized your blog posts, you will eventually get organic traffic. But as a brand new blogger, you need to hustle and create your own traffic.
Here’s a blog post checklist that will help you get started. It will show you the exact steps I take whenever I hit publish on a new blog post. You can start with that checklist and then check off what doesn’t help you drive traffic.
Rinse and Repeat the Process
Now that you know what it takes to grow your blog, it’s time to do it over and over again. This means that you’ll want to create a blog schedule that you can stick with.
You’ll want to continue publishing new content on a regular basis and promoting it. Oh and don’t forget about the other blogging tasks you need to do on a regular basis.
As I mentioned above, there’s a huge learning curve that you’ll have to overcome. That’s why I always recommend this free training program that will show you how to make money with your blog.
Don’t Give Up
I wish I could tell you that you’ll start to see money in a couple months. But the truth is that every blog, niche, and person is different.
Just because other people are able to create a profitable blog in just a few months, doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to do that. Unfortunately, it takes time to grow a blog and turn it into a profitable business.
Whatever you do, just keep putting one foot in front of the other. The only way that you’ll fail is to give up. Here’s a great podcast that has helped me continue, even when my blog wasn’t growing.
Final Take Away
If you started a blog in hopes of changing your financial situation, you need to realize that it’s totally possible. However, it isn’t going to happen overnight.
Blogging is a long-term strategy that takes time to work. You will never be able to grow a successful blog if you’re not in it for the long run.
Do whatever you have to do, but make sure that you do something to grow your blog every day. Eventually, you’ll look back and notice the huge empire you built with your hard work and persistence.
Quick Outline of What You Need to Do:
- Find a topic that you enjoy and want to learn more about. Next, you need to do your research and find out how you can tap into a profitable sub-niche that you can actually rank for and earn a spot on the Internet.
- Go to NameCheap to purchase your unique domain name. Next, go to SiteGround to get your blog started without overpaying. Pro Tip: Save money on your hosting by paying for more than one month.
- Don’t pay anyone to design your website. If you’re a brand new blogger, your focus should be writing amazing content that will help your audience solve their problems. Once you’ve started getting readers and are making money, you can invest in a designer if you want. (I’ve personally NEVER needed to hire one)
- Use KWFinder to uncover and mine for those low competition keywords that you can rank for without worrying about backlinks.
- Install Google Analytics start paying attention to the posts that are driving you traffic. You can then use that information to write more related content since your readers already love it.
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