Best Art & Photography Affiliate Programs

The arts are like the yin to corporate yang.

It allows for expression – something anyone can do.

Those passionate about the arts and photography industry do see the value of a business.

The ability to support oneself through their art is an ultimate goal of many.

Few will succeed but like they say, “it’s part of the journey”.

Yet, times are changing…

Our increasing interest in art and photography mixed with social media and online business development tools have allowed even the smallest set of followers be able to support a creative.

Often, it’s not the art or photography holding the person back – it’s the business barriers.

These individuals do great work but they’re having trouble getting their pieces into the hands of those willing to pay. They know the techniques but not the marketing. This is where you step in.

Let’s look at arts and photography affiliate programs you could promote that’ll help remove this barrier of turning creative expression into a sustainable living.

The Best Art & Photography Affiliate Programs

The affiliate programs found in these industries require a bit of creativity.

Think of your business like art and turn those ideas into something amazing.

Here are a few programs to get you started…

Redbubble

This one was difficult because there are a few different platforms allowing artists to sell their work like CafePress, Zazzle, and Art.com (all great places with programs, btw) but Redbubble gets the spot.

Redbubble is a marketplace for all kinds of creative designs put on products.

You’ve got stickers and iPhone cases to calendars and t-shirts. Lots of home décor and stuff like bags, frames, and even greeting cards.

The platform has a very simple process for creatives to upload and begin selling their pieces. It’s all hands-off once an agreement is made which makes this a no-brainer for artists and photographers – and the one that’s promoting it, you.

Redbubble affiliate program details:

10% commission
45-day cookie
Monthly affiliate newsletters
Offers and incentives
Data feeds
Creative text links and banners

Overall, Redbubble is damn cool all around. It lets creative-types get physical copies of their digital work into the hands of their followers and interested parties. Look around and you’ll see many personalities and influencers using the platform to add an extra income-stream so it’s actually not just the artists and photographers taking advantage of the platform – meaning more opportunity!

IGCrowdfunding

IGCrowdfunding is a company that helps those turning to crowdfunding realize their goals and dreams. Their experienced staff helps improve the success rates of crowdfunding goals through a combination of community awareness, PR, PPC management, social media marketing, and logistics.

Think of them as the distribution to the crowdfunder’s idea.

The crowdfunding market is well on its way past $34 billion (as of 2015) and that keeps going and going. Most of this is in P2P lending but a solid $5.5 billion is contributing to reward and donations – the campaigns artists and photographers are using to find funding.

Oh, and the program?

5% commission
Payments through Paypal
Tracking & reporting
Stickiness

Overall, the commissions aren’t that great but you never know what could turn into a wildly successful crowdfunding campaign. When a good one goes viral they go way outside of their scope and this is where companies like IGCrowdfunding come into play. Their services keep goals on track; wouldn’t it be nice to get a cut of that action?

Digital Photography School

Digital Photography School has over 5 million monthly readers. They come to the site to learn about their passion: photography. But it’s not just the basics – dPS goes deep into detail through tutorials, videos, and interviews with industry experts.

The site has shifted greatly from a blog into a full shop with dozens of ebooks and courses available to their passionate readers.

Chances are – if you ever searched for a photography tutorial then you’ve landed on their site; that’s how big their reach has become… so it’ll be the same for your audience.

About the dPS affiliate program:

40% commission on all products
Tons of banners & creative
Easy sign-up
Management tools
Frequent, big promotions

Overall, dPS is your go-to due to their massive catalog of ebooks, courses, and presets. They’re already one of the largest sites on the Net dedicated to photography so the branding is there. The commissions are hefty and their creative/ad support will get things rolling in no time.

Art & Photography Affiliate Program Runner-Ups

Behind every great art and/or photography business are the tools that make it happen.

A lot has changed in these industries – it’s not just about applying paint to canvas or snapping a good photo. There’s a lot of editing, curating, and marketing going on more than ever. To get this done, these creatives need the right tools & resources.

Here’s what we got for you…

Adobe Suite

The Adobe suite of products (especially Lightroom & Photoshop) are two programs used by creatives in both industries. They’re the industry-leading tools for graphics manipulation plus they have a huge stock catalog (which they may want in on).

85% for subs to CC — $72 Adobe Stock subs – 8.3% one-time purchases – Adobe Affiliates

The Modern Tog

The Modern Tog is a website dedicated to the business side of photography. Here you’ll find tons of tutorials on how to optimize and create profitability through photography. They offer a fantastic product that condenses all this knowledge and provides resources/templates as an information product!

30% commissions – 60-day cookie – Apply to be a The Modern Tog affiliate

Maker Shed

Something a little different… Maker Shed. This is the official store of Maker (site & magazine). It’s not exactly high-art but they do have products your audience may enjoy if they enjoy DIY and tinkering. It’s something that could be included for those trying to keep costs low when building their business whether they’re getting into drone photography or 3D printing art pieces.

5% + incentives – 30-day cookie – high-quality banners/text links – Join the Maker Shed program

Jo-Ann

Jo-Ann is one of the leading suppliers of crafts and fabrics in the United States. They have 100k+ items in their catalog that’ll satisfy any creative person’s desire. Chances are these creatives are already ordering through retailers like Jo-Ann so the brand recognition is there – all you need to do is give them the nudge to start that next project (and to pick up the supplies through your link).

4% commissions – 30-day cookie – banner/text creatives – Jo-Ann affiliate program

General Arts and Photography Affiliate Programs

Plenty of platforms exist to help people sell their art and photography.

Two that immediately come to mind include: Etsy and Shutterstock.

Esty, unless you’ve been living under a rock, is the largest platform to display and sell your creative work. There you’ll find people successfully operating stores selling anything from gloves knitted from their cat’s hair to something typical like artisan jewelry.

Shutterstock is where many photographers go to sell their photos for top-dollar. It’s a stock photography website you may have used or not because of the licensing rights. You may lean toward free options but big industries (like print mags and newspapers) rely on these platforms – they pay big.

Each of these platforms has affiliate programs:

Etsy:
Shutterstock: 20% of purchases

You could even combine these promos with ebooks, video courses, and membership programs that help people learn how to effectively list and sell on the platforms. A double win!

Etsy, though, will likely be your best bet since it’s a catch-all for our two industries. Otherwise, could always push the Amazon Associates stuff that has a ton of great learning resources!

Capturing the Moment (with Monetary Gains)

Expressing oneself through the arts is a wonderful thing.

It’s crazy to think that Andy Warhol’s prediction that “we’ll all get 15 minutes of fame” is here.

The ability to create, share work, develop a community, and use online tools to make enough money to support yourself is incredible. Never have we had this opportunity – people are noticing. We’ll surely see plenty of new faces using their talents versus entering the corporate world.

You can be there with them by promoting those outlets for realizing their dreams.