Target Affiliate Program
Whether you’re a blogger or an influencer, affiliate marketing can be a lucrative way to earn passive income off your website or social media platform.
While you may already be an Amazon affiliate, the Target affiliate program deserves your consideration.
The Target affiliate program offers competitive commissions on some of the brand’s most popular product categories and its commissions increase as your sales volume goes up.
But is the program right for you?
For certain affiliates, it’s a financially smart move, with the potential to create a healthy passive income.
For others, it could mean a lot of effort and investment with little returns.
Read on to learn more about the Target affiliate program to decide if it’s the right choice for you.
Brett Helling is a digital marketing expert with over 10 years of experience building, managing, and scaling websites.
- Cost Per Action (CPA): N/A
- Commission Rate: Up to 8% (varies by category)
- Cookie Duration: Seven days
- Payment Payout Threshold: N/A
- Payment Options: Direct Deposit, PayPal
The Target Affiliate Program, also known as the Partners Program, is an affiliate marketing structure that allows content creators to market Target products and earn commissions.
Creators market products, linking their followers to the online Target store, and when their followers make a purchase, they get a percentage of the sale.
It is fairly straightforward and works much as other affiliate programs do.
It’s easy to join and almost everyone is accepted.
There are no fees to join the program.
Once you join, you’ll be given unique, tracked links to use to promote Target products.
Earn When You Promote Target Products
If you have a following, you can promote Target products.
You can use text links, widgets, banners, and more to direct your visitors to the Target website.
When your followers use your affiliate link, a cookie is set on their browser.
This cookie lasts for seven days.
If they make a purchase within this seven-day window, then you’ll get a commission or a small percentage of the sales.
The person doesn’t have to buy the product you initially linked them to.
You’ll get a commission on any product they buy from Target during those seven days.
Also, unlike other programs, you’ll earn every time the person makes a purchase during the seven-day window, not just the first purchase.
Products to Promote
The Target affiliate program allows you to promote a wide range of products, including home goods, electronics, clothing, beauty products, toys, and groceries.
With access to exclusive deals and promotions, affiliates can earn commissions by sharing Target's vast selection of high-quality, popular items across various categories.
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How much you can earn through the Target affiliate program depends on quite a few factors.
While you can earn up to 8% in commissions, you will often earn less.
Different categories have different commission rates and rates go up as your sales volume increases.
As the commission structure varies by product category, your earnings will vary based on the types of products you promote.
Additionally, big-ticket items have the potential to bring in more revenue per sale, but less expensive items may sell in higher numbers.
Target has an E.P.C. (Earnings Per 100 Clicks) of $12-13.
This means that for every 100 click-throughs you get on an affiliate link, you’re estimated to earn between $12 and $13.
How Payments Work
As a member of the Target affiliate program, you can earn up to 8% in commission for products you sell by sending your followers to the Target site.
Target Affiliate Program Commissions
Target structures its commissions using two methods – by the number of orders you get each month and the categories where you sell.
Commission By Monthly Orders
The more you sell the more you make.
This is true of every affiliate program.
Target takes this idea one step further by raising your commission once you reach certain monthly sales thresholds.
For example, you’ll start at a lower percentage, but as your sales in a category increase, your commission will go up as well.
For example, if you sell less than ten products in a category, you may only earn 5% in commissions.
Once you sell over 10,000, you have the potential to earn 8%.
Commission By Category
Not all categories have the same commission structure.
While you can potentially earn up to 8% commission, that isn’t always the case.
In certain categories, such as health and beauty, it doesn’t matter how many items you sell each month, you’ll always earn a flat 1% commission.
Some categories offer no commission, such as groceries, toys, and baby products.
No matter how many of these products you sell, you won’t earn anything.
If you’re thinking of joining the Target affiliate program, you need to study the commission structure carefully.
The products in your niche may get little or no commission, and it won’t be worth it for you.
However, if your niche fits well with one of the higher commission categories, it can be worth it.
Is the Program Worth It?
There are a lot of factors to consider when deciding whether the Target affiliate program is worth it.
While there’s no fee to join, you may still spend time and money creating content that will get you little return on your investment.
Consider these pros and cons before deciding if the program is a good fit for your business.
Pros
- Can potentially earn higher commission rates with more products sold
- No fees or barriers to entry
- Large selection of products with brand names, unlike the Amazon affiliate program
- Cookie lasts seven days
- All purchases within the seven-day cookie earn a commission
- Target is a trusted brand
- You can register multiple websites
Cons
- Some categories have low or no commission rates
- Not profitable for sites with most traffic coming from outside the United States
Conclusion
Whether the Target affiliate program will work for you depends on a few factors.
First, you need to be in the right niche.
If the products you recommended aren’t in one of Target’s supported categories, then you won’t earn a commission.
Next, your sales volume is a deciding factor.
If you can’t sell enough of a product to move to a higher commission rate, you may be putting a lot of time, effort, and money into creating content that will give you little in return.
Overall, if you can recommend products in one of Target’s higher-earning categories, it’s worth it.
The $12-13 EPC is a decent conversion rate.
Target also does a lot to support each affiliate partner, such as sending out a weekly affiliate newsletter with deals, tips, and suggestions to help you make sales.
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How to Join
Joining the Target affiliate program is relatively easy.
You just have to fill out an application.
You’ll be applying with Impact Radius, the company that manages Target’s affiliate program.
Even if you already have an Impact Radius account, you still need to apply through the Target website.
The application is quick and simple.
You’ll input your personal information and some basic information about your business, including what channels you plan to use for marketing.
You can have it completed in less than ten minutes.
Requirements
Target only has a few basic requirements for joining its affiliate program.
Just ensure that you meet the following guidelines and you’ll be ready to go not long after you sign up.
Family-Friendly Website
Target asks that your website be family-friendly.
That means that all language should be G-rated.
Your site shouldn’t have any vulgar or suggestive content.
Hate speech and other malicious content are also not allowed.
Traffic From the US
The bulk of your traffic must come from the United States.
When you apply, Target will check your website and social media channels to see where most of your traffic and followers are from.
As long as you have mostly US visitors, you’ll be accepted.
How Long Does it Take to Get Approved for the Target Affiliate Program?
You may be ready to get started immediately with the Target affiliate program, but you’ll have to wait until you get approved.
Most applicants hear back from the brand within a few business days, but it may take longer depending on how many applications they have.
If you get rejected, don’t give up.
Try to figure out why you were rejected.
You can make improvements to your website or social media channel and work on growing your traffic or following.
Once your site has grown, you can always apply again.
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