Nike Affiliate Program – My Brutally Honest Review

Here is a comprehensive guide on the Nike Affiliate Program.

As affiliate marketers, we all know the power of brands. A brand can be the difference between high sales and poor sales. And that’s why you shouldn’t joke about brand popularity when joining affiliate programs.

Nike, on the other hand, has been live since 1967 generating millions and millions of sales but it’s quite unfortunate that only a few people know of their affiliate program

If you’re among these sets of people; worry no more because it’s time to top up your streams of income.

The Nike Affiliate program might be (or sound) a little bit tricky, but we’re going to take care of every single question that can possibly be arising from your mind as we journey through this review.

Nike –Just Do It

Headquartered in Oregon, United States Nike ( formerly known as Blue Ribbon Sports) is an American sportswear company that designs, develops, manufactures, and markets footwear and sports clothes worldwide.

Nike is indisputably the world’s biggest manufacturer of sportswear (including athletic shoes, apparel, and other sports equipment), followed by Adidas, Puma, Under armour, and New balance.

With annual revenue of 44,538 billion dollars, The 57-year-old company, Nike is the 13th world was most valued company followed by AT&T, Cisco, Oracle, and Verizon.

All this success began in the University of Oregon Wayback in 1964 when two-spirited men; track athlete Phil Knight and his coach, Bill Bowerman teamed up.

Phil Knight was a Portlander, a student of Bowerman, and a skilled middle-distance runner at Oregon. He came in contact with Bill Bowerman, a track and field coach, (who loves experimenting with innovations in sports shoes), after proposing Tiger running shoes to become a distributor of shoes for them, which they accepted.

After Phil knight had delivered his first set of shoes, Bowerman liked it and instead of buying the shoes from him, Bowerman decided to partner with Phil knight.

Shortly after, they shook hands together to start the Blue Ribbon Sports that is today known as Nike.

Today, the company has risen from a mere distributor of shoes to a profound sportswear company spread across 170 countries with annual revenue amounting to over 44,538 billion dollars.

Nike –Just Do It– Affiliate Program – The 2022 Ultimate Review

The Nike affiliate program is a marketing strategy from Nike inc. to allow websites owners to earn commission as they refer sales via affiliate links to the company 

The Nike affiliate program accepts a wide range of websites, including blogs, Sports sites, News sites, Shopping directories, Fashion/clothing or shoe sites and dozens of others. There are, however, some conditions that you must follow.

The affiliate program, as said earlier, is not as straightforward as supposed, however, it has a landing page that you could use to easily navigate to their network and apply.

There are two basic approaches to joining the Nike affiliate program; either through Cj affiliate or Awin affiliate.

CJ Affiliate and Awin Affiliate are both affiliate networks that stand between publishers and advertisers (affiliate marketers). They help in tracking, reporting, and facilitating payments of advertisers (affiliate marketers).

Once you sign up for one of these affiliate networks, you’ll have a large array of affiliate programs partnered with the affiliate network, which you can likewise apply.

Since you have two options when signing up, it’s ideal you take precautions when selecting the affiliate network of your choice to avoid making a wrong decision.

However, the affiliate network officially ratified by Nike seems to be the Awin affiliate, since that’s the one linked to the Nike affiliate program landing page.

In addition to that, Cj affiliates have so many disadvantages compared to Awin. For instance, while Awin has a cookie duration of 30 days, Cj Affiliate has a 7 days cookie duration.

Either way, it’s better to sign up via the Nike affiliate program landing page.

Nike Affiliate Program Policy

The Nike affiliate program has no strict rules or policies stated on their page, however, it’s ideal you follow the normal standard for most affiliate programs;

• At the time of registration, your site must be Live and not under construction.
• Before applying, your site should have a decent amount of content.
• Legal, non-sexual, non-violent content should be avoided on your site.
• Your website should be Family Friendly.
• You shouldn’t promote any illegal material/product on your site

It’s worth noting that after you’re accepted you should;

• Avoid the use of cookie stuffing as a marketing strategy
• Never pretend/act like Nike when marketing their products or any of its variations in Newsletter headings, push notifications headings, pop-ups, pop-under, and any other advertising means.
• Never promote Nike affiliate products where you engage in discrimination. 
• Never sound like the company when promoting affiliate products via email marketing.

Cookie Duration ;

It’s quite impressive that the Nike affiliate program has a cookie duration (referral period) of 30 days, thanks to the Awin affiliate network. Otherwise, if it were only Cj affiliate, it would have been a 7day cookie duration.

30-day cookie duration (referral period) is great when it comes to the world of affiliate marketing  – like how many affiliate programs do that?!

But first, hope we’re on the same page?! 

Let’s boil some of these terms down, supposing there are newbies in our midst.

In the world of digital marketing, and to be precise affiliate marketing, most publishers make use of cookies (referral data) to track referrals and pay affiliate marketers as due.

In simple terms, a cookie is a file containing small data packets sourced from user information on a website generated while users browse the internet.

So how do cookies work?

Take, for instance, the Nike affiliate program has a cookie duration (referral period) of 30 days. If a potential buyer clicks on your affiliate and leaves with a decision to buy the product subsequently. Later on, If he comes back some days or weeks later (as far as it’s within the cookie duration), and purchases the product, you’ll still earn your due commission.

Nike Affiliate Program Commission Structure

One intriguing part of the Nike affiliate program is the commission rate. Nike pays its affiliate marketer a whopping 11% commission for most products: this might be the highest paying affiliate program you might see for physical products.

However, this does not apply to all of its products but it’s indisputable that it’s far better than promoting Nike products on Amazon. 

Where Amazon would pay affiliates a 7% commission rate for Nike products, the Nike affiliates program would pay 11% commission with a 31-day cookie duration (referral period) – better than Amazon 24 hours

So what do you think? Promoting Nike products via Amazon or Nike affiliate program. Well, that’s food for thought!

In all, these views explained above only apply to Awin affiliate (the official Nike affiliate network). If you were to use CJ affiliate, you only get a 1% commission rate per sale with a 7 days cookie duration (referral period).

What Products are available for The Nike affiliate Program?

Well, there are hundreds and thousands of different products available at Nike. The good news is that you can promote as many of these products as you can. There are no limitations or restrictions.

Nike has a vast array of products, which I might not be able to fully mention. But here are the top categories;

1. Athletic Footwear (Men and women)
2. Men’s Fitness apparel
3. Women fitness apparel
4. Sports and Fitness equipment
5. Sports and Fitness Accessories 

As you should know by now, Nike products are no joke; they’re damn expensive. And by being expensive, they are “high ticket affiliate program”.  The average amount of Nike products rovers around £100.

Alternatives Affiliate Program to Nike Affiliate Program.

As much as Nike’s affiliate program appears to sound good, it still might not be the best option for many. 

But what if there are others better than Nike? Or are there even other worthy competitors for Nike’s affiliate program?

Well, let’s get to see!

 1. Amazon Affiliate Program

Amazon needs no introduction. However, for some people who are still ignorant, we would try as much as possible to give a brief intro.

Founded by Jeff Bezos in  Washington, United States, Amazon is a multinational e-commerce company that focuses on a wide range of products encompassing digital and physical products and services.

It all started as a mere online bookshop but today, Amazon is a marketplace for buyers all over the world.

When it comes to affiliate marketing, they’re sometimes referred to as the father of it. However, they’re not.

Amazon affiliate program is the most popular and widely used affiliate network worldwide.

One advantage Amazon affiliate program has over Nike is that the products are not limited in any way. 

While in Nike’s affiliate program, you’re restricted to only promoting sportswear and accessories, in Amazon you can promote a wide range of available products including Nike’s products.

However, Amazon still has one major downside and that’s the cookie duration. Unlike the Nike affiliate program which comes with a thirty-day cookie duration via an affiliate network, Amazon has a mere 24 hours cookie duration.

In terms of commission rate, Nike is still on a step further

You’d earn only a 7% commission rate while promoting Nikes products on Amazon. But if it were to be on the Nike official site (Nike affiliate program), you would’ve been bagging up about 11% communion rate for every product you sell.

2. Adidas Affiliate Program 

To further match up the preference of your audience, possibly, you might need to market the product of Nike’s biggest rival, Adidas, to stay on board.

Founded by Adolf Dassler in 1924, Adidas is a multinational company based in Germany that focuses on the sale, manufacture, and design of shoes, clothing, and accessories.

Adidas’ affiliate program is a very lucrative one as it allows marketers to earn both a one-time and recurring commission. Their commission rate is placed at 7% for every single sale made. And also, you tend to earn about 4% for the next 3 sales an Adidas customer makes after using your affiliate link for the first time.

Also, Adidas via impact radius makes all needed creatives for successful sales available to affiliate marketers at the point of registration. So you don’t need to bother about getting sales and banners and the rest – they’re already made for you.

While Adidas might not be a viable alternative to Nike, you can use the two affiliate programs to further enhance your marketing collection.

3. Walmart Affiliate program 

Just like Amazon, Walmart is another giant in the retail and e-commerce industry. However, the company has its main focus on local retailing but this does not undermine the fact that the company is still booming in the eCommerce space.

The downside of the Walmart affiliate program is its relatively low commission rate. The company only offers affiliate marketers a 4% commission rate whereas Nike pays affiliates an 11% commission rate.

If you’d love to get a comprehensive review of Walmart’s affiliate program, you can check our article on that.

Pros And Cons Of Nike Affiliate Program

In a perfect world, there are no cons attached to the pros of any material. But since our world isn’t, so is the Nike affiliate program.

So the question here is, do the Pros outweigh the Cons?

Pros

• Nike is a well-established brand in the industry, making sales would be a swift journey.
• Comparatively, Nike’s commission rate is a good one for a physical product– you can’t expect anything better.
• A 30-day cookie duration is a whole lot for any potential buyer to make his moves – Their referral period guarantees high sales conversion.
• Marketers are notified by Nike’s communication for every new deal, special offer, and product.

Cons

• Most people are already over-attached to buying products from regular online stores like Amazon and Walmart. Even though buying from Nike itself might seem cheaper, they would most likely see it as a stress. So, in turn, this would lead to a reduced sales potential

How To Make Money From Nike Affiliate Program 

 

Making money with the Nike affiliate program is as simple as ABC. Since Nike is a sportswear brand, it’s even easier and more profitable for a sports site. 

However, this should not be a limit, as Nike accepts almost all types of sites including blogs, Sports sites, News sites, Shopping directories, Fashion/clothing or shoe sites, and dozens of others

Nike partners with so many well-known countries, clubs, people including Manchester City’s kit in the United Kingdom, as well as several NBA teams.

To make money passively, you’ll need to have a working website and preferably it should either be a sports review site or a sports blog. 

When working with this strategy, the key is to rank on Google (or any other search engine) serps  on any keyword that you write on. Because, the more you tend to rank on Google serps, the higher your traffic potential as well as your affiliate clicks.

So, it’s ideal you focus on keywords with low keyword difficulty. And When I say low keyword difficulties, I mean keywords with low competition.

For instance, if you created a new blog on sports reviews. Rather than targeting keywords with high search volume and high keyword difficulty like ” Nike shoe”, it’s better and more possible to rank for long tail keywords like “best Nike running shoes for marathon”, which has little to no difficulty.

Although long tail keywords might tend to have relatively low traffic, they are easier to rank for.

To make proper keyword research, you’ll need to make use of a research tool. If you don’t have any idea of a good keyword research tool, you can check our article on that.

Alternatively, you can also promote Nike products using a YouTube channel. If you don’t have one, try creating.

This strategy might not be the best for a starter; building a YouTube channel might not be as easy as it sounds. And also doesn’t convert well.

Nike affiliate program has no limit to how you can promote their product. So you can make use social media, email marketing, web push and others.

Generally, the best practices to make money from the Nike affiliate program is to follow the below process. 

1. Create a website; preferably a sportswear review blog
2. Follow SEO best practices
3. Target low keywords not only relating to Nike products but also to your niche
4. Make quality articles which should refer to at least 1 products per article

Final Thoughts 

The Nike affiliate program is a good one. I don’t even think there are any disadvantages.

However, stick to the rules like a pro, so you can break them into Massive income.

Cheers.