7 Toy Affiliate Programs for the Naughty and the Nice

I have a love-hate relationship with children's parties.

I love them because, like any other party, it's a time to get together with friends over food. Your kids are entertained while you catch up on the latest with your circle. At the end of it, your kid gets a loot bag and hopefully has tired himself out playing, meaning you'll get some quiet time while he naps on your way home.

At the same time, I hate it. Like any other party, it can get loud. Then there are the games. It's like an alarm clock that tells you that, like the birthday celebrant, you're turning a year older.

On top of it is the gift-giving which I am absolutely no good at.

It was while searching for a good gift for a godchild that I was inspired to see if there are toy affiliate programs. There has to be one, I thought. We live in an age of online shopping and 24-hour Disney channel. Parents can now buy their kids stuff online and the children are now more aware of the new toys out there thanks to TV commercials.

As soon as we got back from yet another children's party, I put my little girls to bed and proceeded to check out toy affiliate programs.

And I was right on the money. There are toy affiliate programs. I can shop for toys, and at the same time, earn from them!

Making Toys Make Money

The Toy Industry is a serious money-making business.

The toy industry is an old and very lucrative trade. This infographic claims that the toy industry is worth GBP £2.9B. Yet another infographic, Toying with the World, claims the US toy industry alone is worth USD $21.5B, with an average of USD $280 spent on toys per child. That is just in the US. According to Statista.com, the UK spent around USD $499 per child on toys in 2011 alone.

Looking at how many toys I bought during my recent Christmas toy shopping and how much they cost ... those figures seem not too far from reality. And I am not the only one. Recent articles like this one on how much parents spend on toys is a clear indication that there is a high demand for quality toys. This only means these toy affiliate programs can make you serious cash.

Playing With Keywords

It's a bit of hide and seek when looking for target keywords.

I didn't stop with just that thought. As soon as I had spare time, I got into Traffic Travis and looked up "toys." This is a very broad keyword and, not surprisingly, has high competition. I tried to narrow it down to "educational toys," but no luck. Toys and its variations have mostly high competition. There are only a handful of keywords that are in the medium competition area. 

I went to KeywordBuzz to get more keyword ideas, typed in "educational toys" and checked out the results. The keywords I got from there gave me a good idea of the kind of search words my target market is using. I could target some of them, but the high competition is a bit intimidating. 

 

 

I decided to check out product keywords like "Fisher Price educational toy." This keyword brought about more encouraging results. I can definitely put this and its variations on my list. I would also be looking at the toy affiliate programs and their sales pages as well, so I'm bound to pick up more keywords to target there. 

The Toy Affiliate Programs

A mixture of the big and small in the toy industry.

You know how when you search for something on the Internet, you get more information than you really want or you get information that you didn't know was related to your keyword? 

It happened exactly like that when I was doing my research on this niche. Apparently (and so silly of me not to realize) "toys" are not just for children. There are those vintage toys and never opened boxes of action figures for adult collectors. Then, there are those toys that adults play with. Yes, that's right. Those toys and their affiliate programs came up too. I'm sure there are marketers promoting such and I thought to include them in this post as well, since they are toys. But no. This post is for children's toys. Those "special toys" will have to be in a separate post, if ever I will be allowed to write about something that risqué. 

Now that I got that lengthy explanation out of the way, let's continue with this niche. I looked at ClickBank first but they don't have the toy affiliate programs I'm looking for. They did have a few of the other toy affiliate programs, but again, that's for another post. 

So, I moved on to looking at big-name toy brands like Mattel and Little Tikes, then took it from there. 

1. Mattel

Mattel is one of the biggest toy makers in the US. They are the creators of big brands like Barbie, Matchbox and Monster High.

How much can I make?
Commission varies depending on the affiliate network but it is between 2.99% to 4% of each sale.

How do I apply?
Go to the Mattel Shop, scroll down the page and click on the “Affiliate Programs” link on the bottom. A page to sign up through LinkShare/Rakuten will pop up.

They also have a link through VigLink.

2. Lego

Another popular toy brand, Lego is enjoyed and bought by kids and kids at heart. They are now more popular than ever thanks to their movies Ninjago and Lego Batman.

How much can I make?
3% commission.

How do I apply?
Their affiliate program is through LinkShare/Rakuten. To know more, and to register, visit their Lego affiliate page.

3. Toys R Us

Toys R Us is a global retail toy store. Unlike Amazon.com, they have physical branches in the US and in some countries.

How much can I make?
3% commission. They have the shortest cookie ever at 5 hours though. This means that a visitor that clicks on your link needs to make a purchase within 5 hours of clicking your link, or else you don’t get the sale.

How do I apply?
Visit their affiliate page for more information.

4. Melissa & Doug

Melissa & Doug is another popular toy brand. They make educational but fun toys for children of all ages.

How much can I make?
12% as listed on VigLink

How do I apply?
Their affiliate program is through Linkshare/Rakuten but you can go to their affiliate page for more information.

5. Fat Brain Toys

Another creator of fun educational toys, Fat Brain Toys has a wide selection of toys for kids of all ages.

How much can I make?
Undisclosed.

How do I apply?
There is no mention of their affiliate program on their website, but you can sign up with FlexOffers for more information.

6. Firestar Toys

Firestar Toys is a UK-based online store that sells Lego minifigures and custom mini sets.

How much can I make?
10%.

How do I apply?
Firestar Toys has an affiliate page or you can go directly to Webgains.

7. Toyday

Toyday is another UK online toy sore but their focus is traditional and classic toys.

How much can I make?
10%.

How do I apply?
Check out their affiliate page for more information but you need to register through Webgains.

How to Play Up Your Site

Toy affiliate programs need some serious marketing methods.

Once you've taken your pick of the above toy affiliate programs, the next step is to form a link-building or marketing strategy of sorts. This is so that you can get started on promoting your site as soon as it is up.

These are just recommendations, of course, and you are free to try any link-building method. In fact, it's best to try your hand at all link-building and off-page SEO methods. It's all trial and error, and spending a bit of time learning each method helps you determine which works best for your site. 

Social Media Marketing

Again, it's important that your site has a strong online presence, and one of the ways to do that is to have an active social media page on sites like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. I think Pinterest would be the best social site for this niche because you can post images of toys on Pinterest under "Gift Ideas" or "Christmas Gifts" and link back to your site. You can do the same for Facebook and Twitter too. I think you can try this same method on Instagram as well. 

Forum and Blog Commenting 

This is another link-building essential. Not all niches have forums, but most likely there are blogs or sites about them, so always find out if the niche you're going into has blogs or forums you can participate in. If it does, then go ahead and join the conversation!

Forums and blogs are great ways to learn more about the niche, and to become part of the niche's community. Not only are you building links, but your site's reputation as well. Keep in mind that users are more likely to purchase from you if they "know" your site and trust it. 

You can promote your site on parenting forums and blogs where parents may be looking for specific toys and special deals. 

Reverse Engineering

This is one of those niches where competition is high. You can find out what sites your competition is building its links on and build your links there too. You can use tools like Traffic Travis and AffiloTools to find out which sites you can build links on. 

Are Toy Affiliate Programs Child's Play? 

You need to get down to some serious link building and inbound marketing before the fun starts.

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Toys are definitely in demand, particularly during the holidays, but it's not an easy niche with its high-competition keywords. The commissions aren't much as well. There's also the question of how you can review these toys. I don't think any of the affiliate programs listed above are willing to provide review copies.

Another thing to consider is that the affiliate program provided by these toy stores and toy brands may, and can, restrict you from targeting certain keywords and brands (like in Mattel's case, you can't use brands like "Barbie"). 

Then again, if this is a niche you're interested in and would want to try, then by all means. I suggest that when you do, you pick a specific sub-niche, like educational toys for toddlers or dollhouses for children 6 years old and above.

Consider the site you're going to put up as well. I think a parenting blog would work for this niche. A site where you share information about children—raising them, how to care for them, etc.—would also work. 

The commissions in this niche are some of the lowest I've come across, so you really need to make sure to get plenty of traffic on the site. This will help increase your chances of making a sale. This is a tough niche, but not so difficult that you won't earn from it. It's just going to take its sweet time. 

I hope you enjoyed this week's Niche of the Week! Please make sure to share this post on your favorite social media sites using the share buttons below. Please be sure to let me know what you think by leaving a comment! 

For in-depth lessons on choosing a niche and products, please see our AffiloBlueprint course!