Gardening Affiliate Programs: Like Growing Money On Trees?

Growing money on trees. What a wonderful, magical idea. It's not possible in a literal sense, and even figuratively, the idiom is "Money doesn’t grow on trees." But I think gardeners and farmers will be quick to disagree.

Money can come from trees. If you’re smart and hardworking enough to put the effort into planting and growing them.

And so this week, I point the spotlight for the first time ever, on the gardening niche. Can gardening be more than a hobby? Can knowledge of horticulture help you earn extra money?

Websites like YouGrowGirl.com and Chiotsrun.com, both popular sites on gardening, seem to prove that gardening is more than just a hobby. It’s part of daily life that you can definitely make a living from.

So let’s dig deeper, and see if the gardening niche is worth getting our hands dirty.

Gardening as an Industry

Horticulture has grown from the science of cultivating plants into a multibillion-dollar industry

I didn’t really think of gardening as an industry until I did some research for this post. Farming did cross my mind, but farming is not gardening. Farming is growing crops (usually corn, wheat and other edible plants) on a large field for consumption. Gardening is planting herbs and flowers in a yard, usually as a form of relaxation or art.

The statistics on GardenResearch.com prove that gardening is more than just a pastime, though. It seems people spend both time and big money on their lawns and gardens. Americans spent about $36 billion USD on their lawns and gardens in 2015. That breaks down to about $400 per household on average, for the year.

Google Trends indicate a consistent market interest in gardening, with major markets in Australia and the UK, as well as the US. It’s good to note that interest in this niche drops in December (when it's winter in the northern hemisphere) and peaks during the spring and summer.

Keyword “Garden”

There’s plenty of keywords in the gardening niche. But you won’t be picking them off trees. You need to get in there and dig them out.

Before you start picking keywords at random, it's a good idea to do some niche research. Get to know the gardening niche and see what others are talking about. That will clue you into what keywords could be most profitable target. 

In the gardening niche, for example, you can find keywords from popular gardening websites, and on sales pages for gardening products. The most common keywords I came across are “garden,” “gardening,” “perennials,” “lawn,” “lawn improvement,” and “garden tools,” for starters.

AffiloTools came back with a long list, but the keywords worth going for are highly competitive, such as “garden tools,” “gardening gifts,” and “perennial plants." It’s great that more than 50% of the keywords in the search results have high monthly search values. The downside is they are mostly competitive.

Good thing there’s the “Related Keywords” tab in AffiloTools. There’s plenty of how-to keywords you can use on your gardening website. The monthly search values aren’t that high, but the competition is way low.

It’s best to have a combination of both high-competition and low-competition keywords on your list. At most, you’d need only 20 to start your website, with so don’t let difficult keywords stop you. Also check out Ubersuggest and KeywordSpy for additional keyword suggestions.

Garden Affiliate Programs

As always, I checked out the ClickBank Marketplace before searching online for gardening affiliate programs. The site does have a couple of gardening affiliate programs, and they are the first on the list below. However, being first on the list don’t make them the best. These ClickBank digital products on gardening are good quality, but the commissions aren’t as high as others I've seen.

There are plenty more affiliate programs on gardening online, but I've handpicked a few that are good quality and offer respectable commissions. And of course, there's always Amazon.com, which has its Amazon Associates affiliate program that you could incorporate into your site.

1. TheShoestringGardener.com

About The Shoestring Gardener
The Shoestring Gardener is a gardening eBook packed with budget-friendly gardening tips.

How much can I make?
50%, or around $4.55 USD for each sale.

How do I apply?
The site has an Affiliates Page, or you can go directly to ClickBank.

2. Garden-Rack.com

About Garden-Rack.com
Garden-rack.com offers another eBook with gardening tips, but this time, with a focus on teaching you how to build garden racks. This is a great option for people who love to garden but have back problems.

How much can I make?
Also 50%, but average sale is higher, at $13.35 USD.

How do I apply?
Again, the site has an Affiliates Page as well as a ClickBank program.

3. MyPocketGarden.com

About MyPocketGarden.com
“Stretch, bend and reap the harvest!” That is MyPocketGarden.com’s tagline. It sounds dubious, but it makes sense in a way. Gardening brings you outdoors, and all that digging and moving around still counts for physical activity.

Like the first two ClickBank products in this list though, this is a gardening eBook.

How much can I make?
75% per sale, which is about $3.66 USD.

How do I apply?
This program is available through ClickBank only.

4. FamilySurvivalGarden.com

About FamilySurvivalGarden.com
This is a product that you could even feature in a Survival-related niche website. FamilySurvivalGarden.com shows you how to survive food shortage by planting and growing the right food plants.

How much can I make?
75% of each sale. Roughly $4 USD.

How do I apply?
This is available through ClickBank only.

5. Gardeners.com

About Gardener’s Supply Company
The Gardener’s Supply Company is a large online shopping site for everything gardening. The company started back in 1983 and has since grown to be one of the top gardening supply stores online.

How much can I make?
Affiliates earn 8% per sale. The prices on their website range from a few dollars to a couple of hundred dollars, so the commission you earn for this affiliate program may end up being more than the other ones on this list.

How do I apply?
The site has an Affiliates Page, or you can go to LinkShare.

6. BloomingBulb

About BloomingBulb
BloomingBulb, as the name suggests, sells various flower bulbs and perennial plants. The company has been around since 1991 and ships internationally from its fulfillment center in the US.

How much can I make?
As an affiliate, you get 15% for each sale. This may not be as big a commission as you might think, as prices on the website range from a few dollars to $20 or $30 USD at most. Still, gardeners may buy more than just one plant so this can still get a fairly decent payout, especially if you have a lot of high-converting traffic. 

How do I apply?
The affiliate program is managed through VigLink.

7. Crocus

About Crocus
Crocus is an online store similar to Gardeners.com. It is based in the UK and offers flowering bulbs and other plants along with gardening tools and accessories.

How much can I make?
Affiliates earn 15% per sale, like with Gardeners.com. The prices range from a few pounds (the site uses UK currency, not US) to a hundred or more depending on what is purchased, so you could earn good commissions through the program.

How do I apply?
The site has an Affiliates Page. You need to be a Tradedoubler affiliate to join the program.

8. SeedsNow.com

About SeedsNow.com
The tagline on SeedsNow.com’s About page says it all: “Grow your own food. Support Local. Eat healthy. Be happy.”

The site provides you with all the plant seeds you need to grow your own herb or vegetable garden.

How much can I make?
20% for every purchase. This may not amount to a lot, as prices range from a dollar to about $20 USD for every pack of seeds.

How do I apply?
Sign up for the affiliate program through the form on the site's Affiliates Page. The affiliate program is managed by Refersion.

Inviting Bees: Getting Traffic to Your Gardening Website

You need to have a good strategy on hand to draw the people to your website

As soon as your website is up, the next step is getting traffic. This is where most new marketers get stumped, and with good reason: There are plenty of methods to generate traffic, both paid and free, and no one method is proven to work better than others. Success depends on a variety of factors. 

You can and should consider trying different inbound marketing methods. Not all of them will apply to your website though so you need to decide for yourself which ones to attempt first. Making up your mind can take considerable time (and oftentimes people get stuck in “analysis paralysis”!) so drawing up a strategy in the early stages of niche research and site building helps to avoid wasting time in deciding which course of action to take.

Some tactics you can apply in your link-building and marketing strategies include:

Amazon Kindle eBooks

You, or someone you hire, can write an eBook on gardening like these ones on Amazon Kindle, place links to related pages on your website within the eBook, then upload it to Amazon. When people download the eBook, they are referred to your website.

It’s straightforward enough, but this method requires a bit more time and effort than most inbound marketing methods. It also requires considerable financial investment if you’re not keen on writing your own content. Still, it’s traffic you don’t need to rely on Google for, so it can be worth the effort.

Be sure to familiarize yourself with Amazon.com's rules on publishing eBooks so you know what is and isn't allowed on the Kindle marketplace.

Infographics

This link-building method is similar to getting an eBook up on Amazon Kindle. Like the eBook, you can have someone create the infographic for you for a fee, or you can save money by creating your own using graphics websites like Canva.com. Either way, you end up with content you can share on your own website and on social media (including Facebook and Pinterest).

The only catch is there’s plenty of gardening infographics available, like these. Have a look around at what’s already available, and see if there is any new way you can present the information or a topic that hasn't been covered that might be of interest. However you decide to do it, make sure the result is something people would consider helpful or entertaining enough to share.

You can check out FastCodeDesign.com's simple tutorial on how you can create your own infographic.

Blog and Forum Commenting

This is one of those “staple” methods: a link-building tactic that you should always incorporate into your strategy, and one that applies to any website in any niche.

In addition to websites, you'll find there are many forums on gardening, such as HelpfulGardener.com and Gardening-Forums.com. Engage your target market by responding to inquiries on these forums. Join the discussion, and get to know the people in this niche by involving yourself in the community.

A word of caution: Blog and forum commenting take time. You won’t be able to build your online presence right away, but once you’ve done so and have gained your market’s trust, you’ll see a steady stream of traffic from these blogs and forums. It’s a win-win.

This article from the SocialMediaExaminer.com on to power of forums and how to engage in them offers a few tips you can use.

Gardening Affiliate Programs: Can You Really Grow Money From Trees?

Like with any tree, there are seasons to the gardening niche. Be ready for dry spells.

50% Commission	50% Comission	75% Commission	75% Comission	8% Commission	15% Comission	15% Commission	20% Comission
Signup	Signup	Signup	Signup	Signup	Signup	Signup	Signup

This is a question we answer for every niche we look into: Can you really make money out of it? The answer is always a “Yes,” but it’s never with the same degree of confidence. Some niches are easy to go into, while others are not. In the case of the gardening niche, the answer is a strong “Yes!”.

Yes, you can plant your gardening website, grow it and make money off it like a metaphorical tree.

But like in any gardening endeavor, you need to take the time to raise it. Weed out which link-building methods don’t work. Nurture your users with good content. Plenty of people are interested in the topic. 

Keep in mind, though, that the commissions in this niche aren’t all that big. They have the potential to add up, but this is a seasonal kind of niche where there is a boom during certain times of the year, and a drought during the rest of it. Even if the interest is there, people don't buy consistently. 

If you are a fascinated with this niche, or already into gardening, then go and build that gardening website. You’ll have fun growing your own gardening website, and reaping the eventual fruits of your labor.

And with at that, I conclude this week's Niche of the Week. Do you like gardening, and is this a niche you'd go into? Did you like this week's feature? Any niches you want us to look into? Leave a comment and let us know! Don't be shy! ;)

Running out of marketing ideas to promote your website? AffiloBlueprint has got it covered!