If I had a dollar for every time my friends or readers ask me about where I bought a certain item, I’d probably be rich by now. And because I do most of my shopping online these days, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had to open my Shopee app to copy the product listing URL to reply my friends each time they ask.
But hey, at least now there’s a way I can get compensated for my time and effort!
Share and Get Cash
In the past, affiliate marketing was usually reserved for websites and high-profile content creators with a large following. By embedding unique links that track sales, the affiliate gets paid a commission when their audience clicks on their link and makes a purchase.
But today, even everyday individuals can now become an affiliate marketer, thanks to the
Shopee Affiliate Program (SAP). This has since grown to be the top affiliate marketing program in Singapore with the highest rewards offered.
Base commissions start from 2.5% and some merchants even offer up to 40% if you promote and sell their product.
How much can you really earn as a Shopee Affiliate?
You get paid for every purchase that is made through your affiliate link, so the sky is the limit. If you’re great at getting your friends and people around you to buy what you recommend, you can expect to earn much more.
Personally, I made $500 in May from simply sharing a few links with my friends and followers. Here’s a few examples:
- I was chatting on WhatsApp with a friend of mine when he asked if I knew of any good mooncakes for him to send to his clients. I immediately sent him my Shopee affiliate link for durian snowskin mooncakes and made an easy few dollars (25% commissions) from his purchase.
- Another friend of mine asked me at an event what camera I use to film my videos, so I sent him my Shopee affiliate link to where I bought my DJI from. The seller was offering 5% commission, so I earned $46 just for that one order! In the past (before I knew about SAP), I would have simply sent them my Shopee (normal) link anyway, so it is nice that I at least get something for my efforts now!
- I was raving about Oatbedient’s matcha drink lately and was replying to several reader DMs asking me where I purchased it from. Later, I simply posted my affiliate Shopee link on my IGS each time I made my drink.
Affiliate marketing works based on the attractiveness of the offer. Of course, if you don’t put in effort to send relevant offers but instead, you’re simply spamming your friends and followers with links to items that they don’t need or want, then what are the odds that they will make a purchase?
We get enough of spam already as it is. Please send your friends thoughtful messages with links to items that they will really find useful, that way, they'll be more likely to purchase and you'll be earning more too. And rightfully so!
The amount you make as a Shopee Affiliate will depend on the following factors:
- How many people purchased through your link, or how many orders were made
- Price of products purchased – the more expensive the product, the more commission you’ll earn. If someone buys a large electrical appliance through your link, you could easily earn S$50 in commission, but if someone simply buys cute $1 stickers, you’ll likely only earn a few cents.
- The commission percentage – this differs by product, and those tagged with a Commissions XTRA label give a higher percentage of uncapped commission. You can also look out for campaign periods where the commission percentage is higher for a limited time, such as during Shopee’s double digit sale dates, or their Super Shiok Sale which happens on the 25th of every month!
You don’t need to have a strong social media following to be a Shopee Affiliate.
Here’s the best part: you don’t need to have a sizeable following to get started and earn!
In fact, I know of friends with a smaller following who have been able to earn more than other KOLs with 80k – 120k followers. If you think my $500 was impressive, wait till you meet my friend who earned $700+ in a single month.
| KOL 1 | Me | My friend |
| 80k followers | 18k followers | 3k followers |
| Earns $400 / month | Earned $500 last month | Earned $700 |
Still think affiliate marketing is only for influencers? That’s your own limiting beliefs holding you back! Instead, consider HOW you can ADD VALUE to your friends and colleagues so that you can get them to purchase with your links.
Stuck? By simply spending 15 minutes a day on the train finding good deals and sending personalized WhatsApp messages to her friends and colleagues, my friend was able to earn a consistent income as a Shopee Affiliate that puts the rest of us to shame.
You can do the same. Start thinking about what the people around you need or wish to buy, and then send them your relevant affiliate links so that they’re more likely to purchase. Don’t forget to recommend WHY they should make a purchase (whether based on your personal experience using the product or because the item is on Flash Deal) so you can secure your commission.
I’ve also seen people post their Shopee Affiliate links on chat groups, online communities and other sites like Lemon8 or XiaoHongShu. There’s no limit on where or how often you can post!
How to get started as a Shopee Affiliate
It’s free to join, and all you need is a Singapore phone number and bank account to get started.
As long as you have a Shopee account, you can simply sign up via this link to register as an affiliate.
Plus, just for my beloved readers, if you sign up using my referral link in September 2024, you can get a $5 no minimum spend Shopee voucher!
Once that’s done, every link you share from a product listing will automatically be an affiliate link that allows you to earn commission!
The sign-up process is quick and straightforward:
- Link the platforms where you’ll be sharing your affiliate links on. This could be your social media account that you actively use, or if you mainly share your links via online messaging platforms like WhatsApp or Telegram, you can add them in the ‘Others’ section.
- Next, add your SG mobile number and email address, and get your email verification code.
Ensure that the referral code input in the link is 5VK989H – as new affiliates that sign up with my referral code in September 2024 are entitled to a $5 Shopee voucher sign-up bonus!
As soon as someone clicks on your links and makes a valid order, you’ll get a commission. Shopee will also automatically pay you your commissions on a weekly basis – make sure you’ve input your bank account details so they know where to credit it!
You can easily track this via the app. Click on ‘Me’ from the bottom bar, and then ‘Share and Get Cash’.
I recently helped a reader with 700 IG followers get started as a Shopee Affiliate, and she excitedly showed me how she simply shared 2 affiliate links to her friends, earned cash commission AND an additional $10 no minimum spend Shopee voucher.
She’s not the only one. Check out 2 more readers of mine who recently shared their success with me after I taught them how:
As you can see, there’s nothing stopping YOU from earning as an affiliate marketer AND get bonus voucher rewards from Shopee once you’ve hit your first 5 valid affiliate orders! All new affiliates are automatically enrolled in their Welcome Reward journey and can get up to $15 no minimum spend Shopee vouchers on the first 5 valid affiliate orders. Talk about Shopee being generous!
Still not convinced? Here’s another earnings proof – this time from a reader of mine who posted on her Instagram account with less than 150 followers:
And here’s another reader (with less than 80 followers) who made close to $20 on just a single order alone:
Still think only KOLs can do affiliate marketing?
Think again.
If you’ll like to kickstart your OWN affiliate marketing journey for some easy side income money, you can find more information here.
Click here to get a S$5 Shopee voucher (no min spend) when you sign up as a Shopee Affiliate using my affiliate link in September 2024!
Disclosure: This post was written in partnership with Shopee. I’ve been earning as a Shopee Affiliate for several months now, so when Shopee asked me to share my story to get more people on board, I agreed - hence this post!
