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It might not seem like the most natural fit for a Blog. But writing about restaurants can be a fun and lucrative blogging niche. This expansive niche covers recipes to restaurant staffing software all the way up to high-ticket restaurant equipment and of course a general dining experience blog. Let us dive into this varied and interesting list of restaurant affiliate programs.
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Restaurant.com Affiliate Program
- Company Name: Restaurant.com
- Application: Sign Up Here
- Affiliate Network: Commission Junction
- Sales Commission: 3%-15%
- Tracking Cookie: 45-days
- Website URL: http://www.restaurant.com
- Niche: Food And Beverage
- Auto-Approval?: No
Restaurant.com seemed like the logical place to start for this list of partners. They are primarily a coupon and gift card site. They also offer a huge amount of discounts and specials for anyone who wants to dine out.
This partner is a little confusing at times. As an affiliate, you get a commission when someone buys a gift certificate or other product so it might take a little extra promoting to really explain what this site is all about.
The terms are a mixed bag from this partner. They start at 3% and can go all the way up to 15% depending on a variety of criteria. You have to double-check the items you are promoting to make sure exactly what commission you are getting for your site.
The tracking cookie for this partner program is pretty good. At 45 days it is longer than the standard cookie offered by most programs. It is plenty long enough to get a nice commission from anyone using your links.
A good site for restaurant gift cards that you can use for a variety of blogging niches. Restaurant.com is a good website for gifts for people who love dining out. Good tracking cookies and a decent commission structure make this a good place to start for any website with a food or restaurant focus.
Darden Restaurants Affiliate Program
- Company Name: Darden
- Application: Sign Up Here
- Affiliate Network: Commission Junction
- Sales Commission: 2%
- Tracking Cookie: 14-days
- Website URL: https://www.darden.com/restaurants/our-brands
- Niche: Food And Beverage
- Auto-Approval?: No
Darden owns some of the most popular casual dining restaurants in The U.S. including Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, and Cheddars Scratch Kitchen. Their affiliate program is based around the purchase of gift cards on their website.
As a result, there are not a whole lot of promotions necessary and not many products to promote. This is the type of partner program you stick in an advert somewhere on your page and let speak for itself.
The commission is a 2% commission for all your qualifying sales. Not a huge percentage. But for a secondary partner that won’t need a whole lot of promotion, it is not that bad. But it is certainly not a good one. The cookie information was not readily available so be sure to ask about it when you sign up for this partner program.
This is a pretty underwhelming partner program overall. But one that I would still suggest you pick up for your restaurant or dining or food blog. The terms are low but the popularity of many of the restaurants makes it a nice one to have on your site. It is also a pretty low-maintenance affiliate since they only offer gift cards and don’t need a whole lot of promotion.
Restaurant Engine Affiliate Program
- Company Name: Restaurant Engine
- Application: Sign Up Here
- Affiliate Network: None
- Sales Commission: $100 Per Referral
- Tracking Cookie: N/A
- Website URL: https://restaurantengine.com
- Niche: Food And Beverage/Web Design
- Auto-Approval?: No
Restaurant Engine is a website design company that is focused on making attractive and functional websites for restaurants. They offer a responsive mobile website development package with built-in support. This partner is great for a restaurant blog, but would also work great for a blog on web design for businesses. It makes the partner a pretty versatile partner to use as part of your affiliate strategy.
The commission is a flat of $100 dollars per referral. If you can generate good converting traffic then you can really make a nice bit of income from this partner program. The tracking cookie was not readily available so be sure you ask about it The referral alone makes it worth having a look at this partner for your niche blog. The product is nice and the websites and support they produce are top-notch and attractive. The narrow appeal of a partner like this might be the only drawback. But give it a shot and see if it converts for you.
TouchBistro Affiliate Program
- Company Name: TouchBistro
- Application: Sign Up Here
- Affiliate Network: ShareASale
- Sales Commission: $300 per sale / $50 Per Lead
- Tracking Cookie: 120-days
- Website URL: http://www.touchbistro.com
- Niche: Food and Beverage/Ipad Apps
- Auto-Approval?: No
This is a really interesting partner program. TouchBistro is a robust point-of-sale software system designed to make your restaurant run much smoother. It is used by many popular restaurants but it can be adapted for just about any size bistro, restaurant, or bar.
The tricky part here is just where this partner program fits into an affiliate strategy. If your niche is built around starting or running a restaurant then this would make great sense. But, let’s face it that’s not a huge blogging niche. The affiliate terms are outstanding for this partner program. They offer a flat fee of $300 dollars per sale for all your referrals.
They also offer a $50 dollar bounty for every lead that you send them. Be sure to ask about the criteria for getting credit for these leads. The tracking cookie is one of the best ones on this entire list. At 120 days the cookie gives you more than enough time to close the sale and reap the rewards. The long cookie is absolutely needed for a high-ticket product like this. The 30-day ShareASale Stats look ok, other than the reversal rate.
- The Earnings Per Click is a huge $413.02 EPC
- $102.61Average Commission is pretty nice to see
- The 9.57 % Reversal Rate % is a bit of a concern. Keep an eye on this to be sure this is not a trend.
Great terms and an outstanding product. Finding exactly what niche to promote this product is going to be the biggest challenge. I think it might fit on an app or business software blog or a blog or website built around a restaurant or coffee shop administration-type blog.
Kerekes Kitchen And Restaurant Supplies
- Company Name: BakeDeco
- Application: Sign Up Here
- Affiliate Network: ShareASale
- Sales Commission: 5%
- Tracking Cookie: 45-days
- Website URL: https://www.bakedeco.com/
- Niche: Food and Beverage
- Auto-Approval?: Yes
Kerekes Kitchen and Restaurant Supplies is an online retailer of all types of equipment for anyone in the restaurant business or for more professional equipment for a personal kitchen. The store is called Bake Deco and focuses on pastries and baking equipment for homes and businesses.
The commission is only the standard 5%. Not the best percentage but the average sale more than makes up for it. The cookie is better than average 45 days.
The 30-day ShareASale Stats look pretty decent for Kerek’s Kitchen.
- The $36.67 average commission is wonderful
- A robust 321.03 Average Sale is great to see and makes this a pretty high-ticket item.
- The 0% Reversal Rate is always great to see from any program
Straddles the line between a business affiliate and a personal one. The baking supplies are industrial grade and very well made. The affiliate terms are decent but not spectacular. A good partner to have for anyone in the restaurant, baking or general cooking niches.
Katom Restaurant Supply Affiliate Program
- Company Name: Katom Restaurant Supply
- Application: Sign Up Here
- Affiliate Network: ShareASale
- Sales Commission: 4%
- Tracking Cookie: 15-days
- Website URL: https://www.katom.com/
- Niche: Food And Beverage
- Auto-Approval?: No
As the name suggests Katom Restaurant Supply has everything you need to open your own eatery short of the building itself. All industrial-grade cooking and cleaning equipment are available to purchase.
Add to that the great selection of restaurant furniture and consumables and flatware and you have a one-stop-shop for your audience to start their own restaurant. The bad news is the affiliate terms. The terms for Katom are less than ideal. The commission is a pretty low 4% and the cookie is about half the standard at 15 days. It is all a little disappointing.
Let’s have a look at the 30-day statistics from their ShareASale Profile
- Earnings per click of $96.99 EPC is exceptional
- The 573.91 Average Sales is a huge number
- The $21.50 Average commission is what you would expect but still, a little disappointing considering the cost of many of the items.
- The 8.89% reversal rate is something to keep your eyes on.
The below-average affiliate terms put a bit of a damper on what would otherwise be a great partner program. The low commission is understandable given the overhead of much of the restaurant equipment that they sell. But the low cookie duration is just not good enough.
However, if it converts with your audience then the commission is secondary. Find partners that sell first and worry about maximizing profits later. Traffic conversions are always the most important thing in an affiliate business.
7Shifts Affiliate Program
- Company Name: 7Shifts
- Application: Sign Up Here
- Affiliate Network: ShareASale
- Sales Commission: $50 Per Sale/ $5 Per Lead
- Tracking Cookie: 120-days
- Website URL: https://www.7shifts.com/
- Niche: Food and Beverage
- Auto-Approval?: No
Another interesting partner program for restaurant management. The appeal of this product might be a little bit limited for the general public but if your audience is made up of restaurant professionals this might be a great program to have at your disposal.
Basically, 7 Shifts is a restaurant scheduling software suite used by some pretty big companies including Panera. It gives the business owner a great platform to schedule their employee’s hours quickly and conveniently leaving them more time to concentrate on other aspects of their business.
The terms for this partner are very good, and the need to be with such a narrow appeal. They offer a flat fee of $dollars per sale plus a $5 dollar referral fee. The cookie is great at 120 days.
360Training Affiliate Program
- Company Name: 360Training
- Application: Sign Up Here
- Affiliate Network: ShareASale
- Sales Commission: 15%
- Tracking Cookie: 60-days
- Website URL: https://www.360training.com/
- Niche: Food and Beverage/Online Learning
- Auto-Approval?: No
360 Training is another outside-the-box partner for anyone in the restaurant niche. They offer a wide variety of training courses and tutorials on a huge range of topics and disciplines. Including many for the restaurant industry like certification for serving alcohol and food safety manager certifications.
As I said this one is outside the box. You’ll have to really be creative with its promotion but you will find that there is a need for this type of training and certification. Plus the prices are reasonable so you can promote to a wide range of income levels and audience members.
The affiliate terms for this program are outstanding. They offer a full 60-day tracking cookie which is double the standard duration. Their commission also stands out.
The 15% commission offered up by 360Training makes it really easy to promote their products with the knowledge that your hard work will pay off.
The 30-day ShareASale stats look pretty nice.
- The $63.47 average sale is pretty good.
- A $9.70 average commission is decent
- The Earnings Per Click is $97.52 EPC
- The 0% Reversal Rate is ideal for any partner program
The variety of their training programs is the first thing you will notice when you start promoting their products. Add in the great commission and tracking cookie and it is easy to see why you will want to make every effort to promote their brand. Good products + good commission + a good cookie is exactly what you want in any affiliate program.
Recipe Secrets Affiliate Program
- Company Name: Recipe Secrets
- Application: Sign Up Here
- Affiliate Network: ClickBank
- Sales Commission: 75% Per Sale
- Tracking Cookie: 30-days
- Website URL: http://www.recipesecrets.net/
- Niche: Recipes/Restaurant
- Auto-Approval?: Yes
An all-digital product that focuses on recipes from your favorite restaurants. This is the first of 2 on this list. These are inexpensive, easy-to-promote little e-books that don’t require a whole lot of attention or content to make a few bucks off of. The affiliate terms are really the centerpiece of this partner program.
Speaking of those partner programs… The commission is outstanding at 75%. This is what you can expect from ebooks and other all digital products. Since there are no inventory or shipping costs you will find commissions for these types of products to be quite lucrative. The cookie is 30 days through ShareASale. But you can also sign up through ClickBank.
This is one of your more straightforward affiliate programs to promote. You don’t really need to build big campaigns around it, a couple of articles should do. The product is decent and the commission is outstanding. A fun partner to put on your sidebar every now and then.
5 Star Recipes Affiliate Program
- Company Name: 5-Star Recipes
- Application: Sign Up Here
- Affiliate Network: ClickBank
- Sales Commission: 50%
- Tracking Cookie: N/A
- Website URL: http://www.5starrecipes.com
- Niche: Recipes/Restaurant
- Auto-Approval?: Yes
This is another program that features a compilation e-book of some of the most popular recipes from popular restaurants. This is always something that is in high demand because everyone wants to know what is in this sauce or how that guacamole is made.
You are going to be pleasantly surprised by how popular this little partner can be. You are going to like the bonuses it offers as well, don’t forget to promote them as well.
The cookie duration was not available at the time of publication so be sure to ask about it when you sign up for the partner program. Being an all-digital product, you would expect the commission to be pretty high and 5 Star Recipes does not disappoint. They offer a full 50% commission for all qualifying sales referred through your affiliate links.
A fun little partner program that you can use for a variety of websites. A restaurant blog, fine dining blog, or even a recipe blog would suit this partner extremely well. The commission is great. Only a single product ebook to promote so not a lot of content is to be had by it.
Closing Up Shop
As we close up shop for this list of affiliate programs for your restaurant-based blogs we find a wide range of not only programs but potential niches in these programs that could be deployed in. It is one of the more interesting lists that I have done here.
One thing I have learned in my years in this business is that anything can work as a blogging niche. So it would not be a surprise if there were quite a few people out there making a nice living writing about how to start and run your own restaurant business.
So if that is your passion and you think you would enjoy writing about restaurants or fine dining or starting your own food business then I hope some of these partner programs will be of some use to you.
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Good luck and thanks for taking the time to stop by.