Cannbidiol (CBD) is still trending. It seems everyday there are new products and remedies using CBD.
CBD is a natural product that appeals to many consumers and is used in many, many ways.
There are many new customers on-boarding daily as CBD trends quickly upward … CBD is hot.
The CBD industry is forecast to reach $20+ billion by 2022 — it is here to stay.
As an affiliate you can earn well but it is competitive.
Most people know of CBD as an oil. It is important to note though, that CBD is delivered in many ways. It can be purchased as an oil, in food, in skincare & beauty products … even in pet products.
It is a huge market and in its high growth phase. It however still a controversial market. You will notice that many of the sites require you to acknowledge that you are over 18. The medical benefits are largely unproven but anecdotally strong.
The CBD affiliate programs pay very well, the CBD industry is hot — this has attracted the bigger affiliate players with writing teams and SEO budgets for backlinks.
Go to our affiliate programs page for more program reviews.
How to Market CBD Products
CBD is a market that you want to be extra careful with disclosures and compliance. These are generally not FDA approved products and they effect peoples lives and wellness. This means that Google will be looking at you from a Your Money Your Life (YMYL) aspect if not careful. So don’t make claims of healing anything or other specific medical benefits. Do consider adding an extra disclaimer. Something like …
Disclaimer: This post is for information purposes only. It does not offer medical advice and we are not medical experts. Consult your physician regarding cannabis, CBD and related products before buying or using them.
You will likely want to focus on a sub-niche and grow into a broader authority site. Some niches to consider are ..
- CBD for specific ailments — Pain management, insomnia, anxiety etc.
- CBD for animals — You could even go narrower. Horses for instance. There are a few vendors with equine-specific products. Having had a couple of horses in the past I can tell you horse people are crazy — in a good way. But they will skip dinner to help there horse out.
- CBD for skincare — beauty and fashion bloggers are a natural fit for the many CDB makeup products.
The key is to know your audience, find products that help THEM. These products pay enough that having landing pages, great content, sales funnels, email marketing to feed the funnel — these are all worthwhile tasks.
It is best to focus deeply on a few products at a time. This is not like Amazon affiliate marketing where you just want to get even cold traffic to Amazon. With these products you are doing the warming and selling. Once you send the visitor to the CBD company they need to already be committed to purchase.
CBD is a rapidly changing market and many company’s change their affiliate partners quickly. Always keep an eye on your CBD vendors and make sure that your links are current. It is best to use Pretty Links or a similar tool to centralize your links. That way if a program changes you can edit the link in one place and have it be correct in all of your content.
CBD SEO & Keywords
When you start to look at ranking CBD content you will see right away that it is very competitive …
If you look at the top keywords you will see that they have quite a bit of search volume and are highly competitive. Though just one metric, any keyword with a search difficulty above 40 is going to be unlikely to rank in the first two pages with a newer site.
CBD Related Keywords
Keyword |
Search Volume |
CPC |
Search Difficulty |
cbd |
550000 |
$1.48 |
66 |
cbdistillery |
49500 |
$0.72 |
55 |
cbd benefits |
40500 |
$2.55 |
32 |
cbdmd |
40500 |
$0.88 |
44 |
cbd pills |
14800 |
$1.49 |
53 |
cbd vs hemp oil |
12100 |
$3.73 |
22 |
cbd medic |
8100 |
$0.99 |
42 |
cbd biocare |
5400 |
$1.91 |
23 |
cbdc |
1600 |
$2.14 |
32 |
cbd withdrawal |
1000 |
$0.24 |
19 |
cbd and drug tests |
1000 |
$3.57 |
6 |
cbd massage oil |
480 |
$1.14 |
43 |
cbd wellness |
480 |
$0.49 |
25 |
cbd muscle rub |
390 |
$0.32 |
38 |
can cbd lower blood pressure |
260 |
$0.27 |
8 |
cbd with terpenes |
170 |
$0.73 |
20 |
cbd and caffeine |
110 |
$0 |
14 |
cbd melatonin |
90 |
$0.53 |
23 |
cbd and zoloft |
90 |
$1.07 |
15 |
cbd ice cream |
90 |
$1.81 |
19 |
The good news is that even though it is competitive there are many sub-niches for you to consider. We have broken down the industry to help you address these sub-niches …
- Health Products — These are products that are designed to help with pain relief, anxiety, anti-inflammatory aids and more.
- Beauty Products — CBD beauty products can be found everywhere, even national chains like Sephora have CBD products.
- Pets — Yes, there are many CBD products for pets.
Let’s first take a look at the major players in the general CBD market.
CBD Products for Health & Wellness
This is the dominant CBD category. When people think of CBD they are often seeking a natural product to help with an ailment. There is a lot of medical and nutritional information available about the benefits of CBD for specific conditions or symptoms. CBD has been recommended for …
- Depression and Anxiety
- Drug Addiction Treatment
- Pain Reduction
- Diabetes Treatment
- Blood Pressure Reduction
- Insomnia
- Acne
- more …
To compete in these niches you will need a lot of content, backlinks and authority. It would be best to start with a sub-niche like CBD for pain or CBD for diabetics, etc.
There are a few types of merchants you will find affiliate programs for in this space. Among these are manufacturers of specific products and large resellers and distributers with multi-product line offerings.
Charlotte’s Web
Commission Rate: 15%
Commission Rate:Cookie Length: 30 days
Affiliate Info: Charlotte’s Web Affiliate Program
Charlotte’s Web is a pioneer in the CBD market. The back-story is that a group of seven brothers developed a strain of hemp the called Charlotte’s Web. It was very low in THC but very high in CBD. It was first used to treat people with Dravet Syndrome and helped greatly with symptoms of this rare form of epilepsy. The story of their success was widely covered in the media and was one of the early CBD medical success stories. It also helped top launch their hugely successful company. Now Charlotte’s Web creates many products from their original hemp strain including …
- CBD tinctures
- CBD Oils
- Gummies
- Pet Products
- more …
CBDistillery
Commission Rate: 10%
Commission Rate:Cookie Length: 90 days
Affiliate Info: CBDistillery Affiliate Page
CBD distillery is an interesting Colorado company on a mission to promote high quality CBD products in an honest and FDA approved manner …
They spend a lot of time and effort to educate their customers about CBD including a very complete CBD user guide and even a podcast. They have a wide range of products including …
- CBD Oils
- CBD Gummies
- CBD Topicals
- CBD Powders
The affiliate program is run by Impact radius. They have a $90 AOV an average CR of 16% and have paid out over $2 million in commissions. They are particularly looking for leading edge new technology partners like those promoting via Twitch and TicTok.
PuraHemp
Commission Rate: 30%
Commission Rate:Cookie Length: 60 days
Affiliate Info: PuraHemp Pure Affiliate
PuraHemp mission is to provide pharmaceutical grade CBD and other cannabis compounds to improve patient’s wellbeing..
They claim to be the only brand that controls 100% of their products supply chain. They track the product from growers to labs. Unlike companies that simply sell other people’s products, Purahemp works closely with Physicians to create safe natural solutions. They are a formulator of many products.
Highlights of their affiliate program include …
- 30% Commissions
- 60-day cookie
- Special Coupons for 10% for your visitors
Anavii
Commission Rate: 10+%
Commission Rate:Cookie Length: 30 days
Affiliate Info: Anavii Affiliate Page
Anavii’s is a marketplace of CBD products. Their angle is that they claim to be the only organization selling CBD brands based on rigid quality control.
They have a rigid vetting process to find the highest quality products. After reviewing and passing an initial selection process all products are sent to a third-party lab for analysis.
These high-standards can be leveraged in your affiliate marketing pages and it also gives you the assurance that you are only recommending the highest quality products.
Anavii has a strong track record in the CBD industry. Their founders, Jason Amatucci & Annie Rouse leaders in the CBD industry and have been active lobbyists on the national scene.
The commission rate starts at 10% and they have a 30-day cookie. They run an in-house program using Affiliately as their backend.
Avid Hemp
Commission Rate: 30%
Commission Rate:Cookie Length: 90 days
Affiliate Info: Avid Hemp at ShareASale
Avid Hemp is a CBD manufacturer. They are dedicated to sourcing the highest quality CBD directly from Colorado and Florid hemp growers. The have a long history and strong ties to the hemp farming community.
Their products include …
- CBD Vape Juice
- Pet CBD Products
- CBD Flower
- Gummies
- CBD Keto Oil
- more …
Receptra
Commission Rate: 20%
Commission Rate:Cookie Length: 60 days
Affiliate Info: Receptra at Pepperjam
Receptra’s spin on CBD is a focus on fitness applications. They are a great fit for any blogger in the exercise, fitness, yoga etc. niches.
Receptra places an emphasis on transparency and truthful promotion of CBD and its benefits …
Receptra is built on a desire to deliver truth – CBD products that really work, products that are all-natural, plant-based, include organic ingredients, and a focus on quality and transparency.
Pepperjam is used to run the affiliate program. They payout 20% of the sale and have a 60 day cookie.
SabaiDee
Commission Rate: 30%
Commission Rate:Cookie Length: 30 days
Affiliate Info: SabaiDee Affiliate Program
SabaiDee is another Colorado sourced CBD vendor. Colorado definitely seems to be the center of the US CBD industry. That can be an interesting angle for affiliate marketers. They place an emphasis on quality and have both in-house and third-party testing performed on all of their products. They make the tests and the testing methodology freely available.
SabaiDee has a strong community and environmental corporate philosophy. For each purchase they fund a tree being planted. For first responders and veterans they offer a 30% discount. It is unclear if these purchases are also affiliate commission eligible. We have contacted them and will update this post with their response.
SabaiDee runs their affiliate program at Refersion and has a very generous 30% commission rate and a 30-day cookie.
Straight Hemp
Commission Rate: 15%
Commission Rate:Cookie Length: 45 days
Affiliate Info: Straight Hemp Affiliate Page
Straight Hemp is a complete product life-cycle hemp/CBD company based in … you guessed it, Colorado. They control the complete product; the selection of the best genetics for their hemp plants, pristine growing conditions in Colorado farms, and a proprietary extraction process. The focus is on consistent, high-quality products.
They are also one of the few companies that seem to understand affiliates and their needs. The program hits all of the touch-points that affiliates look for …
- Great products and customer service
- 15% starting commission
- Tiered plan for higher volume affiliates
- 45 day cookie
- No charge-backs for returns
- High AOV ($125) and strong conversion rate
ShareASale is used for managing the affiliate network, but Straight Hemp has a strong in-house affiliate team. If you have a large audience that will convert well, or a new content marketing effort, I’d contact them directly and try to setup a custom campaign and cooperative promotion.
SPECKTRA
Commission Rate: 30%
Commission Rate:Cookie Length: 30 days
Affiliate Info: Spektra Affiliate Page
Spektra focuses on creating CBD products for specific health benefits. These are typically full-spectrum formulas. The products specifically target ..
- Pain Relief
- Insomnia
- Anxiety relief and relaxation
Additional CBD Affiliate Programs
There are many other CBD companies with affiliate programs. They all try to have a certain “hook” to differentiate themselves for their competition. It always best if you can align the vendors messaging with your audiences needs and preferences …
- Leef — “Farm to Lifestyle CBD products.” Affiliate program at ShareASale, 20% commission, 60 day cookie
- FOCL — “… effective plant-powered wellness products to support your peak performance.” Affiliate page at FOCL , 40% commission, 45 day cookie
- NuLeaf Naturals — “.. over 20,000 highly rated customer reviews, NuLeaf Naturals is committed to creating safe, consistent, and effective products.” Affiliate page at NuLeaf, 20% commission, 30 day cookie.
- Calm by wellness — “Help people feel calm in everyday life.” Affiliate program at ShareASale , 15% commission, 30 day cookie
- cbdMD — “… produce the industry’s absolute highest-quality CBD while using state-of-the-art production and manufacturing techniques.” Affiliate page at cbdMD , 20% commission, 30 day cookie.
CBD Skin and Beauty Products
Well of course there are CBD beauty products. These range from skin care to bath products and include …
- Lip balms
- Anti creams
- Moisturizers
- Bath bombs
- Facial Masks
- Shampoos
- more …
Cannuka
Cannuka makes a complete line of CBD based skin care products. These include …
- Eye balm
- Lip Balm
- Soaps
- Moisturizers
- more …
Vertly CBD Infused Lip Butter
CBD-based lip-balm containing kokum butter to help heal chapped lips. There is a colorless and tinted rose option. The colorless is peppermint flavored.
CBD Products for Pets
Who would have predicted that CBD for pets would be a big market. Since CBD is such a hot market something like the pet market is a possibility to niche down to You may even want to start with a narrower focus such as CBD for dogs. CBD products for pets include …
- CBD Oils
- Calming oils
- Hip & Joint Oils
- Hard Chews
- Soft Chews
- Cat Chews
- more …
Canna-Pet
Commission Rate: 10% – 20%
Commission Rate:Cookie Length: 24 hours
Affiliate Info: Canna-Pet at ShareASale
Canna-Pet claims to have the only legal hemp derived nutrition products for pets. They are recommended by a number of veterinarians. They make products for dogs, cats and horses. The product offering includes …
- Capsules
- Liquids
- Chews & Biscuits
The affiliate program is run by ShareASale. It has a few unusual items you should be aware of including: 20% commission on initial sales but only 10% on repeat business and a short 24 hour cookie. A good note is that they pay a $10 bonus on orders over $85 from new customers.
Honest Paws
Commission Rate: 25%
Commission Rate:Cookie Length: 30 days
Affiliate Info: Honest Paws Affiliate Page
Honest Paws makes hemp derived CBD products for dogs and cats. This includes oils, chews and bites. The products focus on helping pets with; calmness, mobility, pain relief and wellness.
Affiliate Program Features
- Custom coupons and offers
- Free shipping for your customers
- 25% Commissions
- 30-day cookie
Lola Hemp
Commission Rate: 20%
Commission Rate:Cookie Length: 30 days
Affiliate Info: Lola Hemp Affiliate Page
Lola Hemp makes products for dogs and cats. The products include chews, tinctures and topical balms. They have a very interesting back-story that may help in your promotions …
The affiliate program is run by Refersion and pays 20% with a 30 day cookie. There is a minimum $100 payment threshold.
Additional Pet CBD Affiliate Programs
There are many other pet focused CBD companies with affiliate programs, among them …
- Hemp My Pet — “… advocates for animal rights, we donate product to animal rescues and sanctuaries.” Affiliate program page at Hemp My Pet, 30% commission, 90 day cookie
- King Kanine — “.. we are motivated by the close love connection that can develop between pets and their owners.” Affiliate page at NuLeaf, 15% commission, 30 day cookie.
CBD Glossary
When creating content and evaluating products, it is useful to understand some of the terminology used in the CBD market. …
- Δ9-THC — Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the intoxicating cannabinoid produced by cannabis plants. CBD products must contain < .3% THC to be legal.
- Broad-spectrum — Like full-spectrum, a type of CBD product that contains all compounds found in cannabis — but with no THC.
- CBC —: Cannabichromene is a non-intoxicating compound found in hemp. It has pain reducing benefits.
- CBD — Cannabidiol is the cannabinoid most produced by a hemp plant. The goal is to produce strains of hemp with high CBD and low THC.
- CBD-A — Cannabidiolic Acid is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid produced by the hemp plant. Initial research shows wide health benefits.
- CBG — Cannabigerol is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid produced in low amounts by the Hemp plant. There has been little research about the effects of CBG.
- CBN — Cannabinol is another non-psychoactive cannabinoid that is created in the processing of hemp and CBD. It has been shown to helping with anxiety and has a relaxing effect for many users.
- Full-spectrum — As opposed to an isolate, full-spectrum CBD products contains all chemicals found in cannabis, including THC. They must have < than 3% THC to be US Federally legal.
- Hemp — A type of cannabis plant that contains little or no THC. It must be less than 0.3 percent THC to be considered hemp. The plant itself is also used for textile and other applications.
- Isolate — All THC removed. This is a CBD product that contains only CBD.
Wrapping Up
CBD is hot, CBD programs pay very well — great combination. It is competitive though so don’t expect to tackle the entire industry unless you have a good budget to support lots of content and SEO. The good news is that it is so popular that there are many sub-topics that you can get traction with.
Find an intersection between your audience and one of the many sub-niches and target low competition keywords to get started. It doesn’t take many transactions to bring in a good amount of commissions.
Go for it.
FAQ
Is CBD legal?
In the US, yes. CBD is derived from the hemp plant and is legal as long as the THC levels are below .3%
What are the benefits of CBD?
CBD has been shown to be effective for many ailments including: insomnia, pain, anxiety and more.
Is CBD just for health and wellness niches?
CBD has many applications beyond health and wellness include pet and beauty products.
Do CBD products pay well?
Yes many do. It is not unusual to see 30%-40% commissions on products with AOV of $100.
