FlexOffers Review (For Publisher) – Is It Worth Joining? 

An affiliate network is a great place for publishers to discover and connect with brands that they like. Combined with a vast selection of advertisers and advanced tools, affiliates can find the right products and track their campaigns more effectively. How is FlexOffers different and what can you benefit from this network? Let me walk you through this review. 

FlexOffers at a Glance

Founded in 2008, FlexOffers is lead by CEO Alex Daskaloff. The network boasts a portfolio of 11,500+ advertisers across all niche categories, with new ones being added every week or so. There are familiar names like HomeDepot and new retail like Blue Tomato which you probably have never heard of before. 

Either way, there are ample choices here. The user-friendly dashboard allows you to filter advertisers according to the following criteria. 

1 – Niche Interest – While most categories are similar to other networks, FlexOffers stands out for its vast selection of credit card offers. You can find anything from air travel rewards, low APR cards and even cards for poor credit. It also features promotions for special occasions such as 4th July, Halloween and Super Bowl. 

2 – Search by Name – Just search if you know the merchant by name. 

3 – Featured Advertisers – These are programs that have increased the commission rate by 40% or more but only for a limited period of time.

4 – Country Specific Programs – Search for programs within the regions that you are interested in.

5 – Payout Type – Choose the type of conversion to promote. 

• CPS – refer purchasing customers to advertisers’ products or services 
• CPA – refer potential customers to specific acquisition on the advertisers’ sites such as sign up for newsletters or complete registration. 
• CPL – refer potential customers to advertisers’ offers via sign-ups. 
• CPC – refer audiences to click on the advertisers’ ads.
• CPI – refer potential customers to download something from the advertisers’ site. 

Of all the 5 choices above, CPS is the most common offer, followed by CPA and CPL. 

6 – Network Ranking (High to Low) – This metric categorizes advertisers based on their performance on the FlexOffers network, with 5 stars being the highest ranking. 

7 – EPC – Stands for earnings per one hundred clicks, sent by affiliates to an advertiser’s site. A high number of EPC may suggest that a product or brand converts well online so it’s a good indicator to gauge program performance. 

Here’s an example of a 5-star ranking advertiser you would find on FlexOffers. 

When clicked to apply for the program, a window will pop up to give more information about the nature of the products and services, the commission rates, cookie duration, and terms and conditions. Make sure you go through the last part in order not to violate any marketing and copyright rules that can jeopardize your credentials as an affiliate. 

Like most networks, there’s no instant approval (unless you are promoting Clickbank digital products) so it’s quite natural to wait at least 1-2 business days while they review your application. 

In my case, I got into the Udemy affiliate program the very next day, allowing me to access text and banner links immediately. On those links, it also tells you when the offers would expire so you’d know the duration of the promotional campaign. 

How to Become a Publisher?

Applying as a publisher is a four-step process and it’s crucial that you have a website or blog set up first. If it already has some content and getting traffic, so much better as this reflects your commitment to promoting as an affiliate. 

My go-to publishing platform is always WordPress because it has the ability to optimize for the search engines and get free traffic. If you’ve never used it before and are still stuck at it, here’s a simple tool you can use to set it up within a minute. It’s free so give it a try. 

Back to FlexOffers – after submitting all the details and verifying your email, phone number, and website – the application will be reviewed. If everything is in order, you should be able to log into your account within 1 to 2 business days and start choosing campaigns to promote.

What Do I like About FlexOffers? 

1 – Covers Many Regions – Advertisers that operate on a global scale usually have multiple sites to accommodate to specific regions. While other networks tend to focus on the US market, the ones on FlexOffers have their programs open to more countries. 

This is apparent with the Expedia affiliate program whereby offers can be seen available for the European as well as the Asian markets. It’s an alternative to consider if your targeted audience comes from these regions. 

2 – (Some) Commissions Are Higher – This doesn’t apply to all verticals, but if you care to research, you may find a few advertisers whose commissions are higher than other networks. The margin isn’t a lot, but cumulatively, the difference still counts.  

Take BarkBox for example, a pet box subscription that gets every Fido owner excited. With Impact, the commission is $18 per order while on FlexOffers, the commission is $20 per order. On top of that, it has a network ranking of 5 stars so that pretty much tells us the performance of this program. 

3 – Leveraging Gig Economy – Gig services are popular in urban areas and to help them grow, they need new taskers. Most of the time, this is done through referrals from preexisting taskers by sharing referral links through emails and social media. But now with affiliate programs, non-taskers can also share affiliate links to acquire new leads for the company. 

So, if you are a big advocate of the gig economy, you should check out the following advertisers

• Doordash – deliver food takeaways to customer’s doorsteps
• Rover – offer pet sitting or pet walking services in the local neighborhood
• Instacart – deliver groceries from local stores to the customer’s home

4 – Faster Payment – For top-performing publishers, here’s the good news. You can request for a Net 7 payment if you are qualified. That means you will get paid in 7 days (instead of the regular 30 or 60 days) after the sales invoice is being issued. 

5 – Referral Opportunity – The FlexOffers referral program allows you to earn a percentage of profit made by new publishers referred through your link. Depending on your monthly average sales, you can earn anywhere between 5% to 50% in profit. 

This feature a.k.a FlexRev-Share also comes with email invitations, banners (as shown above) and a calculator to simulate bonuses you can potentially earn from the referrals. All approved publishers can access their referral links immediately through the user dashboard. 

Some Downsides to Take Note

1 – Misleading Rankings – Many advertisers on FlexOffers also have programs on other affiliate networks as well and what seems like a poor network ranking (3 stars or less) or a ‘dormant’ program doesn’t necessarily mean that it isn’t worth joining.

They could be performing better elsewhere so I highly recommend cross-check and see if you can find better metrics before making the final call.  

2 – Most Rates Are Lower – Contrary to the pros mentioned earlier, the majority of popular brands I’ve come across so far, have slightly higher commissions on other networks like ShareASale and CJ Affiliate. This must be attributed to the terms agreed between FlexOffers and the advertisers so there’s nothing much to be done about it. 

Anyways, have a look at the following affiliate programs I’ve reviewed in the past to compare the metrics yourself. 

• AliExpress 
• Beachbody 
• CafePress 
• Crocs
• Etsy 
• Expedia 
• Fiverr
• Go Pro
• HelloFresh
• Lego
• Manduka 
• Nectar Sleep
• PetCo
• Redbubble 
• Skillshare
• Thrive Market
• Vitamix 
• Weight Watchers 
• Wayfair
• Zappos 
• Zazzle

3 – Strict Application Process – In case you haven’t noticed what I said earlier, applying to be a publisher isn’t as straightforward as you would find with other networks. The scariest part was to add a meta-tag into my website editor for verification and I am just not comfortable with this kind of WordPress whiz thing. 

Fortunately, the good guys at SiteRubix hosting were able to help out so we got that part settled without any issue. Still, in the beginning, it will send security codes via SMS whenever I use a different device to log in to my publisher account. I went through this process three times because I was checking the platform from my smartphone, a laptop, and a desktop. 

Should You Use FlexOffers as an Affiliate? 

The answer is both yes and no. Basically, it depends on what niche you are promoting and what region you are interested in. From what I could gather, FlexOffers is best for the following  circumstances; 

• Promoting online retail goods or services (customer sign-ups and ad clicks have less offers here) 
• Promoting a specific region that is out of the US market.
• Credit card niche (both domestic and international) but must have a high unique traffic generating site. 
• New and up-coming brands that don’t have any presence on other networks yet. 
• Finding new brands to promote during special shopping seasons. 
• Diversifying merchant offers in a certain niche. 

On the other hand, FlexOffers may not be suitable if; 

• You are a total newbie to affiliate marketing i.e. no website, no content or no web traffic yet. 
• You can find better rates and affiliate support on other networks. 
• You are more interested in promoting digital products. 

Overall, the network has a very clean user design (much better than others actually) and offers a lot of knowledge base for beginners. With new campaigns being constantly added, it just goes to show how many brands are embracing affiliate marketing nowadays. However, I would take every advertiser’s information with a grain of salt and will certainly crosscheck with as many resources before applying for a particular program. 

I’ve seen a few bloggers making profits with the platform so I know it is legit. The fact that they are selective with the application goes to show they are committed to working with serious affiliates and brands who want to establish a long term online partnership. 

This review is meant to give a better perspective on what FlexOffers can provide and how to maximize its features to your best abilities. If you want to learn more about building a successful affiliate business using this network, get more tips and tools from my recommended training platform here.

Have any thoughts or questions about this review? Feel free to leave some comments down below.