Make Money Selling Tea Online the Affiliate Marketing Way – Top 5 Brands and Trends to Watch For

If you’ve always wondered how to make money selling tea online without actually owning a tea shop (or a tea farm), this post is a must-read. In the next few minutes, we’ll look at some interesting tea affiliate programs and discover popular searches that are trending online. Who knows? One of them may inspire the start of a tea online business.

First thing first, have you got a website set up already? This is required by most programs because you are expected to drive visitors to their sites through content sharing. By writing a blog, you can target specific keywords and generate free traffic as well as paid traffic from the search engines.

A website also helps to increase trustworthiness and authority within the niche and the social space as you share how-to guides and product reviews online. I personally like using self-hosted WordPress (not the commercial WordPress.com) as it lends more flexibility in terms of customization and monetizing.

Here’s your chance to create a WordPress site for free, if you haven’t done so already. Simply key in your best domain name below.

If you already have a blog, let’s check out the following tea companies I’ve researched based on product quality, affordability and good reputation. It’s also worth mentioning that most of the affiliate programs are available through ShareASale, which is one of my favorite networks for niche bloggers.

5 Tea Affiliate Programs + Popular Tea Trends

#1 – Teabox

Teabox is an online retail that serves a variety of premium teas harvested from India. Their products are divided into types, regions, flushes, collections as well as teaware. An interesting thing is that they have special blends for cold brew tea also known as cold infusions.

Besides the fact that they are easy to prepare, cold tea presents a smooth and sweet taste and they are also popular during the summer months (see the trend pattern below). In fact, this method of brewing has been around since 1904 so it’s not exactly a fad.

There are two ways to make money with Teabox here.

• With the referral program, you can make $10 every time a friend joins the loyalty program. This allows the customers to get 15% off their first purchase, earn points from various online tasks and redeem the points for their future orders.
• With the affiliate program, you can make 10% to 15% per sale within a 15 days cookie. There are banner ads and seasonal coupons available to help with your online promotion.

#2 – Buddha Teas

Buddha Tea is more like a marketplace that offers unique blends of teas such as flowers and roots that are beneficial to certain health conditions. What’s more interesting is that it also sells CBD infused tea. That means, in every pack of herbs, a small amount of cannabis is added to enhance the therapeutic and relaxation effect.

As you know, there’s a huge opportunity to monetize from CBD nowadays, but very few companies actually offer tea containing such substances. If you are interested in this niche, promoting it isn’t a bad idea alongside other interesting CBD affiliate offers.

Buddha Tea pays a 20% commission per sale and the cookie duration is 30 days. It’s a private program in which you apply directly through the site (instead of ShareASale) and you need at least $80 to request for payout.

#3 – Teavivre

This company specializes in tea harvested from China which includes Pu-Erh and Oolong. They also offer Flower Tea which are hand-crafted bundles that actually bloom inside hot water. Visiting the site is like taking a virtual tour in a tea museum. You’ll learn a lot about the origins, the processing and brewing methods essential to making the best cup of tea.

For the customers, they offer affordable shipping fees as well as reward points that can be accumulated for discounted purchases. For affiliates, you can expect to earn 12% commissions per sale within a 45 days cookie period.

#4 – Material Matcha 

In case you don’t know, matcha is made up of finely ground powder from specially grown and processed green tea leaves. In the case of this company, the leaves originate from a unique region in Japan called Uji and the founders even include a short tour on the site to show how this tea is being processed. 

Ever since the benefits of drinking matcha has been exposed to consumers, the shopping trend for matcha has exploded and more people are adding it to protein shakes, cakes as well as coffee drinks. Included in the merchandise selections are culinary matcha, different grades of matcha for drinks and matcha making accessories for one to easily prepare the tea at home.

If this is your cup of tea, you’d be pleased to know that the commission offer is 20% per sale with a 30 days cookie duration.   

#5 – Sips By

To add some kicks to the tastebuds, here’s something you can try. Sips By is an Austine based company that offers monthly tea subscription based on the customer’s unique preference. In other words, it’s a personalized order and many people are liking it. The consumption trend seems pretty new still with spikes of popularity here and there, but it’s certainly gaining more traction in recent years. 

Before subscribing, one needs to answer some questions in regards to his/her favorite flavor, taste and food allergy, if any. Based on that, the company will source for four different premium teas from various parts of the world – plus learning materials – and deliver to your doorsteps each month.

One box can make about 15 cups and the fee per box will differ according to the subscription plans;

• 1 Month – $15
• 3 Months – $45 every 3 months
• 6 Months – $84 every 6 months
• 12 Months – $165 every 12 months (plus one month free)

For every buying customer referred to Sips By, you make $10 per sale within 45 days cookie. It’s interesting to note that they have been showing some impressive sales conversions since the launch of the program in April 2019 so there’s really a demand for this type of product.

Other Tea Affiliate Programs

One of the most abundant marketplace that offers plenty of tea selection is Amazon and if you often shop from the online outlet, you should take the advantage to be part of the Amazon Associate program. For this niche, the commission range between 4% to 5% but the cookie window is only 24 hours.

Obviously, it’s not the best affiliate offer compared to the top 5 companies mentioned earlier, but still, it’s an option to consider if your niche also overlaps with other products that can be easily bought off the Amazon rack. In fact, you’ll be rewarded with commissions from other products too so why not promote in bundles, right?

To search for a specific affiliate program online, you can either use a combination of terms such as “black tea (product type) affiliate program” or “Stash Tea (product brand) affiliate program”. The first few results on Google should usually give you some leads as to whether the program is available or not. From there, you will have more choices for product reviews as well as product comparison. 

Two Important Tips for Successful Affiliate Marketing

As eCommerce becomes a common shopping trend, consumers’ tastebuds and drinking preferences are also evolving. Therefore, it’s not surprising that more people are willing to buy tea from as far as China or India and have them delivered to their doorsteps.

For tea enthusiasts like you, there has never been a better time to make money selling tea online by becoming the catalyst between the consumers and reputable brands. However, there are two things you will need moving forward – a good grasp of knowledge about the niche AND mastering the skills of online marketing.

By having a good grasp of this foundation, you will be this much closer to becoming a successful affiliate. At my recommended training platform, we can help make your passion for tea a profitable online business, even if you don’t have any experience. Seriously. Sign up for free to see what it is all about.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this article as much as I’ve enjoyed writing about it. Let me know your thoughts and questions below.