Sephora Affiliate Program: How It Works, Payment Details & More

Affiliate marketing is a great way to create passive income.

If you are interested in the lifestyle and beauty niche, you can join Sephora’s affiliate program to earn a commission by promoting its library of products.

This article will cover everything you need about the Sephora Affiliate Program.

You will find out how much money you can make, a step-by-step sign-up guide, and this program’s pros and cons.

If any of that appeals to you, keep reading to find out more.

Does Sephora Have an Affiliate Program?

Sephora has one of the best affiliate programs for beauty bloggers.

They have the largest library of beauty products and offer one of the higher commission rates across similar niche websites.

This makes it one of the most high-paying affiliate programs for beauty bloggers.

What Is the Sephora Affiliate Program?

Sephora is the largest beauty supplier available for affiliate marketers, allowing bloggers to cover over 13,000 products that span over 200 brands.

The Sephora Affiliate Program allows beauty bloggers to generate commission on Sephora’s expansive catalog of products.

This affiliate program is prestigious and prospective applicants are permitted in by manual review only.

How Does the Sephora Affiliate Program Work?

If you’re interested in joining the Sephora Affiliate Program, you start by filling out their online application.

The application includes your business information, website details, and personal information.

At this time, you will not be required to supply payment information.

A representative with Sephora will manually review your application and website to decide if you are a good fit for the program.

Once accepted, you can include affiliate links on your website that lead to Sephora products.

You will earn a commission if a viewer clicks through your link and makes a purchase.

Is the Sephora Affiliate Program Free?

Yes. When you sign up for the Sephora Affiliate Program, there are no upfront costs or signing fees.

Also, you do not need to pay the company anything as you make sales.

Instead, you earn a commission based on the traffic you send them.

What Products Can You Promote For the Sephora Affiliate Program?

Beauty is among the best niches for affiliate marketing.

There are many reasons why this may vary by the case. Beauty products are part of most people’s every day.

Other people consider makeup as a form of artistic expression.

Beauty is a niche that will never die, and shoppers often look for the next best thing.

Through Sephora, you can promote many niche products that you think will best suit your readers.

We will cover a few of those products now.

1. Skincare

Skincare is an extremely popular niche as everyone would love to have soft, supple, glowing, clear skin.

A beauty blogger may be able to review a single product or even use a post to talk about a full skincare regime for a particular need or issue, from The Ordinary to Tatcha and everything in between.

2. Hair

Sephora carries some of the most coveted brands in hair care, including Olaplex and Moroccanoil.

These are brands that will draw people in. In some cases, like the Olaplex line, the content written can be evergreen thanks to how respected these products are.

Aside from products, Sephora also carries plenty of hair care tools, such as brushes, straighteners, and shower caps.

3. Fragrance

If a popular brand comes to mind when you find fragrances, Sephora probably carries it.

You could be earning a commission on mega stars of the fragrance industry, such as Yves Saint Laurent, Dior, and Hugo Boss.

Fragrances can also lead to high-ticket-affiliate-marketing, meaning higher commissions on high-quality products.

4. Makeup

No article about Sephora would be complete without talking about their makeup.

It is the bread and butter of the Sephora brand, after all.

They carry some of the most sought-after brands in beauty, from Fenty to Too Faced.

Sephora also has a line of makeup products.

5. Tools

We covered a corner of this in the hair category with hair tools, but it doesn’t end there.

Sephora also carries all of the makeup brushes, bags, or hair dyers that anyone would ever need.

They even carry Dyson’s new line of hair tools.

Other Things You Can Promote With This Program

Sephora has plenty of other products you can promote beyond their main categories.

They have a full range of bath and body products, from lotions to bath bombs.

They also have gift sets and a selection of mini products for those not ready to commit to full size.

The minis are also a great way to hit the travel niche as easy products to take on your next vacation.

What Products Are Excluded From the Sephora Affiliate Program?

If Sephora carries it, then it is included in the program.

It is little wonder that they have such a competitive affiliate program thanks to their expansive catalog and impressive commission.

Besides the countless products Sephora carries, you can earn affiliate commissions on its own Sephora Collection.

How Much Do Sephora Affiliates Make?

If you’re new to affiliate marketing, you may wonder how much a blogger makes.

In extreme examples, you could make as little as a few dollars to as much as hundreds of thousands.

Beauty is an extremely profitable niche for those who are great at promoting products they believe will help their readers.

As a Sephora Affiliate, you will earn a commission on all products that your readers buy through your links.

Sephora Affiliate Program Commission Rates

Acquiring the exact commission rates for the Sephora affiliate program will require you to complete the application process and receive approval.

That said, Sephora has one of the highest commission rates in the beauty niche.

Similar stores, such as Ulta or Walmart, only offer up to 4% commission.

Sephora, meanwhile, starts at 5% and can slide as high as 10% depending on what department the products are being bought from.

How Long Does The Sephora Cookie Last?

The short cookie length is one of the only downsides to the Sephora Affiliate Program.

Readers have only 24 hours to purchase for you to turn a commission.

This is much shorter than other affiliate programs.

Some programs give readers up to a month to make a purchase.

How Do You Get Paid From Sephora?

Sephora’s affiliate program is handled through Rakuten Marketing.

According to the Rakuten website, they handle payments through either direct deposit or check.

This leaves options rather limited compared to other affiliate programs, such as Paypal payments.

When Does Sephra Pay Affiliates?

Sephora pays its affiliates every month.

When you sign up, you can choose a payment threshold with a minimum threshold of $50.

This simply means that Sephora will hold on to your money until they can payout at least $50.

You can choose a higher payment threshold, too, if you prefer.

What Marketing Materials And Promotional Tools Are Available?

Another great aspect of the Sephora Affiliate Program is the number of marketing materials that Sephora supplies.

In many affiliate programs, you, as the blogger, are expected to create your banners and other creative pieces to promote the products in the best light.

Sephora takes care of that for you by supplying a tonne of professionally made marketing tools that help you to sell their products.

Who Should Join the Sephora Affiliate Program?

Sephora has such a wide range of available products that it gives plenty of room for those who can promote them.

We’ll cover just a few examples of who this program is best for.

1. Beauty Bloggers

Sephora is the beauty bloggers’ playground, offering everything they could need to make great revenue every month.

The Sephora Affiliate Program is the obvious choice for those who run beauty blogs.

Nowhere else will you see such a vast range of beauty products while offering a commission of up to 10%.

2. Lifestyle Writers

The next best choice is the lifestyle bloggers.

This niche can be a bit broad, covering everyone from the mom blogs to the gardening blogs.

Sephora has products that might help the average person in all of these sub-niches.

For example, a busy mom might want to write about a simple makeup routine when chasing toddlers out the door.

On the other hand, a gardener may want to mention a hand cream that brought back their dry, chapped hands after working in the dirt.

3. Travel Writers

This niche is more of a stretch, but it can still work great.

Sephora has plenty of mini products, small bags, and kits for the go.

If someone is writing about what they are packing for their six-month trip across Europe, they could spend some time writing about their pared-down makeup kit to include all the necessities they need in a small packable form.

Is the Sephora Affiliate Program Worth It?

Sephora has plenty of great things, but no program is perfect.

In this next section, we’ll cover come off the best aspects of the Sephora Affiliate Program, along with some of its downfalls.

Pros of the Sephora Affiliate Program

The Sephora affiliate program has plenty of benefits. These include:

• High Commission rates: Sephora has some of the highest commissions for the beauty niche across the internet. Consider their 5% to 10% against Ulta Beauty’s 4%.
• Massive Catalog: No other beauty store carries as many products as Sephora. Not only that, but they carry some of the most coveted brands.
• Marketing Materials: Sephora knows that not everyone wants to make stunning graphics and banners for every post they write. Sephora helps you out by supplying plenty of marketing materials from day one.
• Exclusive Deals: As a Sephora Affiliate, you’ll have access to exclusive deals on their products. This includes affiliate-only flyers to give you a first look at new products.
• Free shipping and samples – As an affiliate, you get free shipping on all orders over $50. On top of that, you get tonnes of free samples. You can use the samples yourself, or they can be used in giveaways on your blog.

Cons of the Sephora Affiliate Program

As with most ventures, the Sephora affiliate program does have its drawbacks. These include:

• Small Cookie Window: The main downside of the Sephora Affiliate Program is its short cookie window. Your writing has to convince a buyer to purchase a product quickly, just 24 hours after clicking your link. If they simply leave the product in their cart for too long, you’ll miss out on the commission.
• Little information on commission scale: Their commission has a sliding scale from 5% to 10% depending on the department, but there appears to be little information on what categories have what commission.
• Almost too many products: For a newer blogger without a truly established niche, the vast number of products on Sephora may be overwhelming.
• Long acceptance time: Sephora manually accepts every single new applicant. For this reason, you may be waiting a while after you send in your application before you are accepted.
• Few payment options: Rakuten’s marketing program runs the program. There are a few payment options available to the affiliate. You can only use direct deposit or a check.

Conclusion: Is The Sephora Affiliate Program Worth It?

Absolutely. The cookie duration remains the only major downside to the Sephora Affiliate Program.

The high commission rate and the large range of products make this program a win for any affiliate who can get past the acceptance process.

How To Join the Sephora Affiliate Program

Joining the Sephora Affiliate program is very easy.

You start by going to the program page on their website and scrolling to the bottom of the page to the link that will send you to the application form.

Requirements To Join the Sephora Affiliate Program

The very first thing you need is a website.

The Sephora Affiliate Program requires that you already have your business as an affiliate marketer started.

This includes having a business plan in place, your website, a set niche, and steady traffic.

For this reason, it is unlikely that beginner bloggers will be able to join the Sephora Affiliate Program until they have proven themselves.

The only other requirement is that applicants must be at least over the age of 18.

How To Apply [Step-by-Step Tutorial]

If you would like to join the Sephora affiliate program, follow these steps to get started.

• STEP 1: Go to the Sephora website and navigate to the Beauty Affiliate Program page.
• STEP 2: Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the link to the registration form.
• STEP 3: Fill out the registration form. The sections include company info, contact and account info, primary website info, payment threshold, language preferences, and membership agreement.
• STEP 4: Wait for your approval.

How Long Does it Take to Get Approved for the Sephora Affiliate Program?

Sephora accepts new applicants manually.

For this reason, it can take a little while to get accepted.

On average, it takes at least three weeks to hear back from Sephora after you have applied.

Does Sephora Support the Affiliate Program?

Yes. Sephora is very supportive of its affiliate team, going so far as to supply marketing materials, exclusive deals, free samples, free shipping, and the first product looks to all its affiliate marketers.

On top of that, Sephora is known for having excellent customer support for its affiliate program.

They offer plenty of tools and help with managing their business.

How To Make Money With the Sephora Affiliate Program

In this next section, we’ll review a few tips to make your blog as successful as possible.

Some of these tips will be exclusive to Sephora, while others may be helpful for general affiliate marketing.

Even if you walk away from this article and decide not to join the Sephora Affiliate Program, you can still add these tips to your affiliate marketing tools.

1. Stay Honest

One of the biggest tips for affiliate marketing is always to be honest.

In many cases, affiliate marketers are either writing reviews or product roundups.

In both cases, you want to lay everything on the table about the product, the good and the bad.

This will help to build trust with your readers so they don’t think you are just trying to make a sale.

The second point is that you must always include an affiliate disclosure, preferably at the beginning of your post.

This will let your readers know from the beginning that you will make money through their purchases.

2. Use the Marketing Tools

Sephora includes plenty of tools for free to help you sell their products.

They give you many marketing banners and other graphics to make the products shine.

Do not take this gift for granted; absolutely take full advantage of their offerings.

3. Leverage Free Samples

Through the program, Sephora gives marketers plenty of free samples to try.

If you don’t want to use them all yourself, you can absolutely bundle them up for free giveaways for your readers.

4. Diversify Your Partners

Sephora is the best for beauty bloggers, but it is not the only option.

In every business venture, you always want to diversify your sources of income.

This protects you if one source goes down or isn’t working well in a particular post.

Alternatives to the Sephora Affiliate Program

It is always a good idea to diversify your partners in affiliate marketing.

In the next section, we’ll look at several alternatives to the Sephora program.

While all of these are not strictly beauty affiliate programs, they do land within the beauty sphere.

1. Ulta Affiliate Program

Ulta is perhaps in second place for beauty affiliate marketing.

The Ulta Affiliate Program gives marketers access to over 500 brands with a 4% commission.

Aside from the commission, they offer free shipping, exclusive gifts, and promotions to their affiliate marketers.

2. Target Affiliate Program

The Target Affiliate Program is one of the best generalist programs, with a strong beauty section.

They offer up to 5% commission on their products depending on the category.

If you’re not a beauty blogger, Target is still great for everything from electronics to clothing to home goods.

3. Amazon Affiliate Program

Amazon is the largest retailer on the internet, and the Amazon affiliate program must have in any affiliate marketer’s back pocket.

Their catalog of goods includes just about everything you can possibly think of, and they offer a competitive commission of up to 10%.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you still have questions about the Sephora affiliate program?

Here are some answers to the most frequently asked questions.

Wrapping Up

We hope our comprehensive review of the Sephora Affiliate Program helps you decide if the program is right for you and how to join.

If Sephora isn’t for you, then we hope you still enjoyed the article and that you can take away something to build the success of your business.