How I Make Extra Income with Affiliate Marketing

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I greatly appreciate your support!

Are you new to blogging and trying to understand affiliate marketing?

Or maybe you have been blogging for some time and you would like to add some passive additional income streams to your business.

Affiliate marketing is a great way to promote products and services that are related to your business or website.

Essentially, every time someone clicks through on a link to an affiliate from your website, you will receive a commission! Woohoo for extra money!

I didn’t start promoting others products or services until much later down the road in my business. My focus online was mainly on building up my balloon and helium business at the time so that I could earn a living from it.

If you have no clue how to get started with affiliate marketing, that’s okay! When I found out that you could simply add links to your blog posts to make side money, my mind was blown. And to be honest, I was a little frustrated that I hadn’t heard of it sooner.

Types of Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing comes in many different forms. It doesn’t just have to be products; it can be services as well, such as affiliate programs for hosting companies like Bluehost or social media managing tools like Tailwind.

Usually, you become an affiliate for a company because you fell in LOVE with what they offer. This makes it easier for you to write and rave on about how great their product or service is and how you are using it to be a success.

Ways to Promote Affiliate Marketing Links on Your Website

1. Create a Tutorial-

Teach people in a video or blog post how to use a product or service you love. Link to those products or services and every time they click, you receive a commission!

2. Write a Review-

Write a review of your favorite product, or compare it to a few similar products and show the benefits of each. Think about what your particular tribe of peeps wants to hear about. If it’s something you love, then you can share how it has changed your life.

3. How-to video-

Develop a how-to video to show people how you made something using a set or products. This works great for DIY’s and home projects.

4. Step-by-step guide-

Show others how to create something or use something by giving them step-by-step instructions. Then post this in a video or in a blog. Make sure to link to the products or services you used!

5. Interview an Expert-

Someone out there might be a few steps ahead of you and interviewing them is a great way to to not only meet them, but to gain new wisdom AND share it with others! Don’t forget to link to their product or service to receive a commission for sharing their info.

6. Give your best tips for using the product-

Write up a blog post or create a video and share five to ten best tips you have for using the product or service. If you have a business, think of these as the bullet points you will share about your product or service when someone wants more info about what you do. They should be simple and to the point. Think about how the product will benefit people. Then link to the product or service in the tips post.

7. Make Pinnable Images-

You can use social media to promote products and services. Use a tool like MagicLinks to link to a product in a Pin on Pinterest as well as other social media platforms. I go into more detail about how to link to affiliate products using MagicLinks in the Be Passionate and Prosper Course.

8. Opening the box video-

Everyone loves to open a gift or box they receive in the mail. Why not show off a new product you received from a company you love. This is a great way to generate excitement and that feeling of FOMO (fear of missing out)! Of course you could do a giveaway of an extra product from your box or something you highly recommend. Then don’t forget to link to the product company or subscription box company.

9. Place ads in-between the content of posts

You’re doing all this work to produce useful content, you may as well make a little side money! Ad revenue is a simple way to get started with affiliate marketing. I started with Google AdSense. As you get more traffic to your site, you can switch over to companies like MediaVine and AdThrive.

10. Tell your story with the product

You probably stumbled upon a product or service because you were needing it in some way. What was your story? How did getting that product change your life? Don’t be afraid to open up and share your story about what you went through. This vulnerability lets you build trust with people. And often, you need that trust before they want to buy from you. Exposing your true self will allow your ideal client to find you!

Tips for Placing Affiliate Links in Your Post

Don’t spam the whole article with affiliate links
Let the mention of the affiliate marketing link be natural in your post
Make sure the referral link is relevant to the content of the post
Show screenshots of how to use the product or service
Share your best tips about using the product or service

How to Sell without “Selling” with Affiliate Marketing

Start off your blog or business thinking about what products or services you will promote. Lots of people start blogs, and the biggest mistake I see them make is they just write about themselves. They don’t think about how they can help the person reading or watching their content.

People are on the internet for many reasons, some to learn, some for entertainment, and some to buy. You can develop your blog in a way that speaks to a specific audience and offers them help. You don’t have to be salesy about it. Just simply be yourself and show people how a product or service changed your life and can also help them.

How I Earned Extra Income with Affiliate Marketing Right Away

The fastest way I earned affiliate income way by writing about a topic I loved and then placing text links to helpful products in my posts. I signed up with Amazon affiliates right away and learned how to link up to products. I started with products that I loved and enjoyed using.

Once I learned which posts were performing the best, I started creating videos to help people see how I use the product. Then I would place text links in the description of the video and also place the video in my post.

Feedback was key in my process of learning what people wanted. I also tested different ways of displaying the product in my posts. Sometimes I would show an image and other times I would simply link up text in my post. I found that the linked text seemed to work better. Also, I would only link up text a few times and only to a few products.

Learn to Become an Affiliate Marketer?

The way I learned about affiliate marketing was through reading a few blog posts on the topic. Then it was just a matter of signing up with a few companies. I recently took a course with a blogger who makes over $100,000 a month with her blog! She teaches a course about Affiliate Marketing called Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. Her course was very easy to get through and had a lot of great ideas about how to make extra income with affiliate marketing. She even has a group where you can ask her for feedback and get questions answered. I refer back to her course often for new ideas as I am constantly learning and building my blogs.

How Do You Become an Affiliate Marketer?

You simply sign up with companies that have affiliate programs. If you take a course, see if there is a way to become an affiliate for the course. Most likely, if you liked their course, you are going to want to share it with others. Use one of the techniques above to share the course and link it up.

Many of the affiliate companies have a simple sign up process. And you may need to have your website or business in place first. I go more into detail about this in the Be Passionate and Prosper Start Your Own Online Business Course.

Here are a few affiliate programs I got started with and love:

How Much Money Can You Make as an Affiliate Marketer?

I know some bloggers who make only $20 a month from affiliate marketing, and then there are others making thousands of dollars. The ones who treat this as their day job and commit to spending time linking up products and services each day are generally very successful. It’s not uncommon to make a few thousand dollars a month. When you add up all the streams of income from the various products or services you link to, it is very possible to make or replace a livable income from affiliate marketing. And the ultimate benefit to this is you will eventually make passive income from all the links on your website and videos!

How do I start an Affiliate Marketing Business?

Start with what you know and love! What products or services do you already use and can write or talk about easily? And then just think about how you want to communicate that message. You can do it through a blog, or just post the products on a website. Show the products on a video. Or use your social media accounts to share what you are using.

For steps on how to get started, check out the Be Passionate and Prosper Course! It’s very affordable because I want anyone to be able to get started and I don’t want money to be an issue! I believe owning your own business is the key to getting you out of debt and helping you achieve the lifestyle you really desire! Let me know if you have any questions! I’m always excited to help you get going!