Affiliate marketing seems to be a point of confusion or frustration for a lot of bloggers – but it doesn’t have to be hard. For years, I made maybe $100 from affiliate marketing. I thought it was worthless, and frustrating… so I never really paid attention to it.
Does that sound like you?
If it does – I’m here to explain that affiliate marketing doesn’t have to be difficult, but it does have to be strategic.
Can you make money from affiliate marketing?
2018 was the first year I made 5 figures just from affiliate marketing. ($10,188 to be exact. You can read my 2018 Food Blog Income Report here) I realized there was a lot of potential in affiliate marketing, so I started to dive a little deeper and put more of a focus on this revenue stream.
In 2019 – I 4xed my revenue from affiliate marketing, ending the year with a total of just over $50,000. (Check out our Food Blog 2019 Income Report here.)
That BLEW my mind. It was insane to me that I could make more than my previous salary, simply from people using my links/coupon codes.
Obviously there is more to affiliate marketing than just calling out a few ‘Swipe Up’s’, but affiliate marketing doesn’t need to be difficult. I’m sharing all of my tips below!
Affiliate Marketing Programs:
If you’re new to affiliate marketing, joining some of the big affiliate networks can be helpful. Shareasale and Commission Junction are a few of the largest affiliate programs. Two of my largest affiliate partners – (Daily Harvest & Thrive Market) are hosted on these programs
Thousands of brands host their affiliate programs on these platforms and once you are on them, you can apply to join the brands.
Many smaller brands will also have their own affiliate programs hosted through sites like LeadDyno, HasOffers, or Refersion. (Brands like SmoothieBox, Be Well + ButcherBox use these programs)
The largest affiliate program out there is probably Amazon. You can apply for Amazon’s affiliate program directly through your amazon account. It’s relatively quick and easy to set up.
Amazon Affiliate Marketing:
In my opinion, Amazon is the easiest affiliate marketing program to join/use. A majority of shoppers use Amazon prime daily, and for ease of use/user experience – it is nice to direct them where they like to shop.
Many bloggers have been removing their Amazon affiliate links because they’re upset over cut commissions. I don’t think this is a wise move. I want to be of service to my reader, and most of my readers are shopping on Amazon. To make things easier for them (and for me!) it makes sense for me to link out to amazon.
On amazon you can create links using their affiliate tool bar, or create a shop with your favorite things. It’s super easy to navigate.
How to Start Affiliate Marketing:
If you’re looking to start affiliate marketing… just start!! Your best option is starting with Amazon. Otherwise – reach out to the brands you love/use and see if they have an affiliate program – or join some of the larger platforms like Shareasale/Commission Junction and see what brands stand out to you.
Affiliate Marketing for Beginners
Alright.. now what you came for: how the heck do you succeed with affiliate marketing?? Here are ALL my tips.
Looking for other blogging resources? Check out these posts:
Jere Cassidy
For Thrive Market and Daily Harvest are you going through Share A Sale or CJ or do you go directly through these companies?
Also, just curious when you promote an Amazon link do you use native ads, do you put more than one link into a blog post, do you just a photo of the product? How are you doing this?
The Clean Eating Couple
HI Jere – Daily Harvest operates on Shareasale and Thrive Market operates on Commission Junction. I have never use native ads or images in posts for Amazon, I only use links.
Thomas Watson
Liz,
thanks again for your guidance and for this article – I’m signing up for CJ today!
Keep doing what you do,
Thomas Watson
Marathon Handbook
The Clean Eating Couple
Thanks so much, Thomas! Glad it was helpful!
Laura Kennedy
This was an incredibly helpful post. I actually pulled 4 solid ideas I can implement right now. Thanks so much!
The Clean Eating Couple
So glad you found it helpful!
Matt
Very interesting, Liz! I feel like Amazon could be amazing. I mean, it really helps the user AND your income grows. So it is really a win-win. My main take-away from your post is that you should help your user, then the user will use your articles and links ergo you make money!
The Clean Eating Couple
Exactly, Matt! I think a lot of people come at affiliate marketing in a spammy kind of way, but if you’re doing it with the point of helping your reader.. it’s a win for everyone 🙂