Deal Seeking Mom

Blogging for Income: Affiliate Sites

by 58 Comments

Just one cent !
photo credit: pfala (injured)

Learning how to monetize a blog actually probably isn’t the ideal place to start a blogging for income series, but because this is Money-Making Week, it’s where I’m going to begin. Hopefully this will give those of you that already have blogs a starting point, and for those of you thinking about blogging, I’ll come back to getting started over the coming weeks.

There are many ways to earn an income from blogging. You can use AdSense, ad networks, affiliate sites, sell your own products, do paid posts and on and on. But don’t be fooled into thinking that blogging is a get-rich-quick ticket. It’s hard work, and it can be very discouraging when you’re starting out with little traffic and few comments.

(BTW readers, bloggers LOVE comments. Even if you just take a moment to say, “Thanks, that post really helped me out,” I guarantee you’ll make someone’s day!)

With so many methods, it’s only natural that some will work for some people while not for others. It’s important to try a variety to see what works best for you. I’ve experimented with several, and one of my favorite methods is affiliate marketing.

So what’s so special about affiliate marketing? Basically it’s a win for me and a win for my readers! My readers get to sign up for great samples and other offers, and I get paid a little bit to offer them the opportunity. Of course not every sample I blog about earns me money. In fact most of them don’t, but it’s always a nice incentive when they do!

Some important tips about affiliate marketing:

  • Be selective. Before you promote an offer on your blog, look at the landing page that your affiliate link takes you to.  Is it something that you would feel comfortable signing up for?  If in doubt, you can email your rep at the affiliate network for additional details.  You don’t want to damage the trust your readers have placed in you by having them register for a scam.
  • Do your homework. Be sure to pay close attention to the terms and conditions regarding an offer.  Some offers can’t be offered as a text link.  Some can be sent in an email format.  Some offers can be incentivized meaning you can offer a bonus if a readers takes advantage of the opportunity.  Just be sure that you read thoroughly and understand before you promote.  Again, you can ask your rep for help if you have any questions.
  • Don’t overdo it. Constantly bombarding your readers with affiliate links and placing tons of banners and ads in your sidebars will only turn them off.  Select a few good offers to promote and focus on them.
  • Personalize it. If you’ve had a personal experience with the company or offer you are promoting, tell your readers about it.  They’re reading your blog because they like what you have to say, so if you can approach them with an insider’s point of view, they’ll be that much more likely to take action.

There are literally thousands of different affiliate companies out there.  The ones I’ve signed on with probably aren’t even a drop in the bucket, but many were sites that were recommended to me when I started out, so I’d like to share them with my readers as well.

Recommended affiliate companies:

As I mentioned before, you’re probably not going to make big bucks using these companies, but using them strategically can generate some nice pocket change or give you a little breathing room in your budget.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Hi Tara,

    First off I really love your site-and I think you do well because you are honest about deals.

    I have my own small coupon blog, it’s pretty dismal. :( But I do work too, and have managed to sell affiliate marketing to my CEO (gasp), but so far the exp.has been awful. 70,000 on a mailing list- no sale? I suspect it’s the affiliate company. Anyways- I’d like to ask your advice re: company (it’s listed above and has been cited in a class action lawsuit) . And any suggestions on a reputable affiliate network that offers Groupon etc..

    Thanks!

    Reply

    • I’m not sure which company you’re referring to, Jane, but I’ve had a good experience with all of the companies listed. I think Commission Junction has a Groupon program, but you could also go directly through Groupon to receive Groupon credits as well.

      Reply

  2. First, I would like to say that I love your site.
    I have only just begun a blog and am learning as I go. My question is, are their affiliates for smartsource and bricks coupons?

    Reply

  3. Hi
    I am very newbie in all and very motivated to do my own blog just as a hobby. Your website is very helpful and fun. I was wondering if you can share your experience with Ads by Google. I heard that is hard to get paid with them an also you have to give them your credit card number so they withdrow money every mothn for their services. Can you get enought earning to paid the monthly fee and also keep some bucks for you? Thank you

    Reply

    • It’s not that it’s hard to get paid by Google — I get paid every month — but when you’re starting out it can take quite awhile because they only pay when you have reached $100 in your account. I honestly don’t remember if I had to register a credit card because that was about two-and-a-half years ago, but there is no monthly fee.

      Reply

  7. Thank you so much for these postings! I am new to blogging, and I love it! But there is so much out there, and not a lot of good info on how to really get the ball rolling on how to make it a little profitable. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!

    Reply

  8. Just found this and it is great!!! I do have a question though……can I use any website host??? like hostgator??? or do I need a special company?
    Thanks!
    D

    Reply

  9. Hi there and thanks for the awesome info! I have a question, I see on other people’s blogs links for coupons and when you click it, it automatically comes up ready to print, and says it is a brick coupon. Where do I find an affiliate for bricks, or links to these coupons directly? (I don’t want to copy/paste other people’s links and post those as they could be making the money from it!).
    As you can see, i’m fairly new to all this but loving the learning process a lot!!

    Reply

  10. Are there affiliate programs for Target coupons? I’ve read older posts on WeUseCoupons that they do not have any, but sometimes I see affiliate-like links on websites.

    Reply

    • There isn’t technically an affiliate program for printing Target coupons. However, Target.com does have an affiliate program through Google Affiliate, and they offer an affiliate link that leads directly to the coupons page. You won’t earn when people print coupons, but you may earn something from people that visit the site to print a coupon and then make a purchase.

      Reply

  14. I must thank you for the efforts you’ve put in penning this blog. I really hope to check out the same high-grade content by you in the future as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my own, personal website now ;)

    Reply

  15. Thanks for sharing the affiliate links.

    I’ve been trying to figure out how I can post the grocery deals. Any tips?

    Also, I tried to go to the ReadySite link above, but Internet Explorer wouldn’t show the page.

    Reply

  16. I would like to thank you for the efforts you have put in penning this website.

    I really hope to see the same high-grade content by you
    in the future as well. In truth, your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my
    very own website now ;)

    Reply

  17. I cannot thank you enough for posting this information. I Have been blogging daily for 20 months now and I am making a piddly amount compared the time I put in. I am extremely selective about my blog content, and don’t post any deals I wouldn’t do myself. I have Google AdSense and Escalate, but it is great to have links to other options!!!

    Reply

  19. When you join Coupons.com’s Affiliate program, I see where you make flags, however imagine a scenario where I simply need to list connects to their coupons. How would you do that? much obliged!

    Reply

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