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Blogging for Income: Affiliate Sites

October 22, 2008 by Tara Kuczykowski 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:

  • Logical Media ($25 sign up bonus!) – samples, coupons and more
  • ShopHer Media – samples, coupon and more
  • Coupons.com – coupons
  • Market Leverage – samples, coupon and more
  • ReadySite ($25 sign up bonus!) – samples, coupon and more
  • CPAStorm – surveys and more
  • Pepperjam – shopping and more
  • Commission Junction – coupons, photo printing, shopping and more
  • Ebates ($5 cash or $10 GC sign up bonus!) – coupons, photo printing, shopping and more
  • Cashbaq ($5 sign up bonus!) – coupons, photo printing, shopping and more
  • Mr. Rebates ($5 sign up bonus!) – coupons, photo printing, shopping and more
  • Big Crumbs – coupons, photo printing, shopping and more
  • LinkShare – coupons, photo printing, shopping and more

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.

Filed Under: money-making ideas Tagged With: blogging

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jane

    October 30, 2010 at 2:36 pm

    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
    • Tara Kuczykowski

      November 1, 2010 at 12:42 pm

      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. Diane

    November 10, 2010 at 10:56 am

    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
    • Tara Kuczykowski

      November 10, 2010 at 11:03 am

      Thanks, Diane! There isn’t an affiliate program for Bricks coupon, but there is for Smartsource. You can try emailing [email protected] for details.

      Reply
  3. Pudding

    November 22, 2010 at 10:44 am

    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
    • Tara Kuczykowski

      November 22, 2010 at 10:49 am

      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
  4. Laura

    February 19, 2011 at 5:59 pm

    Thank you for posting this :)

    Reply
  5. tracey

    April 11, 2011 at 8:45 pm

    thanks for all these tips! I have already signed up for a few of these and just added a few more via your links so thanks!

    Reply
  6. Joyce Allen

    May 21, 2011 at 12:03 pm

    This was very helpful. I’m starting a coupon blog and this is great advice !!!!

    Reply
  7. Autumn

    June 18, 2011 at 10:24 pm

    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. Dawn

    August 9, 2011 at 10:07 am

    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
    • Tara Kuczykowski

      August 9, 2011 at 10:31 am

      Sure, you can use any hosting company that you like.

      Reply
  9. Amy

    August 17, 2011 at 3:26 pm

    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
    • Tara Kuczykowski

      November 6, 2011 at 9:31 pm

      Hi Amy — sorry I missed this before. There is no affiliate program that I’m aware of for Bricks coupons.

      Reply
  10. Lisa

    November 6, 2011 at 2:43 pm

    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
    • Tara Kuczykowski

      November 6, 2011 at 9:33 pm

      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
  11. Lisa

    December 15, 2011 at 11:03 am

    Thanks! I just happened to see this now LOL.

    Reply
  12. PixelManila

    January 12, 2012 at 11:56 am

    This article is very informative specially for a newbie like me. Thanks a lot :)

    Reply
  13. Smart Money Manager

    August 6, 2012 at 7:28 am

    Another great advice. Truly helpful for a mom like me who wants to earn online.

    Thanks again!

    Reply
  14. Penny Matrix Exposed

    December 4, 2012 at 11:51 pm

    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. Wendy

    February 13, 2013 at 2:52 pm

    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. affiliate income

    April 14, 2013 at 10:58 am

    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. Theresa

    September 20, 2013 at 8:17 pm

    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
  18. Online coupon

    February 24, 2015 at 4:16 am

    Can’t thank you enough for making a blog like this.. looking forward to other blogs as informative as this one.. Thanks a bunch!

    Reply
  19. Zivame

    July 23, 2017 at 4:01 pm

    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
  20. Sunny

    November 13, 2017 at 3:22 am

    Thank you so much for this great informative article! I love this blog.

    Reply
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Hey there — nice to meet you!

I'm Tara: mom of 5 teens/tweens and one 80-lb. Weimaraner, who fancies herself a lap dog. Born and raised in Ohio (GO BUCKS!!!), my fave things include cooking + baking, my JEEP Rubicon, the 4x4 beaches at OBX, and checking out the local craft beer scene...
 
As you can imagine, all of this puts a good dent in my monthly budget. So I've learned how to save on the things I NEED, so I can spend on the things I WANT. Read more.

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