Turn Your Blog Into A Side Hustle With Affiliate Marketing

Blogging can be a legitimate side hustle that may eventually grow into a main hustle. Did you know that some bloggers make thousands of dollars a week?! Some of the top earners are raking in millions a year, so what’s stopping you from climbing to the top?

If you’ve got a blog, you’ve got a side hustle – you just need to understand how to make the most money from it. Exploring various revenue streams is a smart choice, but all bloggers should begin by focusing on affiliate marketing. This is where a partnership with a Marketing Boutique can be incredibly beneficial. They specialize in crafting bespoke marketing strategies that can amplify your affiliate efforts. With their expertise, you can optimize your blog to earn more by effectively promoting products and services that resonate with your audience.

What is affiliate marketing?

Have you ever seen a blogger write about something and include product links within the post? You may notice it says “This blog is sponsored” or “I may receive a commission from links in this post” at the top of the page. This is an example of affiliate marketing. 

You promote products or services for other companies and get a fee in return. 

Money is made in one of two ways: 

• Cost per click
• Cost per acquisition

Cost per click is when you’re paid every time someone clicks on your affiliate link. Cost per acquisition is when you’re paid if someone clicks on your link and makes a purchase or performs another pre-defined task. The thing with affiliate links is that they stay in someone’s cookies for a few days. So, even if someone clicks the link and doesn’t buy something from the site immediately, you’ll still be paid if they go back the next day and make a purchase. 

How do you make money from affiliate marketing on your blog? 

The first step is to pick a blogging niche. You need to choose an area that’s not overly popular or it’ll be too competitive. At the same time, the niche can’t be too small or you won’t get enough traffic to benefit from affiliate marketing. 

You’re trying to hit the sweet spot – which sounds impossible but there are many options out there. 

From here, you need to find relevant affiliate marketing programs to join. This will give you links to use on your site when writing about different products/services. Always join programs that relate to your niche – it’s pointless writing about finance and then joining affiliate programs from companies selling fitness products. Match your niche with the programs and you can seamlessly place links without it looking too promotional. 

The next step is to create content that lets you include affiliate links. This can be product reviews, guides with recommendations, top x lists, and so on. Find ways to make engaging and useful content that people will want to click on, and then ensure you use the links wisely. The idea is to encourage people to click the link and make a purchase, so you must frame your content around the idea that your readers will benefit from clicking the links. 

Fill your blog with useful content and then embark on a strategic marketing campaign. Sites like Blogger Broker are very useful here as they include loads of tips and tricks on how to grow your blog/brand. The goal is to drive as much traffic to your site as possible, and then convert it. A blog with 50,000 monthly visitors is bound to get more affiliate link conversions than one with only 1,000 monthly visitors. The more people you convert, the more money you’ll make. 

As a mini summary, the path to making money from affiliate marketing looks like this: 

• Make a blog and figure out your niche
• Find affiliate marketing programs related to your niche
• Create engaging content that lets you embed links and encourages users to click on them
• Market your blog to drive traffic and boost conversions

What to consider before embarking on your affiliate marketing journey

Don’t assume that this will be an easy journey, or that your blog will immediately turn into a side hustle. Keep these key points in mind during the process: 

• Be patient – affiliate marketing can take months before it brings in money, and even longer before you earn a decent income

• Research your niche as much as possible to figure out what forms of content work the best

• Pick the affiliate programs wisely – pay attention to how much money you’ll get and how you’re paid. Cost per click is ideal, though cost per acquisition usually pays better

One final point to reiterate is that affiliate marketing is one of many ways you can make money from your blog. Use it with paid advertising or sponsored posts to keep generating money on the side.