Anyone who has used the internet realizes that the way businesses make money online is through advertising. It is everywhere. From Facebook and Gmail to people’s personal blogs. It makes sense that ads for every type of business would appear on the larger sites and social networking pages, but what about those blogs?
Blogs are multi-purpose tools. Sure, there are people who maintain a blog for personal reasons or to communicate with like-minded people who could potentially benefit from information about their subject of interest. But, blogs are extremely useful as a money making tool for people who are considering getting involved in the world of affiliate marketing.
In the beginning, affiliate marketing was done through big online retailers. Amazon may have been the company that started making affiliate marketing a popular way for people to make some extra money online. But, it seems that almost every online retailer or business now offers a small commission for people willing to advertise their business. Honestly, this is more of a benefit to the business than to the affiliate. But, there are no drawbacks for either side and here is why.
How does affiliate marketing work?
If you place an affiliate ad on your blog for Widget, Inc. and one of your readers goes to their site and purchases a book for $10, you make money and it cost you nothing. As an affiliate, you will receive an agreed upon percentage of any sales made through your link. Let’s assume your commission through the Widget, Inc affiliate program is 4%. You would earn 40 cents on that $10 sale. But it doesn’t stop there! If you do it right, you can make a couple hundred, if not a little over a thousand dollars a month, doing affiliate marketing allowing you to get a little extra in your savings and possibly start asking what is a CD, or which mutual fund is best for me?
Most affiliate programs agree to pay you a commission on any return sales made after a customer purchases through your link. So, your reader made a $10 purchase and you made 40 cents. But the individual is pleased with the product and the service, and decides to place several additional orders throughout the following year. Each of those orders totals around $100. You just earned around $12 more without having to do anything. If four more people go through the link and have similar repeat visits, you have just earned $50 for doing nothing more than inserting a few lines of code on your blog.
Of course, you will need to keep your blog current and up to date and you will need to get people to visit the site. If you can get 10,000 visitors a month, just consider how many people might visit the Widget, Inc. website and how much money you stand to make. And, you are not limited to one affiliate program. You can put as many affiliate links on your site as you would like. You can rotate the ads, place them all or manage this however you see fit.
Jess Wagner is an experienced freelance writer with over 4 years of experience. Originally from Poway, California, Jess Wagner graduated with a Bachelor’s in English from San Diego State University. After college, Jess Wagner made downtown San Diego her home.