I’ve always been a self-taught blogger, freelancer, and small business owner. And although I’ve managed to increase my income multiple times since I started and am doing what I love full-time, there comes a time to invest in my progress.
I’m a fan of online courses as digital products and I know they can be pretty great to learn a new skill. But it wasn’t until I found the right person and her course that I actually made a purchase.
I’ve been following successful bloggers and reading their income reports lately. One that stood out was Michelle from Making Sense of Cents who earns 6-figures every month thanks to her blogs.
One thing I was constantly noticing in her reviews and those of other names in this niche was the affiliate earning. Or, in other words, the exact money they made through affiliate marketing.
Over and over again I realized I was leaving money on the table by not having this as one of my income streams. That’s when I found out Michelle had a course made for people in that exact situation – Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing.
Why Affiliate Marketing Matters for Bloggers
Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to start earning from your blog.
So many people out there who were completely new to this began making their first dollars this way. By finding the right affiliate products, reviewing them, mentioning them in relevant blog posts, sharing deals and news on social media, engaging their audience via email, or else, and earning a commission every time someone makes a purchase.
Affiliate marketing is great as it means you’re promoting an already existing product. If it’s good (you must choose good ones), it means it works and you just need to explain to people how it’s helped you and what the benefits for them are. That’s why it works best to work with products you’re already using or are a fan of.
But there are so many strategies, a specific way to talk about these products so that you don’t sound salesy, a template to use to write reviews and tutorials, and to know which audience likes what, that I just needed help with this. That’s when I decided to take the Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing online course.
I’m learning more about Pinterest too these past few weeks and see many bloggers and side hustlers working from home who’ve earned their first $100 from affiliate marketing in a few days, directly from Pinterest, and quickly turned it into $1,000. What’s more, this is sort of passive income as well-optimized blog posts with affiliate links tend to bring profits consistently.
Why I Haven’t Been Making Any Money from It So Far
If you’ve been reading my income reports, you might know I earn money from blogging in 2 main ways: from sponsored posts on Let’s Reach Success and from freelance writing on sites like Upwork.
I have my own products too but am not good at promoting and selling them. And I did try some forms of affiliate marketing by including links and signing up for programs some time ago, but never really got the hang of it.
With over 1600 articles in the archives of LRS and the free time and desire I have to create new practical content, I could really use some proper knowledge in affiliate marketing. So I decided to invest in Michelle’s course. It’s for beginners and – according to her – covers all the important things one must learn about this way to make money online.
Most of all, though, I did sign up for it to see her exact strategies to get from $0 to making 7-figures from her blog and business. I wanted to see the products she was promoting, how she included links and where in posts, how she utilized social media and her email list, how she was writing reviews and tutorials, etc.
And that’s what the course covers.
Why I’m Taking The Course Now
I paid $197 for it and am now halfway through it. It’s fun. I’m also back in my home country for a few weeks so used the change of scenery to build this new skill. Or, start building it, actually, as it will be a never-ending journey.
I’m excited to see progress.
Another reason why now is the first time I’m buying a course is that my income increased significantly and it’s worth investing a bit to reach the next stage of my online business.
Also, with the other changes I’ve made since the beginning of the year, I built momentum and want to achieve more. These changes include setting up my business in Amsterdam, Netherlands, getting better hosting for Let’s Reach Success, purchasing a new premium WordPress theme, getting featured on more platforms and forming connections with other bloggers, etc.
All this motivated me to also do something else to get out of my comfort zone. I never really paid for an informational digital product other than a book or membership site, so it was time to try a course.
If you too want to be an affiliate marketer or just want to build a new skill that will always be profitable in the digital world, check out Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. There’s a lot to learn and it can happen at your own pace. Also, it’s a great idea for your first online course.
