When was the last time you wanted a hamburger and fries? Have you ever stopped to think about all of the choices that you have for such a basic food item? There are White Castle, McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, In-and-Out Burger, Five Guys, Dairy Queen, Sonic, and the list could continue on and on. Why are there so many? Because selling burgers and fries is a successful formula.
What is it that you would like to do to make some extra money each month? Are you looking to make extra money cleaning houses? Working as a virtual assistant? Or any other number of ways that we have or will be mentioning on this site? Well then I would suggest finding someone who is successful in that area and emulating their success. You might even decide to contact that person and try to pick their brain, especially if you will not be in direct competition with them.
When I started blogging, I would read the earnings reports of various individuals and, rather than be envious, would try to look for hidden clues as to how they made their money. I figured that focusing on those sources of monetization would yield better results than what I could try to come up with since the earnings reports demonstrated that particular formula was successful.
Looking at an Example
Now let’s look at a real life example that I examined this week. I doubt that I will ever make as much money blogging as Pat Flynn. He is more than a blogger but is running a business online. For me, this is a hobby that pays me back. When I look at Pat’s January earnings report, there might be a few emotional reactions. Jealousy, discouragement, and hopelessness might be a few reactions if you are trying to compare yourself to him.
First, remember that we all start somewhere and this is his full-time occupation. Second, he has been growing his business for several years now and if you are just starting out, you can’t possibly expect to be at such a massive earning level.
But let’s get past the gut reaction and see what lessons we can learn and how we might emulate his success. Of his $62,000 in earnings for the month of January 2012, $38,000 or 61% came from affiliate sales. That is very interesting! The same holds true if you look at his other earnings reports. The vast majority of his income comes from affiliate sales with a lot of that coming from hosting sales.
Pat is more than a blogger. He is an online salesman taking commissions from the sale and advertising of products. My impression is that if you want to increase your online income, then affiliate sales has got to be part of that strategy in addition to other sources of income such as private ads and AdSense. Notice that Pat also has his own products that he has developed and is selling. He has an incredible level of diversification of income streams which is awesome!
My Affiliates
Currently, I am only a member of 3 affiliate programs. I have been an Amazon affiliate as a result of my association with HubPages, but I also put a widget on my other blog, Cash Flow Mantra. I might ad one on this site in the future. I am also an eBay affiliate through HubPages as well. That was added just recently in November. Finally I am an affiliate with Host Gator. I am proud to be one since I love their service. The product seems like a burger and fries. There are many to choose from so the service and 24 hour online chat stands out to me. I have been pleased with our relationship. If you want to start a website, feel free to use Host Gator for your hosting through my affiliate link.
Over the next few months, I plan on looking into other affiliate programs to see what else I might sell. There are a couple criteria, however. I have to have used the product. It is unethical to try to sell something to others that I have never used. I also have to enjoy the product so much that I would purchase again or continue to use. Again a matter of ethics.
When I look at the affiliate programs of which I am a part, I have already stated my enthusiasm for Host Gator. My family is a member of Amazon Prime, my son got an Amazon gift card for his birthday this month to use for his Kindle, and I have purchased several books from my library from Amazon. So I think I am safe to recommend them. Although I have never shopped on eBay (not much for auctions), my wife has done more than her fair share of eBay purchases. I feel safe there as well.
I don’t earn a lot with these programs yet, but hope to grow the opportunities that I have for online income through affiliate programs. I will be reading more about the topic and reporting my results from time to time. I think that it is good to be able to diversify and add to the potential online opportunities. Having more blogs and adding affiliate programs are two ways to emulate the success of online entrepreneurs.
If you like this post, be sure to share it. Consider subscribing to our RSS feed or liking Grand Per Month on Facebook. Thanks for reading.
I always look at the earnings reports of the top bloggers to find what they do that I can too. That is why I signed up to be an Amazon Affiliate too. I get almost all my books on Amazon and if I read one I really like I will tell people about it.
I also became a Host Gator and Go Daddy affiliate by using their service and then wanting to tell others about the good service. I am not an affiliate with any other sites because I have not made anything with the sites above so I do not have a need to expand. But of all the income strategies for a blog, affiliate advertising interests me the most.
Poor Student recently posted..Make Money Being A Mystery Shopper
It is interesting to be sure. I am just getting started so I am sure that it will take a long time to build up the income, but I am pleased to say that I am getting monthly orders through Amazon. Eventually the trickle can grow into a steady stream.
The affiliates you’re sharing are definitely worthy of being shared…like you, I’ve used Amazon so much, there’s nothing bad I could say. I look forward to seeing what else you investigate. I’m thoroughly enjoying your posts and anxiously await the next.
Mary
Thank you so much. I am pleased that you enjoy the blog.
CFM, I agree with you. Pat’s success is amazing. But i will say that its very clear the level of work he puts in and his site is on a complete other level. I’ve started with amazon and i also signed up with clickbank (although i haven’t found anything to promote). I’m also a bluehost affiliate as i love their service.
BE @ BusyExecutiveMoneyBlog recently posted..Maximizing the 3 types of income – Part 1 (Active Income)
For him, it is a profession and is what he needs to do as his work. I am sure that he puts in as much time as I do. I doubt he is putting in a 4 hour work week, but is doing a great job of leveraging prior efforts to increase his business.
I like Pat’s blog a lot, he has a lovely way of writing and educating his audience. But… well, I’m skeptical he makes 60k a month. Even his very first first income report is significantly more than would be deemed ‘above average’ for someone starting out.
I have to take what is written at face value. I have heard that there might be questions on some blogging earning reports. Obviously, there is no way for me to know the truth. Although, I can tell you that I will always tell the truth. I may not reveal too many details for competitive reasons, but what I write will always be accurate.