Making Money Online With Affiliate Marketing [Side Hustle Case Study]

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Here’s the next installment in our side hustle case study series, where real people share how they make extra money in their spare time!

This week, Michelle from Time and Pence is talking about how to make money online with affiliate marketing.

I love this interview because most people associate affiliate marketing with blogging, but Michelle uses a variety of different social media channels, and shows how it is possible to make money affiliate marketing without a blog!

How to make money with affiliate marketing with Michelle

Please tell us a little about yourself and your side hustle.

Hi, I’m Michelle! A 40 something housewife and mother. Some years ago, I chose to give up my career and make money from home and I’ve never looked back. I love the flexibility it gives me which enables me to be a stay at home mom, whilst earning money at the same time. I have various income streams and one of them is Affiliate Marketing.

Affiliate Marketing in a nutshell, is where you promote somebody else’s product and earn a commission for any sales. It’s a really simple way to make money and anybody can do it. I only promote products that I love or use myself so it feels natural to promote them and nothing is forced.

How long have you been doing your side hustle? How did you get into it?

I have been doing Affiliate Marketing for about 2 years now. I originally got into it by making money using Affiliate Marketing on my blog, but then I expanded to make money on other platforms and through other avenues.

What does the work actually involve? What does a typical day/work session look like for you?

I don’t really have a typical day because my income streams are so varied. But each day I drop my son to school, grab some breakfast when I get back then settle into my home office where I tend to stay until about 2.30pm. I sometimes take a comfort break for lunch or to hang some washing out but i’m generally very disciplined with my day.

When I am working on affiliate marketing, I will usually have a plan of what I am going to promote that day and where then I just work through my plan, it’s really that simple!

It might mean creating some pins for Pinterest, scheduling some Facebook posts or creating a full campaign to promote a specific product using a number of on-line resources. Whatever it is, I always find it really enjoyable.

How much can you make doing this side hustle?

You can make as much as you wish, the sky really is the limit! Some people do Affiliate Marketing just to make a little bit of extra money around their existing commitments or family and some people focus entirely on Affiliate Marketing to create a huge income.

For me, Affiliate Marketing is just one of the things I do to make money on-line but it’s an important part of my income.

(Note from editor: I strongly recommend looking into affiliate programs for subscription-based services that pay recurring commissions! This is a great source of ongoing, passive income and it can be a very strong foundation for a full time income in affiliate marketing. Software subscriptions are great for this, such as these latest offers, but there are affiliate programs with recurring payments in many niches if you do some digging.)

Are there any start-up costs and/or ongoing expenses with this side hustle?

No, Affiliate Marketing is absolutely free! It’s free to join affiliate programmes and free to promote their products. The only money I have spent is on an Affiliate Marketing course, which I chose to and has helped me to increase my income, but that was my choice and I’m glad I made the investment.

What advice would you give to somebody who wants to get started?

Learn as much about Affiliate Marketing as possible. Although it’s really simple, there is a little bit of strategy that goes into it and it’s not as simple as just cutting and pasting links and hoping you will make some money. That said, if you do a little bit of research learn all you can, there is no reason why you shouldn’t make a great income yourself.

Any recommended websites or resources?

I have a post on my site: How Does Affiliate Marketing Work Step by Step. If you read this, it’s great for beginners and will give you a good idea of what Affiliate Marketing is and how it works.

Where can we find you?

You can find me at www.timeandpence.com, or come and follow me on social media:

www.instagram.com/timeandpence

www.facebook.com/timeandpence

www.pinterest.com/timeandpence

Thanks Michelle!

I recommend popping over to Michelle’s site and checking out her guide to affiliate marketing linked above. It really goes into a lot of detail for affiliate marketing newbies!

Here are some related posts you might enjoy on my own site:

You can find the other posts in the side hustle case studies series here.

I’m currently looking for more contributions to this series! If you have a unique side hustle you’d like to share, please contact me and let me know what it is!