Make Money Blogging – Even If You’re A New Blog
One of the questions I receive over and over again is, “Can you really make money blogging?” The answer is YES!
Even if you’re a new blog, a strategy you can implement IMMEDIATELY is to become an Amazon Associate so you can add Amazon affiliate links to your site.
*This post contains affiliate links.
The best place to place amazon affiliate links is within a blog post – a blog post that talks about the item or showcases the item in the blog post. For an example, check out my blog post “5 Great Beginner Photography Books For Your Christmas Stocking”.
Two things to Note: (1) I wrote this post in early December because a lot of people are shopping for Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers. November and December are the two best months to have blog posts that contain affiliate links, especially Amazon Affiliate links – so mark your editorial calendars NOW. (2) I only recommend items I use, know about, and stand behind 100%. I would never want to sacrifice my brand to make a few dollars and you shouldn’t either.
One of the benefits of using Amazon links is that people buy all sorts of things on Amazon once they click through. So even if the person ends up purchasing a product you didn’t link to, you’ll still get credit (money) for any purchases made when the people visit Amazon via any of your affiliate links.
If you’re a new blogger, becoming an Amazon affiliate and using Amazon links is one of the easiest ways to start to make money blogging. Just make sure you only link to products you have experience with and can recommend confidently!
I’m not going to name any names but I’ve seen a number of bloggers force an Amazon link or peddle just about any product in a post just to try and make money. Trust me, people are smart and will see right through this. If you are honest and it’s a natural recommendation definitely use an affiliate link.
The Goal: Help Others With Your Recommendations, Not Yourself.
How to become an Amazon Affiliate?
- Set up your website or blog. To apply for the Amazon Associates program, you will need a website address.
- Go to Amazon.com.
- Click “Join Now”.
- Fill in the Application.
- Get familiar with the features and set up an Amazon Associates account.
- Enter the name of your website and its url.
- Read the Amazon Associates agreement and click “finish”.
- Wait for notification from Amazon that you’ve been approved.
Once approved by Amazon, you can start adding affiliate links to your site pages and/or posts.
Remember: The bloggers who are most successful with affiliate links (whether they are Amazon affiliate links or other affiliate links) are the ones who weave product recommendations into their posts naturally and without coming across as pushy or salesy.
When you recommend products you use and love, it will come through in your writing. Your readers will ‘thank you’ for recommending the products that are helpful to them and make their lives easier!
Do you have a popular chocolate chip cookie recipe post? This would be a good time to talk about and recommend the cookie sheet that you absolutely love. This is a natural, authentic way to link to the cookie sheet with an Amazon Associates affiliate link… and you might just earn some extra income in the process.
Yes, you can make money blogging. And yes, affiliate income is nice, but never sacrifice your reader’s trust just to earn a few extra dollars!
How to become an affiliate for other brands?
If you want to be an affiliate for other brands simply “Google it” and find out if the brand has an affiliate program and how to join. For example, if I wanted to be an affiliate for Adobe products, I would Google “Adobe Affiliate Program” and the link for the Adobe Affiliate program would come up. It truly is that easy!
So whether you’re a new blog or a seasoned blogger you can make money blogging. Cheers to your money making blogging success!
**NOTE: When you do affiliate links, you must provide a disclosure within your post to let readers know that the content is affiliate related. Want to know what the FTC says about affiliate marketing (and product endorsements)? Here’s some more info.
I seriously bought most of our Christmas using Amazon Prime the last 2 years. No lines, free shipping, lots of variety, amazon guarantee…it’s fabulous. So this is excellent info! I know I’m not alone. xoxo!
You are not alone! So hopefully you’ve put this “note” on your editorial calendar to provide a blog post (or two or three) that has affiliate links in it for the Christmas shoppers! xo
This info is so helpful. Already forwarded it to a few people who I know would benefit from this. Awesome as always!
Thanks Krisanna, so appreciated!
I’m confused about where your disclosure is in the Photography Books post.
I find it challenging to make my affiliate links fit naturally, but I suppose it comes with practice. 🙂
Hi Amy – If you scroll down to my ‘footer credits’ area of my site, you will see my affiliate disclosure there. Because I’ve placed it in my footer area the disclosure ends up on every page and/or blog post whether there’s affiliate links or not. I could have also chosen to place it on my sidebar, since every blog post has a side bar area. A great solution is to simply place it as the last line of every blog post that you use affiliate links in… similar to how I’ve done the “main image by” in this particular blog post.