It definitely can be a legitimate source of income if you’re willing to put in the work, and your success will depend on several factors.
In the US alone, affiliate marketing is projected to be worth close to $12 billion in 2025.
But this isn’t an even playing field.
Only 9% of the affiliate marketers can earn more than $ 50,000 annually.
Which you could consider as an average salary in the US. And that kind of earnings can take years to achieve.
But that statistic shouldn’t discourage you from creating additional income with affiliate marketing & blogging.
If you plan to make money with affiliate marketing, consider the following:
- People trust other people
- Choose a profitable niche
- It’s not passive income
- Companies retire affiliate programs
- Education first with valuable content
People Trust Other People
A reason why having a blog can help you make more sales is by building up credibility.
Genuine bloggers and influencers tell stories, share thoughts, and those can include mishaps or successes.
If you were to promote a service or product, are you able to back that up with content?
Or highlight how passionate you are about that industry?
That’s also one of the reasons why I choose my affiliate programs with care.
- I only promote or recommend what I use
- I only promote or recommend what I have tested heavily
- I won’t promote anything if it doesn’t align with my values, even if I can get paid more
Online readers who are aligned with you are trusting your recommendations over some random individual who’s trying to make a buck.
Choose A Profitable Niche
Every industry has different earnings, payouts, and affiliate models. Some of the more profitable industries are finance, health, and SaaS subscriptions.
But your niche selection is dependent on your interests.
What most new bloggers still don’t get is that finance isn’t a niche, but an industry.
A blog for teenagers who want to start saving money (tips) is a niche.
My experience is that if you were to recommend specific niche-related tools or apps, your conversion rate would skyrocket with affiliate commissions.
Affiliate Marketing Is Not Passive Income
Whatever you’ve read or heard, affiliate marketing is not passive income. It takes a significant amount of effort, which includes:
- Content creation
- Blogging
- SEO
- Marketing & Social media (e.g., Pinterest to drive traffic)
- Maintenance & updates of old links
- …
Another problem with those “passive income statements” is that churn with clients who signed up through your link happens.
There are two popular models in affiliate marketing:
- A fixed reward per sale or signup (CPA or CPL)
- Recurring revenue, as long as the customer stays subscribed to the platform
We always want the latter, because those affiliate programs often offer a 10% to 40% recurring commission.
For example, if a customer would pay a subscription fee each month for $10, I would receive $1-$4 monthly recurring.
Acquire hundreds of those, and passive income is guaranteed, right?
Sounds like a dream?
Wrong.
Customer life cycles, churn, and cancellations happen every day. A lot of them will change platform, try other services, and when they do, you net exactly zero.
Good customers with companies often change anywhere between 8-16 months before switching.
That would imply that I need to find a new batch of clients who signed up through my affiliate link.
That equals:
- New content research
- Constantly promoting your blog
- Improve ranking with SEO
- …
How passive does that sound? It’s a lot of work, but lucrative if done right.
Companies Can Retire Affiliate Programs
This is probably where I had my fair share of frustrations.
- I wrote great content designed for that tool/affiliate link
- Worked hard on my SEO efforts
- Made money from it
- The program got cancelled
A lot of brands, even highly reputable ones, discontinue their affiliate programs. Ahrefs is a good example.
The reason?
Only 3% of their affiliates generated 90% of their total affiliate revenue.
For them, it’s far more economical to deal with the top-tier affiliates and make separate deals with special terms.
This should make you realize that earnings can disappear (again) tomorrow, and you should always be prepared to find or replace affiliate programs in the same niche.
Education First With Valuable Content
This blog is a primary example.
- I wanted to build a fast, clean blog
- No disturbing display ads
- Affiliate program selection is very narrow
- I want to educate an audience first (all the free guides & content)
Never try to push sales in a blog. It’s going to create the opposite effect.
When you prioritize content and education first, readers often return to the same source and are more likely to use your links, which can earn you a small commission.
Visitors look for answers, not sales pitches. Don’t shove dozens of ads in their face before they can read a single paragraph.
Let’s say your blog is about productivity & work.
I would emphasize free tools and budgeting. Or help beginners to build their productivity stack on a shoestring budget.
Those who are looking for more and can afford premium subscriptions in your niche can be given as an alternative in a blog post, for example.
Final Word
Affiliate marketing and blogging can be profitable and make you enough additional income if you’re willing to put in all the hard work.
There are over 600 million active blogs out there, and most new blogs fail within 12 months of inception, because they’re either not disciplined enough or are disappointed about their earnings.
Trust the fact that this process can take longer than 12 months, and stay consistent with SEO, email marketing, and social media.
Building a reputation or being seen as a trusted authority is what you want, and a lot of your readers will support you by using your affiliate links.
