Passive Income from Affiliate Marketing
This is the fifth post in my Passive Income Series and it is time to go online. With my earlier posts the methods I discussed could be offline or online We are going to examine how Affiliate Marketing can give us a passive or residual income. If you are new to the online world and not a techie well neither am I. You do not need to be one to do affiliate marketing.
Normally when I think of affiliate marketing I think of a “one off” sale. If you are unfamiliar with affiliate marketing have a read of a recent post I did Work from Home – Affiliate Marketing . If you were to buy a training course or tool like SEO Pressor that I am an affiliate for I would earn a a one off commission and that is it – there is no passive income.
Let’s take a look at the types of affiliate programs that will give you an ongoing passive income and then over the next few posts in this series I will look at some of these in more detail.
Subscription Based Affiliate Income
Subscription based affiliate programs usually pay the affiliate an ongoing income. For example, if you joined MLSP on my affiliate link, as long as you continue to pay your monthly subscription I will be paid commission each month. Can you see how this is beneficial to adding to your passive income? Hey and that should be our goal – to build our passive income.
I prefer to promote services and products that I use. Most of the things we pay for on a monthly basis like our web hosting and auto responder service has an affiliate program attached to it.
If you become an affiliate for all the services you use in time you are going to have enough income to cover what you pay out – and even better over time you will make a profit.
This just makes sense to do and it is my belief we should all be building multiple streams of income – and even better multiple streams of “passive income”.
I have a Recommended Resource page here on my blog where I have my affiliate links for various services and tools I use. I have often purchased something because I have seen it reviewed or promoted on someone else’s blog.
Tiered Affiliate Programs
Tiered affiliate programs reward you for signing up sub affiliates. They vary and might only be one level deep but can go further. Empower Network is a tiered affiliate program. I am going to look at Empower Network in detail in an upcoming post.
Penny Auction Sites
Penny Auctions are auction sites where there is a fee charged for bidding. This model is often marketed to affiliates using the pitch that it is “truly passive income and no recruiting is necessary”. People who do refer however make more money.
The two I have heard most about are Zeek Rewards and Bidify. I know there are others as well.
You are probably familiar with the fact that Zeek Rewards was recently shut down and I know Bidify has since made some changes to their compensation plan.
I have never joined one of these but know many people who I respect who have and have made good money.
CPA offers ( cost per action or sometimes called cost per acquisition)
So as a marketer you drive traffic to a landing page and for a certain action you will get paid. CPA offers are about acquiring something (typically new customers by making sales). In most cases you do not have to make the sale yourself.
CPA offers can stand alone or can be the front sale for other back-end offers. One I have recently joined is EZMM which is has a CPA front end offer and then some back end product which can offer passive income. I will be covering this in my next post.
If you have not read the first four posts in my passive income series you can find them here:
- Passive Income
- Passive Income – Property
- Passive Income – Portfolio Investments
- Passive Income – from work you do
Please leave me your comments on Passive Income from Affiliate Marketing below. Are you using any of these methods I mention or do you know of other ways? If you found this post of value please share it with your friends.
Sue Price
Skype: sueprice
P.S. If You Don’t Have a Step-By-Step Blueprint For Generating More Leads, Check This Out (Unless You Already Have Too Many)
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Barbara Charles says
Hey Sue. Nice explanation. I don’t think people really knew that affiliate marketing is residual or passive income. Nice article. It will enlighten many people. Good job! 🙂 Barbara
Sue Price says
Hi Barbara
Thanks for your feedback and thanks for visiting me here again 🙂
Have an awesome weekend.
Sue
Eric says
Sue has done an excellent job in explaining the potential of affiliate marketing to generate residual income. There are of course many excellent affiliate programs now on the market and I would like to take the liberty of mentioning the Smart Media program.
Smart Media is a relatively new concept still being actively developed and progressively launched. It offers residual income based on the repeat sales of on-line social networking advertising and PPC and PCM commissions from a global pool of free (and paid) members. The company has rather more substantial financial, management and technical backing than most and has great ambitions for social impact and market penetration.
But rather than attempt to go into details let me instead just invite yu to check out my web site. Thanks for your time – Eric
Sue Price says
Hi Eric
Apart from yourself I know several people in Smart Media. There are many opportunities now for us to make money online. It is about finding what works for us and what we enjoy doing. I can see you enjoy Smart Media.
Thanks for sharing about it.
Sue
Eric says
Hi Sue – yes its important that you believe in the business you represent, that its a good fit to you and you enjoy what it entails.
Perhaps the only issue with affiliate marketing is that it does not lend itself so much to direct action, as say Network Marketing does.
Sue Price says
I am not sure what you mean by “affiliate marketing not lending itself so much to direct action, as network marketing”. Will you elaborate for us?
Eric says
I’m not too sure myself, but along the lines that affilate marketing largely exists in virtual, rather than real space. Whereas with NM, you might do home meetings, parties, attend roadshows, conventions etc. Hand out business cards etc. even phone calles. I don’t get the impression that this is the norm or even practiced with affilate marketing.
I could be wrong, and would appreciate your thoughts. This topic impinges directly on my attempts at visualising what a highly successful affiliate business would look like – all residual with virtually no daily activity?
Sue Price says
Hi Eric
Affiliate marketing is online as far as I understand it. It appeals to me more than some of those activities you have described for network marketing 🙂
I envisage a totally automated Affiliate business but there is not the deeper leverage like NWM. For that reason I will continue with that too.
Interesting topic I think. Thanks for your input Eric.
Sue
Eric says
Hi Sue.
Yes it is an interesting topic. I guess I’m seeking a better understanding what a successful (viz full time income) affiliate? business would look like and involve on a daily basis. Currently my interest is in Dream Boarding or visualizing a business future.
This I can do for Network Marketing, basically time spent recruiting, training management etc. Now does this apply to affiliate marketing – or is this really a set and forget business, that just need tweeking from time to time. Can an affiliate business be totally disconnected from the time spent on it. How do you visualise a future?
Sue Price says
I guess I am still learning Eric. I am not sure if any business can be set and forget really. But the 4 hour work week is appealing 🙂
Adrienne says
Ah, another great post from the lovely Sue. As you know, I love this topic and I love affiliate marketing as well.
Two things I’ve never done that you mentioned though are penny auctions, although I’ve heard they are the rave, or banner brokers. Penny auctions really don’t interest me at all but I recently have heard more about banner brokers. Now I haven’t dove into those yet but if you’re going to do a post on them then I’d prefer to wait and hear what you have to share. I definitely believe in paid advertising because it’s going to get you that end result a lot quicker I believe.
Another wonderful post in this series Sue and you do explain this so well. I appreciate that so thank you.
Hope you had a good birthday and are enjoying your weekend so far. Talk soon.
~Adrienne
Sue Price says
Hi Adrienne
I could not really get my head around the penny auctions but I know many people love them.
I do intend to write a post just about Banners Brokers as it will make me get clearer on it :-). I joined initially with a free account and started making money doing nothing. I am still learning. It appealed to me as everyone says you do not have to put much time into it. So stay tuned to learn more.
I did have a lovely birthday thanks Adrienne. It was the first warm day coming out of winter which was extra special.
Hope you are having a nice weekend.
Sue
Whybrand says
Hey that were some great info. I was surely missing on some of the points or paying less attention to them. But you have put them in a easy and understandable way . So I will make sure to follow all of these.
Sue Price says
Thanks for your comment. I am aiming to show people the different options they can have to do their own business and build a passive income.
Sue
Viola Tam says
Hi Sue,
I appreciate your insights about affiliate marketing. I totally agree with you that it makes sense to earn extra passive income by recommending the prtoducts or services that we are happy with. Having said that, the affiliate income need not be restricted to that.
I am for multiple streams of PASSIVE income too. I believe that Clickbank and Amazon are the two sources that we can use to create extra income streams.
Thank you for your well explained series. Keep up the good work, Sue!
Viola Tam
Sue Price says
Hi Viola
I agree affiliate income does not need to be restricted to products we use. They are a good place to start.
There are so many options really for affiliates and of course Amazon and Clickbank are great sources.
Multiple streams of income are so important to me as we have learned the hard way in the past with only having one.
Thanks for your feedback Viola. I appreciate it.
Take care
Sue
Ryan Biddulph says
Another helpful breakdown here Sue. I dabbled in affiliates a while back. Super cool way to generate a nice passive income stream from home. As with any venture, position yourself as an authority by creating value and making connections in your nice and prosper.
Thanks for sharing your insight Sue!
RB
Sue Price says
Hi Ryan
I was first attracted to affiliate marketing many years ago when I was working full on in another business. It appealed to me but I also thought you needed to be a techo and that is not me lol. Consequently it took me a long time to start.
Thanks for sharing here Ryan.
Sue
Donna Merrill says
Hi Sue.
I love affiliate marketing!!! There are so many ways to do it. I’ve tried micro-niche sites and they work well. I’m just starting to touch on Penny Auction Sites. Interesting stuff!
Thanks so much Sue for giving us such valuable information to incorporate with our business.
Donna
Sue Price says
Hi Donna
I too love affiliate marketing. I just wish I started earlier rather than sitting on the sidelines thinking I need to be a techo.
Thanks for your comment Donna. I hope you are having an awesome weekend.
Sue
Louise says
Hi Sue
Thank you for this great information and breaking affiliate marketing down in this way. Like some other commenters I am curious to hear how you go with the banner brokkng as this is new to me.
I think when it comes to personally recommending products it is best to stick to products you personally use or from people you know and trust. It’s very easy to lose credibility if you promote products you don’t know and they turn out tobe dudds. And there are plenty of those out there.
Louise
Sue Price says
Hi Louise
I only learned about Banners Brokers because people kept sending me links. When I got some from people I really respect I checked them out. I am still learning but now that I have committed to write a post on it I will need to get up to speed 🙂
I am with you on feeling more comfortable promoting products I use. My only exception is where I have done a course with someone and know their quality then I may promote their next product without buying it. I am not buying any more courses until I fully implement the unfinished bits of those I currently now own.
Hey Louise Eagles or Collingwood this weekend? 🙂
Hope you are having a good week.
Sue
Carol Lynn says
Good information to get people started with passive income! Amazon also has a good affiliate program and the nice thing is you get paid for everything a person buys on that shopping trip, even if it wasn’t something you promoted. I just recently started listening to Pat Flynn’s podcast (Smart Passive Income) and he has an entire business set up around affiliate marketing which is just amazing. There’s definitely money to be made if you’re willing to put some up front work into it, and once it’s set up and running, look forward to the holy grail of income!
Sue Price says
Hi Carol
I know Amazon has a good affiliate program but I did not know about the additional benefit you have mentioned so thanks for that info!
I agree with you there is work to set it up for sure but then it can be very passive. There are several people in the region in Australia that I live in that are doing really well from affiliate marketing.
Thanks for your additions here Carol.
Sue
Leo says
I’ve managed to sell some products through Amazon affiliate marketing, but did not realize there were all these other types available. Thanks for the headsup — I’ll have fun exploring them.
Sue Price says
Hi Leo
I keep learning of more avenues of affiliate marketing. Now you are ahead of me with Amazon so I need to get back to checking that out more.
Thanks for your comment Leo.
Sue
Paul Butler says
Hey Sue,
great article here about affiliate marketing and passive income. Passive income is definitely the way to go but it takes a lot of work to get to the passive stage if you know what I mean 😉
Affiliate marketing and network marketing are a great way to earn extra income and a passive residual income.
Keep up the great work!!
Paul Butler
Sue Price says
Hi Paul
Thanks for the feedback on the article. Yes passive income does take a lot of work and does not happen over night but it is worth it. We still have a way to go but we are working on it.
Thanks for commenting here Paul.
Have a great weekend.
Sue
Ngenda says
I recently heard about a new way of earning passive income online. It involves buying shares in affiliate programs before they launch. It’s a new concept but i think its going to be big.
Sue Price says
Hi Ngenda
Ah yes there has been quite a bit of the pre-launch going on. Some will succeed no doubt and others may not. There are some interesting ones around.
Thanks for your feedback.
Sue
Don Evans says
Hi Sue, I found your blog very interesting particularly on passive income. I have tried to find recurring income sites wherever possible to help build my online income.
I have had some success with CPA offers as well as sales on clickbank and amazon.
Like anything you need to focus and be persistent!
Sue Price says
Hi Don
Thanks for finding me here. Great you understand the value and importance of recurring income. And yes you do have to be persistent and focus.
Thanks for your comment and you have a great day.
Sue
Tamal Anwar says
Hello Sue, thanks a lot for sharing about affiliate programs. I wasn’t thinking passive with affiliate marketing and most of the products I promote are one off sales. So now I am looking forward to building a passive income stream with recurring commission products. I heard that online software are great for recurring commission streams.
Sue Price says
Hi Tamal
Yes there are a lot of ways you can build a passive income with affiliate items that have a monthly or ongoing subscription. It makes sense to include that in your mix and not just one off sales. Yes online software is good for this or hosting accounts, auto responders, memberships.
Thanks for you comment on here Tamal and you have a great week.
Sue
Laura Newton says
I’m planning on collecting as much tips about earning online through online selling or affiliate marketing, and I always find it lucky on my part to stumble on great sites and tips like you’ve mentioned, before I go full blast next year with my online efforts.
I guess it’s going to be a great new year for me next year.
Thanks for sharing.
Sue Price says
Hi Laura,
I hope my post has helped you with your research. It can be so confusing to work out what is best for us as there are so many options.
My advice is to make sure you choose something with residual income.
Happy New Year and all the best. If you have any questions for me just ask.
Sue
Andreas Anastasiou says
Great post! This is very informative and very useful too. Thank you for sharing this.
Sue Price says
Thank you Andreas.
Mohanraj says
Nice post Madam. Initially i saw your post and left it. After 5 days i started this post again and Now I’m feeling good . Thanks for the post again 🙂
Sue Price says
Thank you Mohanraj I appreciate you coming back
Peter Beckenham says
Hello Sue,
This is my first visit to your blog and Enjoyed the discussion about affiliate marketing and potential pssive income.
I totally agree with you re the viability of having subscription products to offer.
However, I must also add that way too many affiliate marketers simply drive traffic to a vendor’s sales page (for either one-time or passive income offers) rather than building thier own list first. I understand the rush to earn commissions but operating an affiliate marketing business like that will only result in long term failure.
It’d far better to drive traffic to your own squeeze page first (with a free offer somewhat aligned to the affiliate offer you want to promote) and then build the know, like and trsut factor with your list BEFORE sending them to your affiliate opportunity.
In this common sense way the affilaite marketer can then market to thier list over and over again rather than putting all their faith in the conversion capacity of the vendor’s sales page – and building them a list of buyers based on your promotional spend!
Sue Price says
Hi Peter,
Welcome to my blog. I apologize for not responding to you comment until now. I have not been blogging on this particular blog for sometime now and did not see your comment.
I agree with you that online marketers need to build their own lists. I had not considered people just sending traffic to the vendors sales page but I am sure it happens a lot.
I can see by your great comment that you are a very experienced online marketer and know how to do it the correct way.
Thanks for finding me here. The blog I wrote on now is http://www.freedomwithsue.com/ if you would like to find me there.
Thank you again for your awesome comment.
Sue
Mansoor Bhanpurawala says
I was admittedly missing on some of the points & yeah given less attention to them. I like CPA offers content especially. But now got it how it working. Great post! This is very informative and very useful too. Thank you for sharing this.
Sue Price says
Thanks for your comment Mansoor. There are of course many ways we can make money through affiliate marketing or things like CPA offers. The thing is what ever we do we need to find some way of building a residual income.
Obodo Charles says
Hi,
Sue, I just stumbled on this post even though it’s been long it was published I still feel it’s evergreen and relevant hence I decide to comment. Affiliate marketing is a primary source of income for most bloggers including me; I prefer affiliate marketing set up that will continue to help you earn passive or residual income over a long time rather the one off thing. I also have a huge interest in CPA marketing because I feel it’s easier to promote.
Great job, please keep it up.
Sue Price says
Hi Obodo,
I also think this post is evergreen so thank you for commenting on it.
I too prefer marketing products that earn residual income. It just makes sense to me. I have never done CPA marketing however reading your comment on it I am thinking I should explore this option.
Have a great day.
Sue
Max says
Hey Sue,
Many thanks for your article – a lot of useful content on here!
I would just add one thing which hasn’t really been touched on. These days a discussion on affiliate marketing isn’t complete without discussing Amazon’s affiliate program.
As the largest affiliate scheme in the world, Amazon allows you to access its enormous catalogue of products to find ones to promote.
Due to how extensive the range of products on amazon, it is so easy to find products for almost every niche, and this is a great way of using your expertise and blog to create an additional revenue stream for you, whilst recommending genuinely effective products for your readers.
Best,
Max
Sue Price says
Hi Max,
Thanks for the additional tip of Amazon’s Affiliate program. It is something I have not looked at and it sure sounds like I should. Thank you Max.
Regards,
Sue
Anis Chity says
Affiliate Marketing is one of the best ways to make a living online,I have never known how to use Amazon and what products should I promote on my site, what do you think?
Sue Price says
Hi Anis,
This is an old post so some of it outdated. I am not doing affiliate marketing at the moment so I am out of touch to help you.
Thanks for your comment.
Sue