A Lot Of Savings: Making Money with Affiliates

Do you have a blog or website? Is it making any money? It can be when you sign up with affiliates to promote offers on your website that will benefit your readers and make you a little money in the process.

What to do?

Step 1. Apply. (See a list of affiliate companies that I use at the bottom of this post.) To begin you fill out a page asking you specific questions about your site, and give your personal info. You will have to give your social security number because it's like a job. If you do make money, you will have to report it on your taxes.

Step 2. Get Accepted. Before getting accepted, you usually have to speak with a representative from the specific affiliate company that you are applying to. They will contact you by phone or email to speak with you about your website or blog. In some cases, you can contact them to get approved sooner. And if you don't get approved, it's okay. I would send an email thanking them for their consideration and ask what you can do in order to get approved in the future. Sometimes there are certain requirements that must be met before you can get approved. It's hard to meet those requirements especially when your website or blog is new.

Step 3. Get Started. Once you've been accepted with any given affiliate company, go ahead and browse the offers that are available for you to post on your site. Make sure to choose offers that are relevant to your readers. I've personally had the most success with Logical Media and My Savings. They have a lot of freebie offers available for frugal bloggers to post about.

For some websites like Linkshare, after you've been accepted into the program, you will have to apply for individual offers to be able to post them on your website. For example, say you want to promote xyz.com on your site and get paid a small commission for each person who signs up, then you have to apply to xyz.com and get their approval to run their stuff on your site. It's very easy to apply though. It's basically a simple click of a button, and you'll get an email letting you know whether or not you've been approved.

If you aren't approved, don't fret over it. Either move on or send that company an email and ask them what you need to do to get approved. I haven't done this, but I've heard that many times if you do, you'll likely get approval that way.

Now, I personally haven't made tons of money using affiliates, but what I have received is a nice bonus for all the hard work that goes into running a blog. And keeping up with a blog IS hard work. It takes a lot of time, effort, and energy to put together a successful blog or website. Ask anyone who has one.

Don't have a blog? Well, if you'd like to give the bloggy world a whirl, you can start one for free! It only takes a minute (or less) to sign up for one through Blogger.com or Wordpress.com.

Write about what you are passionate about and love.

And finally, here is a list of affiliate marketing companies that I'm signed up with: