Is Affiliate Marketing a Good Way to Make Money? I Interview Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Can affiliate marketing be a real career for stay-at-home moms or dads? Is it a business you can fit into your spare time? Can you do it from anywhere, anytime? And, maybe most importantly, is affiliate marketing a good way to make money?

According to Influencer Marketing Hub's Affiliate Marketing Benchmark Report 2022, more than 25% of brands use bloggers as part of their affiliate marketing campaigns, and the industry will grow by about $13 billion in 2022.

I interviewed Michelle Schroeder-Gardner, who created an online course, Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing about the potential income from affiliate marketing, how she got her start, whether you need a blog, and more.

 Michelle, could you give us a little history and tell us how you got into affiliate marketing?

I started my blog in August of 2011, after reading a magazine that featured a personal finance website in one of their articles. I got hooked on that website (that website is DailyWorth) and everything just grew from there. I did not create my blog with the intention of earning a living – it was all just a hobby. In the beginning, I talked about things in my life, and it was more of a journal than a personal finance website. Eventually, I realized how much I loved blogging and made the switch to full-time blogging.

It was the greatest decision ever.  I now travel whenever I want with my husband and daughter, and we have enough money to retire whenever we would like. Life is great and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Around 1.5 years ago, I decided to look more into affiliate marketing. I had always skipped over it because I thought my blog was too small to make worthwhile money from affiliate marketing. Instead, I thought only the “lucky” bloggers made that work.

I also just did not think it was possible to earn a living from affiliate marketing.

I started applying different affiliate marketing strategies to my blog, and they were working. I saw my blogging income increase dramatically every single month. Now, I have my affiliate marketing strategy running very smoothly with little effort. So, even though my affiliate income is increasing, I'm actually spending a small amount of time on it!

What exactly is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is when you try to earn money by placing an affiliate link on your website, social media account, etc., and have people purchase a product through your special referral link. If you get someone to sign up through your affiliate link, you are then rewarded by the company for promoting their product.

Does it only work for people who have blogs?

No, affiliate marketing can be used anywhere, such as if you have social media accounts. There are many people with large social media accounts and no blog, yet earn a great living through affiliate marketing.

Is this something that a stay-at-home mom can do in her limited amount of time? Is it a flexible career?

Yes, definitely! Affiliate marketing allows you to be your own boss. You can create your own schedule, work as many or as few hours as you would like, and more. Plus, there is no limit to how much money you can make – it's all up to you.

Realistically, what is the minimum amount of time you would need to devote to this on a daily basis to make good money with affiliate marketing?

It doesn't take much time at all. Once you know what to do (which I teach in my course), it all happens very easily and in a small amount of time.

Can you make a decent income doing this part-time?

For sure! This can be a great way to make a living part-time.

Is this something that a stay-at-home mom could make into a full-time career once the kids are older and she has more time on her hands?

Yes, definitely. Affiliate marketing can be as few or as many hours as you would like. It's all up to you.

What kind of skills do you need to make good money with affiliate marketing?

My course, Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing teaches you the exact skills that you need. You need good sales skills, writing skills, and more! The key to great affiliate marketing is that you want to help your readers, not sound like an advertisement.

What kind of office equipment do you need besides a laptop and an internet connection?

There's not really anything else that you need. That's one of the great things about it. Very low startup costs!

What are the basic start-up expenses?

There are really not that many start-up expenses. Except for a laptop, my course Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing could help you learn how to do everything with affiliate marketing. It's a very affordable stream of income as it's all about effectively promoting products you love to your audience.

My course is a great learning tool, even if you are a brand-new blogger. By taking this course, you will start blogging the correct way. You can learn from my affiliate marketing mistakes and learn the best ways to start making an income by being an affiliate. By taking this course and applying what you learn, you are sure to grow a profitable blog quicker than the average blogger, as you'll learn exactly what you need to know about affiliate marketing. So, even if you only have one blog post, you are ready to get started with this course! Due to the above, as long as you have a blog, social media accounts, an email list, or some other type of following, you are already ready to start this course.

What is the best part of this career for you?

I love blogging, and affiliate marketing makes it much more enjoyable. This way, I can promote products that I love and use, while helping my readers. It's also a somewhat passive form of income, it's affordable to do, you can work from anywhere, and more.

My husband and I sold our house and we have traveled full-time for over 7 years. It's the greatest thing ever!

Any advice for moms (or dads) who want to give it a go?

My course, Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing, is for you if any of these apply to you:

• You want to build a profitable blog
• You have a blog and want to improve your income even further
• You want to learn how to earn income 24/7
• You want to  know how you can write a blog post and then earn money from it for years down the line, with minimal work
• You haven't had much luck with affiliate marketing but are determined to make it work
• You want to have more time for your family and have a better work-life balance
• You love blogging and want to be able to grow your blog, build trust with your audience, and help more people!

Thank you, Michelle!

Conclusion: Is Affiliate Marketing a Good Way to Make Money?

As Michelle Schroeder-Gardner explained, there's a virtually unlimited amount of money to be made with affiliate marketing. And you can increase your revenue without increasing the amount of time you work if you understand how to write, market – and most of all, help your readers.

Michelle's course, Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing, can help you learn everything you'll need to get started, at an affordable price.

If you're not quite ready to commit to a course, Michelle also has a free e-book, Affiliate Marketing Tips for Bloggers. It will give you valuable information to get you started making money from affiliate marketing.

Have you had any previous experiences with affiliate marketing? What are your fears about trying it? Do you think you'd like to make good money with affiliate marketing? Do you have thoughts or questions? We'd love to chat!