How to Make Your First $10 From Affiliate Sales in 7 Steps

Affiliate income is almost always my second-highest revenue source (just behind 1:1 services or digital products, depending on the month).

When I had my first $30k month with my travel blog, over $25k of that was just from affiliate sales of things like tours I loved and hotels I stayed at (because, spoiler alert, things you’ve actually done will always convert better!).

But getting started with affiliates was really hard for me. Everyone gave super generic advice like “just add an affiliate link”.

When that didn’t work for a year, I decided I just wasn’t cut out for the whole affiliate marketing thing. So I ditched it for years and lost out on so much money!

Now, I know how powerful affiliate marketing is and how to actually do it properly. I’m going to help you get started with specifics.

But it’ll be up to you to put these steps into action!

Step 1: Get 1,000 Pageviews Per Month

It’s not worth writing affiliate posts or even signing up to an affiliate network until you have 1,000 pageviews coming to your site per month.

These should be organic pageviews, but it doesn’t matter where they come from: Pinterest, SEO, email list, etc.

You won’t have an audience yet. The few people you do have won’t trust you yet.

I always say it’s like if I took my dog to the dog park and some random dude starts trying to sell me his homemade dog shoes.

What?? Get out of here you creep!

But if I’d spent a month going to that dog park, chatted with the guy, and had gotten some helpful tips for raising my first puppy, it’d be different. Then I might even ask him where he got his dog’s cute shoes and how I could get some for Theo.

That’s because he’s built my trust and I now feel he has the authority to help me with my issue – namely, that my dog doesn’t have any cute shoes yet.

But it wouldn’t work if he started trying to sell me kitchen pans, because he hasn’t built my trust on that topic.

You need to build up your authority within the niche that you plan to promote affiliates.

Sure, Theo’s dog crocs are cute af, but it’d make no sense for me to write a review of them on She Knows SEO. Y’all would be like, “what does this have to do with running a profitable blog??”

It makes way more sense for me to promote affiliates like Lyrical Host or Keysearch, because they’re actually related to your needs as my ideal audience, and related to the topic I’ve built authority on.

Action Step: Pick a niche for your site, write at least 10 articles on a topic within that niche, and either optimize them for socials, email, or SEO traffic (or all of the above!).

2. Sign Up to 1 Affiliate Program

You heard me: just 1!

I signed up to about 100 affiliates within my first 6 months blogging. There were so many that I had to have this HUGE spreadsheet just to keep track of the logins and WTF they were.

Don’t do that.

Pick 1 affiliate to start. It should be a program that sells something you’ve used before and that is related to your current posts.

It’d be weird for me to sign up to an affiliate for a standing desk company if I have never talked about desk setups before. I’d have no content to naturally tie it together.

(Side note: I don’t use a standing desk. My chronic pain means I’m very much a sit down or lie on the couch girlie. This is not me endorsing any one desk.)

Now, the item or experience or service you’re thinking of may not have a direct affiliate program. In that case, find an affiliate network that sells it.

This includes TravelPayouts, Amazon, Walmart, Like to Know it, CJ, etc.

It’s ok that the network has a ton of other options. You’re just going to focus on promoting one thing to start with. You can expand later.

Let’s keep this post going with an example. If I run a golden retriever blog, and my first 10 posts are about golden retrievers swimming, which makes more sense for my first product:

A. Doggy swimming pools

B. Dog crocs

C. Barkbox subscription for toys

D. Tracking collar

Obviously A is the most fitting. It’s 100% going to line up with my other content (assuming I haven’t said doggy pools are crap – which btw they aren’t. Theo loves his kiddie pool).

I recommend your first program isn’t something like Amazon. Amazon requires 3 sales in 90 days for you to stay in the program. That’s fine long term, but at the start it could be more challenging.

Also the commission is pennies, so let’s aim higher to start.

These are my faves for travel bloggers.

Action Step: Pick 1 affiliate to promote that is directly related to the topic of the blog posts you’ve written so far, and that is relevant to your audience. Make sure this is an affiliate you qualify for (i.e. have enough pageviews or the right content format). You will need to wait to get accepted before moving on. Don’t waste time writing about the product if you don’t know that you’re an affiliate yet.

3. Review the Product

Don’t write your actual review yet!

Brainstorm some pros and cons you experienced with the item.

For Theo’s kiddie pool, the pros would be:

• durable enough to stand up to a golden retriever puppy trying to eat it
• fits a full grown golden retriever laying down
• no leaks
• easy to clean

But the cons (and yes there are ALWAYS cons):

• really loud to fill, and loud when he digs at the plastic on the side
• gets dirt caked into the bottom
• leaves a mark on the grass if you leave it out in the same spot all summer
• doesn’t fold down to store for winter

I also write down any bonuses or unexpected features. These are elements that may not solve the audience’s primary pain point – and might not have been things you considered when you got it – but that would make or break someone’s purchase if they knew about it.

For Theo’s pool, it is:

• neighbourhood kids can fit in it with him, so he gets to have more fun splashing for hours
• doesn’t get bleached by the sun
• didn’t freeze or break in the garage over winter
• fits in the back of an SUV easily

For me, knowing that the pool can fit inside the car and not need to be carried on the roof is super helpful. I also love that it’s not going to die in the Canadian cold.

Think of what you’d tell a friend about this product/service/experience. What would be the highlights? What would be the “but”s? And what would be the “oh and you should know about this!”?

Write all of those out for yourself. It’ll make writing the affiliate post afterwards so much easier.

Action Step: List out the pros, cons, features, benefits, and unexpected outcomes of using the affiliate item you’ll be promoting.

4. Brainstorm Questions

What questions did you have when you were considering this purchase?

If you’re not your target audience, then brainstorm questions your target audience might ask.

You can always do this by feeding ChatGPT your audience avatar, and then getting it to suggest questions they might have about the affiliate item in question.

You can often find these on Facebook, forums, or even in the FAQs on the product itself. If none exist, ask people for them: “Hey, I’m considering getting X. What are some questions I should ask first? What did you think about before you bought X? Thanks!”

Some questions I had before buying the pool for Theo:

• How durable is it? He was a puppy and a bit of a menace. Can it hold up to his claws and teeth?
• How heavy is it?
• How deep is it? Will it be deep enough for him to lie down, but also not enough to bankrupt me on the water bill?
• Does it have any sharp edges that he could hurt himself on?
• Will it kill him if he licks the plastic?

These questions aren’t always going to be incredibly deep or thoughtful. We’re not trying to solve world peace here!

They’re meant to be the considerations someone would have before they make a purchase.

If you’re an impulse buyer who never thinks before making a purchase, ask a friend who is more like me – a frugal Freda who takes 7 days to spend $20 on the charger I’ve needed for 2 years.

Action Step: Make a list of at least 5 questions your ideal audience would have about the affiliate item.

5. Write an Affiliate Review Post

Now that you know what you’re writing about, what your audience wonders about it, and all of its relevant features/benefits, it’s time to write your post!

An affiliate post is kind of weird to write the first time. It’ll take you longer than writing your other posts, but that’s ok!

You’ll get the hang of it overtime.

You can find a keyword for this post, but individual reviews don’t tend to have a very high search volume. I’m going to show you a way to drive sales without SEO traffic to this post.

That being said, it is helpful.

I typically try to find a keyword in Keysearch that is something like: “[product name] review” or “is [product name] worth it?”.

The structure of the actual review will vary depending on what it is.

I have 2 review post templates in my AI Infused Blog Post Templates for Effortless Content Creation.

One is a round up template, and the other is an individual review template – which is what you’d need in this example.

Some elements to include in your review post:

• Introduction to what it is
• Pros and cons
• Who this is right for
• Benefits – not just features!
• Tutorial on how to use it / secret tips
• Your personal experience
• Alternatives

Action Step: Outline and then write your affiliate review post. Try to use an SEO keyword a bit, but mainly focus on covering all of your user’s potential questions or concerns about the product. It should be very clear how the product addresses their primary pain point/concern. Publish and submit the post for indexing.

6. Include Original Media

I don’t care if you can’t take a good photo to save your life, you need original photos and/or videos for a good affiliate review!

Sure, you can use stock photos and it might seem more professional.

But it’s going to lower your rapport and trustworthiness with your audience.

They want to see you using the thing and your results. Visuals are a great way to do that.

I have videos and photos of Theo in his kiddie pool. I’d fill that post with photos of the pool – even if they’re blurry or a bit wet from Theo’s splashing.

I may also include a more professionally shot stock photo of the pool somewhere in the post, but largely I’m going to focus on the less polished reality of actually using the thing.

Then I’ll upload my videos to Youtube – even if they’re not optimized for Youtube – and embed them in the post.

If I had time, I’d also record a 1 minute video actually reviewing the item and showing it off.

(I’ve since moved and I’m pretty sure that kiddie pool was broken by the doggy daycare I donated it to the next summer – or got filled with husky pee. So that wouldn’t an option here.)

People are more convinced to buy from someone who has very clearly done the thing or used the thing. Anyone can say that they have, but it’s much harder to fake a video or image of your experience.

Long term, it is best to get better a photography and invest in a good camera. But to start, just use your phone.

Action Step: Include at least 2 original photos or 1 original video in your review. They don’t have to be professional photographer quality.

7. Drive Internal Traffic to the Post

Once your affiliate post is published, it’s time to drive some traffic to it.

This is one of the reasons I tell you to wait until you have 1,000 pageviews per month. If you don’t, we don’t have any existing traffic to drive to the post.

Then we’re left waiting for about 6 months for SEO traffic to kick in, or even longer to start and grow a social following or email list, and then to promote it.

I don’t know about you, but I’m all about instant gratification. I’d much rather get that money today than in 6 months!

One of the key ways I make affiliate sales is by setting up an SEO sales funnel on my website. I explain this way more in depth, and how to scale it in the Profitable Part-Time Blogger

But here’s a Cliff’s note version for your first post:

• From at least 10 of your other blog posts, add an internal link pointing to the affiliate review post. Prioritize your top 3 posts with the most traffic that are relevant to the topic of the affiliate item
• Use a CTA (Call to Action) at the end of posts, or at the end of relevant sections, to direct people specifically to this post. For example: “When you can’t take your golden to the lake, this is Theo’s favourite backyard pool that doesn’t break the bank!” That’s going to stand out more than a traditional in context internal link. I would do those too, but we want some CTAs to really stand out.
• Feature the post on your Homepage (see the She Knows SEO homepage for an example of how to do this)
• That’s it!

You can also step this up by adding custom banners across your site, and auto inserting them with Ad Inserter Pro. These can kind of act like manually created ads, but the point is to drive people to the post, not to an immediate purchase.

Action Step: Add at least 10 inbound internal links pointing to the affiliate review post. At least 3 of these should be CTAs with a clear message to get users to come read this post about the product.

Bonus: Drive Social Traffic

If you have any social media presence, even a personal one, share the post there.

I’ve shared affiliate posts in my Facebook groups with great success.

I’ve had lesser success on Instagram and Youtube – but I’m not as strong on those platforms.

Don’t be afraid to promote yourself! It can feel a bit weird at first.

But you know what doesn’t feel weird? Making money!!

Action Step: Share the blog post on all of your social channels once you’ve published it.

How to Scale to $1k of Affiliate Income

Once you’ve made your first $10 from affiliates, it’s pretty easy to scale this system.

Just rinse and repeat!

Your first affiliate post will continue to grow its traffic, especially if you optimized it for an SEO keyword.

But you’ll want to add on additional posts. There’s no perfect ratio, but I do recommend having 10 posts on a general topic before you write an affiliate post on it.

This might mean that sometimes you have 10 informational posts and 40 affiliate posts on a topic, and other times that you have a 10:1 ratio. It will totally depend on the specific topic and your audience for what works.

It shouldn’t take you 100 affiliate posts to hit your first $1k from affiliates. Because as you scale your affiliate income, you should also be scaling your traffic and growing your audience.

That means more people finding your helpful content and coming back for more!

And more internal links driving them throughout your content to find these great affiliate posts.

Want to turn your blog into an affiliate revenue generating machine? Join the Profitable Part-Time Blogger!

I teach my exact strategies to scale to $10k months passively with on site affiliates and actively with email marketing.

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• Selling Digital Products with Email Marketing for Beginners ft. Kate Doster
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• How to Make Your First $10 From Affiliate Sales in 7 Steps
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