How I Make Money Online Affiliate Marketing (My Strategy)

How I Make Money Online Affiliate Marketing (Tutorial For Beginners)

Make Money

How To Make Money Online Affiliate Marketing Tutorial! Looking for passive income ideas? Did you know you could earn money online affiliate marketing? YES, you can learn to make honest money online affiliate marketing FREE, FAST, & EASY! In this post, I’m breaking down How I Make Money Online Affiliate Marketing along with the best make money online affiliate programs I’ve found. So if you’ve been asking Google “How To Make Money Online With Affiliate Marketing Websites” then this is for you!

If I Started Affiliate Marketing in 2025, I’d Do This…

THIS is How To Start Affiliate Marketing For Beginners! My step-by-step guide sharing How to Make Money Online Using Affiliate Marketing and EXACTLY how I make money affiliate marketing! After reading this you’ll know how to actually make money affiliate marketing! If you enjoy learning how to make money online through affiliate marketing don’t forget to subscribe, like, and leave a comment!

How To Make Money Online: Affiliate Marketing (step-by-step tutorial)

One of the ways that I make money online is through affiliate marketing. So, I’m able to make passive income all the time without really doing a whole lot of effort after I set it up the first time.

If we haven’t officially met, I’m Blogging Brandi, an ex corporate Kool Aid drinker, born to be a creator, blogger, vlogger. Some people call me an influencer and even a YouTuber!

One question I often get asked is “How do you make money online?”

So, how do I make money online? Well, one way is through affiliate marketing.

What Is Affiliate Marketing? (Explained Simply)

I know you might be asking, what is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is when you essentially say:

Hey, I like this product, or I’ve used this product, or—maybe you haven’t (though I would probably only recommend products and services that you’ve used).

So I could say:

Hey, I really love this coffee cup! You can go pick it up—check out the link below this video and have it mailed to you.

That would be affiliate marketing because:

  • If you clicked the cup link,
  • And you bought it,
  • I would probably get a little bit of income from that sale.

How Affiliate Marketing Works: Discounts, Coupons & Commissions

You can also work with companies and get coupon codes. I might say:

Hey, go buy this product and put in “BloggingBrandi” and they’re going to give you 30% off—or something like that.

It really depends on the company, the product, or the service that I’m recommending or selling.

Is Affiliate Marketing a Scam? (Nope!)

Affiliate marketing sounds like a scary word, but:

  • It doesn’t cost the customer anything extra.
  • It’s just a way for companies to track who referred or recommended their product.
  • You get paid for the sale—kind of like a referral fee.

So you’re just getting paid for recommending a product or service that you’re probably already using.

Real Life Example: My Shirt, My Glasses… My Life!

I can tell you:

  • The shirt that I have on (I don’t know if it’s New Balance or what),
  • And also the glasses that I have on—I love these glasses.

I wear them all the time. They:

  • Glow in the dark,
  • Transition from sunglasses to day glasses,
  • And the reason I love them is because…

I actually don’t even need to wear glasses. I had LASIK surgery, but these help block blue light from the computer and my phone. That way, I’m not tired at the end of the day.

So I could say:

Hey, if you really like these glasses that I have on, you can click the link below this video and go pick them up from Zenni.

ft. @Zenni

And that would be another example of affiliate marketing.

Where Do You Find Affiliates?

I know you’re like:

Wow, Brandi—that sounds kind of exciting and not too hard to do…

So, where do you find these affiliates at?

Well, I’m going to tell you…

1. Amazon Associates Program

The easiest and simplest way to find affiliates is through the Amazon Associates program.

I know everybody and their mother probably recommends this, but there is a little catch to it, okay?

You kind of want to have a little bit of an audience or at least a few people to buy your product, because:

  • You only have six months when you first sign up
  • You have to get three sales (and they can’t be yourself)
  • If you don’t, they’ll kick you out of the program

So if you go and build all these links to all these products and then don’t make any sales in six months:

  • They shut down your account
  • All the links you built? Broken.
  • And no—you don’t get them back

Been there, done that.
You don’t want to do that.

So with affiliate marketing, I wouldn’t sign up until you know you’ve got at least three people that can go buy the products from you.

You’ve got to make at least three sales.
(You can read all about that—I’ll put links to it below this video.)

But Amazon is one of my favorite and easiest platforms to get started with.

2. Impact

Another one is Impact.

It’s more like a marketplace where you can:

  • Find a bunch of affiliate programs
  • Create your profile
  • And apply to different programs that are listed there

ft @Impact

It’s great because you’re not just limited to one company—you can explore and apply to a whole bunch of them.

3. CJ (Commission Junction)

Same thing with CJ—also called Commission Junction.

You set up your profile and apply for different programs.

Some companies run their own affiliate programs in-house, and others will farm them out to third-party services like:

  • Impact
  • CJ

ft @CJ

4. Google the Company + “Affiliate Program”

If you’re like, “Okay, does this place even have an affiliate program?”—just Google it!

For example:

If I wanted to know if Zenni had an affiliate program, I would search:
Zenni Affiliate Program or Zenni Glasses Affiliate Program

Then, if they have one, I could sign up and start recommending the glasses.

So when you click on them?
I would get paid for it.

That’s a real example!

5. Reach Out to Brands You Love

Another way to find affiliates is by thinking of brands you already love.

Like for me? I always recommend my Vera Bradley bags.

I carry them everywhere.
You can probably see them back here…

ft @VeraBradley

They’re back there—yes, with all my laundry!

  • I use them as carry-ons when flying
  • I keep them in the RV with me
  • One is basically my desk in a bag and it goes everywhere with me

I love these bags.

So I could say:

Hey, if you really love this bag and want one for yourself—it’s called Vera Bradley. Click the link below this video and pick one up!

If you’re wondering whether Vera Bradley has an affiliate program, here’s what you do:

  • Go to Vera Bradley’s website
  • Scroll to the bottom of the site
  • Look for something like: Affiliates, Partners, or Commission Program

Or again—just Google their name and see if they have an affiliate program.

But personally?
What I like to do is go straight to the company website and check.

6. When You Really Want to Work With a Brand…

If you really, really want to work with a brand or truly love a product, then you can always:

  • Email them
  • Or reach out to them some other way

Sometimes just asking is all it takes.

Those are some ways that you can find affiliates, but where do you share them?

Now That You Have Affiliate Links… Where Do You Post Them?

So, now that you’ve got these affiliates—and now that you’re like, okay, I want to share this stuff that I’m talking about and using and make money from it—where do I share it?

Well, like I mentioned…

  • You can share it in a YouTube video, like I am in this one!
  • I can talk about my glasses, my coffee cup…
  • And then say, Hey, I love these products. Go below this video and find them.

Just put the links in the description of your YouTube video.

Blog Posts & Affiliate Pages

Or I could write a blog post — like this one!

Hey, head over to BloggingBrandi.com and you can find all of the links that I’m talking about in a blog post… or maybe on a page I share them — on an affiliate page.

It just depends on how you set up your website.

For me, I set up my website super easy with GoDaddy and their Managed WordPress.

  • They handle everything for you.
  • I bought my domain name and everything there.

If you happen to click and go buy something from them, I might get a little commission from that.

ft @GoDaddy

>> Learn How I Built A Very Much Loved Business Blog using GoDaddy!

Social Media Platforms

Another place you can share is on social media.

You could post affiliate links in:

There are so many social media platforms you can sell on.
You just have to tell people:

Hey, do you love this thing that I’m using? This coffee cup? There’s a link below—you can go check that out!

Selling to People You Know

Another way to sell—especially when you’re just getting started—is to start with:

  • Friends
  • Family
  • Coworkers
  • Neighbors
  • Or just people you run into!

You can always share your affiliate links with them.

Here’s a real-life example:

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve run into my neighbor—and she has these barking dogs—and I told her about this collar that you can get that helps the dogs.

I don’t like shock collars or anything like that, but this one has little plastic prongs and what it does is:

  • It vibrates on the dog’s neck when they bark.
  • It’s called Dog Rook.

If you head over to Birdie’s Doghouse (my dog rescue blog), you could probably find these affiliate links.

That’s one of the ways I make money through Birdie’s Dog Rescue—people click those links.

I’ll put a link to this below this video since I mentioned it—go find it!

What happens is:
You turn the collar on, and if the dog barks, it vibrates (it doesn’t shock them!).

That’s something I shared with her—sent the link—and said, “Girl, you need this!”

ft @BirdiesDoghouse

Your Email List (YES—You Need One)

That’s friends, family, neighbors, coworkers… and then your email list.

Your email list is a great place to promote these affiliate links.

BUT—there are rules and regulations depending on the program.

Like with Amazon—they don’t allow you to post links in places they can’t track.

  • So if it’s in an email?
    They can’t see it.
  • They want it to be posted somewhere like:
    • Your website
    • Social media
    • YouTube video description

So instead, you might send people from your email to:

That way, they can click the affiliate link from there.

Important Note: Every Program Is Different

It all depends on the program.

You want to:

  • Read the fine print
  • Understand the platform’s rules
  • Do your research before you start promoting

Because you don’t want to get banned or run into any problems.

Don’t Have an Email List Yet? Start One for Free

If you don’t have an email list yet, you can set one up completely free with MailChimp.

That’s what I do with mine!

I set up an email list and send everybody to it.

So when I do have products and services I want to promote or share—I have somewhere to send people, and people to send it to.

ft @MailChimp

Why Email Still Matters

It’s not just about social media, because:

  • You don’t own your social accounts
  • People may not even see your posts

Same thing with your blog—maybe they don’t find it.

But with email?

  • It’s right in front of them
  • Whether they’re on their phone, computer, or just out and about—they’ll see the email

So if you haven’t signed up for my email list, check the link below this video (CLICK HERE)

And if you haven’t set one up for yourself, you can do that via MailChimp completely free and get it started today.

Super simple. Super easy to do.

Affiliate Disclaimer:

One last thing you’ll want to do is let people know you’re using affiliate links, codes, etc…

How do you do this?

  • insert in your blog post (at the top or bottom, they even make plug-ins for this)
  • add a disclaimer to your YouTube Video Description (mention it in your video)
  • using hastags like #Affiliate in your social media post

It’s as simple as posting something simple like this…

Affiliate Disclaimer: Note this description contains affiliate links that allow you to find the items mentioned in this video and support the channel at no cost to you. While this channel may earn minimal sums when the viewer uses the links, the viewer is in no way obligated to use these links. Thank you for your support!

🎬 Watch: How To Start Affiliate Marketing (Video Tutorial)

How I Make Money Online Affiliate Marketing (My Strategy)

>> VIDEO: How To Make Money Online Affiliate Marketing Tutorial!

Wrapping It Up: Ready to Start Affiliate Marketing?

Wow. I’m so excited that we went through this.
I’ve been wanting to share this for so long, and I just feel like affiliate marketing is something that people kind of frown upon.

Let’s Recap: What We Covered

We talked about:

  • What is affiliate marketing
  • Where you can find affiliate programs
  • Where to share your affiliate links

By now? You should be good to go!

I Want to Hear From You

You can get your affiliate marketing started, and I want to know:

  • What questions do you have at this point?
  • Which one of these things have you tried?
  • Which one do you want to try first?
  • What is keeping you from getting started?

Drop it in the comment below and let me know.

I can’t wait to read those, and I always try to respond to them.

Your comments help me make:

  • New content
  • New videos

And who knows? You might end up in one of them!

I love you and I’ll see you in the next episode!

Don’t Miss A Thing…

🗞️ Sign Up To Receive My Email Newsletter!

💃 Follow Me @BloggingBrandi via Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

🎬 Subscribe on YouTube!

🙋‍♀️ ABOUT ME:

If we haven’t officially met Hi, I’m Blogging Brandi, an EX-Corporate Kool-Aid Drinker, born to be blogger, Female Entrepreneur, and Digital Nomad who LOVES RV Living, since it keeps me close to Nature! All though you can catch me from time to time on an airplane, in a hotel, Airbnb, as I can WORK FROM ANYWHERE not just my RV. I’m also an all-natural, introverted, God Fearing, Rescue Dog Mom, but most importantly a Writer and Creator! Plus, you might not know I have a Finance Degree and am licensed in Master Cosmetology! I believe you can have many passions, create multiple streams of income, and don’t have to conform to the norm! Learn more ABOUT ME!

Got Questions? I’ve got answers… don’t be afraid to reach out and CONTACT ME 

#AffiliateMarketing #PassiveIncome #MakeMoney #MakeMoneyOnline #OnlineBusiness #SideHustle #HowToMakeMoneyOnline #Affiliate #Affiliates #Entrepreneur #PassiveIncomeIdeas #OnlineBusinessIdeas #IncomeIdeas #GoDaddy #MailChimp #VeraBradley #ZenniOptical #DogRook #BirdiesDoghouse

Related:

Affiliate Disclaimer Note that blog posts and pages throughout this website all contain affiliate links that allow you to find the items mentioned and support the website at no cost to you. While this website may earn minimal sums when the viewer uses the links, the viewer is in no way obligated to use these links. Thank you for your support!
Updated: July 31, 2025
Tagged:

You Might Also Like

Add A Comment