How I Started Making Money with Affiliate Marketing

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In early October 2019, I read a blogger’s income report and was floored. I told my husband about it, and we were SHOCKED to see how much money a blogger could make! I wasn’t sure how to make money from affiliate marketing, but I was confident I could figure it out.

Instantly, my brain started planning. If other bloggers could do it, why couldn’t I?! I’ve always loved writing, and the thought of doing something I loved and earning extra money for my family became a dream of mine. 

I began fantasizing about vacations we’d take, the new swing set we’d purchase, and how I could cut back my hours at work with the kids to be home more. It became an obsession, and I read everything I could get my hands on. 

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. I may earn a small commission if a purchase is made using the links on this site. This comes at no additional cost to you, and the reviews are entirely my own.

A few weeks later, These Hungry Kids was born. I purchased my hosting plan October 17, wrote up a few posts, published them, and went on a weeklong vacation. When I returned in November, I got serious. I was so determined to be successful and make some money through affiliate marketing!

If you haven’t started your blog yet, now is the time! Check out my step by step tutorial here.

I instantly joined Amazon and Shareasale’s affiliate marketing programs, and began plugging links wherever I could. So why did I make no more than a few bucks each month? I felt like a failure.

I put out a desperate call for help!

No joke, I had gone through just about every free webinar, ebook, article, email course, you name it to learn everything I could. Yet, my results were pretty disappointing. 

My blog has great traffic, and I’ve heard from other bloggers that they are making way more money than me with less traffic. At the time I took the course, I was getting 10,000 sessions per month, which I am super proud of considering I’m not quite 6 months in yet. 

For tips on increasing your blog’s traffic, check out my post here. 

I put out a call to help in a Facebook group I’m in. I said, “please, someone direct me to an affordable affiliate marketing course that you’ve actually taken and had success with!”

That’s when *several* people chimed in and said the best course on the internet is Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing!

Why this course?

Michelle Schroeder-Gardener of Making Sense of Cents created this course. I kid you not, she earns $50,000 per MONTH (yes, I’m sure it’s not a typo!!!!) through affiliate marketing! 

She’s kind of a wizard at this stuff, and she shares all of her secrets in her course. 

You can work at your own pace to get through the content which is super helpful for me. My kids are 2.5 and 1, so I never know when I’m going to get a chance to sit down and focus on something. 

The course has lifetime access, so you can go through it as many times as you want. I’ve gone through it a few times, and I’ve picked up something new each time.

It’s extremely easy to navigate, and it’s taught entirely through text. I find this super helpful because I get sooooo distracted with videos or webinars. I find myself picking up my phone, cleaning, or opening new tabs if I’m listening to someone talking non-stop

The Cost

This course costs $197 for a one time payment, or you can pay $105 over 2 months. 

Now, if this seems like a lot, it really really isn’t. You have the potential to earn that money back very quickly using the tips in this course. 

I actually was shocked that it was that inexpensive. Other courses I was researching were between $400-600, so this really felt like a steal to me.

How I started earning money with affiliate marketing, and the course you can take to help you, too!

The Results

Almost instantly I started converting more sales! 

While March isn’t over just yet, I currently made about $80 this month. I purchased this course in the beginning of March and worked through it in about 4 days. So this increase in affiliate sales is from two weeks of implementing her strategies! Plus, I’m still going through old posts and updating them to Michelle’s strategies, so I expect this number to keep climbing. 

It’s important to note that results will vary person to person. Much if this is dependent on your niche and on how high the affiliate payout is. 

In hindsight, I would have purchased this course when I first started my blog. It taught me so many things I didn’t know, and it would have changed my income from day one. 

This course has been an absolute gamechanger for me! I feel inspired again, and I’m hopeful that my income will keep growing as my blog does!


If you’re on the fence about starting a blog or purchasing this course, I encourage you to just do it!!! If you are desperate to learn how to make money with affiliate marketing, this course is your ticket!

There is no better time than right now! It may just change your blog like it did mine.

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6 thoughts on “How I Started Making Money with Affiliate Marketing”

  1. Ah I keep seeing this course come up and is definitely on my list. I love ShareASale and have recently made it a task for myself to get more into affiliate marketing to generate some further income.

  2. Thanks for your great post! You have inspired me to FINALLY put some focus on getting affiliate marketing up and running on my blog!

    1. Thanks for reading, Jenny! Her course was a game changer for me in affiliate marketing! I went from almost no sales, to making $55 overnight last night! It’s a huge difference for me in just a few weeks.

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