I can’t open up Instagram without being bombarded with people trying to sell me courses for Affiliate Marketing and Digital Marketing these days. I am always interested in learning new things, of course, so I requested some free material to get a feel for how it’s done. Each one really deserves their own post, so today I’m going to cover Affiliate Marketing.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate Marketing is exactly what I was already doing both with this website and with my other blog (Part Time Gypsy Souls, a travel blog focusing on exploring the world around me as I can, where I hope to meet other people who enjoy doing the same). Affiliate Marketing for me (and for most affiliates) is really just reviewing some of the items I purchase to make my life easier, telling you about them, and giving you a link where – if you’re interested in buying it – you can purchase one for yourself. If that happens, affiliates earn a small commission (usually between 3-5%, occasionally up to 10% of the purchase price).
The internet being what the internet is these days, the term has been co-opted into MRR, or “pay me $300, or $500, or $2,000 and I’ll help you get rich in no time”. At least the majority of what I’ve read has those claims. One such affiliate DMed (direct messaged) me and told me that she made $8 million dollars in the past 10 months, and if I purchased her $500 class, she’d help me do it, too. I asked her to clarify the numbers, and she did. At which point I stopped communicating with her.
I’m sorry, but if I’d made $8 million in the last 10 months, the LAST thing I would be doing is sliding into DMs, harassing someone who has already said that they are not purchasing a course. And just to clarify, that means she is claiming to have made $26,666.67 per day – EVERY SINGLE DAY. Sorry, I’m going to call BS. You’d find me sitting on a beach somewhere, debating what type of business to invest that money into. Maybe a coffee shop. Or a dive shop – I mean, I don’t know how to dive, but I know I could learn, and I could definitely think of a worse business to own. But I digress…
Will I get rich in a matter of months?
Maybe. First, my momma and daddy always have taught me if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. (Thank you, Momma and Daddy. You saved me $500 this time, and I don’t even know how much over the course of my life.)
What is currently going around is referred to as MRR, or Master Resale Rights. Master Resale Rights means the course is not copyrighted, and you are allowed to make it your own and then resell the content as a whole. Which basically translates to they sell you a course for $500 (but will absolutely try to upsell you to the $2,000 class), teach you how to borderline harass people (“help you make a HUGE income from the comfort of your home” and “you’ll make your money back in one SINGLE sale”), encourage you to inflate your income claims (“fake it until you make it”), provide them with a step by step course (which they can now resell as their own course), and then teach their students to do the exact same thing you have just done.
OK, I might be a little bitter from the lady that was way too insistent.
Not all Affiliate Marketers will have the same tactics. In fact, I would hazard a guess that most are in a similar situation to many of us – either SAHM (Stay at Home Mom) or recently unemployed, feeling the pain of the rising cost of living, and they felt that this was the best way to make an income from home, with a relatively small investment. I have spoken to several people online who seem to be genuinely helpful, and I continue to follow their accounts because they do provide value and information in addition to selling the courses. So while I don’t LOVE this approach, I also don’t hate it.
And now you’re probably wondering why I say I don’t hate it, when I’ve been rather negative before.
Affiliate Marketing itself is nothing more than a company contracting for salespeople. Instead of paying them a salary, they pay them a commission. In a situation like this, it’s Win-Win. If I don’t make a sale, then the company is not out any money. If I do make a sale, they’re paying a small percentage of only the sales that the sales person brought to them.
- This is NOT a get rich quick scheme, exactly. It will take time to learn the sales techniques, to decide on a niche, to create your social media, and provide enough content to get seen amongst the other Affiliate Marketers out there. In terms of education and startup costs for a business, the price is low. Especially if you can learn some things on your own, and stick with the $300 course to start. You’ll notice when you go to order, there will be a funnel, and they will attempt to upcharge you for everything to the point where it will cost more than the $3,000 they’re selling the all-inclusive course for. This is sales psychology 101. While I’m at it, if you’re considering going for it, study a little about that, too. It may save you money in the long run.
- Affiliate Marketing is not a bad thing. When I linked to the journal my daughter gifted me (affiliate marketing link!) on one of my previous blog posts, if someone clicks on that link and purchases the $20 journal, I will likely earn about $0.80. If 20 people buy through my link, I will be able to purchase some silicone molds that I can then use to create crafts, and review them for my readers – some of whom may buy those as well, and I’ll in turn re-invest to review something else. This is what I mean by sustainable. No one can live off of $0.80 per sale, but it’s a start. And over time, I should have many posts with many links, and those will add up.
- The student who purchases a course on Affiliate Marketing can still take that education and turn it into something more sustainable. I mean, sooner or later, the training will get “leaked” and no one is going to buy the $300, $500, $3000 course anymore. But they can take the skills that they learned, and the money they earned (if they earned any, because it’s never as easy as it seems), and use it to sell something else.
- Essentially the claims on Social Media right now are not that different from MLMs (which are also legitimate business enterprises, not pyramid schemes, but that’s a whole ‘nother thing, which I will cover another time). A few people will learn the techniques, they will do the work, provide value to their following, and WILL earn money. Most will purchase the course, try it for a few weeks, and then decide they don’t want to put all the time and effort it will take to build it up.
I do want to make one thing really clear.
I don’t usually review something unless I’ve seen, studied and reviewed the actual course(s). I can’t guarantee that what your Aunt Edna is selling is MRR, unless she’s told you specifically that it is. I have reviewed several free “teasers” and asked enough questions to know that what I’m telling you is the truth as I see it. But I can’t tell you that the information is not worth the price unless I actually review it.
Thank you for joining in for another episode of Kim Tried, Affiliate Marketing… sort of. 🙂 If you’ve purchased a course and you’d like to share it, I’m happy to read through it and do a more thorough review on the specifics. The best way to contact me is to drop me an email at Kim @ Kim Tried (dot) com. Sorry I have to do it that way, but if I don’t, I’ll get 25 spam emails to every individual email… and I’m already busy unsubscribing to the Affiliate Marketing programs that I received the free “teaser” courses from, because I’m on those “drip email” lists now. 🙂
So what do you think?
Have you seen some of the CRAZY income claims going around? Have you been tempted to purchase? Or have you blocked every one that’s come across your feed? Got another “side hustle” you want me to review? Drop me a comment below or send me an email! And don’t forget to bookmark the site, and check back often for new stories. You can also find me on Instagram, TikTok (when I remember), and soon, on YouTube. Follow, like, subscribe, hit the bell and all that stuff. 🙂