skip to content

← back to the plays

independence5 unconnected · 1 more author in those circles
standing

contested · 4 claims against 2

applies to

consumer, needs an existing audience

mixed results

confidence

high

evidence

6 claims · 6 articles · 4 receipts

window

2018-07-24 → 2022-08-09

5 builders who never spoke to each other · contested

Only take commission on what you already use

Join the programmes of the tools you genuinely rely on, explain on air or in writing why you use them, and favour recurring software commissions over one-off payouts. How much this earns is disputed: for one creator it beat both advertising and reader donations from the same audience, while others measured it at pocket money and found display advertising far ahead of it.

Where this splits

Affiliate income is reported as outearning both advertising and donations from the same audience, and separately as roughly twelve dollars a month or a distant second to display advertising.

  1. side 01 · 4 claims

    Run affiliate links for the tools you genuinely use

    Florin Pop · Justin Jackson · Lidiya K · Paul Jarvis

    1. 1Monetise a blog, podcast, newsletter or YouTube channel by joining the affiliate programs of the tools you genuinely use in that niche, favouring recurring SaaS commissions over one-time payouts.
    2. 2Affiliate commissions on courses you would recommend anyway outearn display ads and donations from the same audience.
    3. 3Restrict affiliate links to products you actually use, and skip the big affiliate networks entirely.
    4. 4You can monetise a podcast through referral links to products you use rather than selling sponsorship, as long as you explain on air why you use them.

  2. side 02 · 2 claims

    Affiliate income is pocket money beside display advertising

    Cory Zue · Sean Frank

    1. 1Add affiliate links to products you were already recommending in your content, but size your expectations to pocket change rather than a revenue stream.
    2. 2On a gadget recommendation site expect display advertising to out-earn affiliate commissions, so do not build the whole model around the affiliate line.

What it returned

  • 30%

    Rates listed: Podia up to 30% recurring, ConvertKit up to 30% for 24 months, Transistor 25% monthly, Fathom 25% recurring, Shopify 200% of the first customer's fees up to $2,000, Rewardful 25% for the first 12 months.

  • 2019

    2019: $1,046.97 as an affiliate from November onward, versus $359.11 in ads since May and $491.15 on Patreon since May/June.

  • Lidiya links only to things she uses or likes and names Amazon Associates and Clickbank as ones she avoids.

  • Fathom advises against reading the URL or putting it in show notes without covering the benefits, such as being lawful and quick to learn.

Sources

the second source

Three plays a week, for the phase you are in

No roundup of links, no news. Three tactics more than one builder arrived at separately, with the numbers each one returned and the disagreements left in.

One email a week. Unsubscribe in one click, and the address is used for this and nothing else.

More in partnerships

all partnerships plays

the second source

Three plays a week, for the phase you are in

No roundup of links, no news. Three tactics more than one builder arrived at separately, with the numbers each one returned and the disagreements left in.

963 corroborated plays to draw from · 3 a week

One email a week. Unsubscribe in one click, and the address is used for this and nothing else.