Affiliate marketing without a blog? Preposterous! Although SEO may be all but dead – and with it, blogging – affiliate marketing is still very much alive and can be a viable side hustle for those willing to put in the effort and not give up. Most everyone knows how affiliate marketing works, so I won’t give a 2000 word dissertation on the specifics.
In its most basic form, affiliate marketing is providing an affiliate link to an audience for a product or service. When a reader clicks on the link and makes a purchase, you get a cut of the sale. The key to affiliate marketing is of course having an audience. This audience has traditionally been obtained from running a blog or website, but it doesn’t have to be anymore.
No Website, No Problem
12 years ago I started a men’s gear blog that is monetized almost exclusively with affiliate links, and paid myself six figures a year for the better part of a decade. Affiliate marketing works and can be lucrative, and can also provide opportunities for some passive income down the road. Doing so without a website, however, removes some of the hurdles to digging in and getting started.
Between hosting, WordPress maintenance, updating plugins, paying for writers, web developers, and of course the endless Google algorithm updates that have been decimating small publishers for the last three years, owning a website can be expensive, time consuming, and often futile.
How I Would Do It
I would ditch the blog altogether and instead opt for an email newsletter. Google can steal your search engine traffic, but they can’t take away your email list. There are many free or low-cost email marketing tools out there to choose from.
Create a value-packed newsletter around a niche you enjoy, are curious about, and/or knowledgeable about and sprinkle affiliate links naturally inside the valuable content. Remember to niche down and make your newsletter short but extremely unique. Creating value is key, content people are willing to sink their teeth into.
The Tools
Two email marketing platforms that allow affiliate links include:
- GetResponse: While I do enjoy the streamlined platform of MailerLite for my men’s gear blog weekly email, I prefer GetResponse for newsletter-only projects. Creating more interesting email layouts is a cinch, and they’re also one of the friendliest services out there when it comes to affiliate links.
30 Days free trial, then $15.58+/month
- Beehiiv: I’ve dabbled with Beehiiv for a previous standalone newsletter I ran for about a year, and it’s perfect for creators looking to grow and monetize their audience. The platform definitely allows affiliate links in emails and with features like built-in monetization, advanced analytics, and customizable templates, it’s a considerably more robust alternative to GetResponse.
Free up to 2,500 subscribers, then $39+/month.
The Marketing
As I mentioned above, the key to affiliate marketing is having an audience. Without a blog, you’ll need other avenues for gaining subscribers. Here’s what I would recommend, depending on your budget:
- Leverage Social Media
Use platforms like Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn to share snippets or highlights from your newsletter content. Create engaging posts or threads that others may find interesting and include a direct signup link to your newsletter.
- Use Online Communities
Engage in online forums, subreddits, or Facebook groups that are relevant to your newsletter’s niche. Offer helpful advice and casually mention your newsletter as a resource for more in-depth content. Just make sure you don’t spam these communities.
- Run Paid Ads
Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google allow you to target specific audiences with ads. Design ads that emphasize the value of what you’re offering in your newsletter and be sure to include a clear way to sign up.
- Add a Signup Link to Your Email Signature
Include a simple call-to-action with a link to your newsletter in your email signature. Every email you send automatically becomes an opportunity to gain new subscribers.
- Create a Lead Magnet
Offer a free resource (like an eBook, checklist, or guide) in exchange for signing up for your newsletter. Make sure the lead magnet aligns with the interests of your target audience. Put some real time, thought, and research into creating this lead magnet to make it valuable to subscribers.
You can promote this lead magnet on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, online communities directly or via a landing page (which would technically be a website, but still not a blog.)
Another way to engage in affiliate marketing without a website is to utilize social media sites and other websites that allow affiliate links directly on their platforms, like Pinterest, Quora, Medium, and Reddit.
Create interesting content directly on these platforms, and put your affiliate link in your profile or directly in the content. As always, only post affiliate links where appropriate, and never, ever spam.