I posted last month about writing for Examiner.com, and I wanted to update my readers with my first month’s earnings, just to demonstrate the power of some of the things I have been writing about since the launch of this site.
Since joining Examiner, I have added another category to my writing there. I have two channels, one of which, is lucky to see more than $2.00 per day. It’s a saturated topic, but it does okay.
I made $967.00 at Examiner last month. Not bad for a first month, eh? It wasn’t all page views (they average $10 per 1000, which is still great). Out of the aforementioned income, about $190 was from page views. That’s still wonderful, but as you can see, the rest of the money came from what I did with my content.
Affiliate marketing is allowed on Examiner, and that’s how I made the bulk of my income there. It gave me a highly-visible platform for my affiliate programs, and I took advantage of that. But, I didn’t take advantage of my readers. There is a big difference.
As I have explained countless times before, affiliate marketing is successful when it’s not spammy or overdone. Sure, you can go that route and make a lot of money, but would you want to? I am not comfortable recommending products that look poorly done or have scam-like terms of service or conditions.
I am now half-way through my second month, and I am on track to at least meet the same amount of income as I did last month, if not exceed it.
Interested in writing for Examiner? You can sign up here, and use me as a referral. Just enter Annalise Kaylor for the referral name and my Examiner code is 4687. Be patient, as it can take a week to three weeks to get approved. But, the residual income is well worth the wait.
Hi John,
When it comes to affiliate marketing, there are many things that I consider. First of all, you won’t make $800+ in affiliate sales by just being a member of a couple of programs. Amazon, for instance, pays next to nothing compared to the other programs out there. My top affiliate item for that month paid me $34 per lead, for instance.
If only I could show you my spreadsheet!
Also, check out my post about timing and affiliate marketing. It’s not enough to just put the items out there. Figure out what’s going to be talked about in the media this week, check out Google trends, and see if you have any items to market that align with hot topics… you have to always be promoting something hot. That helps significantly.
But, the bulk of it is making sure you’re a member of some great affiliate companies. Check out my affiliate links in the sidebar. Linkshare, Commission Junction, and Azoogleads are my top three and they all have a TON of big names (like Apple, Orbitz, Beauty.com, etc.) with thousands of products and deals to promote.
This is really fascinating. This is the first post I have read, but I am really interested in learning more about how you made that $800+ in affiliate sales your first month writing for Examiner. “However, if you are truly interesting in making money writing, I can help.”
I certainly am truly interesting, so now you have to help me! Please.
Wow Annalise! These are very impressive numbers and they are very motivating! I have recently started with Examiner as well and appreciate the pointers!
Wow! Those numbers have my attention. Congratulations!