After taking Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing, I couldn’t wait to have the creator, Michelle Schroeder-Gardner on the blog for an interview! If you’ve been on the fence about the online course, read on to find out how helpful it can be to growing your online income!

 

 

Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing Interview with Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

What made you decide to start a blog?

In August of 2011, I started my personal finance blog with the hopes of teaching people how to save money after reading a magazine that featured a personal finance website in one of their articles. I got hooked on that website and my interest in blogging just grew from there. Before August of 2011, I didn’t even know that blogs existed. I didn’t know what they were, I didn’t know that they could make money, or anything like that.

I did not create my blog with the intention of making money blogging. It was really all just a hobby. I then realized how much I loved blogging and realized that it was for me, so now I am a full-time blogger! It’s funny how life can change so much.

On Making Sense of Cents, I talk a lot about different ways to make extra income, money saving tips, how to start a blog, living your dream life, RVing (me and my husband RV full-time), and more. I love running Making Sense of Cents and I am very happy that this is now my full-time career, my business, and pretty much my life.

How long did it take for your blog to create a full-time income for you?

You can find all of my blogging income reports here. It took me around 6 months to make $100, around one year after I started blogging I was earning $1,000, and just a few months after that I was earning around $5,000 a month. Like I said above, I didn’t start my blog with the intention of earning money, so I do believe that I could have earned more even sooner if I would have had that as my goal.

Are there any blogging mistakes you have made that you’d tell others to avoid?

I’ve made tons of blogging mistakes! These mistakes include:

• Managing a bad work-life balance.
• Spending too much time creating content instead of promoting it
• Not starting an email list.

One big blogging mistake that I’ve noticed many other bloggers make is not making the effort to network. Networking is so important as a blogger. You should see others in the blogging world as your colleagues and friends, not your enemies or competition.

What is one piece of advice you would give to newer bloggers in terms of monetization?

My top piece of advice would be to just try all of the different ways to monetize. So many new bloggers think that they have to wait forever before they monetize, and that is just not true. You can start at any time!

Why is affiliate marketing your preferred choice for making money with your blog over other methods?

I love affiliate income and affiliate marketing because it can feel quite passive. You can create just one blog post or social media post, and potentially earn money from it years down the line, as long as you maintain it and keep generating traffic to it. With affiliate marketing, I can enjoy life more and know that I am still able to earn a great living promoting products that I use and enjoy.

Think about it this way: If you already enjoy a product, why not get paid to promote it?

What made you decide to launch your “Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing” course?

I decided to launch my Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing course because I was constantly asked about affiliate marketing. What seemed normal and easy to me, isn’t easy for others, so I knew I had to create this course so that I could get my knowledge out. Affiliate marketing is great, and I want others to benefit from it as well!

Would you recommend your course for beginners or more advanced bloggers?

Both!

The average blogger is not good with affiliate marketing, and my course can help anyone who is struggling with earning affiliate income.

Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing is a great learning tool, even if you are a brand new blogger. By taking this course, you will start off blogging the correct way. You can learn from my affiliate marketing mistakes and learn the best ways to start making an income by being an affiliate.

Through taking this course you are sure to grow a profitable blog quicker than the average blogger, as you’ll learn exactly what you need to know about affiliate marketing. So, even if you only have one blog post, you are ready to get started with this course!

If you’re an advanced blogger, this course is for you as well. Affiliate marketing is an area that even the most seasoned bloggers can improve upon. Plus, most bloggers aren’t making anywhere near the amount of affiliate income that they should be and are leaving money on the table. If you want to grow your affiliate income, there are numerous tips and strategies that I share in Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing.

Do you need a crazy high number of page views each month in order to be successful with affiliate marketing?

No, you do not need a crazy high number of page views each month in order to be successful with affiliate marketing. I believe that anyone with an influencer platform can be successful with affiliate marketing, regardless of page views. It’s all about approaching your audience and affiliate marketing in the correct way so that you can do it effectively and efficiently. These are all things that I teach in my Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing Course.

Do you want passive income from your blog? Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to get it. I spent years just throwing affiliate links out there. Once I took Michelle’s course, developing a affiliate marketing strategy made much better sense! Plus, I’m earning more now than before!

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