My update on building passive income through Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is nothing new. It’s been around for many years and it’s literally the only way some business get customers. I love affiliate marketing because it allows me to make a commission by referring a customer. I don’t have to provide the product or service and customer support. That makes life a lot easier for me.
To make the income truly passive, I always look out for affiliate marketing opportunities where the business pays a recurring commission to the affiliate marketer as long as the customer stays with them.
“Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought by the affiliate’s own marketing efforts.”
Every week, I’ll be sharing practical tips and invaluable knowledge to guide you on your path to financial independence.
Webhosting
I blogged about my sole proprietorship webhosting business as a sideline business and my plans to transition to an affiliate webhosting business model. So far, I have started my first step into this new business model with a new client who was referred to me by an existing client. I usually get my clients through word of mouth from existing clients. It’s easier to establish credentials and rapport this way.
She’s a business owner who owns a few websites that complements her business. Over the past year, she has been having trouble with her existing webhost and was considering to migrate all her websites to a more reliable webhost. I got her set up with my webhosting partner and started receiving my affiliate marketing commissions (on top of a migration service fee for my work).
Every quarter, I earn $14.40 in commissions from this client. It’s nothing to boast about but I intend to bring more clients over to increase my commissions. Nothing to shout about but as I progressively add new clients into the affiliate webhosting program, I expect this additional stream of income to grow incrementally.
Shopify
The e-commerce space is constantly evolving. In the past, when someone wants to sell something online, the huge complexity and costs involved in setting up an online store are enough to deter one from moving forward. Today, setting up an online store is much easier thanks to services like Shopify where it just takes a few clicks on the mouse and a credit card to set up your very own online store.
I joined Shopify’s partner program because they pay 20% of the subscription fee as commission each time the client renews the plan. Perfect for passive income!
I have helped a client set up an online store on Shopify early this year and as they renew their plan on a yearly basis (for the 10% discount). As a result, I would receive $82.08 each year as well. That’s a good deal for me, especially when I don’t have to do anything for the entire year in terms of service and support.
Will you consider the affiliate marketing model?
When planning for retirement, I believe in keeping an eye out for opportunities to generate income besides actively investing in stocks and building a decent investment portfolio. Therefore affiliate marketing appeals to me. While Webhosting and Shopify works well for me, they may not necessary work for you. I suggest you take a good look at other affiliate marketing businesses and determine what makes sense for you.
Who knows? You may be on your way to opening another stream of passive income.
