4 Affiliate Marketer Success Stories [2024]
An affiliate marketer business is a venture where you promote other companies' products or services and earn a commission for every sale made through your referral.
It's a low-cost business idea because you don't need to create or own the products yourself. Instead, you use your marketing skills to drive traffic and sales to the products of other businesses.
To start, you'll need to sign up for affiliate programs offered by companies in your chosen niche.
Once approved, you'll receive unique tracking links that help the company identify sales generated through your efforts, allowing you to earn a commission for each successful referral.
This business model requires minimal upfront investment, making it an accessible option for those looking to start a business on a budget.
In this list, you'll find real-world affiliate marketer success stories and very profitable examples of starting a affiliate marketer that makes money.
1. Making Sense of Cents ($996K/year)
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner came up with the idea for Making Sense of Cents as a way to document her personal finance journey.
She started the blog as a hobby, but after readers suggested she monetize it, she leaped and quit her stable job as an analyst.
Making Sense of Cents now earns over $100,000 a month and has made over $5 million in total.
How much money it makes: $996K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 1
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner earns $100,000 a month from Making Sense of Cents, a personal finance and lifestyle blog where she writes informative and fun articles about financial freedom and her life on the road, thanks to a diversified traffic approach and monetization strategies, such as affiliate marketing, sponsored partnerships, and course sales.
2. Buildapreneur ($960K/year)
Spencer Mecham, the founder of Buildapreneur, was introduced to the concept of affiliate marketing while working at a digital marketing agency.
Inspired by a co-worker's successful blog that reviewed vacuum cleaners, Spencer decided to enter the affiliate marketing space.
He initially struggled with starting a blog and trying other platforms like Instagram, but found success by accident when a YouTube video he created blew up and received hundreds of thousands of views.
From there, he pivoted to YouTube and has since grown his audience to nearly half a million people across various platforms, using content marketing to attract and retain customers.
How much money it makes: $960K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 0
This case study explores how Spencer Mecham founded Buildapreneur, an affiliate marketing business, and has made over half a million dollars in profit with no employees, relying solely on content marketing through platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.
3. Zenmaster Wellness ($480K/year)
A pay cut at his job, and a friend's success in this niche inspired Matt to start during the pandemic.
How much money it makes: $480K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 0
Matt Oney quit his full-time job to pursue his side hustle full-time: an affiliate marketing-based content site called ZenmasterWellness that generates around 80k monthly visits and average monthly revenue of about $40,000 by leveraging SEO and affiliate partnerships.
4. Una Vida Online ($216K/year)
Pau, the founder of Una Vida Online, came up with the idea for his business when he was looking for ways to make extra income online. He discovered the world of affiliate marketing and started creating affiliate websites. After achieving success and making more money from his websites than his full-time job, he decided to quit his job and focus on his online projects. He then created an online course to teach affiliate marketing and expanded his business to offer WordPress templates and plugins, as well as a tokenized private community for bloggers and affiliate marketers. With a strong focus on SEO, Una Vida Online has seen significant growth and currently generates about 18K per month in revenue.
How much money it makes: $216K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 1
Una Vida Online started as a side gig in 2018 to share knowledge on affiliate marketing and blogging, and has since grown into a business employing a full-time assistant and many freelancers with a monthly income of around 18K, offering online courses, WordPress templates and plugins, and a tokenized private community for people interested in generating income via blogging or affiliate marketing.
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
