10 Affiliate Marketing Side Hustle Ideas to Try in 2024

Are you looking for a side hustle that could generate passive income and diversify your income streams? Perhaps you have a passion for a particular niche or industry, and you've been dreaming of turning it into a profitable side hustle. Well, affiliate marketing could be the answer.

Affiliate marketing has emerged as one of the most popular and lucrative ways to earn a passive income online. It allows individuals to promote products or services from other companies and earn a commission for every sale or lead generated through their unique affiliate link.

In this blog post, we will explore 10 affiliate marketing side hustle ideas that can help you boost your income and turn your passion into profit. Whether you're a fashion enthusiast, wellness advocate, technology aficionado, or food lover, there's something for everyone in the world of affiliate marketing.

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Affiliate marketing is a legitimate side hustle idea that allows individuals to earn money by promoting products or services through unique affiliate links. However, there is a lot of misleading content online that makes affiliate marketing seem much easier than it really is.

One undeniable advantage of affiliate marketing is its potential for passive income. Once the initial setup is complete, a successful affiliate marketer can earn money around the clock, even while asleep.

Additionally, affiliate marketing requires little to no upfront investment. This makes it one of the best free side hustles for many people looking to earn extra income.

However, it's essential to be aware of the cons as well. The market can be saturated with affiliate marketers, making it challenging to stand out from the competition. Moreover, relying solely on affiliate marketing for income can be unpredictable, as it is dependent on factors beyond one's control, such as changes in market trends or program terms.

It may take time to build a stable income stream, and success often requires continuous effort, strategic content creation, and an understanding of marketing principles.

The evidence

To get a better understanding of the potential of affiliate marketing in 2024, let’s take a look at some affiliate marketing statistics. Our team spent time searching the web for objective evidence that affiliate marketing works as a side hustle. Here is what we found.

Blog affiliate marketing income reports

During our research, we found a large number of affiliate income reports from bloggers. These are posts that provide details about earnings from affiliate marketing over a set period of time. In their January 2022 affiliate income report, ByLeahClaire.com reported earnings of $1674.

This is a small blog with low monthly traffic and a limited number of posts. We found higher earnings reports from much larger blogs and websites. However, these type of websites take a long time to build.

YouTube success stories

One of the best places to find examples of successful affiliate marketing is YouTube. We found hundreds of videos from marketers who share their tips and tricks for success.

Of course, it is important to be aware of creators who might exaggerate their earnings in an attempt to sell courses or coaching. However, there are plenty of helpful YouTube videos that appear to be reliable and honest about the amount of money that can be made through affiliate marketing.

Also read: Can you really make money from affiliate marketing?

After testing several different affiliate marketing side hustles for ourselves, we found that Pinterest affiliate marketing was the best option.

Why we liked it:

• You do not need an existing audience to get traffic to your links.

• It is free to start.

• You can maintain this side hustle with just a few hours of work each day.

Pinterest affiliate marketing involves earning money by promoting products through Pinterest pins. This type of affiliate marketing works best for visually-appealing products such as clothing, home accessories, beauty products and jewelry.

The best thing about affiliate marketing on Pinterest is that you do not need an existing audience to get traffic to your links. This is because the platform works as a visual search engine which means that all pins have a chance of being seen, not just those that are posted by accounts with a huge following.

For example, when we started our Pinterest account, we were able to get 10k monthly impressions with only 50 followers. That 10,000 potential buyers.

The key to success is consistency. Our impressions started to grow when we posted 5 pins per day every day. You also need to use SEO best practices in your pin descriptions, use high quality images and offer value to your audience.

Another way to make money from affiliate marketing without a large following is to share affiliate links via email.

This involves crafting promotional emails that encourage recipients to purchase products through your affiliate links. This type of affiliate marketing works best for products that solve problems as these can be sold effectively through email.

It is important to pick products that are genuinely valuable and helpful. Otherwise, your emails could get flagged as spam and end up going straight to the junk folder. Email marketing is only effective if you are able to write emails in a way that doesn’t seem overly promotional or ‘clickbait’.

The biggest challenge here is building a list of email addresses that you can send your emails to. There are several email list building methods that you could use to find valid addresses. We recommend testing out a few before finding on that works best.

Affiliate marketing on YouTube has become a lucrative side hustle for individuals looking to make money online. This strategy involves partnering with brands and promoting their products or services through YouTube videos.

The process works by including unique affiliate links in video descriptions or within the video content itself, enabling content creators to earn a commission for each sale or action generated through their referral.

One of the advantages of affiliate marketing on YouTube is that your videos can get traffic without any subscribers. Once a video is published, it can be seen by anyone if it appears in a search. Moreover, YouTube's wide reach allows access to a large audience, increasing the chances of conversions.

However, there are some disadvantages as well. Viewers can’t click on links directly from the video. Instead, they will need to search for the links in your video description. This means that you could lose revenue by people manually searching for an item instead of shopping through your link.

Over-reliance on affiliate marketing can also compromise authenticity if viewers perceive the content as overly promotional. This could prevent people from clicking your links.

Nevertheless, YouTube is a great platform for affiliate marketing if you are a talented video creator in 2024.

Also read: How to make money on YouTube without showing your face

Blogging is perhaps one of the most popular ways to share affiliate links that we came across during our research - espeically for high ticket affiliate marketing. However, it is also one of the most difficult types of affiliate marketing side hustle to set up.

This is due to the fact that it can take months, and sometimes years, to drive significant traffic to a blog (we would know!). Therefore, success relies on patience and constancy.

However, once you do start seeing traffic on your blog, affiliate marketing can be a very effective way to monetize your content. The most effective strategy is to write content that has commercial search intent. People who search for these articles are the most likely to click on affiliate links and buy products.

Examples of content with commercial search intent include product reviews, best product lists and gift guides.

Once you start placing affiliate links on your blog, you could easily generate passive income. However, it will take a long time to reach the point where you can monetize your content.

Another way to make money with affiliate marketing in 2024 is to become a nano influencer on Instagram.

A nano-influencer is a content creator with less than 10k followers. You can share affiliate links on your stories or by adding a link in your bio and encouraging your audience to click.

Anyone can start sharing affiliate links on their Instagram account. However, this affiliate marketing side hustle works best for public accounts that post regularly and have a good audience engagement rate. To achieve this, you will need to develop a good social media strategy, stay consistent, and promote products that offer value to your audience.

Instagram is an effective platform for affiliate marketing because you can speak directly to your audience in a casual and relatable way. This type of affiliate marketing works best for low-ticket items that look good on camera.

Making money by sharing affiliate links in Facebook groups can be a lucrative side hustle.

One of the major pros is the potential to earn passive income by promoting products or services you genuinely believe in. With a large and engaged audience within Facebook groups, there is a higher likelihood of reaching potential customers.

However, there is a risk of coming across as spammy or pushy, which can damage your reputation as a trustworthy group member. Additionally, some Facebook groups have strict guidelines or regulations regarding affiliate marketing, so it's crucial to familiarize yourself with the rules in each group.

To be successful, it is advisable to choose relevant products or services that resonate with the group's interests and needs. Engaging authentically with the group members, providing valuable content, and offering genuine recommendations will help build trust, increase click-through rates, and boost your earning potential.

Also read: How to choose the best side hustle for you

Another interesting affiliate marketing side hustle that we came across is sharing affiliate links through forums such as Quora.

This side hustle works by finding relevant questions on platforms like Quora and providing informative and helpful responses. Within these responses, you can strategically include affiliate links. When someone clicks on your link and makes a purchase, you earn a commission.

One of the reasons why this side hustle can be lucrative is because forums like Quora have a large user base, which means more potential customers. However, it's important to note that this side hustle takes time to be successful, and there is no guaranteed profit.

To increase your chances of success, be genuine in your responses, provide valuable information, and avoid being too spammy or promotional. Building a reputation as an expert in your niche will help to attract more attention to your affiliate links. Remember, patience and consistency are key when it comes to making a side income through affiliate links in forums.

Also read: How to start affiliate marketing with no money

Like To Know (LTK) is a new social media platform that is used by influencers to share links to products that they like. However, the platform is not exclusive to influencers. Anyone can use the platform to share photos of their favorite clothes or accessories and provide links that take your audience straight to the products.

Similar to Pinterest, this platform works best for visually appealing products. The key to success is to take aesthetically pleasing images that will catch people’s eye as they scroll through their feed.

One of the main reasons that this platform works well for affiliate marketing is that it was created for the purpose of sharing links to products. Therefore, the audience are more willing to click through and buy.

Podcasts have emerged as an incredibly effective platform for sharing affiliate links, making it an enticing affiliate marketing side hustle idea.

The audio format allows hosts to engage listeners on a personal level, building trust and loyalty. This connection can translate into a higher conversion rate for affiliate links, as listeners tend to value recommendations from their favorite podcast hosts.

To be successful, it is crucial to choose affiliate programs aligned with the podcast's niche, ensuring a relevant and natural integration that doesn't compromise the trust built with listeners. Offering exclusive discounts or bonuses can further encourage listeners to make purchases through the links.

Additionally, regularly updating and promoting these links throughout each episode, along with show notes, can increase visibility and maximize earnings.

The main drawback of using podcasting to share affiliate links is that it can take a long time to build up an audience. You may need to post several shows each week and promote your podcast on social media to drive traffic to your show and to your affiliate links.

One of the most underrated platforms to share affiliate links in 2024 in LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a social media platform that is used for online networking. However, it is also possible to write lengthy blog-style posts about relevant topics in your industry.

You should monetize your LinkedIn profile by placing affiliate links in these posts.

The main challenge with this affiliate marketing side gig idea is finding the right products to promote. LinkedIn is catered towards professionals who use the platform for work purposes. Therefore, the most effective products to promote will be those that solve common workplace problems.

The best products to promote on LinkedIn include software, office appliances, and useful applications.

Starting an affiliate marketing side hustle can be an excellent way to earn passive income. In the following section, we will cover the basic steps of setting up an affiliate marketing side hustle in 2024.

Step 1: Choose a platform

To start, choose a platform where you can share affiliate links, such as a blog, website, or social media platform that aligns with your interests.

The best way to choose a platform is to consider your existing skills and experience. For example, some people might be great at taking aesthetic outfit photos for Pinterest but not so great at writing blog posts.

Choose a type of affiliate marketing that you will genuinely enjoy. This will help you to stay consistent.

Step 2: Find a niche

Next, selecting a niche is crucial, as it allows you to focus on a specific audience and establish yourself as an expert in that field.

Again, it is important to choose a niche that you are genuinely interested in. This will make it easier to build authority, create content and stay consistent.

Step 3: Find an affiliate marketing program

Once you've chosen a niche, research and find an affiliate program that aligns with your niche and offers favorable commission rates.

It's important to select programs that have a good reputation and offer high-quality products or services.

Good examples of affiliate programs that are suitable for beginners include Amazon Associates, the Etsy affiliate program an ClickBank.

Step 4: Create content

Finally, create valuable content that educates and engages your audience whilst promoting products.

Develop compelling articles, videos, or social media posts that seamlessly incorporate your affiliate links.

Remember to disclose your affiliation in compliance with FTC guidelines.

By following these steps, you'll be able to set up a successful affiliate marketing side hustle.

Conclusion

Affiliate marketing is a profitable side hustle venture that has the potential to generate passive income in 2024. In this article, we have taken a look at 10 profitable affiliate marketing side hustles that you could consider.

It is important to choose a type of affiliate marketing that aligns with your skills and interests. To be successful you will need to post consistently and create content that offers genuine value to your audience. You will not make any money if your method of promoting products is spammy or low-quality.

Although affiliate marketing is profitable and there are numerous accounts of success stories online, there is no guarantee that you will make any money from this side hustle. Most successful affiliate marketers wait months, and sometimes years, before making their first sale.

From our experience with Pinterest affiliate marketing, it takes around 1 month of posting every day to see any results.

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