5 Affiliate Marketer Success Stories [2024]

Pat Walls

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Updated: November 9th, 2023

Become An Affiliate Marketer

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.

Here are some real life success stories of starting a affiliate marketer:

1. Making Sense of Cents ($900K/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 they make: $900K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
Current team size: 1

How I Started A $100K/Month Blog About Personal Finance

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.

About

Michelle started Making Sense of Cents over 12 years ago

Revenue

Michelle grew the business to $75K/month

Costs

It cost Michelle $100 to start the business

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2. 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 they make: $480K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
Current team size: 0

I Quit My 9 To 5 & Built An Affiliate Site Making $40K/Month

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.

About

Matt started Zenmaster Wellness about 4 years ago

Revenue

Matt grew the business to $40K/month

Costs

It cost Matt $500 to start the business

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Learn more about starting an affiliate marketer:

Where to start?

-> How much does it cost to start an affiliate marketer?
-> Pros and cons of an affiliate marketer

Need inspiration?

-> Examples of established affiliate marketer
-> Marketing ideas for an affiliate marketer

Other resources

Part of

Becoming An Affiliate Marketer: Everything You Need To Know

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3. 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 they make: $216K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
Current team size: 1

We Make $18K/Month Selling WordPress Templates, Plugins, And Courses In The Spanish Market

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.

About

Pau started Una Vida Online almost 6 years ago

Revenue

Pau grew the business to $18K/month

Costs

It cost Pau $100 to start the business

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Read by 1,869 founders