Who are you and what are you currently working on?
I am a full time Project Manager and a part time writer and affiliate marketer, working on my website catchershome.com. My site is focused on Baseball and Softball catchers, something I am passionate about. I review catcher’s gear and write articles on catchers, and currently have about 60 posts and counting.
How did you get started in affiliate marketing? What keeps you excited you about it?
I got started in affiliate marketing in early 2017. Before that time, I had never even heard of the term. At the time, I was looking to start a side hustle as a way to earn a bit of extra money on the side. I wanted to do something that could be done from anywhere (home, while traveling, during lunch breaks at work, etc) and that could earn money in a semi-passive manner. During this time I heard about affiliate marketing while listening to one of Nick Loper’s Side Hustle Nation podcasts and was fascinated. I am still excited to this day, mainly due to the practically unlimited potential to scale earnings and to partner with different organizations that have affiliate programs.
What is one piece of advice you’d give to a newbie affiliate marketer? And what is one piece of advice they should ignore?
Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Meaning, just get started! Don’t hesitate because you aren’t yet an “expert” in one particular area. Make forward progress each day and that will compound over time.
What has been your favorite mistake? A mistake that in retrospect led to a great lesson and progress in your affiliate marketing?
Waiting too long to monetize my site with Amazon Associates links. I was getting 2,000 + visitors to product review blog posts in my first few months, yet no affiliate links had been inserted into those blog posts. Instead, I wanted to wait until I got a few months of experience under my belt to apply for affiliate programs. I likely missed out on a lot of sales in those early days. What I learned from this is that there was great potential in earning money from my site, and that I shouldn’t hesitate to monetize my site. Since I started adding in affiliate links, I have earned a pretty good side income in affiliate earnings.
What is one piece of software or a web service that allows you to to be more effective as an affiliate marketer?
I really like SEMrush.com for its keyword research and link research capabilities. It has been a go-to tool for me since the early days of my site.
How do you continue to educate yourself as an affiliate marketer? What are some of your favorite resources for learning?
I’m really into podcasts, and I like to listen to the Side Hustle Nation podcast and the Authority Hacker podcasts, which help further my learning in the area of affiliate marketing. I also like all resources from Neil Patel, which have been incredibly helpful to me from an educational point of view.
If people wanted to connect with you, where should we point them to?
Please check out my site, Catchers Home, at https://www.catchershome.com.