My besty asked me to help her “just a Mom” sister figure out how to make money online. Here are 5 ways I think that Moms can make money on the internet, from easiest to hardest technically.
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase anything, I earn a small commission at no extra charge to you. Check out my policies here.
What Is Affiliate Marketing
If you are an internet ninja mom, you can skip this section! But I am assuming that Judith, my “just a mom” has not spent the last 15 years learning about internet marketing so I am going to get her up to speed!
Affiliate marketing is where you share links to products that you love or recommend that pay a small commission when someone buys through your link.
Here is a SUPER simple example. Say I get a dash cam recorder for my older teen daughter's birthday present (which I did) and she loves it.
I went and got an affiliate link for that product and now I am sharing it with you (more about how to market this link for “just moms” later.)
If someone clicks that link and buys that dash cam I will get about a 3% commission for it. So $49.99 X 3% = $1.49. Not a huge amount, but a dollar fifty more than I had before.
And say that person is doing ALL their birthday shopping for their kid at that time and spends $500 total on all kinds of things… well that becomes $500 X 3% = $15. That is a little more interesting right?
OF COURSE there is a lot more to it than that, but as an overall synopsis, that is what affiliate marketing is.
Recommended Affiliate Marketing Link Providers
Here are some great affiliate networks you can sign up for, again easiest to hardest.
Amazon Associates
I have done affiliate marketing for at least 15 years and have access to hundreds of different companies who I can recommend. BUT you have start somewhere and the EASIEST place is Amazon.
Just go to the Amazon Associates page and sign up to be an affiliate once you are ready to start. DON'T do it early because you have to sell at least 3 things in the first 6 months so you don't want the clock to start ticking until you are ready.
Here are my recent Amazon earnings…
Not a crazy amount, but not nothing and this is not my primary affiliate program that I recommend.
And just in case you are worried that I have affiliate links for fancy things, here are some of the things people have bought through my links…
ClickBank
Another super easy place to start is Clickbank. There you can find all kinds of products to recommend AND they have amazing training on how to do affiliate marketing for new people!
Share A Sale
Share A Sale is my favorite marketplace to get links! It seems more classy to me, but is harder to get approved as an affiliate for! Sign up for this one after you have gotten some sales on Amazon first.
HUGE… please read this! Disclosure
One last thing to talk about before you start sharing links. You want to disclose that you are possibly making money from your recommendations.
EVERY time I recommend a product that I receive a commission on I disclose that… you can just scroll on up to the top and read my disclosure saying that I might earn a commission on links I share in this post.
Now, before you freak out and worry that then no one will click your links, I make HUNDREDS of dollars a month on affiliate links and I ALWAYS disclose so don't fret about it!
And, most reputable affiliate programs will have that as a condition so you might as well get in the habit!
5 Affiliate Ideas for “Just Moms”
Okay, now that we have the basics out of the way, let's talk about how a mom could get started sharing her links online!
1. Share On Your Facebook “Person”
Most of us have a huge group of people we are connected to on Facebook. You can share affiliate link to products you love with the people who you are connected to as long as you set the Facebook post as “Public”.
Here is an example of how I would share an Amazon link on my Facebook person!
Now why is this less “scammy” than you might have worried?
First off, my teen trotted out and put her dash cam on her car right away so my recommendation was sincere! Second I used a picture I personally took of her car so it doesn't look like I got hacked and was just randomly sharing affiliate links!
2. “Helping Out” Your School, Animal Shelter or Church
Once you have made some “regular” Amazon affiliate sales you can apply to become an Influencer and make a store. Here is my store for junk journal supplies!
I curated a list of products on Amazon that I think people who make junk journals should get if they want to! They are real products that I use in my own junk journals and are sincere recommendations!
Here is how “just a mom” could get traffic to this kind of store!
- School… every year you could go to the local elementary school and ask for the class lists. Make a store for each class with all the products the kids need to buy that year. The first year will be hard, but later years will be super easy since you will just modify the current store. The school can send out the lists and you could even split the profits with the teachers so they could have more money for supplies!
- School… if you don't want to do individual lists, ask the teachers in the local schools what they generally need and share it on local Facebook groups asking the parents to help out. You can earn some money and help teachers!
- Animal shelter… animal shelters or rescues always need help! Make them a store that they can share with their peeps to get donations and you could even split the profits with them!
- Church… I am not that “church-y” but I am sure there is some way that you could work with your church to help them get needed supplies, donations, etc. to help them and you at the same time!
The reason this works is that EVERYONE wins! For the school example… Moms don't have to search out all the things, there is an easy list to buy! Teachers get help with their school lists and might earn an extra bit of money from splitting with you. You do all the work and get paid… whoo whoo!
3. Start a Tik Tok
I recommend Tik Tok rather than Instagram because it is easier to get found on Tik Tok if you are “just a mom”!
The way you share your links on TikTok is to have a “Link Tree” with all your recommendations for things you make videos about.
The gal I am writing this post for is a mom of autistic, theater and techy kids. She has knowledge that she doesn't even know she possesses that could help other moms navigate life!
Some videos she could share:
- “Show and tell” products that worked well when her kids were younger
- Tips for saving money when you have to make theatre costumes for your kids
- The top games teen boys are interested in this Christmas
- How to navigate the Irish system to get help for special needs kids
People will follow her and look for links to things she recommends in her videos!
4. Start A Blog or Website
Years ago I would NEVER recommend that “just a mom” start a website or blog… it was just too hard! But now you can do it super easy on Wix for a super low price and it is easy for normal moms to make.
Why a blog or website?
First off, if you put your affiliate links on a web page you can share it more places! For example, if Judith just had an Amazon link she could only share it on public places on Facebook.
But if she made a blog post about it, she could share her post on private Facebook groups, on her TikTok Linktree, etc.
Here is what an affiliate post looks like on my Artsy Fartsy blog… I am writing about how to use an envelope punch!
Now in case you think I am just some random weirdo shilling craft supplies to people who don't need them, I know for a fact that nerdy art gals like me LOVE to find new supplies that we didn't know we needed!
5. Start An Email List
I have an email list of over 12 THOUSAND (mostly) women who read my emails each week and love to hear about my life and the things that I recommend they do and buy craft-wise… whoo whoo!
I put this one last because there are many steps to building an email list, not the least which is committing to sending an interesting, heart-felt email out each week!
I recommend you start building an email list as soon as you start doing affiliate marketing, but if that is too intimidating, doing a little bit along the way.
I suggest Convertkit because it is free when you have a little list and has lots of bells and whistles if you love it and want to grow a huge list like mine!
You can use your email list to recommend products that you post about on your blog, grow a Facebook group, get sponsors, etc.
I put this one last because it IS the hardest, but it will help “just moms” make the most money in the long run!
5 Ways To Help “Just Moms” Do Affiliate Marketing Wrapup
I hope this helps my besty's sister Judith AND you to understand affiliate marketing a wee bit better and at least gets you started!
There are so many different opportunities with affiliate marketing and it can help you to get a little more income for your family if you just do a little each day to promote your links!
If you have any specific questions about affiliate marketing, send me an email, [email protected] and I will try to point you in the right direction!!!
