Design Hunter's Journal

UPDATE 6/11/2022: Content updated to focus on affiliate marketing specifically for blogs.

We have all seen the sketchy-looking ads at the bottom of even the most reputable blogs. The ads that proclaim “Follow this 1 tip to reduce your belly fat” or “#1 weird tip to get rid of toenail fungus.” Not exactly what you want to see when you are reading your favorite author. And the popup ads and videos that suddenly start blaring at you — just plain annoying!

What if there was another way to earn money from your blog, one that is less intrusive and annoying? For a blog like this one, affiliate marketing may provide a viable alternative to the more irritating forms of online advertising.

On this blog, I write about artisan products and great examples of design, mostly from my favorite sites including Etsy and eBay. These sites have literally millions of products from which to choose from.

I recently discovered affiliate marketing programs, which allow bloggers (and social media marketers) to earn a percentage of each sale of a product that is featured on their site. The writer includes a unique link to the product, and if a reader clicks on the link and purchases the product, the writer will earn a percentage of the sale.

This means the writer would get paid to promote another company’s products, but the writer also gets to choose the products they feature on their blog. And there are millions of products to choose from on sites like Etsy or eBay.

Downsides to Affiliate Marketing

Negatives? Yes, there are some. A big criticism is that the writer’s editorial judgement will become skewed toward whatever product they think will earn them the most money from the affiliate marketing program. I am not naive; this probably will happen to a certain extent. But I just can’t help writing about great design: it is what drives me as a writer. If I was driven primarily by money, I would write about online gaming consoles, athletic shoes, tech gadgets, or whatever is trendy at the moment.

Fortunately, I couldn’t care less about those products. I can already find enough products on Etsy and eBay that meet my exacting standards for quality materials and good design to keep me writing for a long time to come.

Is Affiliate Marketing Enough?

Affiliate marketing may not provide all the revenue necessary to monetize a blog, but it might allow the blogger to pick and choose when it comes to allowing ads on the site. I don’t want Design Hunter’s Journal to become the kind of site where the text of an article is interrupted frequently by display ads, breaking the reader’s concentration. Or worse, having the content you are reading suddenly covered up by a popup ad, demanding that you sign up or input your email address. (Even after I DO sign up, I still keep getting these ads! How frustrating.)

So I have decided to go the affiliate marketing route, rather than have offensive ads on my site. I recently signed up with the eBay Partner Network and may choose to sign up with other programs, such as Etsy Affiliates or Amazon Associates. There are dozens of affiliate programs out there, and one of them might be right for you!

-Louise Hunter Burton