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If I could just understand the basics of digital marketing, then I could make money online
I decided to make money online. That’s it – no plan or specific expectation – just a desire to generate passive income and a determination to figure it out. A completely random conversation opened my eyes to the reach and money-making potential of the internet, when coupled with the right business model and a willingness to show up and work hard.
As an experienced business owner in the construction industry, I’ve navigated through challenging times in recent years, grappling with the impact of the pandemic, economic fluctuations, and the intricacies of managing interactions with homeowners and the workforce. Amidst these challenges, I found the idea of another income source, coupled with the opportunity to solve problems for others and contribute in my areas of expertise and interest, to be compelling. Who doesn’t want freedom of time and money!
On social media, I had seen a few captivating posts with success stories and intriguing income claims from affiliate marketing, digital product sales, blogging, and so on. The more I scrolled and slowed down, clicked or followed, the more that came my way – that’s how it’s supposed to work, right?
There’s no lack of educational information out there, but much of it seemed to be deliberately limited, blatantly self-serving, or concealed behind some masterclass offer, leaving me skeptical and confused about how to make money online with integrity. The most effective learning comes through practical experience, so I dug in and started experimenting!
In the beginning, I was more focused on understanding the concepts and developing strategies than making money. Sure, I’ve always been committed and determined to make money online, but I want to do that through the creation of an identity and system-oriented approach that leverages my background to add value and help others, in a meaningful and ethical way.
So, read on to get a FREE and complete collection of thoughts & opinions, lessons-learned, and links to resources gathered so far on my short Digital Marketing journey!
What They Tell You It’s Like
For effect, does any of this sound familiar?….
Pick a niche, join an affiliate program, set up a sales funnel & email autoresponder, post content on social media, and watch the life-changing money flow into your bank account. Or, better yet, skip a few steps and market a digital product or post an affiliate link directly on social media channels and make thousands per month. Just share 5-7 second random & ridiculous videos online and make $1-3k/week from other peoples’ products that you know, use, love, and trust. 86% of companies have affiliate programs and want to pay YOU an average of $177k per year to review & promote their products online via social media and email. Get started with no prior experience, no special skills, and no following – all you need is a laptop / phone, Wi-Fi, and 1-3 hours per day. NOT SO FAST!!!
My Experience of What It’s Really Like
As I educated myself and attempted to reverse-engineer the success of the online marketing influencers, I could understand the back-end systems and general approach, but I had so many questions! What exactly were they promoting? What lead magnets did they use? How did they source or create content? How did they get so many followers and generate traffic? Most importantly, how could I apply the methods to successfully promote a company or product in good conscience?
Yes, I could have signed up for a course, but it just did not feel right; I couldn’t pull the trigger. Common sense told me that the only mandatory prerequisite for success online was an audience. So, I decided to focus on the architectural design & construction sectors and start experimenting. Both design and construction are visual-based & popular niches, in-demand, and under-saturated, in terms of content and influencers. On top of that, I have 20+ years of experience in the industry and actively work as a residential designer and general contractor; so I had a path to build an identity, establish trust, and grow an audience!
There are so many ways to make money online (e.g. digital products, print-on-demand, blogging, master resell rights, fulfillment by Amazon, copywriting, dropshipping, freelance digital marketing, and so many more), it’s easy to get lost; so, I decided to focus on the development of content to generate income from affiliate marketing, digital advertising and product sales. Over the next few weeks, I set up a Pinterest business account (https://www.pinterest.com/ificouldjust/), purchased a domain and signed up for web hosting (Bluehost) and WordPress. On Pinterest, the plan was to grow an audience, which would allow me to establish an identity, promote direct affiliate links, and drive traffic to my blog. From there, I could begin to experiment with other methods such as sales funnels, email campaigns, digital product development & sales, advertising, etc. and other social channels.
Quite honestly, I got distracted several times along the way – I became an Amazon Associate and promoted a few random products, strayed from my core niche, explored Print-on-Demand using (Printify) and Etsy, applied to a bunch of affiliate programs, focused too much on re-pinning and following others on Pinterest, and probably spent too much time on back-end setup of the blog, etc. I did manage to publish a few blog posts and grow my Pinterest account to 25k views in the first month, by regularly posting content. BUT, during that time, I only gathered 19 followers, had very few meaningful engagements, and logged almost a non-existent amount of blog traffic.
I was learning A LOT and some things seemed to be working, but I wasn’t gaining much traction or making any money; and, many of my affiliate program applications were being rejected – what the heck? Don’t get me wrong, I understand that companies must maintain brand integrity, but how am I supposed to be a freelance digital marketer without something to promote – those people on Instagram claimed it was so easy! ShareASale – declined. Canva – declined. Etsy – declined. Target – declined. Nike – declined. Booking.com – declined. So, how does all of this make sense and WHAT NOW?
So What’s the Deal?
Above all else, the successful affiliates (or any other online money-making gurus) that show up constantly in your feeds are GREAT marketers. It’s that simple. I’m not disputing any income claims or downplaying the effort and persistence required, but these people are outliers, not the norm.
Next, regardless of what the influencers are promoting, they are SELLING an escape, or at least the idea of one. Many people, whether just discontent or downright desperate, are searching for a way out and feel that making money online may be the answer. Freedom of time and money is the hook and the successful affiliates post content to play to those emotions. Based on engagement, social media platform algorithms then constantly curate and display other related content. Over time, the methods and success stories start to seem so prevalent and easy to replicate that the viewer decides to give it a try! Some succeed, many do not – but the affiliates make money either way.
And, it seems that many of the influencers pitch various ways to promote products and make money online, but actually depend on the marketing of courses to generate most income, at least in the beginning. Not a problem, but it’s worth noting – the promotion of a course generates an audience, which then allows the promoter to explore other areas such as product & company affiliate marketing, digital product sales, and so on. Then, success increases credibility and exposure, which increases course sales and income. The cycle goes on.
I DO NOT WANT TO PROMOTE A GURU COURSE! Sure, a course may open doors for some, but the thought of someone spending their last few dollars on a desperate search for a way out, and coming up empty-handed, is not something I can accept. The fact of the matter is, very few people are going to succeed at making significant money online, course or no course – there are underperformers and rockstars in all areas of work and LIFE.
Truth is, there is a ton of money to be made online, but I’m just not interested in advocating for guru courses, masterclasses, or products that may exploit consumers or lose support over time, promoting or selling random digital or physical products, or creating content that doesn’t align with my values and experiences. I guess it’s the subject-matter and tactics of promotion that I question, not the industry or opportunity – maybe I’m a fan of fewer SUCCESS STORIES and more authenticity and transparency.
So, for me, promoting someone else’s courses has never felt like the right fit, but I see nothing wrong with promoting reputable companies, products, or services for a commission or selling legitimate digital products – nothing worth having is free!
Now, how can all of this information be used to actually make money online?
Now What – Bottom Line Basics
Promote, Create, Sell: Make money online by promoting products, creating valuable content, and selling your skills or services.
There are so many ways to use this framework to make money online, but I’m going to focus on Affiliate Marketing, Blogging & Advertising (which are components of Digital Marketing) and Digital Product sales. Digital marketing is simply the use of online platforms and technologies to promote products or services, connect with target audiences, and achieve marketing objectives in the digital space.
Now, this is where the ‘how-to’ information and links come into play. One of the biggest hurdles is understanding what tools are available and used by successful online promoters. So, I started a list early on and have made adjustments over the last few months – these are companies and products that I use, have used, or have jotted down and researched. Most of these ARE affiliate links; meaning, I have applied and been approved to become an affiliate for the particular company, product, or service and if you click and/or make a purchase through my unique link, I may receive a commission at no cost to you. What a great example of affiliate marketing! And, why not return the favor and help me out?!
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a performance-based strategy where individuals or businesses (affiliates) earn commissions by promoting products or services of another company through unique affiliate links. This allows businesses to expand their reach and increase sales without incurring upfront marketing costs. For affiliates, it provides an opportunity to earn income by promoting products or services without the need to create or own them.
Pick something, promote it, and drive traffic to your unique affiliate link.
- Pick your niche, or specialized market segment, based on your interests, expertise, and the needs of a target audience (Ex. health and wellness, personal finance, or whatever)
- Choose a company, product, or service (personally endorsed) to promote and apply to the affiliate program!
- Develop a free offer (Ex. a freebie recipe if you’re promoting a cooking product)
- Get a domain name (suggestions: Bluehost or GoDaddy) and generate a sales funnel (suggestions: ClickFunnels, Leadpages, or Systeme.io)
- Set up and link an email autoresponder (suggestions: Aweber or Systeme.io)
- Create and post content on your platform(s) of choice to promote, engage, and drive traffic
- Stay consistent, test and adapt, and don’t give up – show up every single day!!
Your content has to be seen to generate income – you MUST have TRAFFIC (not followers) and an engaged audience (clicks on your links) to make money
Depending on your strategy, items #3-5 above are not mandatory, but most successful affiliate marketers advocate for using a free offer to attract leads, a sales funnel to guide them towards purchases, and an email autoresponder to maintain ongoing communication, collectively enhancing their ability to engage and convert potential customers.
Affiliate Marketing Recap
Here it goes! Find or create something to promote or sell and then get customers to your link to make a purchase – it is that simple and there are countless ways to make it happen. To take it a step further, an engaged audience and a mechanism to convert sales will increase success.
In the wording of a freelance digital marketer – pick a niche & choose a product (something), set up a sales funnel & email autoresponder (mechanism), choose a platform to promote on and create applicable content (audience).
In terms of sales and advertising – understand your target audience (niche), communicate a value proposition (solve a problem), and focus on relationships, consistency, & branding (content)
In summary: 1. Get something you are knowledgeable about that solves a problem for someone else. 2. Consistently generate related and authentic content (promote) to grow & engage an audience. 3. Develop strategies and mechanisms to drive exposure and convert sales. You want to make money online, do these 3 things – no matter what or how you are promoting, these basic concepts apply.
The trick is to figure out how to apply all of this to your path! For a complete reference on placing affiliate links and working with sales funnels and email autoresponders, along with more helpful information, download my Digital Marketing Quick Start Guide or grab a copy of my Digital Marketing Playbook.
Once you get comfortable with the basics and generate an income, you can begin to use these tools and strategies to create synergies and provide additional income streams and more offers for your audience through blogging, digital advertising, and so on. You can even create and sell your own digital products on StanStore, for example!
Blogging & Advertising
Blogging is the act of regularly creating and publishing content on a website, typically in the form of articles or posts, to share information, express ideas, or engage with an audience. To monetize a blog, the best options are advertising, affiliate marketing, and the promotion of digital products – or, more likely, a combination of these.
The idea is to produce content, drive traffic to the blog, and then get the audience to support some other source of income or sales mechanism – click an affiliate link, enter a sales funnel for an affiliate offer or digital product, provide an email address, engage with an advertisement, purchase a product, or follow, like, and share the content.
Advertising is one of the easiest ways to monetize a blog once an audience is established; but, in order to generate significant income, the blogger must grow and sustain quite a bit of traffic. Advertising on a blog involves collaborating with brands or businesses that compensate the blog owner for displaying their ads, aiming to engage the blog’s audience and potentially boost traffic or sales for the advertised products or services.
In summary, create valuable content and then use the digital marketing information, resources, and strategies discussed above to monetize in a variety of ways, depending on the direction of your content and promotions. I would recommend Bluehost for domain registration and WordPress blog hosting.
Digital Products
Digital products are intangible items or services that exist in electronic format and could include things like eBooks, online courses or guides, software applications, digital artwork or stock images, audio or video content, mobile apps, web templates, fonts, printables, subscription services, and many more.
The concept and approach is almost identical to affiliate marketing, as described above, except you are promoting and selling a digital product that you created and own. Help someone solve a problem in a digital product format, make 100% profit! Back to the basics – create a digital product, post on social media, and send traffic to a checkout page (StanStore, for example), which converts a small percentage of the visitors into paying customers. Of course, you can switch, change, or rearrange the process and use different tools, but the general idea is the same.
For additional income, you can also include links to affiliate products, a website or blog, a sales funnel, or whatever else right there in the content of the digital product.
Content Creation
In almost every case above, a common theme is the need to create visual and text-based content – Instagram reels, Pinterest pins, Facebook or TikTok posts, sales funnels and emails campaigns, blog posts, digital products, and the list goes on.
Eye-catching visuals are essential for success, and serve to grab attention, build credibility, and simplify complex information, making them crucial for promoting products or telling engaging stories online. No matter your strategy or platform, incorporating visually appealing and well-written content is a powerful way to connect with your audience and enhance your digital marketing efforts. There are countless tools available to help you create, distribute, and interact with content.
Digital Marketing Wrap Up
The information above covers the basics of digital marketing and product sales, but understand that there are so many ways to optimize, and even automate, nearly every aspect of online money-making! You can use specialized tools and techniques to beat the display algorithms, rank in search results, increase social media engagement, drive traffic to a blog, convert sales, create content, and so much more.
In summary, digital marketing is the comprehensive use of online platforms, channels, and technologies to promote products or services, connect with target audiences, and achieve marketing objectives in the digital space. Based on my experience, there are MANY ways to make money online, but most employ the general concepts of digital marketing. In fact, it seems that combining and creating synergies between the different strategies may provide the very best results.
For a comprehensive guide and additional valuable insights, explore the low-cost Digital Marketing Quick Start Guide, or secure your copy of my Digital Marketing Playbook.