The fifth post in the series of financial decisions to consider, and I am talking about “increasing your income”. This is the final section of this series and is shared between 3 posts. This is a bonus as not everyone will want to consider this. Hustle culture is not great and if you’re happy with where your life is now, there is no need to jump on the “side hustle” train. Being happy with where you are, and finding a balance between work and life is the most ideal situation you can end up in. Don’t throw it away just because hustle culture is more popularised. This post is for those who are unhappy with their position right now, whether it’s a job that sucks, an unideal lifestyle or a sense of doom that comes with the realisation, of the minimal time we have existing on earth. (yeesh)
Some background
So, I have been interested in hustle culture for a couple years now. I have no idea what I want to do in my life, so having an extra income will give me some flexibility. This means if I am in a job that sucks, then having my own income on the side will still let me pay my bills whilst I job hunt.
I have yet to be successful in actually making money with a little side hustle. Don’t let any of those gurus online tell you “it’s easy”. It’s a war out there. I have been trying mainly affiliate marketing, market research and blogging. The other two, are in separate posts.
The main goal right now is to actually make, consistent income, with a method that doesn’t take too much of my time in the long run. Note, setting up something will take time and effort, hence why I say long run, as it will hopefully require minimal maintenance. The first step towards my goal is to make an extra £100 a month, between all side hustles (excluding my full time job). I feel like that is small and achievable enough to start with, before scaling. So, I’ll tell you my methods, and updates of where I am up to right now.
Affiliate Marketing
I have been trying this (very inconsistently) for nearly a year now. The idea is that you are advertising something to a consumer (or business) and referring that person/company to the actual people who are selling it. If they complete a sale, then you get a percentage of that sale for the referral (commission). You are paid to do referrals, that’s it. It sounds so simple, so why on earth have I been struggling?
How I got into Affiliate Marketing
I started off by looking at the people online who said they made money through affiliate marketing. Oh my god they are all promoting the same thing: A course. I have signed up to 3 courses and all of them had more expensive “bonus” items, which would “help me” elevate my skillset as an affiliate marketer. At the end of each course, I then had the opportunity to be an affiliate of the courses, much like the people who attracted me to the course.
- With the course, you pay a small up front cost, to join.
- They then offer you various upsells to assist your development, which are optional.
- You get a coaching call with someone, and then free reign to continue completing the course.
- At the end you essentially graduate, and can now be an affiliate of anything, including the course you took.
People tend to do it for the course, as they are high ticket products. This means you earn a lot more commission for one product. For example, if you are an affiliate for clothes on amazon, you would need to attract a lot more customers (who hopefully make a purchase), to make a couple hundred a month. This is low ticket. Whereas, say for one of these courses, you would have to advertise to a smaller group of people, and the potential earnings you can get, can be into 3-4 figures per day, in some cases more. This is high ticket.
How did I attempt at Affiliate Marketing?
So, all of them gave me basic social media and copywriting tips, and told me to get started. I created a beginner TikTok account where I didn’t show my face, but it was so hard to create content to do that, so I changed tactics. So, I decided to promote one of the courses that I took.
I made a new TikTok account, and started making videos with and without my face. Since the niche is the “making money online” niche, I focussed on creating content about that. The call to action was to attract people to my account and follow me for more information. TikTok allows you to have a link in your personal account bio if you have over 1k followers, and if you start with a business account, you don’t have access to trending sounds (which are how you get access to larger audiences).
The aim is to not attract everyone, but to get people who are interested in what you are doing. Like I said there are multiple courses, and most people seem to advertise the same one. Whilst creating content, I also had to learn how to build a funnel, do email marketing and setting up an automated function to drive potential leads, to the product. It was a lot of figuring stuff out alone, and what made it worse was that, everyone on the course, said “oh it’s simple”, but then didn’t actually provide sufficient support.
I didn’t believe in what I was doing, because I felt like I was taking part in a pyramid scheme. That’s how I ended up doing other courses, as I wanted to find one that wasn’t giving those vibes. Jokes on me, no matter how cheap or expensive it is, if you are taking a course by referral from someone else, which doesn’t yield a legitimate qualification, it gives pyramid scheme vibes.
My progress with Affiliate Marketing
I still believe affiliate marketing doesn’t have to be like a pyramid scheme. You can refer people to businesses directly, without having to refer people to a course first. I haven’t posted on my account in over 7 months, and right now I think I might start afresh. There’s about 50 followers and no idea on what company I would like to be an affiliate for. I guess I need to figure out that strategy first.
I’m thinking of maybe joining the Amazon one, or finding the company of really specific products that I live by, and promote them. This is normally known as “low ticket” as they pay small commissions, which is normally expressed as less than 10%. But for me, if its ethical and it’s on products that I completely agree with, then it’s a side hustle that I can be on board with. I am not trying to hustle, to leave my job, I just feel like having an extra income stream will give me more stability, whilst I explore what I want out of my career.
If you are interested in one of the courses that I am an affiliate of, here is the link. Obviously if you purchase anything, I will earn a commission. I paid £5 for the course (in 2022 and I took £5 worth of knowledge). If you choose to pay for the upsells, that is your choice, and none of my doing. But I will earn commission on that too. This can help you see what to watch out for, and I’ll admit my funnel is poor, but remember I got out what I paid for.
Verdict
It’s supposedly beginner friendly. But maybe I’m doing it wrong as a beginner. Though I will admit I have bought into the beginning stages of several “not-so-pyramid schemes” and enjoy the entertainment of them trying to prove to me, that they aren’t. At the end of the day they win, because they get some of my money and quite a bit of my time. However, the most I have paid for was £70, which I actually got a lot more resources to use forever, rather than the scheme itself.
There are reputable people out there who say, you should invest in yourself, and spending some money to better yourself is better than trying to find a cheaper way. Buying into an pyramid-like course is not the investment you should do. Research and find reputable mentors/consultants who you can see in person and they can show you their development. A screenshot online, and following through several pages online (a funnel) to reach a specific course/tool that they used/learnt from, is not it.
It’s probably doable, but you need a game plan, and consistency. Motivation is only a small part. You won’t get all the successes of the gurus online in the same time frames, so make sure you’re ready. I don’t think you should pay someone to teach you, because the internet is full of free resources, so they are just making money off of you. If they refer you to a course or a “tool” don’t buy it.
Moral of my story:
- Invest in your own development through reputable people – if they sell you a course, don’t buy it
- It’s supposedly beginner friendly – If you maintain consistent to learn and develop, which takes time
- If it feels like an pyramid scheme, then it’s probably a type of one – Yeah, trust that intuition. I have learnt to laugh at my naivety in humans online, rather than cry
- Tips for Affiliate Marketing – Find a subject you want to refer people to. Make content with trending sounds, and a call to action to come to your link or to interact with you. Set up your automation to guide people to the product you’re advertising. And when you’re ready, make it live.
- High ticket Affiliate Marketing is not convincing – It doesn’t seem achievable unless it uses foundations of pyramid schemes
