Do Affiliate Programs Work?

I get asked that question a lot. So many new bloggers want to earn money and affiliate programs may be the way to do that. I belong to several different programs. Have I made money from them? Yes and no. Honestly, it depends on the program and what they are offering. I have taken dozens of course on affiliate marketing and I swear to this day it all still seems foreign to me.

The one program that has paid out the most for me has been Amazon. Sometimes I earn money for months in a row but then there are certain months where I don’t earn so much. Why has this program paid out the most? because I use it over on A Lucky Grace for all of the book posts. Every single time I write or post about a book with links the Amazon ones are always affiliate links. I earn a little whenever someone buys the book I recommended. That is the way lots of book bloggers earn money. I get paid from Amazon in the form of gift cards because that is the way I selected to be paid. It works for me because I use those gift cards to purchase books or other items that I need.

Way back when I made some money with ShareASale with some extra posts and a few clicks. I have never made tons of money from affiliate programs. I honestly think that is on me and not the programs. I don’t think I am very effective at promoting them. It is one thing that I am still to this day learning.

So, to answer the question do affiliate programs work? I think they do for some bloggers. They work well for those who know what they are doing. While for others, like me, they work alright. I am sure there are others out there they don’t work for at all. It is all a hit or miss at the best of times. At least that is what I have found.