This page is specifically for people that I have referred to it. If you don’t know me, or you didn’t get the URL from me, then please move along. I have a bunch of interesting things like some Podcasts , some Photos, and a Blog. Hell, go to youtube.
So: If I did send you here, then you likely already know what this is about. You probably said something about ‘buying something on the internet’ or perhaps that there was a particular product that you mentioned that you were probably going to buy. Maybe you specifically mentioned Amazon. One way or the other, it’s likely that I already told you about this and how it works.
Before you click the link, I really want to make sure you understand why I put this page up, and how it works – I really care about honesty, and while I can’t force you, I would like for you to read this wall of text.
The way that this works is that if you click the link at the bottom of all of this, then I get a percentage of what you pay for it. You don’t even have to buy the snazzy notebook that I am linking to. Anything that you buy after you click that link (for a day or so – I forget exactly how long) goes toward my commission. You do not pay any extra, and you do not pay me. Amazon pays me, because Amazon thinks that other people advertising for them should be compensated.
“But Seth, you dummy- shouldn’t you put this where more people can find it? Wouldn’t that make your affiliate link more profitable?”
That is actually a really good question. The reason that I am putting this page in a place that other people cannot find it is because the internet is a fickle beast, and I am currently trying to attract an audience. Every single piece of advice I have ever gotten about “building an audience” and “online marketing” says that I should always build an audience, and only after this audience is built and a certain level of trust exists should you ask them to do anything for you that involves money. Right now, the only audience that I have are those that either a) know me in regular, non-internet space or b) I have known for a long time through the internet. Either way, you guys already trust me – I often do not have to convince you of things beyond saying “this is a good idea.”
“But Seth, if you don’t want people to see it, why are you putting it up at all?”
What used to be here is something about me being humble and then talking about my finances. This was good to talk about before, but not any more.
I am keeping it up so that I can practice with it – I have at least one person that regularly uses the links (Thanks, Tina!) and the more that I fiddle with things under the hood, the more I understand about it.
Eventually, I would like to quit my job and exclusively do podcasting and writing. That would be amazing. Affiliate marketing is one of the ways that I can start to make that happen.
Right now, my salary and Amanda’s part-time, work-from-home job are sufficient, but just barely. We never go hungry. We are never cold. We can keep our vehicles in not-about-to-blow-up status.
But. Our combined wages are not enough to pay off debts with any reasonable speed. Our emergency fund remains well below where it should be for our financial safety. This is stressful and will remain so until we manage to open up our income streams a bit more. This affiliate stuff is intended to be just that – another avenue through which I can generate income.
Amanda and I are not in need, but we certainly aren’t in a good spot. I do not see this as a solution to our overall financial problems, but I do see this as me getting a little more proactive about looking for ways for us to increase our income. I do not want you to feel pressured to be using my Amazon Associate’s link to buy things you were not going to buy in the first place. I do want you to use my Amazon Associate’s link to do me a favor.
And in the end, that’s what this is – you are doing me a favor. I feel a little strange about this, but I suppose I am actually advertising for Amazon, and that is what I am being paid for.
This link, by the way, goes to a notebook that you have seen me using, if you know me outside of the internet at all. Seriously, it’s the spiral-bound one that has the hard rubber cover and a bunch of different-colored graph paper in it. Best notebook I have ever used. I am about to actually fill yet another one.
SO, here is that link that I am talking so much about.
I recently bought these brushes and I like them a lot.
P.S. For full disclosure, I want to let you know exactly what I am planning doing with this money.
- Maintaining this website: So far, I have spent less than $150 getting this thing up, has been going for more than a year, and that much is actually June 2016. The hosting plan was an early birthday present from Amanda to me the first year. (cost: less than $75/year)
- Finish this website: In order to craft this website into what I had originally planned, I will need to spend a bit more money (specifically for a media hosting service, which is different than a web hosting service) on a monthly basis. (cost: $15/month)
- Make this website profitable: I plan to leverage this website into a larger audience, make it valuable for other people, and then offer products I trust to those people. (cost: $0 – but without the above 2, I cannot do this one)
- Get our budget in order: This affiliate program is not a solution for my budget, but it may help. Anything beyond the previous 3 points (that is, beyond about $300/year) will go toward our larger financial goals: increase the diaper stockpile, get my car fixed/replaced, pay off student loans, keep us from falling further in to debt, and save money in general. (cost: ??? if we get to this point, then I will consider this website to be a total success, and this is literally just profit. Thanks!)