Affiliate Programs I actually use!

There are a multitude of affiliate programs out there, and countless millions of people trying to make money from them. I have covered off how I see them as not worth investing too much time in as the returns aren’t great. That being said, the ones I am working with for the most part back onto existing websites or are something I see as being in line with my design niche (or at least more so than most Adwords driven ones I have come across).

So, enough talk, here is the list so far.

Amazon
– music, books, movies and products. As an author I am not above making a few extra cents on each of the sales of my own book. So why shouldn’t you? Not to mention running them on links to physical products I have designed from my portfolio.

iTunes
– I am getting ahead of myself so I am all signed up and ready to get those precious extra few cents per song. As an artist, you get paid so little for the songs when they are sold for 99 cents, it doesn’t hurt to get a few more cents per song. Plus it also works for books and purchased podcasts so I get to keep that up my sleeve as a potential added income later on if I start creating my own podcasts about the Debt Free Designer project.

Zazzle
– if you are already a member and have a store, you are already signed up. A little cut of sales from products you like and talk about/promote is always a good thing, as you are getting paid for something you would probably share anyway! And if you aren’t already plugging your designs from the site, then you should really get moving on it! This like several other POD (Print On Demand) websites are my real passive income earners. Zazzle is the top performer for me and consistently brings in a little extra cash each month.

Envato
– Themeforest and a few other design/web affiliated sites in this collective are well known for selling your content on, but you can make a little extra through affiliate sales.

There are plenty that I haven’t covered, but I am not really looking at anything that is too far outside of my graphic design niche. I am sure I am signed up for a few more like eLance or KerwinRay, but I haven’t had the time nor the inclination to do anything with them. From memory I have earned about 37 cents through Amazon in the past year, so I wouldn’t want you to think these will solve your debt problems overnight! Honestly I would be inclined to think checking down the back of the sofa would earn me more money! (Of course I am now off to do just that…)