How Much You Can Really Make From Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is promoted as a fantastic way to generate passive, recurring income. It is simple to understand why given the $30 million price tags associated with affiliate-focused brands like Wirecutter.
However, how much money does the typical affiliate marketer actually make? Is it really a successful business strategy?
Today, I provide answers to these queries and explain how you can participate in this affiliate revenue as well.
How do affiliate marketers make money?
Affiliate marketers are compensated with commissions for promoting others’ goods and services.
For instance, if you have an affiliate link on your blog that directs visitors to Amazon to make a purchase, you will receive a share of each sale that results from those clicks.
>> How to get started on affiliate marketing in 2023<<
As an affiliate for online programs or software, you can also make money. Videos that are “sponsored by Skillshare” or “sponsored by Fiverr” have likely been seen on YouTube. Additionally, these platforms offer affiliate programs.
As an alternative, you can earn money working as a company’s affiliate marketing manager. I’ll also discuss the pay for employed managers.
How much do affiliate marketers make?
According to Glassdoor, an affiliate marketer makes an average yearly salary of $59,060. With “additional pay” options like cash bonuses, commissions, tips, or profit sharing, it ranges from $58K to $158K.
But this is for a salaried worker. What about an independent contractor or company owner who conducts their own affiliate marketing?
Here is a breakdown based on a survey conducted by the Influencer Marketing Hub:
In other words, more than 50% of affiliate marketers make less than $10,000 annually, while only 33% make $10,000 or more.
That’s… not so good. Without a doubt, not enough to subsist in most nations. However, I think that’s because most respondents don’t work in affiliate marketing full-time.
I have a gut feeling that the majority of full-time affiliate marketers make less than $100K per year — probably between $30K and $50K annually — thanks to my experience in the affiliate marketing industry and my connections with hundreds of other affiliate marketers.
Having said that, this is based on my own personal experience rather than a survey or research study, so proceed with caution.
Revenue vs. net profit
You need to consider actual net profit figures, not just revenue, to determine how much affiliate marketers make.
Before expenses are deducted, a business’s revenue is its total financial gain. What’s left over after expenses are subtracted is the company’s net profit.
Profit is the actual amount you took home over the course of the year from your business.
I say this because the average affiliate marketer makes between $30K and $50K per year. This refers to earnings after costs.