How I Made $3,000 in Commissions Without a Website
I would like to thank Kyle, Jay and Covid-19 for making me a wealthy affiliate.
As many of you know by searching through my training tutorials and WA blogs, one of my favorite subjects is sharing popular and sometimes under-the-radar niche ideas. This post today will focus on how the Covid pandemic, made me profitable!
HEALTH & WELLNESS = EVERGREEN NICHE
An evergreen niche is a type that is very popular and never goes out of style. Health & Wellness is extremely profitable but too broad. That's not a bad thing if you focus on a specific sub niche. I mention several in my What is a Profitable Niche tutorial.
Though there are other very popular evergreen niche ideas that I mention in my tutorial at the link above, in this post I want to focus on Covid-19 and reveal what I'm doing now in my niche that is proving to be very profitable WITHOUT a website.
Covid-19 is real just like Influenza is real. In many ways they are the same and in some ways they are not. It is because of their similarities, they are both viruses and infection happens the same way, that can actually be a benefit in potential sales.
Long before Covid-19 was even heard of, I had to wear PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) when on the job as an N-EMT. Wearing gloves and masks were not alien to me when the general world population was advised to start wearing them.
Though PPE does contribute to a better Health & Wellness of the individual wearing it, it too is becoming an evergreen niche in its own right. Have you seen the Covid-19 Essential stores appearing in shopping malls? This has become a BIG niche business.
BEFORE I CONTINUE, LET ME EXPLAIN SOMETHING
I want to give you all up front, the meanings of the 3 abbreviations used in this post so you have a better idea what I am talking about. I will also explain the definition. We in healthcare abbreviate many things. You will hear these on TV sometimes.
PPE = Personal Protection Equipment (Masks, Gloves, Goggles, Vests, Bouffant Caps, Gowns,... Basically any item of clothing or accessories that is disposable.)
EMT = Emergency Medical Technician (Respond to emergency calls, provide basic medical and first aid care and transport the patient to the medical facility.)
N-EMT = Non-Emergency Medical Technician (ParaTransit for regular doctor visits, the sick, those in detox, the physically disabled and those with ambulatory dialysis.)
Those of us who are N-EMTs, we are always on the go doing up to 12 transports per day, which means we burn through PPE and that's a problem. A good niche will solve a problem. Now you ask, if people are getting vaccinated, why is PPE a big deal?
VACCINES HELP BUT YOU STILL NEED PPE
The vaccines work as designed. They do not protect you from getting Covid-19, but rather reduce the risk of serious illness and hospitalization if you become infected. Regardless if you are vaccinated or not, PPE is still recommended in certain areas.
This is a REQUIREMENT for all of us in healthcare when dealing with patients, up close and personal, every day we are on the job. When Covid-19 first hit the U.S., healthcare did not have enough PPE and many of us had to buy them on the market.
Now the supply chain is pretty much sustainable. However many EMT, N-EMT and Volunteer Rescue Squads not associated directly with a hospital, have to rely on their private employers to supply us with adequate amounts of quality PPE.
Do you see why the PPE niche is growing from a sub niche into a full fledged niche? There will always be demand for it regardless of whether you are vaccinated or not. Plus doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers, will require an unending supply.
When the product is a disposable, and in the case of PPE an essential product, repeat business is an absolute given. We in healthcare rarely wear the same mask and gloves when dealing with more than one patient. This is why PPE is a great niche.
I USE MY JOB, NOT A WEBSITE, TO PROMOTE MY NICHE
The reason I had been absent from WA for most of 2021 and 2022 was to set this up in motion. Covid-19 has provided so many opportunities for the affiliate marketer, even creating new niche markets and amplifying niche markets that were once small.
I knew the PPE niche market was going to explode in growth. I use it everyday and multiple times a day. An absolutely essential disposable product for essential workers, that use dozens of masks & pairs of gloves everyday, it's the perfect niche.
What a great opportunity. There was no way I was going to pass this up. HOWEVER, I didn't have a website set up and I knew creating content would take a lot of time and effort. So I went back to the old-school way of growing a business.
Word of Mouth Marketing and Business Cards. The above image is the business card I had printed up with my affiliate link and email address on the back. I also had a somewhat larger version printed on a 2022 / 2023 calendar refrigerator magnet.
Both the cards and the magnets cost me less than a hundred dollars. They are great ways to get my affiliate link in front of potential customers. When making contact for the first time to healthcare workers, I wear the PPE. This helps to seal the deal.
PROMOTION IS EASIER WHEN YOU KNOW YOUR NICHE
Newbie affiliate marketers here at WA often hear Kyle and others speak about choosing a niche that is a "Passion" of yours. Why? When you are passionate about a niche, you really know a lot about it. This makes it so much easier to promote.
THIS IS WHAT I DO IN MY PPE NICHE...
When the opportunity arises for me to talk to another EMT/N-EMT or healthcare worker, I start by asking, how many masks and gloves do they go through during their workday? Then I promote my PPE niche and why they can benefit from it.
Normally nurses and EMS workers who work directly for a hospital or some other large healthcare provider, will have more than enough PPE available to them. Those of us who work for private companies, will still have to conserve what we get.
When I promote I tell healthcare workers I never fear that my employer will short change me of PPE. I have a backup source. I mention the low cost, show them the quality of what I wear and give them my card or magnate with my affiliate link.
On average, one N-EMT can go through 15 pairs of medical gloves and about 13 N95 masks in one day. A full box of 100 "quality" pairs of Nitrile gloves can cost up to $30 and be used up by one N-EMT within 7-Days. That can be an expensive necessity.
WHEN YOUR NICHE IS A PASSION...
Being passionate (knowing much) about your niche helps to either occasionally or daily promote it to a target audience. It also helps by showing others that you are personally involved with this niche. Who better to get recommendations from?
Here is another example of an affiliate marketer making money WITHOUT a website. I already know many of you will roll your eyes or yawn at this, but it does work eventually. Look at Baseball Chickie's picture below and yes, she knows sports.
Other than knowing a lot about baseball, she knows other sports too. She is also a big fan of the 1980's in TV, Film, Music & more. She has a HUGE collection of entertaining t-shirts that reflect her likes and fun personality. Yes. She is pretty too.
What kind of "No-Website" affiliate marketing is she using? It's called Social Media Marketing, but on a smaller scale. With a current Twitter following of 161.8K, that's a lot of potential customers. She tweets selfies in these shirts and provides her link.
One of the marketing ways taught here at WA is Social Media Marketing, obviously on a different scale to what Baseball Chickie is doing, but the money making concept still works. Her social media presence acts like a website, her pictures like content.
WHAT IS MY POINT TO ALL THIS?
It is possible to make money in affiliate marketing without a website. I will admit that having an affiliate marketing website is the best option for growing a small business. With a website your target audience grows beyond who you already know or follow.
Even though I started my PPE niche without a website, like Baseball Chickie my interactions through my job as an N-EMT is like a website, my knowledge of its use and my "passion" for its quality is like content. It's easier to promote what you know.
When you are passionate about a niche and partake in its benefits, you can send people to your affiliate link by word of mouth and through a social media presence. So now a question you may have is, do affiliate programs require a website to join?
From my personal research over the years, it's about a 50 / 50 split. Roughly 50% of affiliate programs do not require you to have a website as long as you have a viable means to promote to a target audience. My N-EMT / EMT community is my target.
When I do niche research and I'm on a website selling related products, I first look to see if they have an affiliate program. If they do I look for their affiliate requirements and affiliate FAQ page. Below is an example from a new company I am affiliated with.
Q: Do I Need a website/blog to participate in the affiliate program? A: No, not at all.
WHAT IS MY APPROACH TO AFFILIATE MARKETING NOW?
When it is possible, definitely create an affiliate marketing website to promote your niche. I will create one for this PPE niche in the future so I can grow my target audience. Fortunately I am currently making up to $3000 per month, so I have time.
By using Word of Mouth Marketing, my passion for this niche and business cards with my affiliate link, I was successful because the healthcare community in which I work is my target audience. I know Covid is here to stay which means Customers.
Eventually I will create a website and grow my target audience. Did you know that PPE isn't just used by people in healthcare? Auto mechanics and food services use many different products under the PPE umbrella. I can target other niches too.
My next niche will consist of an affiliate marketing website and blog for its long term promotion to a worldwide target audience. In the short term I can promote this niche by Word of Mouth marketing to my local target market of family and friends.
I feel a mixture of both, with and without a website, can work together for certain niches. Wealthy Affiliate is a perfect example. You can promote WA using both a website and by Word of Mouth. If you have any comments, please leave them below.
Recent Comments
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Chinatown in San Francisco would be a great place for handing out cards at businesses there for that niche.
I still use business cards for my audio business, however, I am happy just working one gig a week now along with my 9 to 5.
I like how your post here really does get the idea generator part of my mind whirling, thanks for the ideas and the post.
Scott
You are welcome Scott. Depending on what the niche is about, most can be promoted by word of mouth and business cards, especially if there is a large local target audience such as a Chinatown in any major city.
Hi, Rob
Great job!
It’s shameful that private companies don’t provide their EMTs and N-EMTs with the amount of PPE they need to properly protect themselves and their patients, without having to buy their own.
In my opinion that should be a requirement for licensure.
Frank 🎸
Thanks, Cassi.
I work in the field, and I would have never thought this to be the case.
When PPE was in short supply during the peak of the COVID pandemic, we were reusing some items in the hospital to avoid running out, but that was unavoidable.
I hope you are well & enjoying the summer! 😎
Frank 🎸
A few of my relatives are MDs and my brother manages procurement for a large hospital in NY.
Some of their stories about the struggles to provide the service they want to are frightening.
Yes, we are very well.
"Summer" here is 365/year. 🤦♀️
It is either hot, hotter or hottest.
These days, it is HOTTEST!!!!!
I am tired of having to live in air-conditioned spaces just to keep calm and productive.
Global Warming is real.
Hope your week is going well.
Cassi
So far, the weather here has been nice, in the mid-60s to low 70s. My wife and I are enjoying the outdoors locally before it gets too hot, and we have to head down to the beach area.
I try to get the best out of every day and usually succeed. 😎
Stay Cool!,
Frank 🎸
I am still in the AC, Frank. 🤦♀️
Looking out of my window, I can see that clouds are setting in and changing to light grey.
Some rain to cool us down would be wonderful.
Cassi
I did that yesterday, Frank. 🙂
Zafirah has ballet classes this afternoon so I am chauffeur duties. 😁
Cassi
Nice! 👍
My sister took ballet lessons for years as a child and then went to modeling school.
I attended an uncountable number of beauty pagets so I could tune her guitar just before the talent show. 😎
Frank 🎸
I agree Frank. In the beginning of covid it was accepted that we were to use our PPE longer than we normally would because of low supplies.
However once the supply chain was restored, many private companies would either excessively conserve supply or supply would be spotty.
Many EMTs and N-EMTs from private companies needed a reliable backup supply and that is when I decided to do something about it.
The sad thing is, not every private medical transport company has access to a B2B supplier of quality PPE. They purchase through a network.
Most of what little funding trickles down to the private companies once the hospitals and other EMS workers are supplied, is quite small.
Once again, those of us who seem to have the most face time with a patient, are the ones that get paid and treated well the least.
So instead of trying to fight the BS in the healthcare system of private medical transport, I did something about it and I'm making money with it.
That was a great idea, Rob!
You're helping healthcare workers and making money at the same time. What could be better than that? 👍😎
Frank 🎸
Rob, this is exactly what everyone needs to understand about "our business".
There are different ways to skin a cat and to become profitable.
Once you take the time to understand the objectives and learn the different pathways, you can add your own dose of creativity and move forward.
Thank you for sharing this insightful WA blog post.
Congratulations on your success!
I wish you much more.
Cassi
Thank you Cassi and I 100% agree. There certainly are different ways for us affiliate marketers to become profitable and a website is not always needed in the beginning.
Take WA for example. Any one of us can gain a referral and that referral go Premium, all by us using word of mouth to promote WA without a Bootcamp website.
A website will help with growth of the business in the long run but is not "always" necessary in the beginning. It depends on the person, on the niche and the execution.
Rob, I have been giving a lot of thought as to how to get people to understand this when they join WA.
Our training is excellent BUT, it takes time to build a Content & Affiliate Marketing business.
Since joining WA in October 2019, I have:
1. changed my business model.
2. added 6 different income streams.
3. grown my revenue to 6 figures across all my revenues.
I am only NOW building out my Affiliate and PPC streams.
The potential is HUGE!!!!!!
I am so very happy for you and your success.
Cassi
Congratulations on your success and addition of 6 different income streams. This PPE niche is at the point where it is now, basically on autopilot.
I can stop promoting to potential customers and still bring in a couple of thousand extra per month. Of course I am not going to stop, just slow down.
There's another niche I am going to start and now is the perfect time to start a new website, while my PPE niche is making me passive income from those I work with.
I love the earning possibilities of affiliate marketing. Though a website will be beneficial in the long run, and I will do a PPE website, there are other ways to earn.
Hey there, boomergp08!
I absolutely loved reading about your experience and success with the PPE niche! It's truly inspiring to see how you managed to turn the Covid-19 pandemic into a profitable opportunity.
Your story just goes to show that passion and knowledge about a niche can lead to success, even without a website.
And you're right, PPE is used in various industries, so the possibilities for expansion are endless!
Thanks for sharing your journey with us!
All the best, Julia
Thank you Julia. It is true, that when you have a passion for your niche and you have much knowledge about it, promoting your niche is much easier, even using word of mouth and not a website.
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Well appreciated boomergp08 for the valuable insight. I'm from Papua New Guinea and I share same sentiment. Most of PNG is not connected to the internet world yet, the introduction of the mobile industry is spreading across so I think 50/50 word of mouth through handing potential targets with cards will do for me. Thanks for sharing.
Welcome to WA, Richard!
I have visited your beautiful islands and enjoyed my time there.
I wish you success in your WA endeavours.
Cassi
🐛 Change Happens at the Congruent Point. 🦋
That's wonderful. Love to know you more and work closely with.
Looking forward, Richard.
Enjoy your weekend.
Cassi