How I Earned $740 Thinking Outside The Box!

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So here you are at WA. You’ve learned you need to find a niche, create a website, write useful content, get ranked in search engines, add affiliate links to your content and make money. That’s pretty much the process. Quite frankly it works very well if you’re consistent and patient enough to make it work for you.

But today I’m going to share with you a little tip that can help you make even more money. To illustrate how to achieve this, we're going to focus on a dog niche as our example. But keep in mind this little technique actually applies to any niche.

So let’s say you have a blog about Italian Greyhounds. I happen to have an Italian greyhound which is why I picked it. See "Neo" aka the one, our first "kid" down below.


Yes I know it looks crazy for a 6’4 200+ pound black man to have a little ass toy breed dog. Don’t judge me. lol But I digress.

Keeping in mind my dog niche, most people will probably try to find affiliate programs related to dogs such as:

  • Dog Collars
  • Dog Beds
  • Dog Treats
  • Dog Books
  • Dog Training,
  • Snoop Doggy Dog,
  • Etc.

You get the picture. Everyone goes for the obvious "dog crap". Pun intended. And I would too. You should. But many times when I’m looking through affiliate networks I see a lot of other affiliate offers that don’t seem like they would be a great fit for my niche but pay very well. This tends to get my inspiration juices flowing to try to figure out how I can use them on my existing sites. Because Eddy with a y doesn’t have time to create a whole new niche website that will actually provide value where I can use these other high paying affiliate offers. So what’s a brother to do?

Get Out Your Umbrellas

It’s time to brainstorm. Taking the example of my Italian Greyhound blog, there may be an affiliate program for a carpet cleaning machine that pays $50 per sale. You might just ignore it initially. But if you put on your thinking cap like I do you can find a good way to incorporate this on your site. Anyone that has a dog or cat knows that our furry friends have accidents. Some of these mishaps can leave some really nasty spots or smells on your furniture or carpet. Well knowing this I could easily write an article about how to deal with pet stains. In this article, I could recommend some carpet stain removers and a carpet cleaning machine. All of which may have affiliate programs that pay me a lot more than the conventional dog affiliate programs such as a dog training book.

Or let’s say I noticed there is an affiliate program for a fancy HEPA air purifier that’s paying me 20-30% per sale. Let’s assume these air purifiers cost anywhere from $300 - $500. Again in the natural, you may not see the connection. But not me. I know many dogs shed hair and dander that may give you or other family members serious respiratory issues. Most people view pets like a family member and you don’t want to get rid of Fido. So guess who would be writing an article about the dangers of dog hair and how to fight against it without getting rid of the family pet? This guy!

Ah Ha Moment

Are you thinking wheels spinning? Hopefully, they should be. This type of thought process can be used for any niche. I just picked the obligatory dog niche. But I can do this for any niche. My blog is about work at home. But I found a niche product related to finance not necessarily employment that paid very well and was useful. So after some thinking, I was able to incorporate this product into an existing article which received thousands of visitors over the years and actually helped many people. It currently ranks very well and has for a long time. Unfortunately, I only thought to incorporate this affiliate product this year. But even with getting to the party late, I’ve quietly made $740 this year simply by updating that one article to include an affiliate link of a financial product that complimented my article.

Living In The Past

Imagine going back to all of your popular articles that are already receiving traffic and applying this out of box thinking technique. Doing so may provide you a couple of extra hundred or thousands of dollars. You won't know unless you give it a shot. Obviously, you should try to do this to new articles as well if it makes sense. But if you already have a site that is getting traffic this may be a no brainer for you as well.

A Word of Caution

I just want to be clear. You should continue to promote the obvious affiliate programs for your niche as well. My out of the box thinking technique should be used to supplement obvious affiliate programs to your niche. Or it can give you an alternate option in situations where you can’t find enough or any affiliate programs related to your niche.

As always you want to promote affiliate offers that will provide value to your users. I’m not a proponent of just chasing down big payout affiliate offers. If you don’t believe the offer is honest or provides value, you shouldn’t promote it just because you’ll make a lot of money. Because in the short-term you will. But if your visitor is burned, they’ll never trust you again or any other recommendation you make that can make you money long-term. So don’t be evil using this technique.

Well enough of my yapping. Let me know what you guys think of this article by leaving a comment below. Did you have a moment of clarity and are inspired to implement this? Let me know your thoughts either way down below. Feel free to share this article too.

Thanks for reading guys,

Eddy with a y

P.S. Shout out to my buddy Andy: https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/andelane whose question inspired me to write this article.

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Recent Comments

754

Great post Eddy and couldn't agree more. One of my niches is dogs, in particular my labs (photo attached). Whilst I'm going to cover every product I can think of that directly pertains to dogs, like beds/cages and food. I'm also researching products like Vacuum. My labs shed hair just by breathing, we vacuum every day. Vacuums can be budget branded or specialist, upright, handheld, specific to pets, the list really can go on, and for a ticket price of £200+
To give an idea similar, I could also link this issue to health products, for example, "Home Nebulisers"
What that got to do with dogs? Simple, a nebuliser is used to treat someone who suffers from asthma. An asthmatic can have an attack by just being in the same room as a dog, let alone touching one, so a home Neb might cost £50+ upwards, because it's our health, we'll want to invest in a quality product.

Hey Dave,

Clearly you already started to think in this way which is great. I would have never thought of the nebulizer for this niche. But that's great out of the box thinking. Keep it up!

My business went global in my head from the moment I conceived the idea! I've just got to get it realised now! We're a family of asthmatics which is probably what sowed that seed

And i think that's always why its good to consider yourself and your own interests, passions or experiences when picking a niche. Because you're able to bring to the table ideas that others may not. So good job.

I love this Eddy - and even though you were using the dog niche as an example it got me thinking cos I love my dog and he sheds hair like you wouldn't believe - lets just say its that bad I have to vacuum my oven! His floats, it clings, it flies through the air and gets everywhere....so yes I am most definitely thinking, thinking, thinking....thank you so much for the inspiration!

I'm glad it inspired you! Love your dog pic!

It's all about providing a service and supporting your niche followers.
How about reviewing pet friendly hotels,travelling with your pet,clothes brushes,articles on any pet friendly household products. Products related to pet proofing your home,closet locks, cable protectors etc. etc. These are all issues that pet owners have and need advice and solutions for. Just point them in the right direction with your recommendations etc.

Good one Eddy!

Dave

Yup that's all directions you can go with in terms of the dog niche example I provided above. Ultimately the point is to think outside the box so you can expand your income by promoting other products that will help your audience that you may have ignored. So you definitely get it!

Awesome ideas, Eddy! You've definitely gotten the wheels turning again...I've been kinda stuck on what to promote that would be higher priced/higher commission. One of my niches is the dog training niche and that is my main problem...couldn't think of what would help bring in higher commissions. Thanks for sharing such great ideas for it!

Hmmm, I wonder if it'd be possible to promote things for camping too. We often go camping with our dogs...well, that's if we ever get summer here, lol. Heh maybe an RV or camper for those wanting to "camp" in luxury with their dogs....just thinking off the top of my head.

Best wishes :) ~Sherry

That might be an angle Sherry. It's all how you position it and if it really adds value to your audience.

So, let's say that I am promoting WA on my website. I could market computers because people working at home need computers?!? Or I could market books on learning to write... or pajamas, because people working at home want to be comfortable?!?

With this being true, the possibilities could be so numerous that you couldn't even come close to marketing EVERYTHING that relates to you niche. Amazing!!!

Terri

Yeah you could definitely write in that angle. Its all about being creative and how you write the article so it makes sense and its not a reach. So there are a lot of possibilities.

The biggest thing is really making the connection between what you are promoting (in your case WA) and your niche. As long as you can explain the connection and it's somewhat logical, there really is no limit to what you can promote.

Neo is a good looking dog. I like your idea about the rug cleaner and hepa filter machines. Those two ideas bring up all kinds of other possibilities. Did you see the Pet Cube cam where you can check on your dog from the office, and even talk to him? That's another one. I like the way you think. Going this direction (targeting the owner's needs in making life easier for themselves, with a pet) is inspired!
--Fran

Thanks. Nah I haven't seen that. But I'm glad you were inspired by the article. Hopefully it will give you some other products or services to promote on your blog.

Hey there again!

I really get a lot out of your blogs so ill be asking a lot of questions lol. Let's say I go with weight loss... maybe tips for sticking to a weight loss regimen for busy people. Can I incorporate other things such as shopping or traveling within that? Maybe a motivating factor for some people to lose weight is for an upcoming trip or to look good in that new bikini? Just an example, but I think you see where I am going.

Thanks again!

Depending on how you do it, yes any of that might work.

My niche (and my passion) is about a certain type of craft - small, inexpensive craft supplies - but I thought of adding an article called: 'How to organize your craft room' with an Amazon link to shelves, closet organizers, book cases, etc. In other words, bigger ticket items.
Your article just confirmed that this is possible. I can think outside the box. Perhaps, I could write an article about 'How to organize your house around your crafts' and include living room furniture, etc. Trust me, those who do crafts will understand. :)Thanks for your article.

That's excellent thinking Myra, very clever :)

You hit it on the head Beth. That's exactly that type of out of box thinking that can help you earn more money and provide your visitors value. So run with it!

Hey Eddy,
I just started my first site on pet health and nutrition. It is focused on cats but some of the great supplements I will be reviewing are actually for both cats and dogs. I am employing some of the same methods you mentioned though I am just starting out. I am only reviewing and promoting products that I have used personally. In fact, I am trying to use all my own photos as well. I have received a lot of positive feedback from fellow WAers on the look and structure of my site so far.

I will look for out of the box ways to incorporate more big ticket items! Thanks for the encouragement!

Sounds good. Keep it up.

I love it. I am just getting back to WA, as my back finally gave out from working my regular 9 to 5. Now I am left with no choice, I must make affiliate marketing work. I currently do okay but this just opened my eyes to thing I never thought of before.Thank you for sharing Eddy with a y.
Best Wishes
Jason

Hey Jason, when one door is slammed shut there are usually a few others that open. WA is definitely one of those doors. And if you're willing to walk through it and spend the time to build you'll see some amazing results. I'm happy this article has inspired you further.

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