This is my personal Making sense of Affiliate Marketing review, the course created by Michelle Schroeder-Gardner who has built her mini empire over at making sense of cents. Here I go over what you can expect to learn in the course and if it’s a good fit for you.
When I first started out in the world of blogging, it seemed a little crazy to me to invest money into a project I wasn’t sure would actually make me money in the long run.
After all, I had no clue what I was doing, and piecing together scraps of information I’d find in articles and You Tube videos.
But I quickly realized if I was going to put that much work and effort into making money blogging, I had to figure out what I was doing. And the faster, the better.
As always, this post may contain affiliate links. This means when you click a link and make a purchase I may earn a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you!
Contents
Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing
Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing was on of the very first “big” purchases I made as a beginner blogger.
I’ll admit I also invested into a very expensive blogging course that was NOT worth the price I paid, but the hype was so big I thought I just didn’t get it. But that’s a story for a whole other post.
In this post I’ll show you what you can expect to learn in the affiliate marketing course and if this on is a good fit for you, depending on where you are in your affiliate marketing journey.
What is the Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing Course
In short, it’s a beginners course to affiliate marketing. Don’t scoff at the term “beginner” though.
Because this course dives into the real meat and potatoes of affiliate marketing, especially when it comes to those who are looking to make an income blogging.
Michelle has made quite a money making empire for herself.
Last time I checked her income reports, she netted over $100,000 a month with her blog, making sense of cents..
Which is utterly mind blowing!! This girl definitely knows her stuff.
Why Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is one of my favorite ways to make money online. I have built dozens of blogs. Mostly as an experiment in the different niches.
And each niche is very, very different on it’s ability to make money. There are just so many factors.
A few of my blogs have tons of content and make the bulk of their money through display ads. Which is great, but requires a constant content grind and lots of monthly pageviews.
I have a few, low authority blogs, that I build up enough to give me passive income every month with just one or two target affiliates.
That means a few months of work on these blogs has lead to years of passive income with very little work or maintenance.
For example, one of my sites I made years ago gets maybe 1000 pageviews a month. But the one affiliate I promote on that site has made me more than $10,000. (It says less, but there were a few months they offered a double income bonus that didn’t track in the portal.
Of course, this is only a single look at how effective a good affiliate post can be. But I’ve repeated the same process in different niches, and they all have similar results.
Here’s one in a completely different niche of a single post that has made me 2500 in the last year and half.
Now, this isn’t a huge amount of money. But when you repeat this over and over, you start seeing how all of this starts adding up. Especially since I don’t continuously work on these sites AT ALL.
I haven’t touched that site since I created that post, however, you can see the decrease in profits over the months.
If I kept it updated it would likely preform better. But there are only so many hours in a day for me.
But, let’s get back to the affiliate marketing course review.
What the Course Teaches
The course goes over all the basics of affiliate marketing. It includes:
- 6 Modules
- 3 Lessons
- Course Workbook
Which basically teach you the really important stuff like:
- How to find good affiliate programs
- How to get accepted into these programs
- List of the links to the biggest and most popular programs to make it super easy to sign up
- Building your affiliate links
- What a “Nexus” state is how to deal with it
- Building trust with your readers (<— Huge!!!)
- The different ways you can promote 1 affiliate product (You can build a ton of posts around one product surprisingly!)
- The Do’s and Don’ts of creating affiliate marketing posts
- Insights on what makes a good review post
- Tips and tricks for figuring out where to put your affiliate links
- Solid affiliate marketing strategies
- The really boring legal stuff, that’s also vital to know to protect yourself
Basically Michelle has taken her years of affiliate marketing knowledge and wrapped it up tight in one, easy to follow course packed with worksheets and affiliate marketing tips that will help you go from zero income, to passive income.
I’ll admit after using her review guide, I was able to create a single blog post a few years ago that has made me over 10,000. (The photo I showed above.)
But that was only a couple hours of work for a single post that gets low traffic. I mean under 50 pageviews a month! Not to shabby.
The Pros to the Course
Here I’ll go over my favorite Pro’s to the course.
Concise Information
The course structure is laid out well, it’s easy to follow and written well and concise. There is no babbling or long winded, non pertinent information.
The Format is Readable
Now, this may be a pro or con for you depending on how you like to get your information. Most of the information is in written format, with pictures to demonstrate the information.
I prefer this format, as I can look for exactly the information I need and move on with my life. Video format is difficult for me to keep up with as I like to skip ahead to what I need.
Perfect for Beginners
If you are still struggling to get affiliate marketing sales, then this course will definitely help you get your first few. I remember going through it the first time and having a hundred little explosions on what I could and should do next.
Very Active Affiliate Marketing Facebook Group for Students of the Course
There is a Facebook master mind group available for all the students who’ve enrolled in the course.
It’s fun to go through the threads and see how people are increasing their affiliate income and sometimes you can even find people offering affiliate products you can promote that fit perfectly in your niche.
The biggest surprise to me of all though, is that Michelle is VERY active in the group. You’ll see her popping up all the time to answer questions or encourage people.
She’s very down to earth, super genuine and one of those honest affiliate marketers you can’t help but love.
You’ll also find tons of awesome tips and techniques from people just you who are figuring out how to make money online with affiliate marketing.
Worksheets and Printables
If you are like me, it’s nice to have a visual to map out what your affiliate marketing plan may be. She includes great downloads like:
- The perfect affiliate link checklist
- Regular affiliate marketing checklist
- 9 things to do if a post goes viral (I literally ran to this checklist when I got my first viral post)
- How to increase your pageviews
- Affiliate marketing tracking printable
Constantly Updated
Another reason why text is so great in a course like this, it’s constantly updated! I like to pop into the course every now and then to make sure my own review is current and relevant.
I always notice changes and updates here and there. This is big in the fact that the online money arena is constantly changing and updating.
You want a course that won’t be outdated in a few years. Sadly I’ve taken quite a few courses that quickly became outdated and where never updated.
This course is completely evergreen.
The Cons to the Course
Here I’ll go over some of my least favorite points.
The Course is Geared for Beginners
So this is a negative quality if you’ve already making a decent affiliate income. If you’ve been at this a few years, and you know what’s working for you and what’s not, the course may not be worth your time or money.
It can Feel Pricey
The course is an investment of $197. Or you can use a payment plan method for two payments of $105.
This can feel pricey, especially when you are starting out. And this will not bring you instant results. So if it’s between choosing bills or the course, please pay your bills.
The course is one of those things that will help you make money with your blog faster, but it does take the time to go through the course and start applying on the techniques laid out.
If you have the money, it’s worth the investment. You’ll see it come back to your when you make a few affiliate sales.
The Course Won’t Work Miracles
This course will get you up and running, but it won’t make you a viral blog overnight or anything that way.
You have to be willing to put in the effort.
No Video Format
I put this one in here because it can be a deal breaker for some. If you are a video learner only, then this course is NOT for you. There is only one video, and it’s a legal bonus guide not created by Michelle.
The format is mostly read only. I personally love this format, but I get how some people are just not readers.
Is Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing a Good Choice for You?
Now this is the big question. Is the Making sense of affiliate marketing course a good choice for you?
There’s no straight answer for this. Really it depends.
If you are already making good money with affiliate marketing and you understand all the core concepts and feel that you are well protected legally, you probably won’t get your money’s worth out of the course.
If you are newish, and want to up your affiliate marketing then this course can provide you with solid, easy to follow foundations and techniques to make sure you aren’t leaving money on the table.
Going through her various techniques will have you earning a decent profit. I made my money back in 3 months (as a total beginner) after getting lucky with a viral post.
You can check the course out here: Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing
Not ready to buy the course?? Grab her free book. It’s got tons of good tips to get you headed in the right direction.
>>Grab the Affiliate Marketing Tips for Bloggers. You’ll love it! (And it’s totally freeeee!!)
