How I Made My First $1,000 with Affiliate Marketing (Even as a Total Beginner)

So let’s be real for a sec. A couple years ago, I had zero clue what affiliate marketing was. I just knew I wanted to make money online—without selling to my friends, dealing with inventory, or being on Zoom all day.

Fast forward to today, and affiliate marketing is one of my favorite ways to earn income while I sleep. Yep, it’s 100% possible.

If you’re wondering how to get started (and how to actually make money from it), this post is for you.

Let me walk you through the exact steps I took to make my first $1,000 with affiliate marketing—and how you can do it too.

What is Affiliate Marketing, Really?

Affiliate marketing is when you promote someone else’s product or service and earn a commission every time someone buys through your link. Think:

• Amazon

• Canva

• Etsy digital products

• Online courses like a medium ticket Millionaire Woman Academy which is a Affiliate Marketing Online Course that teaches you everything you need to know, step by step about affiliate marketing or a low ticket online course like Insta Profit Secret with this one the amount of value you get for the price is insane. I invested in both of these courses and loved it. Highly recommended.

• All in one platforms like Systeme.io or Funnel Freedom or Captivation Hub like where yu can host your website, blogs, funnel, ecommerce stores, link in bio, and much more.

You’re basically recommending products you love, and getting paid when others buy them.

Step 1: I Picked the Right Niche (Not Just Any Product)

I didn’t try to sell everything to everyone. Instead, I asked:

• What does my audience already want?

• What do I actually use and love?

Because trust me—if you wouldn’t recommend it to a friend, don’t promote it online.

Pro Tip:
If your niche is personal finance, marketing, productivity, or budgeting—focus on tools people already use and need regularly.

Step 2: I Joined Affiliate Programs that Paid Well

Not all affiliate programs are created equal. I looked for:

• Recurring commissions (hello, monthly passive income!)

• High-converting offers

• Trusted brands

Here are some affiliate programs I personally Invested and love: 

Online Courses

• Insta Profit Secret Step-by-step Instagram Selling Tutorials: turn your IG into a 24/7 sales machine! Even If You Have Zero Followers! No guesswork. No tech overwhelm. Just easy-to-follow, repeatable tutorials showing you exactly how to turn content into cash—on autopilot. With this one the amount of value you get for the price is insane.

• Digital Wealth Academy - a complete Digital Marketing Course From A To Z.

• Ultimate Branding Course - A complete Branding Course that will teach you how to brand yourself the right way.

• Millionaire Woman Academy - Affiliate Marketing Online Course that teaches you everything you need to know, step by step about affiliate marketing.

• Online Profit Secrets - Combined Course, Software Captivation Hub, and Support Platform In The World. You'll Be Up And Running With Your Digital Products. Over 105 Detailed Modules, Learn Funnel Building, AI, Sales Strategies, Facebook Ads Masterclass, PLUS: Get THREE digital products you can start selling RIGHT AWAY as your own for 100% profit, and we set it all up for you.

• AI Secrets for Digital Marketers - Learn How To Create 30 Pieces Of Content in 10 Minutes With A.I. Learn The A.I. Secret To Rapid Content Creation! Discover Insider Secrets to Automate, Optimize, and Supercharge Your Online Business.

• Online Ads for Everyone - FINALLY RUN ADS THAT WORK! Learn Facebook Ads Even If You've Never Run Them Before! This is exactly how to ensure everyone sees your content without breaking the bank! This is what the pros do.

• Funnels For Everyone - Isn't It Time You Understood How Funnels Can 10X Your Business? Unlock the Untapped Goldmine in Your Business: The Power of Funnels Revealed!

• SEO Marketing Secrets - Grow a thriving business without social media. Learn to leverage AI to outrank competitors. How to use Google Trends before buying any domain names to ensure your best chances of ranking. Also how to get your website listed on Google in record time with these three secrets.

• FaceForward AI - If you have a fee in or faceless account this course teaches you step by step how to your content, twin. It is definitely a mind blowing course. 

Course Creation Online Courses

• AI Course Creation Secrets - Start Your Digital Course Empire In Just 3 Days Even If You Have Zero Tech Skills! Get The Complete System. Over 25 detailed modules Showing You Exactly How to Create Your Course in just 3 days! Plus: access the best AI Course Creation Software Platform In The World!

• Course Creation Secrets - The fastest way to turn your existing skills and passions into a Digital Course you can profit from!

Softwares

• All in one platforms like Systeme.io or Funnel Freedom or Captivation Hub where you can host your website, blogs, funnel, ecommerce stores, link in bio, automations, email campaigns and much more.

Organization System

• My Notion Content Hub where It’s your all-in-one system to create, manage & repurpose content ideas, ads, videos, swipes and assets - for every platform, all in one place. So you can get organized, post consistently & finally see your audience and income grow.

AI Generated Content

• Caption - Captions makes it easy to create and edit talking videos with AI. 

• FaceForward AI - If you have a fee in or faceless account this course teaches you step by step how to your content, twin. It is definitely a mind blowing course. 

• KlingAI - AI generated content text to video, image to video.

• Invideo AI - AI videos with just text.

Video Editor

• Capcut

My Workspace

• I personally run my business using Google Workspace. And I love it!!

• Otter.ai - Otter.ai is the leading AI Meeting Assistant. A Transcription platform. Otter is available on web, iOS and Android and works with Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams. Otter uses AI to automatically capture notes and generate a meeting summary.

• Notion Content Hub - Create, manage & repurpose content without chaos, blank screen or 47 open tabs. Full-time creator / entrepreneur? Get the all-in-one NOTION hub to organize your content, stay consistent & skyrocket your visibility & income.

• NordVPN - The NordVPN secures your Internet data with military-grade encryption, ensures your web activity remains private and helps bypass geographic content restrictions online.

Social Media Admin Links:

• Beacons - Free Link in Bio for Instagram, TikTok, YouTube. Inspire fans and cut through the noise. Curate and share what matters. Build a fully customizable Link in Bio or full website to promote your links, products, etc.

• Notion Content Hub - Create, manage & repurpose content without chaos, blank screen or 47 open tabs. Full-time creator / entrepreneur? Get the all-in-one NOTION hub to organize your content, stay consistent & skyrocket your visibility & income.

• Repurpose.io - Repurpose to all social medial. Create in one platform and repurpose to all other you choose.

• Manychat - Auto responder 

• Tailwind - Tailwind is THE social media scheduling tool for Instagram and Pinterest. Find your best times to post and recommended hashtags to drive engagement. Create and schedule designer-quality Pins. 

Save money

• Rakuten – App that help people save money when purchasing online through the web or your phone.

Step 3: I Created Helpful, Honest Content

I didn’t just drop links everywhere. I created:

• Blog posts like this one

• TikToks showing how I use the product

• Pinterest pins leading back to my blog

• IG Reels with quick tutorials

Your content should be:

• Helpful (solve a problem)

• Personal (share your experience)

• Actionable (tell them exactly what to do)

Step 4: I Focused on One Platform First (Pinterest)

Trying to post on every platform will burn you out. I chose Pinterest first because:

• It drives blog traffic for free

• It works for months, not minutes

• It’s perfect for affiliate content

I created 5–10 pins per blog post and scheduled them weekly.

Step 5: I Tracked My Links & Tweaked What Worked

I used tools like:

• Pretty Links (for tracking and customizing URLs)

• Google Analytics (to see where traffic came from)

Once I saw which products and posts were performing best, I doubled down on those.

So... How Long Did It Take Me to Make $1,000?

It took me a couple months—but it would’ve been faster if I had someone showing me the steps.

Now that I’ve got systems in place, that $1,000 rolls in over and over.

And you can do the same.

Want to Start Your Own Affiliate Income Stream?

Here’s a quick action plan:

• Pick your niche

• Choose 3–5 affiliate programs

• Write one blog post or create one video per product

• Promote it on Pinterest or TikTok

• Track your results and repeat what works

You’ve Got This

Affiliate marketing isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme—but it is one of the best ways to build real income online.

Need help choosing your first affiliate product or setting up your blog? Stay tuned—my free beginner checklist is dropping soon.

And if you’ve got questions, drop them in the comments or DM me on IG. I’m here to help.

FAQs

Q: Do I need a blog to make money with affiliate marketing?
A: Nope—but it helps! You can also use platforms like TikTok or IG to share links (in bio, stories, or via Linktree).

Q: How do I get paid from affiliate programs?
A: Most programs pay via PayPal or direct deposit. Payouts vary from 15–60 days depending on the brand.

Q: Can I do this if I have zero followers?
A: Absolutely. I started from scratch too. With good content and the right platforms (like Pinterest), you can build traffic fast.