For a year now I’ve been trying to earn some extra money and it’s not as easy as TikTok makes you believe. This is why I wanted to share some of my hard learned tips and to hear from you guys.

Here are things to consider when choosing affiliate marketing side hustle:

1 Choose what works for you best

There are a lot of programs offering to make extra money, but some of them will have nothing in common with your interest. If you know nothing about car parts, maybe you shouldn’t expect it will be easy to start earning in this area. The same goes for promotion activities. If you’re not good at writing blog posts, then choose other ways to earn, like link sharing. Otherwise you risk spending too much time on side activities and earning not much.

2 Avoid hype trains

Similar advice, don’t jump into activities just because they are popular. It takes a lot of time and effort to get good at “contenting”, so better stick to the areas where you feel comfortable and have worked for you before.

I personally work a lot with affiliate links, and Amazon influencer program (link) is the one I get the most questions about. But because of its popularity, it’s a very competitive program. My recommendation would be to start somewhere else. Ibotta is not a bad place to check out (link) because it brings not big, but steady cash. I recently enrolled in the new NordVPN referral program (link) and it works well for me so far. (I don’t receive a commission for this).

3 Start with few side hustles only

This one might be controversial, but I would recommend to start with one primary side hustle — like a blog, Youtube channel, or Tiktok, and build from there. I wouldn’t recommend doing a lot at once, because your tactics may appear not working at first, but it just takes patience and time. Jumping between programs and projects may leave you overworked and unhappy with the final result.

4 Don’t spend too much upfront

It’s better to start small and fail fast. Especially in the beginning. Smaller projects allow you to build an audience and to gain experience without risking to drain your budget. Afterall, side hustle is for earning not losing money.

5 Research the product or company you’ll work on

Reading rules is boring, and I have been a victim of my own inability to take a close look into them. I wondered why my earnings have not been transferred, when actually it was said in terms that money comes only after 50 days. Get familiar with do’s and don’ts.Also, I think it’s important to do research on the product or company that you’re going to promote. There are many people who don’t care for credibility while making side hustle, but from my experience these things make a difference in the long run.

So, those are my tips that I’ve learned the hard way. Share yours!