[tstegart]

Sure, I run https://basicbands.com/. It's a website about watch strap fashion. Most of my income comes from Amazon. I don't make money off the sale of watchbands very much, they're very cheap, so I write posts about watches. This is an example of a money post: https://basicbands.com/the-complete-guide-to-the-seiko-presa...

I either write the content myself, or ask watch strap companies to send me pictures. I then link back to their website and mention what watch is featured and use an affiliate link. Most companies are happy to send me pictures. I also interview custom leather watch strap makers. Most sell on Etsy and they're happy to be featured. I send them a form to fill out and they provide the content and pictures. This is an example: https://basicbands.com/small-brand-spotlight-choice-cuts-ind...

I make almost zero money off featuring the watch strap makers, but they fill out the blog with interesting and fun content that bring it a step above the usual affiliate blog (I hope). Its also the most fun part and it keeps me going, because the artists are fun to talk with. Otherwise I think I would have stopped by now from boredom. Most of my traffic is search engine, Pinterest & Reddit.

I got my start by reading the case studies on this subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/juststart/ They're getting less useful now, but the early ones were a big help. Basically, just start something and see how it does.

Affiliate marketing gets a bad rap, which I totally understand, but its also very easy to get into, basically a WordPress theme and some cheap hosting, so its very accessible for people at home.

[MattyRad]

Thanks for the description, it's very insightful, especially since I enjoy similar affiliate marketing sites such as https://dappered.com/ and https://www.primermagazine.com/.

I will say that their frequent listicles, however, tends to feel exploitative... Primer currently has "8 Essential Innovations That Make Hot Summers More Bearable" as its headline, which feels like a not-so-subtle "hey, here's some affiliate links to click on"

[tstegart]

That's exactly what it felt like to me too. It's why I enjoy featuring the custom watch strap shops, they provide a break from the affiliate angle. I also try to make my guides a bit longer than usual and also more in-depth with model numbers, etc.