Blogging Benefits and $25 Free Bonus!

Yes, I have posted about this before. And, not that long ago. BUT, as my numbers increase under my 2008 Savings & Earnings drop down, I want to make sure all my readers know how easy it is to do this for yourself.

And, I especially want to pass the information on to other bloggers...as I know many of my readers are just that. And, many of you who have written to me are new bloggers. Well, I am here to tell you, I am a new blogger too. Or, at least I still feel like it. I really only started at the end of January....although I had tinkered around with it a little last fall...I just never took the time. So, officially, I consider the end of January my blog inception date, and I have only been at it for a little over 4 months now.

So, to give you some idea of the benefits of blogging financially, just since the end of May, so over the weekend, I have gotten paid from two separate affiliate programs. If you read my Week In Review, you know I got over $206 from
CPA Storm, my all time favorite program. You can click here to sign up yourself.

But, I also got a check for $52 today from Commission Junction. So, not bad for typing a few posts daily about the things I do to save and make money.

I am also a member of Linkshare. So far, I have earned over $70 with them over the last month ( although I have not received my paycheck yet..coming soon ).

And, thanks to Motherhood Moment, I just registered with a new affiliate program, called Logical Media. And, I am really excited about this program. It is set up almost EXACTLY like CPA Storm ( are they sister sites, I wonder? ). They don't have as many options to offer yet, BUT every day they have new advertisers...so it is growing!! AND...they are offering a $25 sign on bonus right now!!! So, you can't beat that! Jump on this one. It doesn't say when it expires...but you can sign up here.

Why so many affiliate companies? And, why will I sign up for more as I find them?

First, I sign up with them all because they all offer different advertisers....and you never know when you may have a post to write about on one of their customers.

Example? When Spring Hill Nursery was giving their free flowers away, I was able to sign up as an affiliate for them and post my personal link to Spring Hill Nursery on my write up. Now, the flowers were for free, but I still put my link, because what if someone decided to take the $20 of free flowers, but also wanted to order $5 more of something else? Well, then I will get paid a little bit for that extra $5 they bought. Yeah!

Why else sign up for many different companies?

Many times they offer the same advertiser. Example? Commission Junction, CPA Storm and Logical Media all offer the Entertainment Book. BUT, Logical Media pays $3.50 MORE per lead then the other companies! That can make a huge difference to you if multiple people order.

Why else? Some of the companies ( CPA Storm/Logical Media/part of Linkshare ) are LEAD affiliate programs. This means, they pay for a lead. Someone signing up and requesting information. While the other programs only pay IF someone completes certain steps.

Here is another great example. When I found the free year for Lifelock deal for military families, Commission Junction and CPA Storm both offered the links for those advertisers. But, Commission Junction will only pay me if someone signs up and once their payment has cleared. Where as CPA Storm will pay once someone signs up.

Since it was free for the military...they won't be paying anything, so I would definitely not get paid. But, if they sign up for free through my CPA Storm link, I will still get a benefit.

I hope all this information helps new bloggers out there. And, I hope you have signed up for all the programs above...you truly will receive a great benefit from them.

My ONLY final note ( and this is just personal opinion ) about affiliate programs is that you must remain truthful to your content. I post daily about deals I find and am doing or planning on doing myself ( in most cases..I am not in the military, so I couldn't take advantage of the Lifelock deal ). Before I post a deal, I look to see if there is an affiliate program. If there is..bonus for me. If not, no big deal. I still post anyway.

I truly wish the banks offered me affiliate programs for all the deals I post about them, but they don't. Or, what about mystery shopping sites? Oh, well. But, my point...those posts are still valuable information for myself and my readers...so whether I get paid per post or not...it is getting posted. Integrity! You must have it to find loyal and faithful readers.

Finally, I know some have decided to not sign up due to social security #'s begin required. As always, you need to remain diligent in tracking your credit score. Irregardless if you sign up for programs online or not. But, these are companies that are paying you..just as an employer would. And, they DO have to report your earnings to the government ( can't get away from those taxes ), especially if you make over $600 from them in a year. There is no way around it, and it is normal practice. Just make sure it is a legit affiliate program!

Hope this was helpful, and if anyone has any questions on affiliate programs or any new ones to recommend to me, comment below or send me an email.

Don't forget to enter my June $25 Giveaway. Simply click here to read the details and enter.