Why I'm Using Affiliate Links {And Why You Should, Too}

Sunday, November 20, 2016


I feel like affiliate links are kind of a taboo topic in the blogger world. No one really wants to talk about them. SO, we're going to talk about them today. Sound good? I thought so.

For those of you who might not know, affiliate links are one way that bloggers can make money. When a blogger links something in a post, if they are using an affiliate link program, they may make a small portion of money if you click on the link and purchase the item that they linked.

The problem with affiliate links is that some people consider them to be spammy. And sometimes, they can be. Some bloggers decide to use affiliate links in every other word, just because they want to make money. So over the years, affiliate links have garnered a bit of a bad reputation.

Well, as you probably know from the title, I have decided to start using affiliate links. Now, before you just decide to cut off my waffle supply, throw pancakes at me, and stop reading, give me a second to explain.


Blogging is not easy. Y'all know that from reading all of my massive posts during August's blogaversary. Blogging takes a lot of work. I love it to death, but you end up having to put quite a bit of time and effort in if you want to succeed.

I'm sixteen. I'm also incredibly busy, which y'all know. As of right now, I have not had a chance to go out and get a job somewhere, so I really don't have many opportunities to make money.

One day, my mom and I were talking, and she was like, "Look. I know that you love blogging. But think about how much you put into it- it's eating up your time like crazy. You should try to come up with a way that you can make a bit of money while still doing what you love."

I realized that she was right, and I started looking into the best way to go about this. Right off the bat, I knew that I didn't want to be one of those blogs that's super spammy and only posts ads 24/7. That's not who I am, and that's not what Totally Graced is. At the end of the day, what's most important to me is producing good content for people to enjoy, not making a ton of money. That's just not my priority.

With that in mind, I knew that I didn't want to get into using giant flashing ads on the sidebar and such. It's not that I have a huge issue with ads; I've considered using them in the past. I just decided that as of right now, it's not where I want to go.

Then I landed on affiliate links. At first, I was a bit hesitant. But the more I read, the more it sounded like a good option. You have complete control of what you're linking. Yes, some people decide to link every other word in their posts, but that's not what I'm going to do. I see no point in that.

The more that I thought about it, I came to a conclusion. If I'm publishing, say, a makeup haul or a book review, and I really liked the product that I'm talking about...why not link it? If it's a product that I truly do believe in, I see absolutely no issue with linking it and promoting it.

Think about it this way. If you really like something, and decide to share it because you genuinely love it, and then someone else likes it and decides to buy it, why is it a bad thing if you end up getting a small portion of the profit?

So yes, I have decided that I'm going to start occasionally using affiliate links. And honestly, I encourage you to think about doing it, too. In my opinion, it seems to be a really great option!

I just want to mention that in posts in which I do decide to use affiliates (it won't be every post by far- only an occasional thing), everything that I link will be something that I'm giving my honest opinion on or suggesting. I also am going to properly disclose when a post includes a link- I don't want to hide that from y'all!

So yeah- I've decided to start trying this out! I wanted to share it with you all first, just as a heads up, because I felt like I should keep you informed with what I'm doing here on the blog. Hopefully y'all are cool with me trying this out. :)

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So what have y'all been up to? I'm crazy busy right now- Thanksgiving break has never looked so good! I can't wait to get a chance to get caught up on all of your beautiful blogs. ♥

28 comments:

  1. I a dually tried to do this but couldn't figure out how to go about it...

    Either way, I think you're absolutely right - you should be able to make money off of blogging!

    And if you loved something, why not promote it? I do that all the time (I just don't make any money off of it!)!

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    1. Oh, you did? Did you do it through Amazon? That's the one I'm using now, and after a few tries, I figured it out- if you ever want to try again, I'd be happy to help you set it up! :)

      Exactly! I've been promoting stuff on here for ages, so I thought, hey, might as well link a few items:)

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  2. That's such a good idea!! I may look into this! Let me know how you like using it.

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    1. You totally should look into it! So far, I really like it. :) Message me if you ever want any help setting it up!

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  3. I don't know much about affiliate links, or making money off of blogs, but it does seem like a cool idea!
    Thanks for letting us know what's going on in your blog, and also thanks for sharing this method!

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    1. Of course! Thank YOU for taking the time to read it! :)

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  4. This is such a cool idea! I've always thought it would be really cool to make money off of blogging, but I never knew how. haha, but I hope it works out really well for you! I might look into it sometime too :)

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    1. You should totally look into it when you get a chance! It's a really cool idea. :)

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  5. I actually don't think affiliate links are a bad thing to use and I hope they'll work for you to make some money :) It's true, blogging does take a lot of time and effort so I mean why not make money doing something you love if you have the possibility to. I think I'll look up some more information on affiliate links as well cause I want to start doing more book reviews on my blog so maybe I could link to them or something x

    Sara’sChapters

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    1. I'm so glad that you agree, Sara! :) Affiliate links are wonderful for book reviews- you should totally look into them. xx

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  6. I think what you're doing is awesome! Blogging does take a lot of time and there is nothing bad about making a little money off of it. I'm glad you shared this with us, I'm totally proud of you and agree with your decision. :) I'm excited to keep watching your blog grow!

    Elizabeth

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    1. Thank you so much, Elizabeth! You are the absolute sweetest. <3 xx

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  7. That's not a bad thing at all!! I hope it works out for you!! :)

    <3Megan
    (megans-journals.blogspot.com)

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  8. Interesting concept. One of the local indie bookstores has an affiliate program. Might be something to look into again for our book reviews.
    ~Xyra

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    1. Oh, really? That's cool! You should totally look into that!

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  9. It's interesting to read your thoughts on this, Grace! I agree that affiliate links can be used well, and actually be beneficial to readers.. Looking forward to seeing how you incorporate them, and I hope it enables you to make a little - I know about that struggle too. :)

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  10. This looks like such a good idea. Recently i have been wanting to make some money from blogging, you know, why not? BUT it can look like too many adds if you don't do it right! Thanks for putting this post out there!

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    1. Exactly! It's a difficult balance to find, for sure. Thank YOU for reading!! <3<3

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  11. Oooh I hadn't even heard of this before, so it's cool that you addressed it. I'll be looking into it now!

    -Aimee (To the Barricade!)

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  12. Definitely let me know how it goes! I've been thinking of little ways to just make a little bit of money with the platform of blogging that I have as well.

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    1. I will! So far, it's really been working quite well. You should look into some different affiliate programs:)

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  13. That's a cool idea! I've thought about doing something similar, or at least looking into the process of how a small blog can make money. I think it's cool that you might be able to make a bit of money from something you clearly love and pour so much heart into :)

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    1. Thank you so much, Erin! I really appreciate your sweet words. <3 xx

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  14. Such a rounded view on the subject, as always Grace! Now you have me considering using these in the future, once I get back into blogging.

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    1. Thank you so much, Hannah! You should definitely look into it! I can't wait to have you back in the blogosphere:):) xxx <3

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