7 Streams of Income. Part 1.

 Happy Sunday everyone, and welcome to our weekly post! 

 I mentioned in the previous "Welcome to Tillson Financial" post, that we would be covering the concept of building seven streams of income. There will be seven parts of this series as we cover each of the income streams that I have researched and tested. 

 A bit of news...

But before we get into the details, I wanted to unveil the news, that we now have a YouTube channel! There is currently only the Intro Video up, and yes the first-ever video is kinda choppy, because I had to use a "free" video maker at first, but I have since found a much better video-making platform. If anyone has not yet seen or discovered Adobe Express, I urge you to check it out and begin using it. I discovered it after I made the first video, and I wish I had found it sooner. Adobe Express has literally TONS of templates to use for your every tiny need when it comes to making anything in digital media. They have all the templates and options you could ever want.  As I write posts here, I will be designing corresponding videos to match the posts. Video editing and publishing require substantially more time and effort than writing a post, so please bear with me if the videos seem a little late on the updating.  There will be 7 videos made to correspond with our current blog posts here about the 7 Streams of Income. 

Our first income stream; Affiliate Partnerships.

Now onto the main news for this week. This week, we are covering the concept of being an Affiliate Partner for various sites. I am an Amazon Affiliate myself, and at the moment I am researching more sites to sign up with. While there are times when sales of products from my affiliate links are slow, there have also been times when sales were awesome. We will use Amazon as our focus for this post because it is the one that most beginning affiliates have experience with or are at the very least familiar with the brand of Amazon. 

The bad news first...

Affiliate Partner work takes time, you do not go from zero to hero in a day or a week or a month. That's unrealistic. I have already seen hundreds of "gurus" across all forms of social media, who claim that you can earn a 6 Figure Income literally overnight by JUST being an affiliate partner, and become set for life in a matter of days, and a whole other load of tosh. Please, do me and yourself a favor,  don't fall for that trap, and don't listen to their jaw-jacking, it's just not true ok?   Yes, there are people that truly make 6 figures by just being an affiliate partner, BUT.. they have worked hours upon hours to achieve that and they have more than one affiliate partnership that they use. To quote myself "Money does not grow on trees unless you are in an orchard." 

Where do I start as an Affiliate Partner?

There are now literally hundreds of sites to choose to be an affiliate partner for, one of the most popular of course is Amazon. Amazon started its Affiliate Program in 1996. This is who I started with. Why Amazon? Well, (A) because I love Amazon as a whole and, (B) I have worked with them on various projects and monetizing ventures for 12 years now, and my personal advice is to pick one of the #1 top-ranking monetizing brands and make them your first choice as a partner site to work with. There are other sites that have kept consistent rankings as some of the best affiliate partner programs, the top 10 of which I will list below, along with a brief reason why...

• Amazon Associates: The most versatile product selection
• Awin: The easiest to use
• CJ: The longest cookie lifetime
• ClickBank: The highest commission rates
• FlexOffers: The best for experienced publishers
• Impact: The simplest sign-up process
• Rakuten Advertising:  The best for building relationships with merchants
• ShareASale: The best for timely payments
• Skimlinks: The best for newcomers
• VigLink: The most advanced features

I have also worked with Clickbank. They have a wide selection of products, their commissions are at least 50-70%, and their platform is pretty easy for a beginner to use. FlexOffers is great for publishers, although I cannot state that I had a lot of success working for them, results are different for everyone, and finding your niche there can be a challenge. Rakuten is also great, and who doesn't like to earn money when you buy products from their partner sites? I have actually made upwards of over $100 just from purchasing items and using Rakuten's reward program! Sometimes you do get rewarded for spending money! 

How to get started on Amazon Associates

Getting started as an affiliate, through Amazon Associates is pretty easy. First, you go here to their website, (amazon.com) and scroll to the very bottom of the page, to where the information for links and other pages is located, and you find the section that says "Make Money With Us" and click on the option that says "Become an Affiliate". You are then to follow the prompts about filling in your information and choosing an associate business name, and then setting up payment options so you can be paid. The payment option must be set up, or you will not receive commissions from the products you earn from. It is a fairly straightforward process, and you can start right away. You also cannot be connected to the Global Store and OneLink options for selling and advertising until you have completed payment and tax information. The Global Store allows you to receive commissions from sales in 7 countries, currently, those countries are the U.S., Canada, Spain, France, the UK, Germany, and Italy.   

Amazon has changed how they do their linking and product links section. After you have signed up to be an associate, you can open any amazon.com page, and you will see at the very top of the page that there is a section of information called Amazon SiteStripe for linking products to your amazon handle. Any product you search for or view on Amazon will have a link encoded to your Amazon Associates ID. You may choose, Text, Text, and Image, or Image, and get the link to the product to copy and paste wherever you see fit on social media, emails, and anywhere these links are accepted. There is also an option to share directly on Facebook and Twitter.  

I would like to take a minute to introduce a book I read recently, and it is a fabulous introduction to getting started as an affiliate worker. "Affiliate Marketing Mastery: Simple, Effective And Beginner Friendly Strategies For Earning A Six-Figure Income With Affiliate Marketing" is a great read, covering several topics, and has currently 57, 5-star ratings. If I had to recommend someone to learn this trade from, it would be this author. Click the link to purchase yourself a copy, this book is a must-have for anyone serious about making their online income dreams a reality. 

How does affiliate marketing work?  

I found an excellent pictogram that demonstrates how affiliate marketing actually works and here it is. The circle goes counterclockwise, starting at the top where the shoe is... 

Here is a simplified review of the above diagram, I realize that sometimes graphs, charts, and pictograms can be confusing or hard to read. 

You show an ad or a link for Store Z on your website, blog, or social network.

A customer clicks your unique affiliate link.

The customer makes a purchase in Store Z. 

The affiliate network records the transaction.

The purchase is confirmed by Store Z. 

You get paid a monetary commission

How much money can you really make?

The long and short answer to the question of how much can you really make as an affiliate? Well, that depends on you, the associate. Some associates take weeks to make that first sale and then see continuous cash flow, and some hit a eureka moment and make thousands in a day on one single product. In my experience it is really how hard you want to work at it and how often you are on Amazon or your chosen site, promoting products, posting links, and putting your name out there for the world to see.  I have had weeks where I made nothing and weeks where I made a chunk of money, with the same amount of effort applied to both weeks. According to my recent research, and quoted from a page on Shopify "Commission rates for affiliate sales vary depending on the company and the offer. On the low end, you’ll earn about 5% of the sale, but with some arrangements, you can earn as much as 50%, usually when promoting a class or event. There are also affiliate marketing programs that provide a flat rate per sale instead of a percentage."  

Now that we have gone over the basics of how to start and implement our first income stream, I'm going to ask a question to the audience. How much are YOU going to make? I just showed you a way to make some easy money, that is doable, manageable, and scaleable. So, how much do you want to make, no scratch that...How much do you NEED to make, to be in a better financial position? How hard you work at this will determine your success or failure. I just gave you a tool to use, now go use it and use it well! 

Until next week, where we will go over income stream #2... stay tuned! 

Welcome to Tillson Financial Services!

Good Afternoon everyone and Welcome to our newest periodical, where we will discuss and showcase a plethora of finance-related subjects, valuable wealth-building tools, and ideas, divulge tips for financial success and well-being, and go over strategies to help boost and even maximize your potential to become money savvy. Each week, I will post on Sundays, so that everyone can start their Monday off on better financial footing! 

Before we get into the upcoming juicy details, I cannot forego my manners and not introduce myself. My name is Serita Tillson, and I am a former student at the University of Phoenix, where I studied Financial Planning. Currently, I am awaiting re-entrance to Cambridge College Global, formerly known as the New England College of Business and Finance, here I intend to finish my Bachelors program and move onto a Masters's program. I might even go for a Ph.D., because well if I'm going to get a higher education, I may as well go all out. It is my dream to own and operate my own financial services business, or perhaps even teach Finance or Accounting to others as a career. Wherever this road leads me, I am determined that it will be successful! 

So... about 5 years ago, I had a medical issue flare up out of nowhere, that had, unbeknownst to me, been there my whole life and I never knew about it. Three different specialists have all told me, "No more manufacturing, no more hard labor, you have to choose a new career, or else." That  "or else" was a surgery that has an iffy success rate, and will lead to more surgeries down the road if I don't straighten my act up and wise up. That was a huge blow to my self-esteem because I was raised to work hard for what I have. I had to swallow some very bitter pride, and take my health and ability to be walking, and maintaining my physical mobility into consideration, and choose a new career path. So, I threw myself into school and worked from home full time. It has thus far been extremely challenging, there have been months at a time where I have not made more than pocket change and barely kept bills and rent paid, and I have sacrificed a lot. Throw in a worldwide pandemic and a few economic disasters in there, and all of Hades breaks loose. I have not given up on my dreams, I just have to find new ways to achieve them. I'm about to hit the big 4-0 in January 2023, and there is no better time than now to get this career going and make something grand of it.  "Tillson Financial Services" will become more than just a name I created for a business, a Facebook page, and a budding entrepreneurship. This is my life from now on and I have to start living and breathing it. 

I have had a lifelong passion for finance, entrepreneurship, and all things business and money-related. I strongly support women and minority-owned businesses and careers where women can lead. When other kids were reading the Sunday comics in the newspaper, I was the one reading the Finance section, reading job listings, and devouring any scrap of information I could find on how to make money. My first introduction to business building was to Avon when I was 14. I still love Avon products by the way, but I have outgrown that business model. MLM and Direct Sales jobs were my first taste of how to build and market a business, and it has taught me some valuable lessons about what works and what does not. 

It's not a pretty world we live in and for the women trying to succeed in an extremely tough economic environment, the ability to get ahead and really stand out in the workforce and make a name for themselves is all important.  In the past, I have been a small business owner, an entrepreneur, an author, and a Jane of All Trades. Recently I just re-opened a new Amazon Associates Account, and you will occasionally see affiliate links to products, services, books and etc. related to finance money, and business building posted here. I might throw in an oddball thing here and there just because. Next Sunday's post is going to be about Amazon and other companies and brands that offer affiliate programs because creating multiple streams of income is important to wealth building. If you want to know how that works and the details behind how to start earning a  side income or even a full-time career doing affiliate work, then subscribe to this blog and be sure to check next Sunday's post. I'm going to sign off for tonight, and I will see everyone again next Sunday. 

Side note: If anyone wants to see a subject or an idea covered in this blog please leave a comment with your suggestions and I will create a post on it, and be sure to credit your name with the idea and suggestion.