Making money with crafting ~ Affiliate Programs

Yesterday I wrote about a variety of ways that you can make money from your crafts or crafting blog.  Today I would like to talk about one of those ways in more detail, and show you how I am making it work for me . . . and how you can do it too.

Affiliate Advertising - When you visit a website or blog, have you ever noticed the banner ads on the side or at the bottom of the page.  Most likely, these are due to Affiliate Advertising Programs. There are websites, such as Share A Sale, which allows you to search for businesses that have affiliate programs and sign up for them.  Once you are approved, you can choose from approved banners and advertisements to place on your website, blog or newsletter and when someone makes a purchase through the link connected with your affiliate account you receive a small commission.  

The great thing is that MANY companies offer affiliate programs which allow you to make a commission off of sales you generate.  Why would they pay YOU to promote and sell their products?  Because advertising costs a LOT of money.  If a company were to purchase ad spaces on hundreds of blogs and websites, it would hit their budget hard.  But if they offer a percentage of the sales to people then EVERY wants to put their button and ads up on their site . . . and then all of a sudden they have ads EVERYWHERE.

I have tried some affiliate programs, and some are better than others.  Personally I feel like you need to find ones that offer a good commission and have a product that you actually use or enjoy.  It makes it easier to promote if it is something that you feel good about.

One program that I really like is the Square 1 Masterpiece program.  Square 1 is an alternative to vinyl.  I have listed all of the important links below.

Other Important Links
Square 1 Masterpiece Blog ~ http://square1designs.blogspot.com/
Square 1 Masterpiece Facebook Page ~ Click HERE (tell them Shawn sent you)
Square 1 Masterpiece Pinterest Page ~ Click HERE
My projects using Square 1 Masterpiece ~ Click HERE
To purchase Square 1 Masterpiece products ~ Click HERE or on the image below
To sign up as a Square 1 Masterpiece affiliate ~ Click HERE