Of the variety of ways one can do affiliate marketing, there is 1 particular method which works across the board, and the 7 successful case studies I want to show you today reflect that method.
This method has a high success rate if done properly and the other thing about it is that it’s very beginner friendly too. And when I say to “copy this”, what I mean is to mimic the strategy, not actually copy the sites and YouTube channels/videos I have to show you. The formula works, but you have to use it in your subjective way. Anyway:
Here is what that method is and how all 7 case studies have it in common:
It’s very simple:
Every person in each case study you’re going to see today has selected a niche that they:
- Know a lot about.
- And created either a blog website or YouTube channel with content on that niche to sell affiliate products on.
It’s a method of doing affiliate marketing that I endorse above all else and it just so happens to be that most of my income reports that I’ve made in affiliate marketing have occurred because I’ve followed this method.
Why this method of doing affiliate marketing works across the board:
In this business, you’re basically aiming to help and convince people to buy products you’re promoting. Well it just so happens that when you understand what it is you’re promoting and/or the subject of what you’re promoting in, it makes convincing people of it a lot easier, no matter if it’s through a blog or YouTube video.
By doing this, there is no limit to how much you can make as an affiliate marketer, because that knowledge can take your affiliate business to very high levels.
Sadly, most people in affiliate marketing do the complete opposite and it’s a common affiliate marketing mistake you will want to avoid.
Anyway, let’s get to these case studies and while I will break down how each person in each one is making money, but above all else, keep in mind how much expertise and passion the person/s have in each topic, because that is honestly the most important reason they are even successful.
Without this, none of their success would be possible.
Here is a summarized video on each affiliate marketing case study:
Now that video condensed the case studies, but this next section of the blog will get into far more details so I highly recommend checking this section out:
Case study 1: Flytpath’s YouTube drone channel.
Info about this case study:
The following case study revolves around a gentleman who built his own YouTube channel reviewing mainly cameras and drones and how he is making a great income by simply reviewing these gadgets, comparing them against one another and more.
He has 166,000 subscribers and the videos he makes get upwards of 20,000 views or more. Some of his more popular videos receive well over 100,000. Considering the logistics, it’s very likely he is making a full time income from doing affiliate marketing on YouTube alone.
Creating product reviews on YouTube like this man does can be very profitable!
From my understanding, most if not all his affiliate marketing profits come from his YouTube channel, and I say this because his site isn’t really filled with much content. Most of it centers around YouTube.
How Flytpath makes money with affiliate marketing:
In just about every single video this guy makes, you will find a bunch of affiliate links to the products he is reviewing. Here is an example:
Why he is succeeding:
- Just watch any Flytpath’s YouTube videos.
- The guy clearly has passion for drones and cameras.
- He provides clear affiliate product reviews that are very high quality (I watch his videos often).
- If you read the comments in his videos, you will find them to be VERY favorable of the content he creates.
At it’s core, you can tell he loves this topic and mixed with the fact that the niche topic is also popular, it’s no surprise he is one of the top dogs in reviewing drones and cameras.
Case study 2: A gigantic outdoor niche site.
Info about this case study:
This website encompasses pretty much all aspects of outdoor adventuring, from camping to hiking, to what type of gear to wear and it’s very well set up.
The site’s founder, Chris Mcnamara is a very experienced outdoor enthusiast which is why there is so much content on this website.
The name of the website is Outdoorgearlab.com.
How this website makes money through affiliate marketing:
There are many products reviewed on this website and just about anything related to outdoors that you can imagine is likely talked about and mentioned on this site.
Why this website succeeds at affiliate marketing:
Well for starters, Chris, the owner is very passionate about the outdoors and the articles and content I see on this really show that he or whoever he pays to write this content is also very passionate about it. I don’t know much about outdoor products, but when I checked out a few of them on this site, I could tell there was expertise in the content written up on them, and that shows me the passion and expertise is there.
An on a large subject like outdoor adventures, this site is likely extremely successful at affiliate marketing. It popped up for me more than once while I was doing some broad Google searches for outdoor topics, indicating to me this website also likely gets a lot of traffic.
Case study 3: A niche site on noisy neighbors (pretty much no competition).
Info about this case study:
This is actually one of my old niche websites I began many years ago and the inspiration to make it came from the fact that I really had some seriously bad neighbor problems at the time.
But because I’d be doing affiliate marketing for so long, even then, I had always tried to figure out ways to help people with similar problems and make money from it as well (ethically).
I had found that this niche topic was and is popular, and not only that but the competition that is in it is nearly zilch. This is easily a micro niche!
And so I slowly began working on this website selling products and giving out advice that I found helped me with my neighbor problems.
Here is a link to Noisyneighborsolutions.com.
How this site makes money through affiliate marketing:
Well the truth is, it makes very little because I just don’t have time for it. I only really sell a white noise machine on it (made several sales) and things like ear plugs. These products I promote through Amazon Associates.
Why this site didn’t really see much success:
If you watched the video above, I mentioned how I had to focus my energy on affiliate sites with more potential and this is ultimately why I stopped working on this one. But it’s still up. You can check it out and I have to tell you that I received some truly passionate comments from people who had similar issues and it shows how serious of a problem this is.
This is a case study which really shows how negativity for a certain topic can become an affiliate opportunity and because I’d learned so much from my experiences with noisy neighbors, I was able to share that knowledge on that site and get people to buy from it.
Case study 4: A huge website for trail running events.
Info about this case study:
There is an outdoor sporting event in the world called mud running. This site is one of the most popular go to sites on this subject and I actually happen to have a similar site of my own on this, though it’s not a big.
The name of the site is Mudrunguide.com.
How this site makes money through affiliate marketing:
This site is affiliated with the many mud run events around the world such the Spartan Race and sells coupons to incentivize people to sign up for it. In the process, this site earns affiliate commissions.
Additionally, this website also promotes gear for these events such as trail running shoes.
Why this website succeeds at affiliate marketing:
The mud running niche topic is very popular and I personally know this. There’s very few websites and content on this niche on the internet, but the demand of people who run these races who want to know what to wear, and how to prepare for them is huge. This is why they go to sites like this and trust in the information they see (because there’s so little of it out there).
At the same time it’s also because the owner/s of this site have a passion for the mud run topic, which is why they are able to expertly help people decide on what to wear for these races and how to prep for them.
Case study 5: Motion sprinkler sensors (this one is hilarious).
Info about this case study:
This website was made by a good friend of mine who also practices affiliate marketing. His name is Nathaniel and he often experiments with making niche websites like these.
The inspiration to make this one came from the fact that he had stray cats running into his backyard and leaving their business there (see the logo).
So in order to combat this problem, he installed motion sensor sprinklers to scare them away. In the process, he accomplished that but also learned about watering his backyard.
The name of the website is Motionsensorsprinker.com.
How this site makes money through affiliate marketing:
It very simply just promotes motion sensor sprinklers and links people to an Amazon page where they can buy it. From what my friend told me (he is very honest), the site doesn’t get many people on it, but it does get sales from time to time and I looked for this topic on Google, it just so happens, that motion sensor sprinklers are specifically designed to shoo away animals so this is a big niche.
The price of these sensors can cost up to $100, so the affiliate commissions can add up.
Why this website succeeds at affiliate marketing:
- For starters, this niche is very specific (that’s a great start).
- This niche also has a very small number of competing pages.
- The site may get little traffic, but it works because the niche audience is targeted and the niche competition is low.
- Nathaniel also has experience with this subject which means people who have similar problems that find it can quickly connect to Nathaniel’s story and be more likely to buy the sprinkler’s he is recommending.
Case study 6: A huge website on bicycles.
Info about this case study:
This is a website that basically talks about everything related to bicycles and reviews different types of models for different categories of biking.
Normally, I wouldn’t suggest an affiliate marketer create a broad website on a topic like bicycles, but this is an exception because the site probably has several writers and people working on it and when you have a team building up a website, it is possible to crack more competitive niche markets, in this case bicycles.
The name of the website is Bicycling.com.
How this site makes money through affiliate marketing:
This site mainly reviews bicycles and rates them. And considering how expensive these bicycles are, the commissions the owner/s of the site get are very high ticket affiliate commissions.
Just as a suggestion, if you are reading about this case study and want to start your own blog or YouTube channel on bicycles, I’d recommend narrowing down the niche to a specific type of bicycle such as mountain bikes. If you’re working alone on a niche site, target a more specific niche if you wish to succeed.
Why this website succeeds at affiliate marketing:
In short, it is a site where experts on everything bicycle related help regular people pick and choose which bicycles are best suited for them. It’s basically a consumer reporting site on bicycles. I can tell you that as an owner of a bicycle, when I had to pick one out, I was very selective and uneducated on the subject, so talking to someone who knows which one would suite me best helped me pick out one that I am very happy with.
When you take that demand of people wanting advice on what bicycle to choose, and put it online, then a website like Bicycling.com is perfect for those types of people. Once again, the whole thesis about being knowledgeable in your niche is why this site succeeds.
Case study 7: A site on raising chinchillas.
Info about this case study:
A few weeks ago, I created a top 10 affiliate niches post where one of the topics I cited was about raising chinchillas. To research this article on affiliate marketing case studies, I thought it’d be fun to see what kinds of blogs exist on the internet for this topic.
Lo and behold, I found this one that is made by a family who raises chinchillas and offers great advice on caring for them. It is a pretty popular site, but also notice how simple looking it is.
If up until now the case studies I’ve shown you have seem intimidating to motivate you to start your own, here is one that is anything but that. It’s a simple site.
The name of the website is called Planetchinchilla.com.
How this site makes money through affiliate marketing:
The site from their own disclaimer is connected to Amazon Associates which is the affiliate network of Amazon. They promote many types of products on this site for taking care of chinchillas.
I do want to quickly mention that recently Amazon cut it’s affiliate rates for a lot of subjects so if you go into a niche and see that Amazon would pay you way less than other affiliate networks, that post will show you alternatives.
Why this site succeeds at affiliate marketing:
If you own a specific pet and know how to take care of it, I promise you that sharing that info on a blog or YouTube channel is a great way to create a successful affiliate business and I’m certain the following people in this case study achieved that.
I know for a fact that if I owned a chinchilla, which isn’t exactly a standard pet and I wanted to make sure it was healthy, I’d be researching blogs like and buying products from their site as long the content was helpful. And I promise you, so are countless other chinchilla owners out there.
Want to learn how to create your own affiliate blog too? Click here.
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Thanks for reading this article!