Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through my links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools I personally use or have thoroughly researched.
A lot of people want to know how to make money blogging – and I get it. When I first started ProBlogVault, I made a classic beginner mistake: I signed up for every affiliate program I could, threw links everywhere, and wondered why nobody clicked.
The problem was not signing up for all the affiliates; it was the strategy. I was promoting things my audience didn’t actually need right now, or throwing them everywhere they weren’t required.
So I flipped the approach. Instead of promoting everything, I asked one simple question:
“What does every blogger actually need to get started?”
The answer to this question shaped my entire approach. Hosting, Email Marketing, A way to earn without a product, WordPress tools, and a CPA model that works even on low traffic.
These five things are the foundation of how I make money blogging on ProBlogVault. Not because they pay the highest commissions – but because they’re tools my readers genuinely need, and I’ve used most of them myself.
Why I think this Strategy Works You’re not posting random products. You’re recommending the tools a new blogger needs from Day 1. That means the right products at the right time mean higher trust, better conversions, and zero guilt about promoting them.
The 5-Affiliate Strategy to Make Money Blogging – At a Glance
Before we break each category, here’s the full picture:
Category
Recommended Program
Why this category works
Web Hosting
Kinsta, Bluehost
Every blogger needs hosting – Day 1 purchase.
Email Marketing
ConvertKit / GetResponse
List building is important, and a good tool will make your work easy. ProBlogVault uses these to build the email list.
CPA Network
MaxBounty, ClickBank
Earn per action commission model.
Niche Products
Amazon Associates
For travel, tech, and lifestyle blogs.
WordPress tools
Astra, WP Rocket, WP Engine, Elementor
Every WordPress blogs needs these tools.
Let’s break down each one – what it is, why I recommend it, and exactly where to place it in your content.
Web Hosting – Bluehost
Your highest-converting affiliate link.
Every person who wants to start a blog needs hosting – there’s no way around it. Make sure you have a clearer picture of which hosting is best, and try to promote it. This makes your hosting affiliate link the most naturally placed recommendation you’ll ever make.
I personally recommend and use Bluehost on proBlogVault. It’s one of the first tools I mention whenever someone asks me how to make money blogging as a beginner- because hosting, there’s no blog, and without a blog, there’s no income.
There could be many places where we can add affiliate links for hosting providers. You can write a “How to Start a Blog” post and add the links there, or write a review post for each hosting provider and place the links there.
Here’s something most beginners miss: your email list is the only audience you truly own. Google can change its algorithm overnight. Social media reach can disappear, but your email lists stay yours.
That’s why recommending a good email tool with insane features is one of the most genuine things you can do when teaching others how to make money blogging. It’s not just a commission opportunity – it’s genuinely good advice that your readers need to hear.
My pick is ConvertKit. It’s built specifically for bloggers, the free plan supports up to 10K subscribers, and the affiliate commission is recurring – meaning every month your referral stays subscribed, you get paid.
You can also promote tools via email marketing and achieve good conversions. I personally tried promoting tools via email marketing, and yes, I saw good conversions. You can place these links by creating a blog post on Email Marketing, Comparing different EM tools, writing a review post on EM tools you use.
CPA Marketing: Earn Per Action – even on low traffic
CPA stands for Cost Per Action. Unlike traditional affiliate marketing, where you earn only when someone buys, CPA pays when a visitor completes a simple action – a sign-up, a download, a form submission.
This makes CPA one of the best and smartest additions to your blogging income strategy – especially if your blog is new and conversions/traffic are still low.
You can add the CPA links to any post related to your content. Make sure you are not throwing these links at unrelated places just because you can earn commission for low-friction actions.
Amazon Associates – For travel, tech, and lifestyle blogs.
I would prioritize Amazon Associates if my niche is travel, lifestyle, etc., rather than the niche I’m in.
It isn’t the highest-paying program, but yeah, it’s one of the high-brand-value marketplaces where you can get good conversions. Display products on your blog when your niche naturally involves physical products or tools your readers are already researching.
WordPress Themes & Plugins – Tools every WordPress blog actually needs
If your readers are bloggers – and they definitely are, since they’re reading a post about how to make money blogging – they’re almost certainly building on WordPress. And every WordPress blog needs a theme, an SEO plugin, and a speed tool at a minimum.
Add a blog post on WordPress tools and add the WordPress tool links in these. Write a review post and add it over there. There are plenty of places to add, but do so wisely and only where needed.
Final Thoughts
The reason this strategy works isn’t that these programs pay the most; it’s just because your audience genuinely needs all five of these – whether they’re starting their first blog or trying to grow an existing one.
Hosting to get online. Email to build an audience. CPA to earn without needing a product sale. Amazon for niche-specific gear. WordPress tools to build a fast, well-optimized site.
These aren’t random affiliates. They’re the foundation of every successful blog. And when you recommend things your readers actually need, you don’t feel like a salesperson – you feel like someone who’s genuinely helping. That’s the difference between a blog that converts and one that doesn’t.
I built ProBlogVault to share everything I wish I knew when I started blogging — the SEO tactics, the affiliate strategies, and the shortcuts that actually move the needle. No fluff, just what works.
