I’ve been writing articles on this website for nearly 10 years. I’m always amazed how well some of them do: they are shared on social media, get loads of comments and the affiliate links in them make me passive income for months into the future.
On the other hand, you can slave away for hours on a piece of writing you think is really good, and … nothing! No one shares it, no one comments on it and no one is bothered to click the affiliate links.
Why? Well … if I knew the answer to that question …
However, I have found a crazy simple idea that never fails. This crazy simple idea will not only create a great blog post, it will also:
- help build relationships with experts in your niche
- earn you money from affiliate commissions
- build the authority of your personal or business brand
… and it doesn’t take much time to write.
Here’s the secret – ask one question to several experts
Blogging is all about providing value to an audience. The more you blog, the more you get to know your audience and understand their wants and needs. After a while, you’ll get asked the same questions over and over from your audience.
But, even if you have a small audience and you aren’t being asked questions, you can still do this.
Think of a burning question you have. It can be quite a simple obvious question, like:
- How do I get traffic?
- What’s the best email marketing service?
- How do I get clients / make money online?
Or it could be quite specific. And you post this question in a forum full of experts. It could be a forum that you know is high quality – you’ve had questions answered there before and the answers were useful. It could be a LinkedIn Group, a Facebook Group, whatever, as long as you know the people there are knowledgable in that area.
You could also send personal emails to people who you know to be experts in a particular area and ask them all the same important relevant question.
The answers you get back are pure gold.
People in forums and groups love to show off their knowledge. You will get loads of useful replies. Sometimes answers contradict and there’s an argument in the forum. This happens. This isn’t really fault and reading the answers and the arguments help you get a good feel for the pros and cons of a subject – whatever it is.
If you use email to ask the question of the experts it’s more work for you but it does garner a closer relationship with the respondents.
Case study – WordPress hosts
The first time I did this, it was by accident. I wanted to change hosts so I asked in the WordPress LinkedIn Group (this is a group that I really trusted) what was the best host for WordPress.
This is an example of a bad question. It’s too general. I should have asked something like “what’s the best VPS host for a blog that gets 40,000-70,000 visitors a month?”
Either way, the answers were fantastic. I was able to write two articles for my blog: The best shared hosting for WordPress websites and Recommended VPS hosts for WordPress.
By asking a question in this great group I was able to:
- get great advice about hosting from a bunch of knowledgable people
- write two helpful blog posts
- earn tens of thousands in affiliate commissions
These posts on hosting were particularly fruitful in terms of affiliate revenue. I usually only affiliate for products and services I have used personally. But, in this case, the hosts were recommended by a bunch of experienced WordPressers whose opinions I valued. I also was honest about there being affiliate links in the articles.
A few passive income ideas for you
Here’s a few ideas for blog posts that you can contact a group of experts about and make you passive income:
- The Best Microphones For Podcasting (ask a group of excellent podcasters)
- The Best Email Marketing Solution (ask successful internet marketers with lists of 10,000 or so)
- The Best HD Camera For YouTube (ask a YouTube group)
The money you make depends on how much traffic you get and whether the traffic is engaged enough to use the products and services mentioned in the article. But, if you constantly provide value through your blog, traffic and engagement will come.
You can do it
You can earn passive income from a blog. I do and so plenty of others do each day. But it’s not going to happen if you’ve just started. But that’s no reason not to give it a try.
Let me know in the comments below what you think of this idea, if you’ve tried it or if you’re thinking of using this technique.
Yes, I’ve thought of doing this, and kicked myself many a time when I’ve seen posts like it that I wish I’d done 😉
My question for you, Rob – if you ask a question in a forum, do you say that you’ll be quoting people’s answers in a blog post? Or do you just edit their replies and not name them? Or… ?
Good question. I didn’t in the beginning but I do now, Louise. It helps to build rapport and makes sure you get the best answers. I actually did that here in my last blog post: Why I Failed at Podcasting and How You Can Succeed. It didn’t make money but it was a quality article because I had quality advice from the people I talked to in the forum. And they all got a link. 🙂
Thanks Rob! Always top info.
Thank you, Louise, you too.
another great nugget, thanks Rob. Get part of your research done for free by a bunch of experts. I’m definitely going to try this out on a blog post in the near future.
Great, Louie, let us know how you get on.
A great brain food, Rob.. 🙂 I’m really inspired.
I’m just starting out my own blog and I will utilize the tips you gave on that blog.
Thanks!
Awesome, Snehal, the start of a blog is always the hardest part. Hopefully this will give you a boost 🙂
I think gaining traffic the difficult to achieve for a starter. You have to keep active and maintain good or if possible, excellent content so you can assure people will certainly read your blog. I do like this article. Helps you learn what to do and set to mind what must be done.
You’re certainly right there, Elvis. You’ve got to consistently publish great material for free to get noticed.
you are the passive income maestro 🙂
Thank you, Vinodh
Rob,
I love this idea. It’s a great way to get quality info and meet kick-butt people in your niche. When I got started teaching pricing advice to service providers I created an expert interview series that churned out amazing information and I turned into a digital product. But it can be a challenge to introduce yourself to the experts and this idea that you shared could be a great way to break the ice. So a nice spin-off from the quick survey/question could be following up with some of these experts and interviewing a few of them…
Just a thought.
Thanks as always for the awesome tips!
Cheers,
Tom
Great idea, Tom. Definitely talking to a bunch of experts in your niche is a great thing to do no matter what you’re contacting them for. So a quick survey question to start with followed by a more in-depth conversation is a great way to go about it. As you say the first quick contact breaks the ice. And you provide them with a link back to their site so, with the law of reciprocity in mind, they are more likely to have time for you in future. 🙂
Great idea Rob. So simple, but the best ones always are. I guess it all depends on the quality of the answers but if you do it enough times it’s bound to pay off.
I think if you get the right people you’ll get the right answers, usually. But yes, most things work better the more you do.
Rob,
That’s a great idea and in a way it’s similar to something I started doing last year but only recently began exploiting. I’m a small media producer based in the UK making radio and TV ads as well as website videos for my clients. Whilst business networking across Scotland I meet many talented SMEs who are experts in many fields where my knowledge is only basic at best. However, I’ve started professionally recording selected contacts and customers speaking about their 5TopTips on their core subject. The result is I get video content from experts that I can also turn into a written blog with video and they get a free video for their website – we both win. In a way that’s similar to you gathering your source material and crediting your sources, both are winners from the exposure.
My real question though is about the affiliate links you use. I’ve only just started blogging on Blogger and have joined Amazon Associates UK but have already found 42% of my readers are from the US while only 35% are from the UK. I think you must experience something similar so should I ditch the UK Associates program and sign up for the US version or can a blogger exploit both the Amazon .com and .co.uk programs?
In the spirit of your blog post I feel an article coming on. 😉
Cheers,
Tosh
Great thing you’ve got going there, Tosh. also, I would advise you to move from Blogger to a self-hosted WordPress blog as soon as you have time.
Yes, I have joined the Amazon.com Associates Program and usually grab a link from there when I recommend something that’s on Amazon and my audience is similar to yours geographically. Although I never make much money from Amazon.
Hi Rob,
This may sound like a stupid question but can you clarify why I should move from Blogger to a self-hosted WordPress blog? I was about to add a custom domain to my Blogger blog, in fact I’ve already bought the domain at GoDaddy. Is it more sensible to use that domain on a blog at WordPress.com?
Sorry if the answer to the question is obvious.
Cheers,
Tosh
Hi Rob,
Forget my other reply. I’ve done a search and understand the different. Seems Blogger is really easy to start with but doesn’t offer the flexibility of a self hosted WordPress blog nor the security that it’s my own and I’m not at the whim of Google’s attitude to keeping Blogger going.
Cheers,
Tosh
You got it, Tosh, and you can transfer your blog from one platform to the other and you won’t lose anything. I strongly advise you to do this if you’re serious about blogging. Self-hosted WordPress website is the way to go.
Hi Rob,
Thanks for your great post.
Just wondering how you get paid for affiliate links exactly? What are you using, is it clickbank? I’m new to all this so forgive my ignorance. Also, what top affiliate programs would you recommend please – apart from Amazon?
Great site.
Hi Marty, the way to do it is to google the name of the product you want plus the word “affiliate” and sign up their scheme. You will get an unique affiliate link which will record the sales you put their way. “what top affiliate programs would you recommend?” this will be different for everybody because you will be an affiliate of the products and services you use and recommend to others. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.
Oh I see.
So if I was to write a blog post about the top microphones to use, say the Blue Yeti, I’d google ‘Blue Yeti affiliate link’ and embed the link in my post as brand anchor text, for example? Of course, this would probably be Amazon, but I could include direct brand affiliate links? Incidentally Rob, do you make most of your blog post revenue from these text links as I don’t happen to see any image ads or banners on your site? What’s your view on these?
Many thanks.
Hi Marty, yes, the best way to earn affiliate commissions from a product like the Blue Yeti would be from Amazon. So you’d sign up for an Amazon Associates account (with your existing Amazon ID) and get the Amazon link that way. However, due to its popularity, Amazon has the worst affiliate commissions ever so you’ll earn about a dollar for every mic sold!
You can check out where my passive income comes from in any of my quarterly income reports. There’s a new one coming out this week. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks Rob,
It’s great to see you so transparent about your success!
Just wondering how much site traffic do you require to become an affiliate marketing partner of companies such as Blue Host or Go Daddy. Is it very high?
Hi Marty, you don’t need any traffic or to prove any traffic to those companies to join their affiliate schemes. Anyone can do it.
Thanks Rob. You’re a great help!
Do you mind if I use your comments for the content of my first blog post?
Of course, I’ll include backlinks to this site too..
Go for it, Marty 🙂
This is very insightful. And thank you for mentioning you made tens of thousands of dollars off your hosting affiliate links. Earning money from affiliate sales has always struck me as a long and tedious road to travel. I suspect that it is, and that you’ve proven what’s at the end of it!
Just to mention it, those videos you did with some of your associates created a strong impression of your own circle of experts. The exposure can only be very helpful to you all. I still remember one of your guests’ names, John Romain (sp?), who went from construction worker to Web entrepreneur. To this day I recall he has some Web design contracts one can buy, and that 15K (AUD I guess) is a great month. I’m sure it’s well over a year since I saw that video. Goes to show you what will stick in the head when one is interested.
You’re doing a great job with your interesting and enjoyable blog!
Hello Theron. Yes, those interviews I did were a good example of this. I spoke to some really cool, clever entrepreneurs who came from a design background. They were really enjoyable to do and I made some great connections with them. In fact, only today I was talking to Alex Mathers of the Red Lemon Club – he was one of those I interviewed.
It was great for me and hopefully it was great for them too. (And you remember John Romaine’s interview, that’s a case in point) and hopefully it’s great for the audience as well. A real win-win. 🙂
Thank you for your great comment again.
Great post, Rob
Will certainly put this into action very soon.
Great, Nick, if it works, let us know 🙂
I like this strategy, Rob!
I’m already including affiliate links in some of my posts, when appropriate (mainly books on Amazon), so this would be the next logical step.
More important to me than the passive affiliate commissions (which are still important), would be building authority for my brand & establishing relationships with other experts in my niche.
This can also help answer some questions I have until the point when my (future) audience has questions they’d like answered.
Thanks again!
That’s great, Patrick, because I’ve never seen affiliate income as a mainstay of the business. It’s always been something I’ve done on the side, so to speak. You’re absolutely right that building authority for your brand and establishing relationships with other experts in your niche is more important. It sure is! Thanks for the comment.
Wow,
This article is quite motivative and full with the lessons. The ideas and information mentioned in above points are superb. I loved “A few passive income ideas for you” section most.
Thanks for sharing these awesome pieces of thought 🙂
I’m glad the article motivated you, Amit. Hope you can use some of those ideas yourself. Thank you for the comment. 🙂
Great post Rob. Really good actionable advice for helping think about what to do next.
-Alex
Glad you liked it, Alex.
Awesome post, Rob! I’ve participated in linkedin groups by posting questions but I’ve never thought of using the answers to fuel my blogs.
I have enrolled in several of your udemy courses and I can say that you really know your stuff!
You should try it, Indri, you never know what sort of info you get back. It could be really valuable.
Thank you for your kind words about my content.
Welcome to the site! 🙂
Now ! that was inspiring ! it’s time stat working on my blog 🙂
Regards
Malik
Work on that blog, Jahanzeb ! 🙂
Too much inspiration in one post. I am really planning to write a post on best email marketing solution. Thanks for the great ideas.
My pleasure, Aqib, I’m glad the article helped.