How does Real Men Real Style make money online???
Ever since Real Men Real Style started this is a question that has constantly been asked on the blog, the Youtube channel and through our email.
This question is so common that I encounter it at least twice a week. It is safe to say people are curious given that Real Men Real Style does have a website and a Youtube channel. To add to that, I also have a custom clothier and I do some consulting as well.
All of the things that I dabble in may give people some idea as to how Real Men Real Style makes money but I thought that it would be good to really break it down.
Please take note that the goal of this post is not to brag. Instead it is to make YOU realize that there are more ways to make money than trading time for dollars.
What does that mean exactly?
Read on to find out!
All About Affiliate Marketing
Sites such as Amazon, Clickbank, Shareasale and Commission Junction are all companies that allow you to link to other websites. In exchange for doing that, the person who provided the link gets a commission on the sale.
Think about it this way: A friend refers you to a product and you actually go and buy that product. That friend, in exchange for referring you can get anywhere between 5% to 75% commission off that sale.
This is called Affiliate Marketing and is actually one of the ways that RMRS makes money every month.
Take a gander at the Real Men Real Style Blog and you may find a number of links to products that take you back to Amazon. Note that these products are actually things I like, things I own and use, and products that I generally trust and truly recommend.
On average RMRS gets about 7% to 8% of commission for every product that is recommended to you and you actually purchase. If the product is $10 then that means that RMRS make about 70 cents.
This may not seem like much but over time and over the course of many visitors that little amount does add up.
Affiliate Marketing may be considered as a passive income source. While it is not 100% passive as it requires a little bit of work this way of creating income still allows RMRS to bring in an extra amount each month while still being able to grow the company.
The next question that people have when they realize that RMRS actually does employ Affiliate Marketing is this:
Does this affect your opinion on products?
To be perfectly honest affiliate marketing does have a miniscule effect on my opinion of products. In saying that I still try my very best to be honest as possible.
This miniscule effect that I’m talking about is that I really do try to see if the product that I like is available through Amazon. However this is partly because I love the convenience of the site and use it on just about a daily basis.
It is also important that I make it a point to mention if I am getting a commission on a certain product. Transparency is an important element of Real Men Real Style and it is essential that it is kept that way.
How to Spot Affiliate Links
Now that you’re aware of affiliate links you may be curious as to how to spot them.
If you see a product over at Real Men Real Style and hover your mouse above it you will oftentimes see a link appear on the left hand corner.
That link oftentimes looks long with a lot of gibberish in it. Another thing to spot is the appearance of the word “ref” somewhere in the link. If “ref” appears anywhere then it is safe to assume that that link is a referral link.
Is Affiliate Marketing A Bad Thing?
I personally do not think so. Affiliate marketing makes me purchase the product with my own money and actually test it out. If I like it, then I recommend it.
The readers and viewers of Real Men Real Style are assured that I have actually tried a product out before recommending it.
The Downside of Affiliate Marketing
In the spirit of honesty it is important to mention that affiliate marketing does have a negative side.
This is especially true for products that offer a 50% to 75% commission which is usually information about products like dating sites or even nutritional products.
Because the potential for profit is so high there are actually people who try to game the system and attempt to hard sell products which they may not even have sampled themselves.
How Does One Avoid This Affiliate Marketing Trap?
The solution so you do not get suckered in these marketing traps and scams is to be careful as to who to take recommendations from.
Only take recommendations from people whose opinions you actually trust. This really comes down on the part of the consumer to educate himself and decide who to trust.
Real Men Real Style is fully committed to never violate our viewers and readers’ trust.
I know that if I do that my readers and viewers will soon figure it out and consider me a sell out.
At the end of the day I would never recommend something that I do not believe in.
How Much Does Real Men Real Style Make?
There will still be those who will have doubts and ask if affiliate marketing is even worth pursuing.
These guys will logically want to know how much income Real Men Real Style makes from it.
As previously mentioned commissions can vary from the low which is 5% to the very high which is about 75%.
High commissions usually come from information products partly because pixels do not really cost a lot and there are also no shipping costs to cover.
For physical products that have to be shipped commissions usually run anywhere from 6% to 20%.
It is also worth mentioning that Amazon employ a tiered structure in which the more people you prefer the higher the percentage of commission you get.
The downside to using sites like Amazon are that there are these things called cookies. To put it simply cookies are things that sit on your computer and they let websites know where you came from.
Cookies for big companies like Amazon may not last for a very long time so let’s say you get the referral from Real Men Real Style but choose not to buy the product until a few days after. By that time the cookies may already have cleared and Real Men Real Style won’t get the commission.
Hopefully that quick crash course on Affiliate Marketing was helpful to you. Affiliate marketing is one of Real Men Real Style’s revenue sources and with enough research and application it can be yours too.
Click here to watch How Real Men Real Style Makes Money Part 1 On Youtube
