How to Make a Profitable Website Without Selling Anything

Before anything else, if you want to earn money online, you must have a profitable website.

How can we define a profitable website? Essentially, it refers to a website that is intentionally created and running to generate revenue.

By making use of your audience’s behavior, profitable websites can effectively convert clicks into cash.

What factors contribute to the profitability of a website?

• Good user experience – Every website should have a great user experience at its core. Users should be able to easily navigate through your website, engage with your content, and have quick access to the information they’re looking for.
• Mobile optimization – Ensuring that your website performs just as well on a mobile device as it does on a desktop is crucial if you want to use it to make money. More people than ever before are using mobile devices to browse the web, so you need to ensure you make your website mobile-friendly in order to support them.
• Quality design – Modern website builders make it easy to create clean, fresh, and professional website designs. Having a high-quality design is important if you want to use your website to make money. Users should be able to land on your website and enjoy the visual elements, not be over or underwhelmed by the features on the page.
• Page speed – The fact is that faster websites have greater potential for generating higher profits. Users don’t want to wait around for your content to load, which means website load times are crucial for success; webpages should be up and visible instantly. 
• Easy navigation – How you structure your website is important if you want to use it to make money. Users should be able to find what they’re looking for quickly and in no more than three clicks. 

To gain further understanding, consult our guide on the most effective methods for promoting your website.

Although understanding the key factors of a profitable website is important, you may still be uncertain about ways to generate revenue from a website without engaging in sales.

If you’re searching for ways to make money online without selling anything, then your search ends here. Below, we have provided five effective methods to help you achieve this.

#1. Affiliate Marketing

Making money online without selling physical products or services is possible through affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing involves persuading a user to buy a particular item, for which you receive a commission on the sale.

If you have a blog about horse riding, you can include links to recommended riding accessories in your blog posts for your readers to purchase.

If you have established affiliate links on your website, you will receive a modest commission when a user clicks on that link and completes a purchase.

To effectively carry out affiliate marketing, having an audience is crucial as without anyone clicking on your links and making purchases, you won’t earn any commission.

Affiliate marketing offers incredible scalability as the potential for earning money through affiliate links increases alongside the growth of your audience.

If you have successfully generated substantial traffic to your website and established a strong rapport with your readers who have confidence in your guidance, you can earn a substantial income without exerting a significant amount of effort.

Affiliate marketing serves as a prime illustration of a passive income source, enabling you to enjoy the advantages of online sales without dealing with the hassle of managing deliveries, refunds, and customer service.

Affiliate schemes have attracted numerous popular brands, with even the ecommerce giant Amazon establishing its own program called Amazon Affiliates.

To receive additional direction, consult our comprehensive guide where you can find information on various categories of affiliate partners.

One effective way to earn money online without selling products is by placing advertisements on your website.

You have two primary options for placing ads on your website – you can either join a third-party ad network or directly coordinate with advertisers to display the ads.

After launching your website and beginning to generate traffic, you have the option to register with an ad network.

Google AdSense, Adthrive, and Ezoic are among the most widely used ad networks. It is important to consider that certain networks may have a minimum traffic requirement. Therefore, if you are at the initial stages, we suggest opting for Google AdSense.

Understanding ad networks is easy, and they serve as another instance of effortlessly generating income from your website.

After your approval to join the network, you will be provided a small code fragment to be inserted into your website’s backend.

Once you complete these steps, you are finished. Rest assured, that is the only requirement. Afterwards, the network will proceed to display advertisements on your website.

As your website expands, you’ll gain increased authority in determining the size and placement of advertisements, as well as the theme that complements the ads you place.

Your earnings from an ad network will vary based on several factors, such as the monthly traffic to your website and the nature of the content you provide.

You can earn money by hosting ads on your website, as advertisers will compete for the available ad spots. However, keep in mind that the ad network will also receive a percentage of the total payment.

How to Start Affiliate Marketing for Beginners: Some Common Questions Answered

Tune in while you read this post as I present you with one of the most comprehensive videos I have ever created on the topic of starting affiliate marketing.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

We often receive this question, and the answer is actually quite straightforward,

Affiliate marketing enables you (the affiliate) to receive a commission by referring products or services to your friends or readers.

Here is a simplified version of the 5-step process on how to begin affiliate marketing.

1. You find a product you want to promote
2. Do a search for “product name” affiliate program. If it’s on Amazon, you can also promote it
3. Sign up for their affiliate program
4. You get a special link that allows the merchant to track the people who clicked your link
5. If they buy the product, you get a commission.

Isn’t it fairly uncomplicated?

Although it can become more complex, the main focus of this post is to begin with the basics and help you reach the stage where you are capable of earning your initial commission.

For more in-depth information on the specifics of affiliate marketing, take a look at our detailed post.

How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?

Nowadays, numerous methods exist for monitoring affiliates, yet the majority hinge on individuals clicking your designated tracking link.

Tracking typically occurs through the use of a cookie, which is considered the simplest and most prevalent form.

When a user clicks on an affiliate link, a cookie, which is a small file, is saved on their computer. This enables the merchant to track that you referred them when they make a purchase.

We will not discuss the more advanced methods that rely on the email or IP address here, focusing instead on the essential information you need to know.

How Much Money Can You Make With Affiliate Marketing?

Your earnings can fluctuate greatly – it honestly ranges from nothing to millions.

The amount of money you earn will depend on the offers you advertise, the level of traffic your website receives, and your proficiency in additional online marketing techniques such as email marketing and SEO.

However, this post will give you a fairly accurate idea of how much you can earn from various types of promotions.

Through affiliate marketing, I personally earn a yearly income in the high six figures.

However, it hasn’t always been like that.

How Do You Become an Affiliate Marketer?

The truth is, when it comes to online purchases, there is an affiliate program available for nearly every product, allowing you to earn a commission for successfully recommending a sale.

Although it is possible to promote anything, it does not necessarily mean it is advisable to do so.

When choosing a product to market, the crucial factor to consider is whether it is applicable to your target audience.

Advertising for dumbbells on Location Rebel may not be the wisest choice, as the vast majority of my audience has little interest in them.

However, recommending WP Engine, a WordPress hosting company, is much more logical for me since nearly all of my readers either own a website or have contemplated creating one.

Recently, we introduced Streak as a remarkable tool for freelancers to track leads conveniently within their inbox. Once again, this directly appeals to our audience.

Types of Affiliate Products: Physical vs. Information vs. Services

As a marketer, you have the opportunity to promote three distinct categories of affiliate products.

1. Physical Products
2. Information Products
3. Services

Now, let’s examine the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Thanks to Amazon, promoting physical products becomes a breeze as it is the simplest option available.

By joining Amazon’s affiliate program, which is the largest in the world, you can obtain a link for any product available on their website and earn a (small) commission from it.

Currently, the Amazon affiliate program provides a commission range of 1 to 4.5% for each promoted product, varying based on its category. The breakdown of percentages for each category can be viewed here.

I earn a 3% commission on most of the items I promote.

A great advantage of promoting through Amazon is that you earn a commission on all purchases made by the buyer, not solely the specific product they initially clicked on.

Therefore, assuming that I have a golf website, I am promoting certain golf balls.

If the person spends $50 on balls, then I will only make $1.50. However, what would happen if this individual purchases a set of golf clubs for $1,000 and a new golf rangefinder for $300 as well?

Suddenly, that initial amount of $1.50 transforms into $41.50.

If someone clicks on your link, Amazon provides a 24-hour window for them to make a purchase so that you can receive credit.

You can receive credit even if they purchase a different product after clicking on your golf ball link. For example, if they click on your golf ball link and later buy a new TV.

Other Ways to Promote Physical Products

With its ease of use and millions of daily users, Amazon is akin to a “gateway drug” for promoting affiliate products.

As you gain more expertise, you will discover more profitable methods to advertise tangible goods.

If you have a website focused on outdoor themes, the REI affiliate program offers a 5% commission along with a 15 day cookie. This means that you have the opportunity to earn almost double the amount of money on the products that you promote, while also giving customers more time to make their purchases.

Is the number of people who purchase from REI equal to those who buy from Amazon? No, but within your particular market, you might discover that REI is favored and has a higher level of trust among your readers.

Several companies additionally provide their own affiliate program, which allows them to offer even higher commissions.

I directly collaborate with approximately twelve companies in the golf industry, whose affiliate commissions range from 8% to 20%, with the majority falling between 10% and 15%.

I would like to provide an example of how I endorse golf rangefinders.

If I sell a $500 rangefinder on Amazon with a particular brand, my profit would amount to $15.

If I were to sell the same item directly through a company’s affiliate program, I would earn $50.

Although not as many individuals purchase directly from the website, promoting it there is worthwhile due to the fact that I earn over 3 times more per sale.

During a particular month, I managed to sell 140 rangefinders of this particular brand on Amazon, resulting in commissions amounting to $1,377.15.

Through their website, I solely managed to sell 53 rangefinders, resulting in a commission of $1,687.83.

However, although this analysis does not consider additional purchases made on Amazon concurrently, it provides a glimpse into the potential advantages of venturing into other physical product affiliate programs.

If you are genuinely interested in Amazon affiliate marketing, I strongly suggest that you take a look at “The Affiliate Marketing Video Course.” It requires a modest investment and is created by the most knowledgeable affiliate marketer I have come across. I cannot emphasize enough how much I recommend this course.