Starting an Affiliate Side Hustle Without a Website
One of the biggest myths about affiliate marketing is that you absolutely need your own website from day one. If you’re just looking to , that can feel like a huge commitment. The good news is, you don’t have to dive into the deep end right away. Using an established content platform is a brilliant way to test the waters, especially for those .
This approach lets you figure out what resonates with an audience without sinking a ton of time and effort into designing and building a site. Better yet, these platforms often have incredible domain authority, meaning they rank very well on Google. Their constant flow of quality content gives your articles a much better chance of landing in top search results. This can drive more visitors and sales to your affiliate links—something that’s tough to achieve with a brand-new website. It's an effective way to kickstart your .
My suggestion? Try a hybrid approach. Since you own the content you create, there’s nothing stopping you from posting it on a platform like HubPages and on your own fledgling website. This doubles your chances of getting ranked. Plus, these sites have their own communities of regular readers. Someone might stumble upon your article and its affiliate links just by browsing the site, providing another stream of .
Many of these platforms offer robust content creation tools, allowing you to embed images, videos, and social media posts, just like you would on a personal blog. Others are more basic, but if they get your work ranked on Google, that’s what matters most.
Platforms to Kickstart Your Affiliate Journey
Here are some of the most popular sites where you can publish your content for free and start practicing your affiliate marketing skills. These are some of the best to get started with.
Squidoo
This is a popular publishing community that lets you write articles on a wide range of topics. You can earn from Amazon or eBay affiliate links embedded in your content, with profits split 50/50 between you and the platform. Payments go straight to your PayPal account.
HubPages
As mentioned, HubPages is where many successful affiliate marketers got their start. You can create articles called “Hubs” and monetize them with Amazon, eBay, or HubPages’ own affiliate links, as well as Google AdSense. Once you earn enough, you can cash out via PayPal.
Epinions
Epinions is a review site where you can share your positive or negative feedback on thousands of products. If your reviews persuade people to make a purchase, you get a cut of the profit from that sale. You earn credits that can be converted into cash.
Fiverr
While not a content hosting site, Fiverr is an essential tool for any aspiring marketer. It’s a marketplace where you can buy or sell services for as little as $5. When you’re starting out, it’s an amazing resource for outsourcing tasks. You can find people to write articles, which is a key part of and scaling your efforts.
Digital Journal
This is a more serious blogging platform. It has a fairly strict signup process, so not everyone gets in. However, if you’re accepted, it’s a great place to publish high-quality content and build a readership for your .
Bukisa
On Bukisa, you can share your own how-to guides and earn money from the Google AdSense ads attached to your articles. Every click on an ad turns into revenue.
Zujava
Similar to HubPages, Zujava lets you host your content for free and insert the same types of affiliate links and Google AdSense ads, sharing the profits with you as the author.
Think of these platforms as your training ground for various . They let you practice, see what works, and start earning without the upfront investment. If your articles begin to make consistent money, you can take that proven strategy, move it to your own private website, and keep 100% of the revenue. That's how you can take a project from . And by through outsourcing, you can scale your even faster.
