Affiliate Marketing using Programming Tutorial Site

[digital-marketing-engineer]

So, when searching on Reddit about affiliate marketing that relates to software engineering, I came across an interesting discussion about programming sites here.

It surely will increase the knowledge of this community, so I want to share the summary of it.

Disclaimer: I'm not the thread starter of that Reddit, but I replied to the thread with one comment.

The original poster, a software developer/architect, is exploring the idea of creating a niche affiliate site centered around programming and software development. He/She is seeking advice on whether such a site can be profitable and how to monetize it. The site would primarily consist of programming tutorials with code snippets and would not involve reviewing products. Here are the key points discussed in the conversation:

1. Monetization Strategies: Suggestions for monetizing the programming tutorial site include:

   • Recommending and earning commissions from affiliate programs for tech-related products, books, and courses.
   • Offering premium tutorials, video courses, or e-books for sale.
   • Advertising tech-related job listings.
   • Incorporating Amazon affiliate links for relevant products.
   • Promoting self-created Udemy courses.

2. Content Focus: The importance of focusing on solving specific programming problems, offering practical tutorials, and providing value to the audience was emphasized.

3. Traffic and SEO: Building backlinks and optimizing for search engines (SEO) were discussed as essential for driving traffic to the site.

4. Goals and Expectations: The discussion touched on the goals of the site owner, which may include personal branding, extra income, or growing the site to compete with established programming tutorial websites.

5. Traffic Estimates: Traffic estimates for popular programming tutorial sites, such as mkyong, vogella, baeldung, and javacodegeeks, were mentioned, along with rough calculations of potential monthly ad revenue based on traffic.

6. Advertising: The appropriateness of adding ads to the site was discussed, with the consensus that it should be done once a substantial amount of quality content has been created.

7. Links and Backlinks: Strategies for building backlinks were shared, including posting on platforms like DZone and collaborating with other bloggers.

8. Specialization: The idea of specializing in a specific area of programming, such as Java or certain technologies, to cater to a targeted audience was suggested.

9. Interactive Tutorial Plans: Future plans to create interactive tutorials or lesson plans and use the blog to drive traffic to them were mentioned.

10. Job Listings: Mentioned the potential to integrate job listings or referrals as a source of income.

[digital-marketing-engineer]

Another Reddit post worth to check

Context

• The blog in discussion is around 4 years old.
• The author has occasionally neglected the blog.

Analytics

• The blog has around 600,000 users and nearly 1 million page views (Seems total in 4 years).
• A high bounce rate of approximately 87%.
• Most popular posts are programming guides.
• Two guides significantly boosted traffic.
• A significant portion of traffic comes from organic search.

Ad Revenue

• The author initially used AdSense, earning around €430 in total (about $50/month).
• Switched to Carbon Ads, generating around $45 (in one month when the post was written).
• Fewer ads displayed with Carbon Ads.

Content

• Initially struggled with what to write about but now covers topics he enjoy.
• Notable that the author's predictions about post popularity are often inaccurate.
• Emphasis on writing for readers rather than oneself.

Finding Topics

• Author believes in unique perspectives on existing topics.
• Maintains an "idea list" for post inspiration.

Content Distribution

• Shares posts on Twitter immediately.
• Selectively shares on Reddit, respecting self-promotion rules.
• Attempts on Hackernews have not reached the front page.
• Crossposts on Medium for a wider audience.

Conclusion

• Blogs with many guides tend to have high bounce rates.
• Ad revenue can cover expenses but isn't a substantial income source.
• Suggests creating paid courses or software-as-a-service for substantial income.
• Advises against overthinking post topics.

For more details, refer to the original blog post (note: the link has been removed due to self-promotion rules).

https://nehalist.io

Additional Information

• The blog is hosted on Uberspace.
• Domain is from gandi.net.
• Built on Gatsby with content served by Ghost.
• Ads on the blog are chosen by Carbon Ads.

This is an example of a programming tutorial website that generates income. However, the income of about $50/month may not be fantastical. It may only cover for the expenses with some extra for the owner.