Whether you are a stay at home mom who sends kids to school or you have chosen to homeschool, you may be looking for a way to earn some extra money without getting a typical 9-5 job. A job that you can do without interfering with your ever changing schedule.
If your situation is like mine, homeschooling and holding a regular job clashes. That’s where affiliate marketing for moms who home school and could use some extra cash comes into play.
Before we talk about what affiliate marketing is and how it can help you, let’s talk about why you need it.
Financial Challenges of Homeschooling
When we first started homeschooling in 2005, my husband’s paycheck was more than sufficient to not only cover our basic, everyday needs, it also gives us the freedom to have fun, go on adventures, and enjoy our homeschooling lifestyle. Over time, my husband’s paychecks didn’t keep up with inflation as his company resisted handing out raises, even the standard 3% raise that is supposed to help employees keep up with inflation and performance-based raises.
Before long, we were making it paycheck to paycheck and eventually fell short before the next paycheck came.
What I have found is that my family is not alone. Most families often have one income supporting the family and most need 2 incomes in order to survive.
Benefits of Homeschooling
I’m going to focus on homeschooling moms, because that’s what I do. I know that some of the same goals also apply to stay at home moms who send their kids to school.
First, the teacher to student ratio is bar-none the best. One parent and, in my case, 6 students is unlikely to happen in a school. The kids can excel at their own pace instead of being rushed to gain understanding to keep up with the class or waiting for the class to catch up once the concept is mastered.
Homeschooling families often have adventures (field trips, challenges with kids, light bulb moments) and the parents miss out on very little.
You can choose which curriculum you use based on the learning styles and needs of your children. In fact, you are often asked which curriculum you use, which books you suggest for each level and family reading, and why you home school.
Solving the Challenges by Providing Information about Homeschooling
This is my favorite part. The part where your expertise can make you some money.
As I mentioned before, people ask you questions about your home school. Guess what, people are Googling that information because they are looking for information about homeschooling.
Some things you could write about:
- What you do: field trips, philosophy behind the method you use (even if you don’t think you do, you have one), how you make time for yourself, how your family has fun, etc.
- The challenges: rough days with the kids, not motivated to do school, financial, etc.
- The successes: light bulb moments, finding out your way of teaching really works, etc.
- Recommendations about books, curriculum, and other home school supplies you can’t live without and/or think every home school family should have.
Companies like Amazon are looking for people just like you who write about your experiences, make recommendations, etc. When you link to their products using a code they give you, you could earn money for your next vacation, school supplies, groceries, and anything else to support your home school life.
What is an Affiliate Anyway?
I know you tell people about the sales you found, the new product you tried (bomb or success), the new restaurant or food you ordered online, etc. Most people do this all the time. Companies love you for it. Did you know that you could get something in return?
Someone who recommends products and refers others to a product in return for goods, services, or money is an affiliate.
Remember what you said when you told your friend about that new product? You could write in that same friendly tone, no English essay skills required, for others to read online. They may click the link and buy that product or another product from the company you’ve affiliated with. In return, you may get paid. Your friends and other readers may share your posts with others, some of whom will order products, too.
My cousin’s wife is a prime example of a stay at home mom (who started when her kids were young to attend school) who succeeded at affiliate marketing. She has a blog about food that has attracted a lot of attention. She takes pictures of the food she makes and writes about it after her kids go to bed. She has strategically placed ads and links to websites that people click on. From what I understand, she makes more than her husband (my cousin) who has graduate degree and has a well paying career.
Why do Companies Need You?
There are so many products for sale out there and it’s more cost-effective for them to pay you a small fee to let others know about the product and the company who sells it. Of course, you don’t have to stick to the topic of homeschooling. It’s very likely that you have other interests, which is great because there are over 100,000 companies with millions, possibly billions of products.
Affiliate Training
As I mentioned earlier, the techniques for writing to recommend products that are different than English classes. Effective articles won’t sound like a sales pitch. It will sound like you talking in your own voice, or style.
More importantly, there are ways to get noticed by Google and end up on the first page of search results, so people find your page, follow your recommendations so you get paid. This method will bring traffic to your website and posts for free.
Fortunately, you don’t have to go back to school to learn how to be an affilate marketer. You don’t have to have even the tiniest gene for being outgoing or good at sales. People from all walks of life make a living as affiliates, without adding to the consumer’s final price. People I’ve talked to who have succeeded: introverts and extroverts, people who are computer savvy and people with very little computer experience, teenagers through people who have already retired, people who stay at home and people with 9-5 jobs, etc. No matter who you are or what you do, you can succeed if you have the right training.
If there is anything I can do, such as answer questions or provide more details about affiliate marketing, I am here for you. I check my website email almost every weekday to see what I can do for my subscribers. You can leave a comment below (you may help more people that way) or you can send me an email.
As always, when I make a recommendation, it’s because I have found it to be useful for me and hope to pay it forward to help you, too. I’m Becky and I’m an affiliate marketer and I love it!
Hi,
It was nice to read your article. My wife homeschools and I know it is a challenge for her on most days with our 5 year old. I agree that the benefits of homeschooling are unsurpassed.
I think it is a wonderful idea to use affiliate marketing to help other mums through the homeschooling process. When you homeschool you are constantly aware that you need to be providing the best information for your children so that they can keep up or surpass those students that are in a classroom setting. That is why homeschool mums are always looking for quality material to incorporate into their daily routine.
Have you come across any ‘best’ curriculum that you can recommend?
Thank you for dropping by and adding your comments to the discussion. You asked a great question about the best curriculum. When we look at curriculum, we’re always looking at the child’s learning style first. We use that as a guide to decide the best curriculum for the child. We have found that there are times when one curriculum works best for one child, it may not work best for another.
Our kids like the classical style curriculum the best because it shows how the concepts apply to their lives. So, for Math, my kids like Life of Fred. It’s told in story form. For literature, we use a classical book list and have family reading.
Hi Becky,
I homeschooled for years and it was very rewarding. I would have loved to had an idea like this to bring in some extra money. Homeshoolers are always looking for ideas and suggestions and capitalizing on this is great! I can see how you can also use your business as an educational opportunity for your kids.
Hi Marsha, Thank you for sharing with us how rewarding homeschooling was for you. On a day to day basis, I’m sure there are times when homeschooling parents wonder if they’re doing things right and wonder how it will all turn out. Now that you can look back and share how rewarding it is with us, I’m sure it will uplift us on a discouraging day.
I’m a single dad who sends his kid to school and I find your article applies to me as well. It’s hard to survive financially and you can’t take up most jobs that require you to be designated at offices. Somehow, conventional working hours doesn’t work anymore. I took up working part time online and trying to build an online business to help sustain my current lifestyle.
Kenny, Thank you for sharing your perspective. I knew what I was sharing would apply to other situations that I haven’t experienced. I’ve noticed that school hours don’t coordinate very well with office hours at a regular 40 hour week. That must be hard for a lot of single moms and dads. I’m grateful to hear that you have a solution that works for you and your child. My guess is that your time with your son or daughter is very valuable and you probably want to avoid too much time at before school and after school programs if you can help it. Thanks for being a great dad!