This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
All right, all right. In this week's Throwback Thursday segment, we're going to hear from a side hustler whose passion for fitness transforms into a successful affiliate marketing blog. How successful? Well, this guy actually earns more than $80,000. I like the sound of that.
Doesn't that sound good to you? Welcome to Side Hustle School. My name is Chris Guillebeau, our host for more than 2,800 total episodes, coming up on 2,900 actually in just a few days, always bringing you daily tips, stories, ideas, inspiration, all designed to help you create financial freedom or economic empowerment, or just make some extra money without quitting your job. That's what it's all about. There's something you can do and I want to help you find it, whatever your skills are, whatever your background is. Last week in this series,
we heard from a side hustler whose real estate investing experience evolved into helping families purchase their first rental properties in distressed cities. So this is, as noted, our Throwback Thursday segment, where we take an in-depth look at someone whose story has evolved since we first featured them. Now we're going to hear today from Jake Simmons, this home gym affiliate who earned $80,000 and he's still earning money, not just past debts. I mean, he has earned $80,000, but he's still earning money. Let's hear the story from him. I'll be back at the end with a few words of a wrap up.
Hey there, it's Jake Simmons, age 34 from Bremerton, Washington, and I run Fit Home Gear, a blog that's become a whole new part time career. It actually started when I heard a side hustle school episode about affiliate marketing. The concept fascinated me, but I wasn't sure how to apply it to my own life. Then as luck would have it, my favorite gym closed for renovations, forcing me to create a home workout space in my spare room. As I researched equipment for my makeshift gym, I realized how overwhelming the options were.
Every search led me down a rabbit hole of conflicting reviews and technical jargon. That's when it hit me. This was my affiliate marketing opportunity. I launched Fit Home Gear with a simple mission to provide honest, in-depth reviews of home gym equipment from the perspective of an average fitness enthusiast. I started small, reviewing the items I already owned and borrowing equipment from friends to test out. At first, the site was pretty
bare bones. I knew my way around computers, but web design and content creation were new territories. I spent evenings after work learning about SEO, photo editing, and writing better content. My first few posts were clunky, to say the least, but I kept at it. The turning point came about six months in. I published a comprehensive guide comparing
different types of resistance bands. It wasn't a glamorous topic, but it was something many home fitness newbies were searching for. That post got a lot of upvotes in a popular fitness forum and suddenly my traffic spiked. With this boost in visitors, my affiliate commission started to grow. I remember the excitement in my first $100 month. It wasn't much, but
it proved that this could really work. As the site grew, so did the challenges. Maintaining objectivity while earning commissions was a constant balancing act. I made it a point to always disclose my affiliate relationships and to never recommend a product I wouldn't use myself. The business really took off when the pandemic hit. With gyms
closed, interest in home fitness equipment skyrocketed. My traffic quadrupled within 30 days. I worked round the clock to update old posts and create new content to meet the surging demand for home workout solutions. This unexpected boom allowed me to take fit home gear to the next level. I hired a part time writer to help with content creation and invested in better recording equipment for video reviews. I even tried starting a
podcast interviewing fitness experts. But that wasn't growing as fast as everyone else, so I put it on pause. Today, the site generates around $5,000 a month in affiliate commissions and I've earned over $80,000 in profit. It's surreal to think that my once modest side hustle now earns nearly as much as my IT job. I also receive messages daily from people thanking me for helping them build their perfect home gym. That's really fun. Looking ahead, I'm
exploring creating my own line of home fitness products. That way I won't just earn commissions, I'll profit on my own work. My advice for aspiring side hustlers is to start with what you know and love. Be patient, be persistent, and above all, be honest. Look for the opportunities to capitalize on, just like I did when everyone was suddenly interested in home workout equipment.
Thanks so much to Jake for sharing those updates with us. In the affiliate space, it's really important to choose the right niche, figure out where you're going to focus your efforts. One tip is to focus your efforts on an industry or a category where people spend a good amount of money because that's how you actually get paid is through these affiliate commissions. You're taking a percentage of the total sale, so you want to choose items that cost a good amount of money. A basic but important tip or prerequisite even in the affiliate world.
Keep that in mind for anybody out there who's thinking about this particular model. Of course, you can do it across lots of different categories. It's not just this one that Jake chose. We'll feature some more in the days and weeks to come. Thank you for being out there. Thanks
for being subscribed or following. You can always do that on any podcast network, and it's always free. The archives of almost 2,900 total episodes are also completely free. A new episode comes out each day. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School.
From the Onward Project.
