Affiliate & content sites

Nine episodes cover affiliate content. Where creators break down their revenue, affiliate links usually beat ads: Shervin earns 80% from affiliates against 20% from AdSense, Charlie Chang 50–55% affiliate, and Matt Giovanisci dropped AdSense entirely for years because the ads looked irrelevant. The method is search-intent content. Alex Goldberg wrote the first 60 review articles himself on low-competition, long-tail telehealth keywords. Kevin Espiritu wrote about 12 hours a day and dropped forum links, and Shervin reviews products people search for. Once traffic flows, go direct: Goldberg pitches brands he already sends sales to, and Shervin was invited from referral credits into a cash affiliate programme. Goldberg and Giovanisci then reuse the playbook or partners across several niche sites. The big warning is platform risk. Jacky Chou’s content sites were wiped out by Google’s late-2023 updates and AI Overviews (zero-click searches), and his agency kept him afloat. Sam Adeniyi calls his affiliate venture ‘not sustainable’, and Pat calls affiliate marketing one of the most competitive side hustles. Several sites grew into products or lead generation (Swim University courses, Sober Nation, Epic Gardening).

Key points

Target search intent with the best review/answer content in low-competition niches — 4 episodes. (Shervin Shares · Shervin Shares (Apr 2023) ▶ 08:04) (Alex Goldberg · Alex Goldberg (Mar 2024) ▶ 06:39) (Matt Giovanisci · Matt Giovanisci (May 2024) ▶ 02:50) +1 more
Affiliate commissions usually out-earn display ads/AdSense — 4 episodes. (Shervin Shares · Shervin Shares (Apr 2023) ▶ 08:43) (Charlie Chang · Charlie Chang (Feb 2024) ▶ 01:58) (Matt Giovanisci · Matt Giovanisci (May 2024) ▶ 05:09) +1 more
Platform and algorithm risk is severe; diversify traffic and income — 3 episodes. (Jacky Chou · Jacky Chou (Mar 2026) ▶ 03:28) (Sam Adeniyi · Sam Adeniyi (Jan 2026) ▶ 03:36) (Alex Goldberg · Alex Goldberg (Mar 2024) ▶ 10:02)
Content sites often evolve into products, courses or lead generation — 3 episodes. (Matt Giovanisci · Matt Giovanisci (May 2024) ▶ 01:35) (Kevin Espiritu · Kevin Espiritu (Mar 2024) ▶ 02:52) (Tim Stoddart · Tim Stoddart (Apr 2024) ▶ 05:13)
Once you drive sales, go direct to brands for better terms — 2 episodes. (Alex Goldberg · Alex Goldberg (Mar 2024) ▶ 03:34) (Shervin Shares · Shervin Shares (Apr 2023) ▶ 07:23)
Replicate a proven playbook across a portfolio of niche sites — 2 episodes. (Alex Goldberg · Alex Goldberg (Mar 2024) ▶ 08:56) (Matt Giovanisci · Matt Giovanisci (May 2024) ▶ 11:01)
Find a niche where investment is flowing but content is missing — 1 episode. (Alex Goldberg · Alex Goldberg (Mar 2024) ▶ 05:56)

Where guests agree

Search-driven content is the engine of affiliate income (Shervin Shares · Shervin Shares (Apr 2023) ▶ 08:04) (Alex Goldberg · Alex Goldberg (Mar 2024) ▶ 06:39) (Matt Giovanisci · Matt Giovanisci (May 2024) ▶ 02:50) +1 more

Frameworks

Criteria for an affiliate niche — What Alex looks for in an uncrowded niche to target. (Alex Goldberg · Alex Goldberg (Mar 2024) ▶ 06:11)
- New (little content exists)
- High margin in the product category
- Lots of activity or momentum
- Staying power (tried and true)

Tactics

Pitch brands you already send traffic to — After about six months of organic traffic, contact brands and propose a direct partnership, noting you are likely already driving sales; they name their price per customer. (Alex Goldberg · Alex Goldberg (Mar 2024) ▶ 03:34)
Cover brands likely to last — Pick players you expect to be around in three years and write the best article online about each. (Alex Goldberg · Alex Goldberg (Mar 2024) ▶ 07:06)
Reuse partnerships across a portfolio of niche sites — Run about six narrower sites so one partner can be placed on several. (Alex Goldberg · Alex Goldberg (Mar 2024) ▶ 08:56)
Propose paid test campaigns to partners — Offer partners a test spend of a few thousand on paid traffic to diversify beyond SEO. (Alex Goldberg · Alex Goldberg (Mar 2024) ▶ 10:13)
Make search-based product reviews with affiliate links — Review products people search for, provide value, and ask viewers to use your link; upgrade from referral credits to cash affiliate programmes. (Shervin Shares · Shervin Shares (Apr 2023) ▶ 08:04)
Turn in-person advice into scalable content with product recommendations — Write up the advice given to store customers as a blog post or video ending with the products you recommend (affiliate links). (Matt Giovanisci · Matt Giovanisci (May 2024) ▶ 02:50)
Replace AdSense with affiliate links when ads feel irrelevant — He dropped AdSense because ads looked bad and were irrelevant, and focused solely on affiliate marketing for years. (Matt Giovanisci · Matt Giovanisci (May 2024) ▶ 05:09)
Grind content and forum links to grow a blog — He wrote blog articles about 12 hours a day and commented in forums, dropping links to get traffic. (Kevin Espiritu · Kevin Espiritu (Mar 2024) ▶ 04:03)
Monetise wish lists with affiliate links — Imported product links (e.g. Amazon) are converted to his affiliate links when opened in the app; premium paywall for extras like custom images. (Christian Konnerth · Christian Konnerth (Sep 2025) ▶ 11:46)

Stories & examples

Google updates and AI Overviews wipe out content sites: His content sites, like a food blog earning from display ads and affiliates, lost traffic when Google’s late-2023 updates and AI Overviews made recipe searches zero-click; the agency kept him afloat. Lesson: Diversify so one platform change can’t kill the business. (Jacky Chou · Jacky Chou (Mar 2026) ▶ 03:30)
Fintech comparison pivots to telemedicine: The site began comparing fintech companies; seeing $100 million Series A rounds going to telemedicine with no review content, they pivoted to health and wellness and were among the first to review platforms that became household names. Lesson: Go where money is flowing but content doesn’t yet exist. (Alex Goldberg · Alex Goldberg (Mar 2024) ▶ 02:36)
Roasty Coffee: He reapplied the Swim University playbook to a coffee site to see if he could do it faster; it reached about 100,000 uniques a month in two years and he sold it. Lesson: A proven content playbook can be replicated faster in a new niche. (Matt Giovanisci · Matt Giovanisci (May 2024) ▶ 11:01)
Fitness tracker referral link to affiliate programme: A product review with a referral link earned him three, then ten, years of free membership; the company then invited him to an affiliate programme paying 50 dollars per referral instead of a free month worth about 30. Lesson: Search-based reviews with affiliate links can fund making more videos. (Shervin Shares · Shervin Shares (Apr 2023) ▶ 07:23)

Numbers

Revenue split: affiliate vs AdSense: 80/20 percent (self-reported, approx.) (Shervin Shares · Shervin Shares (Apr 2023) ▶ 08:43)
Revenue share: affiliate / sponsorships / AdSense: 50-55% / 20-25% / 20-25% % of revenue (self-reported, approx.) (Charlie Chang · Charlie Chang (Feb 2024) ▶ 01:58)
Roasty Coffee traffic after two years: 100000 unique visitors per month (self-reported, approx.) (Matt Giovanisci · Matt Giovanisci (May 2024) ▶ 11:12)
Blog revenue after 2-3 months of full-time writing, then later in 2016: 2000-3000 -> 4000-5000 per month (grand, currency unstated) (self-reported, approx., currency unstated) (Kevin Espiritu · Kevin Espiritu (Mar 2024) ▶ 04:16)
Affiliate marketing revenue with friends: over 10,000 dollars (self-reported, approx.) (Sam Adeniyi · Sam Adeniyi (Jan 2026) ▶ 03:33)
Affiliate payout vs free month: 50 vs about 30 USD (self-reported, approx.) (Shervin Shares · Shervin Shares (Apr 2023) ▶ 07:48)

Caveats & warnings

Affiliate marketing may be one of the most competitive side hustles because anyone can start it. (presenter · Alex Goldberg (Mar 2024) ▶ 09:05)
The affiliate marketing business made money but wasn’t sustainable. (Sam Adeniyi · Sam Adeniyi (Jan 2026) ▶ 03:36)
Google updates and AI Overviews wipe out content sites: His content sites, like a food blog earning from display ads and affiliates, lost traffic when Google’s late-2023 updates and AI Overviews made recipe searches zero-click; the agency kept him afloat. Lesson: Diversify so one platform change can’t kill the business. (Jacky Chou · Jacky Chou (Mar 2026) ▶ 03:30)

How much to trust this

Evidence: 9 episodes, 10 independent speakers (repeat guests counted once; Pat and Gus counted as one voice).