Blame It On The Deal

I know there has been debate over whether or not a monetized site is unappealing to viewers but like everything else in life, if you don’t overdo it, it’s a great way to make some extra money. For example, I went to a site the other day that was covered in ads. I found this very unappealing and I got the impression the blogger only cared about making money. I think that it’s very important to enjoy blogging and connect to other bloggers who have the same interests rather than solely focusing on making money.

I’ve been blogging for a couple of months now and decided from the beginning that I wanted to monetize my site. This might not be the right choice for everyone but I figured if I was going to promote a product, why not make money off it? Readers never get charged for clicking on a post, so I failed to see any harm from monetizing my site from the get-go. Here’s the 3 best ways I’ve found to monetize my site.

1. ShopStyle Collective

My favorite way to monetize my site has been through shopstyle collective. Their system is incredibly easy to use and offers different ways to monetize. One way that I use shopstyle is through the “shop my style” widget where I am able to upload my looks and link the products all in one place. Another great way to use shopstyle is through “link it.” Simply download “link it” to your browser and whenever you see something you want to advertise, just click “link it” and it’s as simple as that! Another feature is that you can also easily pin your looks to pinterest allowing you to reach more of an audience. Ohh, and what’s really great about Shopstyle is you can favorite items you like and when they go on sale, you get an email. You can then alert your social media or on your blog of the new sale. Who can resist a good sale? The only down side is that Shopstyle pays per click and they don’t necessary award you commission if an item is purchased through your link. However, they do offer higher price per clicks the more items you sell.

Easily search for items on ShopStyle.

ShopStyle makes it super easy to track what items are being clicked and purchased the most.

2. Amazon Affiliate

My next favorite affiliate program is through Amazon Associates. The great thing about this program is that their cookies last 24 hours. Meaning, someone could click on your link, decide not to buy the item, go back within the next 24 hours, purchase a hoola hoop and a pair of socks, and you get the commission! Since, everybody always needs something on Amazon, it is likely that you will get commission on many items you’ve never even heard of. The only con is that you lose money if someone decides to return an item and the initial waiting period to get paid is a couple of months. Other than that, it’s been a great affiliate source so far!

3. Bluehost Affiliate Program

In order to go self-hosted, you need a hosting service. Think of it as buying the land to put your site on. I used Bluehost in order to accomplish this. It was actually very easy to do and the support was great. I’ve heard that they do an affiliate program where you receive $65 for every person that signs up through your link. If you’re interested in going self-hosted (I promise it’s really not as scary as it sounds), please use my link here. I also added an ad on the sidebar to entice people to click there. This is also easy to do by just adding a “text” widget and pasteing the code that bluehost gives you onces you sign up for their affiliate program.

So, there you have it! Any other ways you’ve found to monetize your blog?

Much like everything else in my life right now, I’m a bit behind on my latest Stitch Fix review. In fact, I’ve held on to my returns for about two weeks now and and have received several friendly reminders to return my items. Luckily the SF police haven’t come after me yet.

In case you’re not familiar with Stitch Fix, here’s a quick rundown:

1. As soon as you sign up, you fill out a quick style profile with your preferred styles and measurements. It helps if you have a pinterest board linked so your stylist can see all of the pretty clothes you have pinned.

2. Schedule your first fix here (This is my referral link…if you use this link, I will get a small credit.) You will be charged a $20.00 styling fee, however this fee gets used towards anything you purchase. For example, if you keep a $48.00 shirt, an additional $28.00 will be charged to your card.

3. Five days within your scheduled fix date, a pretty little box will arrive with 5 items (clothing, scarves, jewelery, handbags, and now SHOES!) You can pick which items you would like on your profile, so if for example, you don’t want shoes, you won’t get shoes.

4. After you’ve tried on all your goodies, you have 3 days to decide what to keep. Log on to your stitchfix account and checkout. Return the items you didn’t keep in the pre-paid envelope. Then order your next fix and so on and so forth!

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please read my disclosure.

First and foremost, I need to give a shout out to my stylist, JoJo, that girl deserves a raise! I didn’t have any specific requests , so I told her to surprise me and oh my stars, she did not disappoint. I love that she always sends me items that pair well together and will reference items from previous fixes that will pair well with the new items.

First up was the Fun2Fun Nicolet Lace Up Back Top. Size XS ($44)

I paired this top with dark jeans and my Nine West floral flats (on sale here) from a prior fix, like Jojo suggested. I thought this top was gorgeous but was just a little more flowy than I prefer.

Status: RETURNED

Next, I paired the Eden Society Finnigan Twist Back Top, size XS ($48) with the Vigoss Pixie Distressed Frayed Hem Denim Short, size 2 ($48,) and the Toms Seasonal Slip-On Flats, size 6 ($59) Please excuse my extremely bruised knee, I took a tumble the other day.

I loved this entire outfit! Can we just take a minute to admire these adorable shoes? I mean, they have lemons on them for gosh sakes! How could I say no to those?

Also, the shorts were a good length and the top is even cuter in person. I wanted to keep the shorts but my budget wouldn’t let me. I also thought I could find vigoss shorts for cheaper.

Status: Top: Kept
Shorts: Returned
Shoes: Kept

Here’s another picture of the shoes because, I repeat, they have LEMONS on them! You can buy a pair here, if you find yourself as obsessed with these shoes as I am.

Okay, I’ve saved the best for last! This is probably my favorite outfit I have ever received from Stitch Fix. This outfit included the top and shoes previously pictured plus the Kut from the Kloth Kate Distressed Boyfriend Jean, size 2P ($88)

As much as I loved this outfit, I already own a pair of white jeans and these ones were actually a little tight. They didn’t have an exchange so I figured I could create the same look with the jeans I already own.

So, there you have it. What do you think? Did I make the right decisions?

p.s. Don’t forget to check out my facebook page that features sales & deals on some Stitch Fix brands.

*This is not a sponsored post and these are my own reviews but if you use my link to sign up here, I will receive a small credit*

3 Ways To Monetize Your Site

Stitch Fix Review – May