Average Net Worth of the 1%: Here's how much the super-rich in the world are really worth

 

Many people perceive being wealthy as having nice houses and a pleasure yacht. But the kind of money that the wealthiest 1% of the world's households has dwarfs this concept. This segment of the population large portions of major corporations, multibillion-dollar investment funds, islands in the Caribbean, and even rocket ships taking them into outer space.

The average net worth of the 1%, aka the richest 1% of the global population's households, has mushroomed over the past two decades. It now towers higher above the net worth of the average citizen than ever before. Here are some of the basic facts about how the 1% lives.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The minimum net worth of the top 1% is roughly $11.1 million.

A person would need to earn an average of $823,763 per year in order to join the top 1%.

The widening gaps in wealth and income stem from a variety of factors, including the wealthiest's increasing dominance of public and private equity, and tax breaks.

Demographic Breakdown

Before looking at the demographics of the top 1%, it's important to understand just how much this portion of the population earns. According to the Economic Policy Institute, gaining entry into the top 1% club requires an average annual income of $823,763.

That's a far cry from the annual income of $40,085 reported by the average taxpayer (the bottom 90%). Those who want to become part of the top 0.01% would need to live in a household making an average of $2.9 million annually.

Although the media and politicians have largely portrayed this group as greedy, uncaring Wall Street fat cats, demographic analysis reveals a very different picture. The wealthiest 1% are spread across many industries and come from many backgrounds. They include medical professionals, entrepreneurs, and executives, as well as those who inherited wealth.

According to IRS data, the top 1% earned over 20% of the total adjusted gross income in the U.S. and paid just under 40% of federal income taxes. They also accounted for just under one-third of all charitable donations.

A Worldwide Condition

The number of billionaires on Forbes’  35th annual list of the world’s wealthiest exploded to an unprecedented 2,755 in 2021—660 more than in 2020. Altogether, they are worth $13.1 trillion, up from $8 trillion on the previous year's list.

Wealth-X, a "wealth intelligence" research and marketing firm that is also part of the Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC Group puts the U.S. population of billionaires at 927. There were 410 billionaires in China. The total wealth of U.S. billionaires was $3.71 trillion.

The Widening Gap

The Economic Policy Institute reports that the net worth of the top 1% of American households has risen substantially. In 1962, the wealthiest 1% had net worths equal to approximately 125 times that of the average American household. Their net worths were shown to be approximately 225 times the net worth of the average household in 2009.

 The gap between the richest and the poorest more than doubled between 1982 and 2016.

172%

Percentage of the rise in the wages for the top 1% from 1980 to 2020—compared to 31% for those in the bottom 90%.

The minimum net worth of the top 1% of households is roughly $11.1 million. The top 10%, on the other hand, has a net worth of about $1.2 million.

 The wealth of the middle class is also rising, but it primarily rose between 1970 and 2000; median income increased by 41% during this time at an annual average rate of 1.2%. From 2000 to 2018, the rate was 0.3%.

The wealth of the top 1% continues to outstrip that of the entire middle class. In fact, the top earners hold more wealth than the middle and upper-middle classes put together. There's a variety of reasons for the disparity, but one chief factor is that they own more than 50% of the equity in both private and public companies. And they've also benefited from surges in the stock market. These gains help them reinvest their money back into exclusive investments like hedge funds and private equity ventures.

Underlying Causes

Much of the growing disparity can be traced to tax breaks on income, gift, and estate taxes, as well as the decline of labor unions in America. Although the middle class also benefited somewhat from the reduction in taxes, it allowed the wealthy to retain a much greater portion of their assets and pass them on to their heirs.

As of May, 9, 2022, the richest person in the world is Elon Musk, with a net worth of $268 billion.

In fact, there's been a lot of debate about how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017—passed by the Trump administration—has influenced the wealthiest Americans. Though the Trump White House consistently defended the bill, saying it helped put money back in the pockets of the middle class, others have disagreed. For example, in their book The Triumph of Injustice (2019), economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman argue the tax reform bill gave the country's wealthiest households an effective lower average tax rate than the rest of the U.S. population: those who fall in the bottom 50%: 23% versus 25% for the working and middle class, and 28% for the upper-middle class.

Criticism of the Top 1%

There's been a lot of criticism of the world's ultra-rich, especially those living in the United States. They've been accused of hoarding wealth, lobbying for tax breaks, and not contributing their fair share in taxes. Responding to the criticism, many politicians are calling for more taxes on the wealthy.

Senator Elizabeth Warren proposed a tax on ultra-millionaires as part of her campaign to become the Democratic presidential candidate for the 2020 election. Senator Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, has pushed for an estate tax hike, meaning billionaire heirs would pay more in taxes. Their rationale? Taxing the ultra-rich would help cut down on the nation's income inequality.

President Joe Biden has also proposed significant increases in taxes on the wealthy. Outlined in April 2021, they include raising the top marginal income tax rate to 39.6% (starting with individuals earning $400,000 a year) from the current 37% (starting at people earning more than $518,000). The top tax rate on capital gains and unqualified dividends would also rise to 39.6%, up from a maximum of 20% now.

 Biden also wishes to increase the corporate tax rate to 28%.

How Much Net Worth Is Needed to Be In Top 1%?

The minimum amount of net worth to be considered in the top 1% is $11.1 million.

What Is the Net Worth of the Top 1% of Americans?

The total net worth of billionaires in the U.S. is $3.71 trillion.

What Percentage of the Population Has a Net Worth of $1 Million Dollars?

Roughly 10% of Americans have a net worth of $1.22 million or more.

The Bottom Line

Like the poor, the rich we always have with us: Disparity in income is inevitable in a capitalist society and a free-enterprise economy. However, the fact that the disparity seems to be increasing is a source of growing concern for many. The uneven impact of the COVID-19 pandemic shed a brighter light on the situation, though in fact, it had been developing for years: In the U.S., the share of the nation's wealth held by the top 1% increased from 23% to nearly 32% from 1989 to 2018.

Even billionaires such as Warren Buffett have expressed amazement that they often pay less in taxes than their employees do. Whether the 1% should be left alone or whether their wealth should be somehow shared will doubtless be an ongoing debate.

10 Steps to Financial Security Before Age 30

Being financially secure before you reach 30 may seem out of reach for many people in their 20s, but it's possible. Working toward financial security need not be an exercise in self-deprivation, though many people assume it to be.

Attaining this goal even has some immediate benefits given that financial insecurity can be a serious source of stress.

The following are 10 steps to consider to achieve financial security before you turn 30.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Knowing how much you spend can keep spending in check.

Live within your means, don’t use credit to fund a lifestyle, and set short-term achievable financial goals.

Become financially literate and save what you can for retirement.

Take calculated risks, such as moving to a city with more job opportunities or taking on a new job that pays less but has more upside potential.

Invest in yourself by continually upgrading your skills and knowledge.

Strike a balance—working toward financial security doesn’t mean you need to deprive yourself. 

1. Track Your Spending

Knowing how much you spend and on what keeps your spending in check. A free budgeting app like Mint can help you do this.

You might discover that ordering in food several times a week costs more than $300 a month, or recurring charges for streaming services and subscriptions you never use are a waste of your hard-earned money. If you can afford to spend hundreds a month on ordering in—great. If not, you’ve just discovered an easy way to save money in addition to canceling those streaming services you forgot you had.

2. Live Within Your Means

Keep your standard of living below what your earnings can accommodate. As you advance in your career and gain more experience, your pay should increase. But rather than using this excess income to buy new toys and live a more luxurious lifestyle, the best move is to put the money toward reducing debt or adding to savings. If the cost of your lifestyle lags behind your income growth, you will always have excess cash flow that can be put toward financial goals or an unexpected financial emergency.

3. Don't Borrow to Finance a Lifestyle

Borrowed money should be used when your gain will outrun your borrowing costs. This might mean investing in yourself—for your education, to start a business, or to buy a house. In these cases, borrowing can provide the leverage you need to reach your financial goals faster.

On the other hand, using credit for a lifestyle you can't afford is a losing proposition when it comes to building wealth. And the added interest expense of borrowing further increases the cost of the lifestyle.

4. Set Short-Term Goals

Life holds many uncertainties, such as an economic crisis or the loss of a job, and much can change between when you are in your 20s and, say, 40 years later when you may retire. As such, the prospect of planning far into the future can seem daunting.

Rather than setting long-term goals, set a series of small short-term goals that are both measurable and precise—for example, paying off credit card debt within a year or contributing to a retirement plan with a set contribution each month. If you set goals, you'll have a better chance of achieving them than you would if you merely said you wanted to pay down debt, but failed to set a timetable. Even the process of writing down some goals can help you to achieve them.

 As you achieve short-term goals, set new ones. The constant setting and achieving short-term goals will help you reach longer-term goals, such as having a solid nest egg when you retire.

5. Become Financially Literate

Making money is one thing, but saving it and making it grow is another. Financial management and investing are lifelong endeavors. Taking the time and effort to become knowledgeable in the areas of personal finance and investing will pay off throughout your life. Making sound financial and investment decisions is important for achieving your financial goals.

6. Save What You Can for Retirement

When you're in your 20s, retirement likely seems a lifetime away, and planning for it may be the last thing on your mind. If you can take a few steps now to start saving, compounding will work in your favor. Even a small amount saved early in your life can make a big difference in your future. Building a retirement nest egg becomes more difficult the longer you wait.

Try setting up automatic monthly contributions to a retirement plan, such as an employer-sponsored 401(k) if you have access to one, or an IRA if you don't. You can increase your contributions when your income rises or when you've achieved more of your short-term goals.

 If you implement the pay yourself first ideal, you won't have to worry about how much you're contributing. The most important thing is to develop the habit of saving.

7. Don't Leave Money on the Table

If you work for a company that offers a 401(k), make sure to contribute at least up to the maximum of what your employer will match, otherwise you are leaving money on the table. In addition, you can deduct your contributions in the year you make them, which lowers your taxable income for the year.

If you don't work for a company that offers a 401(k), contributing to a traditional IRA will result in tax savings too because you can also deduct contributions.

8. Take Calculated Risks

Taking calculated risks when you are young can be a prudent decision in the long run. You might make mistakes along the way, but when you are young, you have more time to recover from them.

Examples of calculated risks include:

Moving to a new city with more job opportunities

Going back to school for additional training

Taking a new job at a different company for less pay but more upside potential

Investing in high risk/high return stocks

As people get older, some may assume more responsibilities such as paying down a mortgage or saving for a child's education. It's easier to take risks when you have fewer responsibilities.

9. Invest in Yourself

Look at yourself as a financial asset. Investing in yourself will pay off in the future. Your skills, knowledge, and experience are the biggest assets you have. Increase your value by continually upgrading your skills and knowledge and by making smart career choices.

Though this investment often starts with going to college or a trade school, keeping skills up to date and learning new ones that are in high demand can help make you a more attractive and higher-paid part of the workforce. Investing in yourself should continue over the course of your lifetime.

10. Find the Right Balance

Striking a proper balance between your life today and the future is also important. Financially, we can't live as if today is our last day. We have to decide between what we spend today versus what we spend in the future. For example, set a short-term goal to save for a trip to a destination you've always wanted to see instead of using a credit card to finance it. Finding the correct balance is an important step toward achieving financial security. 

9 Strategies to Build Wealth Fast

 

If you want to build wealth fast – like really fast – then investing in a vehicle such as a Roth IRA will not get you there.

If you’re younger and your income limits allow, open up a Roth IRA. Invest in mutual funds and ETFs. Make sure you have enough cash in your emergency fund. Starting your financial life with those good habits will bleed over into your success in building wealth.

Okay, so how do you build wealth fast? Let’s take a look.

Drop Your Living Expenses Like Crazy

I know, this isn’t very exciting, but this is the definition of wealth. As Todd Tresidder of FinancialMentor.com says, “Great wealth builders focus on both saving money and earning more.”

What Todd is pointing to here is the gap between your expenses and your income. Expenses should always be lower than your income. The larger that gap, the more wealth you can accumulate.

Let’s face it, you can’t invest unless you have money to invest. If you’re currently living beyond your means and have no additional money to put to work for you, you’ll never build wealth.

1. Save on Vehicles

I was very fortunate that I learned this lesson when I was still in college. This led to me driving a 1998 Chevy Lumina that was completely paid for because I inherited it from my deceased grandmother.

 

Not having a car payment allowed me to invest in myself, my Roth IRA, and my 401(k).

According to Jason Fogelson for Forbes: “The biggest mistake a car buyer can make, especially in the age of the Internet, is to buy a car without doing research first. Some buyers are so eager to get through the car-buying process that they don’t take the time to find out everything they can about vehicle reliability, pricing, and financing.”

I agree. But let’s focus on the financing part for a minute. Car loans come with ridiculous interest rates that nobody should have to pay for to obtain transportation. Car loans can easily be one of the highest-cost debts of many American households.

Too many people view the car payment as “normal.” Sure, it’s normal, but “normal” won’t help you produce wealth, my friend. Instead, consider doing what I did and drive a car that you own outright. It’ll be easier on your pocketbook over the long-term – I promise.

2. Save on Shelter

In addition to that, my wife and I rented a house for the first year that we were together. Not having the mortgage payment allowed us to build up our emergency fund and also save for our retirement.

But what if renting seems to be more expensive than having a mortgage payment? According to Beth Braverman for Forbes: “Rentals offer far more flexibility. Buying a home typically means committing to a 30-year mortgage. Most people don’t stay in a home for anywhere near that amount of time, but it’s much harder to pick up and move from a home you own than it is to leave a rental.”

And what happens when you can’t sell your home when you need to move due to a job change or another reason? You pay a whole lot of money not only for the house you can’t sell but also for the house you move into.

If you need flexibility, consider renting like we did – even if the rent payment is higher than a comparable home with a mortgage payment.

3. Don’t Buy Crap

Lastly, we didn’t buy crap we didn’t need.

Ask yourself what you really need and really don’t need. Do you really need that million-inch flat screen TV? No, you don’t!

4. Save a Percentage of Your Income

Savers like my wife and I are definitely in the minority. Very few people save a substantial amount for the future, but if you think we’re in the minority, then check out Pete from MrMoneyMustache.com who advocates that you should be saving between 30 to 50% of your income. While that’s definitely on the extreme side of things, Pete is just another example of how it can be done.

Granted, the more you make the larger a percentage you can save. The point here is to make some steep sacrifices so that you can put more of your wealth toward investments that are right for you.

Earn Much, Much More

As the old saying goes: “You have to have money to make money.” I know what you’re thinking though:

“Well Jeff, I don’t have any money, so how can I make money if I ain’t got no money?”

First, let’s address something. When you say that you don’t have any money and believe that, you’re already setting yourself up for failure. You have to change your mindset and believe that you can find a way to make more money.

5. Work Hard Now

When I think back to how I was able to advance my career, I remember when I was an unpaid intern at the brokerage firm that ended up hiring me. As an intern, I was working 12 to 15 hours a week, showing up when I was told to show up, dressed, and ready to impress. The majority of my duties were shredding important documents, filing, and other basic administrative duties.

Even though the work was boring, I did everything that was asked of me and above. My work ethic and drive spoke for itself. After that summer internship, I was offered a full-time position.

If you have a job, even though you might not like that job, give it everything that you’ve got. Treat the company that you work for as if you own it.

Imagine then that you’re the CEO.

How would you approach your daily duties differently if more was on the line?

It’s really difficult to find great opportunities. It’s possible, but it isn’t easy. For now, I recommend that you focus on working hard. People around you will start to take notice.

Just like I was offered a full-time position because I worked hard as an intern, you will find doors of opportunity opening for you when you give your work all you have.

6. Invest in Your Education

Another way that you might be able to make more is to invest in your education. This could be getting your degree, getting an MBA, or getting a specialized designation. For me, getting my CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification has yielded thousands of dollars of revenues over the years.

When I first passed the exam for my certification, many people asked me, “Congratulations, does this mean that you get a raise?” There was no immediate financial benefit for me.

It was a year out of my life where I studied my butt off, but I knew having that designation would give me the education and also the credentials to set myself apart from the competition.

 

While I didn’t see any immediate financial benefit, I can attribute several new clients as well as several media opportunities to the fact that I’m Jeff Rose, CFP®. You can get your certification too!

7. Invest in Yourself and Your Marketing

Over and above that, I have invested in myself. When I was first starting off, I didn’t have a lot of money, but I knew I needed to look the part so I bought fresh shirts, ties, suits – anything I could to make myself look more like a professional. I also invested in personalized brochures, seminars, and other marketing materials to put myself out there.

Another way I invest in myself is by paying $7,900 per year for Strategic Coach – a coaching program with workshops, program advisors, and like-minded entrepreneurs.

Dan Sullivan of Strategic Coach has created a program I’ve found hugely beneficial to my business – my business has grown as a result of his work. Many of his quotes like this one pack a punch:

For a company to grow 10x, it doesn’t need you managing – it needs self-managing.

I always made sure that I didn’t overextend myself to where I was spending more than I could afford. A lot of the money that I earned wasn’t going toward frivolous things such as big-screen TVs or going out to eat at high-end restaurants.

Instead, the money went toward investing in myself and my business.

8. Venture into Entrepreneurship

I highly recommend you start building wealth by venturing into entrepreneurship.

When I became an entrepreneur, my wealth-building journey really took off. Several years prior, I had read the book Rich Dad Poor Dad. In that book, author Robert Kiyosaki introduces the concept of the cash flow quadrant.

He looks at four different entities: the employee, the self-employed, the business owner, and the investor. When I read that book I fell under the employee quadrant, but I knew that if I ever wanted to make serious money, I had to get into the right type of quadrant – either the business owner or the investor quadrant (the investor quadrant is actually the best).

When I first started as a financial advisor, I was still an employee. I had the ability to make my own hours and to grow my business as much as I could, but I also had a lot of restrictions.

My first step was crossing over into being self-employed. Just by making that shift, I saw a 30% increase in income in my first year. Since then, I’ve become a business owner – and now I consider myself also to be an investor. As a business owner, I own my wealth management firm. I own my blog, GoodFinancialCents.com, and I also own a few other online properties that all yield my income.

Yes, blogging can be very lucrative – I’ve made over $1,097,757 from blogging. In fact, I could almost consider my blog as an investment; while blogs do require some upkeep, they certainly do not require nearly the upkeep needed for my financial planning practice.

I’m certainly not the only person who has made a lot of money online. Steve Chou’s wife replaced her $100,000 income with an online store so she could be a stay-at-home mom. It’s amazing what you can do if you put your mind to it.

Whether you are thinking about starting an online business or growing your brick and mortar business, it all goes back to working hard now. But you know what? You have to work hard at the right things or you’ll just be spinning your wheels.

My current businesses are the result of several business ventures that didn’t work out. I tried multilevel marketing on a few occasions. I tried real estate.

I tried a solo 401(k) business. None of these worked out for me. In some, I lost a lot of money. In others, it was just a waste of time. But in all those experiences, I learned one thing . . . it is important that you adopt the mantra: “Win or learn, never lose.”

9. Try Real Estate

Speaking of real estate, although it didn’t work out for me and it’s not right for everyone, it has certainly worked out for others. I asked Brandon Turner from BiggerPockets.com just how quickly real estate investing can help individuals build wealth. Here’s what he had to say:

Real estate investing may not make you wealthy overnight, but it can add zeros to your net worth in a shorter timeframe than many other traditional investments. For example, purchasing a fixer-upper house, rehabbing the property, and selling it for more can net you a significant windfall if you do it correctly. Just be sure to buy low, rehab smart, and sell fast. House flipping, as this process is called, is largely a math game, and significant profits can be made by those willing to take on the challenge.

Another strategy that can help you add wealth quickly through real estate is by purchasing multifamily properties that produce significant monthly cash flow. This cash flow can be saved and reinvested into more deals, creating a domino effect that will allow you to exponentially grow your real estate portfolio.

For more information, read The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Real Estate Investing from BiggerPockets.com.

Concluding Thoughts

To build wealth really fast, you’re not going to get there by investing $50 to $100 per month into a Roth IRA. While yes, it’s great as a long-term strategy, it’s not going to make a difference in the short-term.

A lot of financial advisers I talked to don’t want to encourage you to take that risk now. Heck, I was one of those financial advisors several years ago.

While not letting you know about all the wealth-building options isn’t financial malpractice, it’s certainly better if your financial advisor gives you a variety of options based on your financial goals – even when it doesn’t help his pocketbook.

It’s always a good idea to talk to several professional investors to see what has worked for them. The best question you can ask any financial professional is how they are investing their money – it will speak volumes.

Let’s step back for a moment. You might be thinking: “How in the world can I learn and do all this stuff? Is it even possible?”

Don’t think that you have to do everything. Instead, focus on a few things and do them well. It all starts by investing in yourself. Listen to podcasts, read books, take millionaires out for lunch (yes, you buy).

You can start by subscribing an excellent podcast by Lewis Howes: The School of Greatness Podcast. There, you will become equipped to think differently about yourself and your wealth. It’s fantastic.

As you make it a habit to find ways to better yourself, you’ll also find new potential ways to build wealth faster than ever. Everyone does it differently, and nobody will do it exactly like you.

You’re unique and you’ll find a way. Just give yourself a chance! I’m so glad I gave myself a chance to succeed. You will be too.

This post originally appeared on Forbes.com.

6 Steps to Becoming Incredibly Intelligent Like the World Richest Man: Elon Musk

Elon Musk, a man constantly making waves at the forefront of innovation. Driven by his boundless curiosity, the key trait he utilised to establish industry-leading companies like SpaceX, Tesla, PayPal and many more within a scant few years.

So what is the secret behind Elon’s genius? You may have wondered how this man can seem so smart, well here are 6 steps you can take to follow his way of thought.

1. Open up to new perspectives

Many think that specialising and becoming an expert in a particular field is the way to success and the forefront of development, Elon Musk begs to differ. Rather than becoming an expert in a single field, Elon Musk is an ‘expert generalist’ with deep knowledge in multiple fields of different disciplines.

Here are some of the things you should do to be as knowledgeable as him:

Look for a subject that interests you and don’t be afraid of the difficulty in learning it

Challenge the established status quo. Look for new opportunities rather than ones people are already fighting for.

Elon Musk is living proof that going above and beyond to chase what others consider a pipe dream and succeeding is possible. Becoming the sole pioneer and leading expert in an undiscovered industry is possible if you follow the same principles.

 

2. Start from the basics

If you want to speak English well, you need to learn the alphabet before you start with sentences. This simple rule applies to everything, building up your basics before doing anything complex prevents you from making dumb and basic mistakes. To innovate, you need to know what isn’t known or what isn’t being used.

Elon Musk once said, “It is important to view knowledge as sort of a semantic tree — make sure you understand the fundamental principles, for instance, the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves/details or there is nothing for them to hang on to.”

In practice, you can apply the ‘semantic tree’ concept in these ways:

Obtaining a complete understanding of the fundamentals before moving onto more advanced topics

Pay attention to the details, even if they seem insignificant to others

Compress and organise all your notes neatly, make them easy to understand for yourself

 

3. Focus on what you learned and know

It took Elon Musk just 2 years to pick up rocket science and learn enough to launch SpaceX as a leading pioneer in space transportation, the most successful private enterprise for space exploration and transportation ever made.

So how do you follow in Elon’s footsteps? Start by learning from many other people as much as you can, so you can have an idea of what you are getting into before you dive in.

It can be said that knowing how to get reliable and true knowledge is one of the most important steps on this path. Being able to filter out false information is something many people overlook despite their education.

 

4. Link each field of study together

Once Elon Musk has his basics covered on multiple subjects, he utilises the knowledge of different subjects to support and launch creative ideas. Making use of multiple fields of knowledge to achieve a goal while making it less academic and more realistic.

Here are some of the benefits of doing this:

You will be able to put knowledge to practical use much easier and more frequently

You can come up with new and creative ideas, thinking out of the box will be much easier when you are not limited to a box that is a single field or subject

 

5. Branch out your knowledge

This man believed that knowing just one thing is not enough. The more we learn, the more we see the world from a broader perspective. By gaining more knowledge in different fields, you can spot more possible connections and interactions that have not been explored or documented in depth before.

 

6. Putting knowledge to practical use

Action is the key to success. If you don’t come up with a way to take the knowledge you gained and apply it to practical use, then you’ve wasted your time studying. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes, failure is the best teacher you will ever have. The lessons you learn from the pain of failing can be used to improve your next attempt, it helps develop your ability better than any other way.

 

Anyone can be a smart thinker like Elon Musk

If you’ve read up to this point, then you’ll understand why Elon Musk’s way of thinking has allowed him to achieve worldwide success and become a renowned person. We can all apply his philosophy to ourselves and be able to not only improve our creativity but also be unafraid of challenging the established norm.

Top 10 Business Ideas in Nigeria You Can Start with 100,000 Naira

In a country where economic deficit and unemployment have become the order of the day, conceptualizing a business idea in Nigeria and subsequently starting it can be likened to a goldmine which offers an opportunity for people to tap into a better livelihood.

According to Statista.com, a total of 32.5% of Nigerians were unemployed in 2021, with a forecast unemployment rate of 33% in 2022. 

Apart from being a gateway to self-employment and helping to put an end to job hunting, starting a private business from various business ideas also comes along with several advantages which include but are not limited to: 

Unlimited freedom 

Unlike working under someone or organization, where your mode of operation and work is being dictated by your boss/superior, personal l business gives you the privilege to work at your own pace and with ease. This is most suitable for people who may not have what it takes to work for a company due to certain conditions such as old age, underlying medical issues, limited time, etc.

Fulfillment of dreams and ambition

Getting a job is one thing, getting a dream job is another. While the former may be a little bit difficult, the latter is almost next to impossible to come by. We live in a country where a majority of people do a job they don’t really want or because they have no option. But with a proper business idea and conceptualization, one can fulfill his/her lifetime dream by starting a business that is in line with such a dream.

Financial freedom

Financial reward is yet another importance of starting a personal business. It is no longer news that most employers in Nigeria pay their staff peanuts for salary. The prices of commodities are on the high side, and the money being paid to the average worker is far from being enough to cater to their daily needs. A good business idea when materialized is capable of turning things around and subsequently giving financial freedom to the originator.

From the foregoing, it can be deduced that having a business idea and materializing it is of immense importance for whosoever deems it fit to give it a shot.

While there are many constraints to starting a personal business, capital to start with remains a major constraint.

In this article, we will be looking at 10 businesses you can start in Nigeria with as little as N100,000 which guarantees 100% return on investment in 30 days or less.

1. POS/E-PAYMENT

POS (point of sales) tops the list of business ideas in Nigeria you can start with 100,000 naira for obvious reasons. The business is one of those businesses that has come to stay for a very long time. Financial transactions are an integral part of human life and the banking sector habitually fails to live up to the people’s expectations in that regard.

POS serves as a subtle alternative to banking transactions and saves people from wasting their precious time that could be spent on something productive in bank hall queuing because of basic financial transactions. Financial transactions such as transfer of funds and withdrawals, payment of bills (DSTV, GOTV, PHCN), recharging of airtime, and selling of data among others can be taken care of by POS.

Mr Tayo Adewale, a 26-year-old HND holder from one of the federal polytechnics in Nigeria, after graduating and wrapping up his mandatory NYSC was unable to secure a white-collar job. He finally decided to go into the POS business, courtesy of N100,000 donated by his family which he used to kick-start the business. As of today, Mr Tayo claims he has been making nothing less than N100,000 return on investment since he started the business while some of his colleagues are still on the streets still searching for a non-existing white-collar job.

In starting a POS, one of the most important things to consider is the location you want to situate the business. The nature of the location your business is sited can either make or mar your POS business idea. While determining the kind of location, some of the things you should consider are: 

GSM network/Internet

This is an important factor that must be considered before opting for any location. You must ensure your POS business is situated in an area with a very good GSM network, to ensure hitch-free business transactions.

Proximity to banks

Another important thing you should consider before choosing a place to locate your POS business is how close the area is to the banking area. Locating your POS in an area very close to the banking area can be likened to efforts in futility and may not bring about the return on investment as expected. This is because the majority of the people may rather prefer to visit the banking for their transactions since it is close by.

Security

While searching for a place for your POS business, you should ensure the place is secured and has little or next to any history of crime. This is because you will be dealing with cash daily which makes you vulnerable and a soft target for criminals if the location is not secured.

What you need to start

Some of the things you will need to get the business started are business capital, space/shop or container, a banner, and most importantly a POS machine for the operation of the business. You can get your POS machines from banks like GTB, UBA, Zenith, First Bank, Access Bank, Polaris Bank, and hosts of others. 

2. Phones and other gadgets charging 

Phones and gadgets charging is yet another business idea in Nigeria that can be materialized with as low as 100,000 naira. It is no longer news that the electricity supply in most states of the country is unstable and unreliable, which makes the business of changing phones a very juicy one to venture into with relatively low capital.

Also, the cost of petrol for generators that could have served as an alternative power supply has become expensive and unaffordable. Hence, most lower and middle-class citizens who cannot afford to purchase a generator often resort to phone charging vendors, paying a minimum of 100naira to get their phones and other gadgets charged.  

Mr Wale Olakunle, a middle-aged man who owns a phone charging shop in Oke-Odo, a neighborhood close to the main campus of University of Ilorin, relished his humble beginning in the business and how far he has come since he started the business about three years ago.

“I started this phone recharging business three years ago with a 100,000 naira loan I took from a microfinance bank. When I first started, the first two weeks were dull and I was already thinking of giving up on the business. But towards the last weeks of my first month, the business started booming and the rest like they used to say is history. At the moment, my take-home from this business is nothing less than 7,000 naira daily after deducting all expenses. That is around 200,000 naira monthly,” he explained.

What you need to start

While starting a phone and gadget recharging business, one must consider the location. It is preferable to locate your business in an area with a poor electricity supply. This will make it inevitable for people to patronize your business. As a phone recharging vendor, you should also develop a good charisma which will allow your potential customers to freely relate with you as you will be dealing with different types of people dailySome of the things you will be needing to kick-start the business are a container/space, a covered or shaded stall, a small generator for power supply, fuel to power the generator, original chargers and desktop, and an electric socket board with multiple electronic sockets for charging. 

3. Mobile food vendor and delivery business 

Food is an important aspect of human existence that is simply inevitable. Regardless of the situation, we must always find something to eat. This, and other reasons are why online food vending and delivery business occupy the number 3 position on the list of business ideas that you can start with 100,000 naira.

At the moment, a good number of people find it difficult to cook food at home due to the nature of their work and busy schedules; hence, they result in employing the services of these food vendors. Working-class, students and artisans are some of the examples of people that fall into this category.

While starting a mobile food vendor business, one needs to have learned or possess cooking skills, which will give you a sharp edge over your competitors, as you have many alternatives like eatery, restaurants, and other mobile food vendors racing to have your customers. Your ability to prepare delicious, nice, and affordable meals will set you above your competitors.

 

While interacting with a popular mobile food vendor in OjoduBerger side of Lagos, Mr Kelechi Emmanuel expressed that his life has turned around for the better since he started the business a few years back. He expressed gratitude to a friend who first spoke about the business idea with him. However, he lamented the current price of cooking ingredients and foodstuff, urging the government to please find a lasting solution to the price hike.

What you need to start

Fast and reliable means of transportation are important aspects that must be in place for the smooth running of the mobile food business. 

The good news about the business is that you don’t necessarily need a shop or office to cook your meals, you can start by cooking from the comfort of your home and expanding the business as time goes by.

4. Copywriting

Copywriting is one of the most profitable online businesses in Nigeria you can kick off with a low cost of 100,000 naira and below. If you have good writing skills and firm control of language, then this business will be your ticket to financial freedom. 

The copywriting business comes in different forms: it could be writing of advert copy, blog posts, video scripts, presentation, direct mails, jingles, creative content, and so on. The main task of a copywriter is to weave content in such a way that will be convincingly enough to persuade or promote a certain product, idea, service, or cause. A copy, when well written, can perform magic on any product or services.

It can be done as full-time or a side hustle that guarantees a return on investment if one knows his or her onions very well.

Particularly, students, who have good writing skills, can explore this business opportunity to support their parents in catering for their academic financial needs.

The salaries of a copywriter in Nigeria ranges from 100,000 –300,000 naira depending on the nature of copy and organization. Some copywriters also charge clients per word. On an average, a copywriter charges 11-20,000 per 1,000 words.

To get clients as a beginner in copywriting, you can apply for a position of freelance job board, cold pitching, speaking at conferences/workshop and promoting of your business on professional platforms like LinkedIn 

A final year student of the University of Ilorin, Seyi Olawaleexplained that he has been surviving from the proceeds of copywriting since he lost his father in year two at the university.

He stated further that he no longer asks his mother or family for monetary help, as the money he makes from the business is more than enough to cater for his financial needs.

What you need to start

Apart from having an inherent writing skill, copywriting just like every other skill can also be learnt.  You can build from scratch or improve your copywriting skills by reading books on copywriting, watching copywriting videos on YouTube, following copywriting blogs and taking copywriting courses on online learning platforms such as Udemy and Coursera. Getting a copywriter as a mentor can also be of immense benefit while you are trying to improve or learn copywriting.

Another good news about this business is that, it is a remote one, and you practically don’t need to situate the business in a particular geography. All that is needed to start up the business is your smartphone or preferably a laptop system, a good internet connection, and, an adequate power supply.

5. Graphic design

 

As the saying goes, “A picture is worth much more than a thousand words”, going by this saying, it is free to say that graphic design is therefore worth much more than a million words. Graphic design is a process of projecting visual communication to communicate a particular message. It combines different elements to communicate a message to an audience.

Corporate organizations, government establishments, politicians, partisans, and virtually every sphere of human endeavor employ the services of graphic designers. While contemplating on venturing into graphic design, it is important to get yourself acquainted with the basics and fundamentals of graphic design such as: hierarchy, color, typography, lines, shapes, balance, texture, alignment, proximity, and contrast.

An Ilorin-based young graphic designer by the name, Ayomide Adeniyi stated that he makes nothing less than 120,000 monthly from graphic design simply by helping different organizations and individuals to design flyers, e-book covers, and banners. He continued that another means he makes money from the business is through the teaching of the skills to interested students.

On how he promotes and gets clients to patronize his business, the young designer explained that he gets most of his customers from a referral by people he has designed for in the past and also by showcasing and posting his designs on social media space like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Twitter.

What you need to startStarting a graphic design just like other digital skills does not require having a particular shop/space, what is most important is learning the skill. There are various ways you can learn graphicsdesign which  includes watching graphic design videos on YouTube and also by paying a professional for master classes where you will be trained on the fundamentals of graphics and how to monetise the skill.

The tools you will be needing to materialise the business idea are your laptop and smartphones. For laptop design, you will be needing software like Corel draw, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe illustrator, and a host of other similar software while you will be needing applications like Canva, Pixellab, Logo maker. 

6. Selling of clothes

The importance of clothes can never be overemphasized. Clothes form part of the three basic needs of man, the others being food and shelter. Hence, it is one of the lucrative business ideas in Nigeria that can be started with a relatively low capital of 100,000 naira and below.

According to a young male clothes vendor, who is based in Ilorin, he explained that having a good relationship with your customers is the best way to grow your business. He continued that, you must also be willing to advertise your business through one on one interaction and most especially on your social media platforms to convince your existing and potential customers for patronage.

Some of the types of clothes to sell are children’s wear, native wear, English wear, jeans, underwear among others. Purchasing of these wears for resales can be made at popular clothes markets, such as Balogun market, Aswani market, Katanguamarket, Tejuosho market, Onitsha market, and Aba Market.

What you need to startWhile starting the business, having a shop may not necessarily be important from the onset, as you can simply purchase clothes and deliver them to the doorsteps of your customers.

One of the most germane qualities you must possess to make it big in the business is the ability to convince your customers on the need to purchase your product. Without proper pacification, your customers may not see the need to patronize a particular dress, as many other needs are competing for the capital of your customers.

Equally, it is also important to have good networking to people and maintain a good rapport with your customers who can in turn help to refer you to other potential customers for patronage. 

7. Laundry business

Laundry is yet another lucrative business in Nigeria that is often overlooked. Due to the busy nature of most people’s jobs, it is difficult to create time for washing clothes, and that is where the laundry service provider comes in.

Richard Ojigbede, a student of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, while talking about his journey so far in the laundry business stated that he used to watch customers’ clothes with bare hands in the past but the proceeding from the business has bought him 2 washing machines and a generator. He explained further that most students have no time for washing clothes due to academic stress which is of immense benefit to his business. He concluded by saying he makes nothing less than 10,000 every day from the business.

What you need to startOne good thing about the business is that you can comfortably work from the comfort of your home without necessarily owning a personal shop or space.

All that is needed to materialize the business idea are the basic tools like washing machine, iron, and generator in case of a power failure.

Laundry just like most other businesses requires you to be honest. As a laundry service provider, you must at all times be a promise keeper by ensuring the readiness of your customers’ clothes as at when due.

It is also important you establish good connections with your customers in order to improve the chances of referral to other potential customers.

8. Shawarma selling business

Shawarma is a snack that is made of beef or chicken filling. It has over the years become one of the favorite snacks of people, most especially the younger generation. This lucrative business idea can be actualized with as little as 100,000 naira and below. 

Mr Sunday Agbor, who owns a popular Shawarma spot close to a supermarket in Ojodu Berger part of Lagos State explained that starting a Shawarma business requires a lot of dedication and patience. While recounting his own experience, the young man said that, the initial stage of the business was not too rosy, as he only made a few sales during the period. He continued that he presently makes more than 250,000 every month from the business.

What you need to startBefore venturing into the business of shawarma, you must first get trained on the process of shawarma making. You won’t want to start the business without a proper understanding of how it is made and start selling low-quality shawarma to your customers. This will kill your business even before it starts.

After getting trained, the next thing is to look for a good location where you can situate your business. Preferably, it is good to locate your shawarma spot in an urban area where you can easily meet with your target audience. Places like students’ area, supermarket surroundings, the entrance to an estate, bar, hotel, and T-junctions are a few of the best spots you can locate your shawarma business in order to make high profit and return on investment on the business.

Some of the equipment required for the business are shawarma toaster, show glass, pot/utensils, spron, and insect killer for flies. 

9. Data reselling business

Presently, we live in a digital era where the world has become a global village and everyone needs to be connected to stay informed about what is happening in their immediate environment and the world at large. To this end, purchasing and having a data plan becomes inevitable.

According to a 2021 report from Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Nigerians consume an excess of 80,000 terabytes of data every month. 

A data reseller is an individual who purchases data in bulk from VTU platforms and telecommunication companies at a relatively cheap price and then resells it to customers at his or her convenient rate.

A student data reseller, Miss Sharon Odewunmi expressed her satisfaction with her choice of business. She further stated that the business just like every other business requires one to have patience and good networking, as the business cannot grow without referrals to potential customers from the previous ones.

What you need to startSome of the requirements to start a data reselling business are a laptop or smartphone, capital for the initial purchase, good internet connections, and a bank account as a medium of payment.

To make money from this business, one needs to be a good marketer, this means that you must be actively able to advertise your business through face-to-face communication and your various social media platforms. You should also reduce the price of your data plans to give you a sharp edge over your competitors and equally convince your customers to purchase data from you as against buying it directly from their network service provider.

10. Declutter agents business

The advent of social media has been a blessing to humanity not just only by providing an avenue to make friends and stay connected with one’s family, but also it has continued to provide means of livelihood to some of its users. Declutter agent business is one of the fastest routes to financial freedom on Instagram. 

As a declutter agent, you simply rake in your money by helping sellers to display their product for potential buyers to see and if satisfied with the product, the buyer makes the payment and you get your own percentage from the proceeding of the sales. Your job is that of a middle man who connects buyer and seller. 

There is virtually nothing that can’t be sold via decluttering agents. Products such as: furniture, mattresses, generator, television, fans are few examples of varieties of things that can be sold and bought through the declutter platform.

According to a popular declutter agent on Instagram with the Instagram handle “deluxe_declutter” which has 13.5k instagram followers, she explained that she started the business with just 5,000 naira but currently makes nothing less than 300,000 monthly from the business. On how she promotes her business, the young lady stated that she reaches her audience through Instagram sponsored ads. She, however, described trust and sellers’ disappointment as the greatest challenge she faces in the business.

What you need to start

Starting this business does not also require situating it in a particular geographical location. It is a remote business that can be done at the comfort of your bedroom. What you will be needing for the business are your smartphone, Instagram accounts, data bundle and adequate power supply.

Having high followers on Instagram is also an added advantage. The more the number of your followers, the more chances of buying and selling through your platform and the more you make money from the business.

It is also important to have a good online reputation, as this will improve the people trust in you and their chances of making sales and purchases through your platform.

Conclusion  

In conclusion, there are many business ideas in Nigeria that you can start with as low as 100,000 naira. What is most important is your ability to look in depth and analyze the category you best fit into. Also, it is important to have patience, as the initial stage of personal business may be frustrating and not yielding enough as expected, but with dedication and hard work, it will just be a matter of little time before you unlock your financial freedom in the business.

How I Bank over $120,000/Year from Affiliate Marketing

How To Make Money With Affiliate Marketing In 2022: I’ve Been Hitting $150k/Year And Want To Show You How

I never thought this would happen to me.

In 2 years I went from making $20k to $80k, and am now hitting about $150k/yr (see PayPal report). I did this by dropping all my clients and tried making money with affiliate marketing.

So what do I do? My about page has my whole story, but here’s the gist:

I write tutorials on WordPress speed optimization and how core web vitals are a ranking factor in Google. Speeding up your website involves hosting, cache plugins, CDNs, lightweight themes, and other services that happen to offer affiliate programs. I show people how to speed up their website (with very detailed guides), then they buy stuff through my affiliate links. It’s a win-win.

But there’s one big problem. Affiliate marketing has gotten more competitive. And the amount of bloggers/YouTubers creating affiliate content is insane (people have also become skeptical). So how do you stand out? How do you get people to trust you? I’ll explain all of this.

This guide includes a comprehensive list of 50+ affiliate programs.

$150,000/year did not happen overnight. I was broke for a couple years while creating content. But it literally changed my life… I moved out of my parent’s house into a nice apartment in downtown Denver, bought my first car (a Mercedes c300), adopted 2 kitties, and my credit raised 45 points. I also donated $6k to GoFundMe campaigns and 6k to my parents. I’m a humble dude but in affiliate marketing, the numbers do the talking. Now I have 0 clients and 100% freedom. There’s a lot of BS out there on affiliate marketing – which is why I wrote this.

How to make legit money with affiliate marketing

Find your niche

Start a blog or YouTube channel

Sign up for affiliate programs

Be careful with Amazon

Learn how affiliate programs work

Add affiliate links to content

Be a “how to start a blog” YouTuber

Use coupon codes

Get traffic before sales

Master SEO

Create the perfect pitch

Get involved in Facebook Groups

Bookmark affiliate statistics in your browser

Set up email alerts when a sale is made

Build your community

Avoid Google penalties

Monitor conversion rates

Use an affiliate disclaimer

Mistakes I Made

Donate to charity

Share your story

Promote Black Friday deals

2021 PayPal report

About My Blog

I write about website speed (and some SEO/affiliate marketing).

I spend a lot of time in Facebook Groups learning about my industry.

I try to publish original content and not regurgitated crap like a lot of blogs.

I have about 3,000 visitors/day, 90% is from Google (I’ll show you some SEO tips).

It took blogging full-time for several months with minimal income to see results. I’ll bet you 90% of people don’t start because they’re scared their work won’t pay off. Just do it!

Tom with monkey

Affiliate marketing has given me the time/money to travel and be financially comfortable

How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?

You partner with a company selling products/services you would like to recommend to your audience. If they buy something using your affiliate link, you get a commission from the sale. There are other types of affiliate programs, but this is the most common and is also what I do.

 

1. Find Your Niche

My career journey went like this: online marketing > web design > WordPress web design > WordPress SEO > WordPress speed optimization. Now I’m focusing on WordPress hosting.

While I was doing WordPress speed optimization I noticed lots of people needed it, but very few people supplied it (there were a lack of services and tutorials when I researched Google). I also knew hosting was the #1 factor of website speed and hosting companies paid up to $200/sale. Hosting is a competitive space but the commissions and lack of supply enticed me.

I expanded my SEO blog and started writing about hosting, cache plugins, and other relevant topics… while recommending Rocket.net in many guides. I added proof like Facebook threads and performance benchmarks. Each tutorial was super detailed (like this one) and tons of people found them helpful – many get 100+ visitors/day since great content = higher rankings.

Once I found my niche (WordPress speed optimization), a solid hosting company with a high commission affiliate program (Rocket.net) and created tutorials around topics people in my niche would find helpful (and might want to change their host), that’s what got me to $150k.

Once you find a niche with high demand, little supply (do your Google research), and a reputable affiliate with high commissions… and you have patience to wait for financial results while creating your assets (I’m talking about content), you should take the leap!

 

2. Start A Blog Or YouTube Channel

A blog and YouTube channel are completely different, not just because one is writing and one is shooting videos. But each of them are different in terms of SEO, conversions, time, and the cost.

Blogging vs. YouTube Videos

Competition – the SEO competition in YouTube is often less than Google.

Ownership – you own your blog, you don’t own YouTube (or their policies).

SEO Traffic – it takes longer to get SEO traffic to a blog than YouTube.

Cost – YouTube is free, blogs require domain, hosting, development costs, etc.

Content Updates – it’s easier to update a blog post than to remake a video.

Coupon Codes – YouTube is great if your affiliates let you use coupon codes.

Time – it takes longer to set up a blog, but starter templates have made this easier.

Expectations – in your niche, do people prefer watching videos or reading articles?

Start A WordPress Blog

Domain – GoDaddy or Namecheap.

Hosting – Rocket.net, Cloudways, or NameHero for the win.

WordPress – what I recommend building your website/blog on.

Themes – GeneratePress and Blocksy are solid choices. They use the Block Editor (Gutenberg) which is much more lightweight than Elementor, Divi, and other page builders, yet still easy when you use GenerateBlocks. I built my site in the GeneratePress “Search” theme and am very pleased. Kadence theme is good too but also very expensive.

Have A Developer On Hand – I’ve been working with the same overseas freelancer since 2011 who has saved me a lot of time when I can’t do things. Here’s his freelancer profile if you need help setting up your website. His name is Pronaya and he’s from Bangladesh.

Generatepress website library

I use GeneratePress for my WordPress theme

 

3. Sign Up For Affiliate Programs

Hosting, Amazon, and affiliate programs related to “making websites” are very popular.

Websites – if you’re in the “how to make a website/blog” industry, I’ve accumulated a list of affiliate programs for WordPress, hosting, themes, plugins, SEO, email, CDNs, and services. Remember that to get approved, some companies require you to be somewhat established.

Affiliate Program Category Commission Recurring 2 Tier

A2 Hosting Hosting $55 – $125 x ✓

All In One SEO Pro SEO 20% x x

Astra Themes 30% x x

Asset CleanUp Pro Plugins 20% x x

AWeber Email 30% ✓ x

Beaver Builder Themes 25% ✓ x

Blocksy Themes 30% x x

Bluehost Hosting $65+ x x

BunnyCDN CDN $20 credit x x

Cloudways Hosting $50 – $150+ ✓ ✓

Convert Pro Plugins 50% x x

Constant Contact Email $105 x x

Divi Themes 50% x x

Elementor Themes 50% x x

FlyingPress Cache Plugin 20% ✓ x

GeneratePress Themes 30% x x

GoDaddy Hosting 15% x x

GreenGeeks Hosting $50 – $100+ x x

GridPane Hosting 1 free month x x

Kadence Theme 20% x x

Hello You Designs Themes 20% x x

Hostinger Hosting 60% x x

HostGator Hosting $65 – $125+ x x

JohnnyVPS Hosting 2x monthly price x x

KeyCDN CDN 100% of 1st payment x x

Kinsta Hosting $50 – $500 ✓ x

LearnDash Plugins 35% x x

Long Tail Pro SEO 30% ✓ x

MailChimp Email $30 credit x x

NameCheap Hosting 35% x x

NameHero Hosting $50 – $125+ x x

Ninja Tables Plugins 20% x x

NitroPack Plugins 20% ✓ x

OceanWP Theme 30% x x

OptiMonster Plugins 20% x x

Perfmatters Plugins 20% ✓ x

Pretty Links Affiliate 25% x x

Rank Math SEO 30% x x

Refer WordPress Other 20% x x

Restored 316 Designs Themes 20% x x

Rocket.net Hosting $150 x x

Scala Hosting Hosting $50 – $200 x x

Schema Pro SEO 30% x x

SEMrush Analytics $200 x x

ShortPixel Plugins 30% ✓ x

ServerPilot Control Panel $25 x x

SEOPress SEO 20% x x

SiteGround Hosting $50 – $100+ x x

SpinupWP Control Panel $25 credit x x

StackPath CDN $20+ x x

StudioPress Themes 35% x x

ThemeForest Themes 30% of 1st payment x x

Themeisle Themes 55% x x

Thirsty Affiliates Affiliate 30% x x

TubeBuddy Other 30% – 50% ✓ x

UpCloud Hosting $50 credit x x

Whitespark SEO 20% x x

WP Coupons Affiliate 40% x x

WP Engine Hosting $200 x ✓

WP Johnny Other 25% x x

WPX Hosting $70 – $100+ x x

WP Rocket Plugins 20% x x

Affiliate Marketplaces – these have hundreds of merchants to choose from. It’s nice to login to 1 place and check the performance of multiple affiliates without going to each individual portal on their site. Many programs aren’t part of a marketplace though. I use ShareASale and Impact.

Affiliate Marketplace Number Of Brands Popular Brands

ShareASale 15,200+ Hewlett Packard, Sears, LovePop, Grammarly, Daily Harvest, NameCheap, WP Rocket, WP Engine, Envira Gallery

CJ Affiliate 3,800+ Overstock, GoDaddy, Zappos, Walgreens, TurboTax, QVC, Newegg, Hotels.com, HelloFresh, TeamViewer, Guitar Center

Impact 800+ Airbnb, AppSumo, Constant Contact, Envato Market, HostGator, InMotion, Lending Club, Levi’s, Squarespace

Rakuten Marketing 50,000+ Udemy, Walmart, Macy’s, StubHub, Hulu

Favorite affiliate network

Source: Anil from Bloggers Passion Facebook Group

Other Online Retailers

Ebay – 5 – 7% (roughly) based on categories, only 24 hour cookie tracking.

Etsy – 4 – 8%.

Target – 4% in most categories.

Walmart – 4% in most categories.

Aliexpress – 3% for electronics, 7-9% for everything else.

Newegg – 0.5 – 1%.

Overstock – up to 6%.

Do the math – to make $300 in a day, I would need to refer about 2 people to hosting, 10 people to themes, or 30 people to plugins. Before deciding on a program, ask yourself a few questions. I personally have roughly 3,000 readers/day and make about 2-3 sales per day at $150 per sale.

What commission will you get?

How many sales will you need per day?

How much traffic will you need to get those sales (roughly)?

 

4. Be Careful With Amazon

Amazon’s commissions are based on categories and you’re only making 0-5% unless you’re referring people to Amazon games, Luxury Beauty, or Amazon Explore. Otherwise you will need a lot of sales to actually make a living and will likely need to refer people to big ticket items (video equipment on YouTube is a big one especially if you’re into cameras, lenses, lights, etc).

Amazon affiliate commission rates

But be careful with Amazon’s affiliate program.

They have a long history of reducing commissions and writing content that competes with affiliates (and most people go directly to Amazon). I don’t recommend being an affiliate for any monopoly. You could very well end up getting trampled on, like most Amazon affiliates have. However, if you get lots of views, many affiliates are making “how to do something” YouTube videos and listing their equipment in the video description. A million views can make it worth it.

Amazon decreases affiliate commission rates

Examples of people making money with Amazon:

How he makes money – at 1m26s he focuses on his video equipment. The video description includes links to geniuslink.com. This is a website that showcases different stores (e.g. Amazon) where people can buy the equipment (using his affiliate links). Genuinely helpful video though.

How she makes money – at 40s you will see the video is sponsored by Skillshare and she also uses an affiliate link in the video description, as well as affiliate links to Amazon for the video equipment she uses. Another person recommending video equipment (that’s a hint for you).

How he makes money – he found a keyword on YouTube “best gadgets on Amazon” which has a lot of searches. People are searching this on YouTube (not Google or Amazon) which means they’re looking for a video review of the best gadgets, otherwise they would have gone directly to Amazon. His Amazon affiliate links to each of the gadgets are found in the video description.

Conclusion: a lot of people are making money by referring people to video equipment they use.

 

5. Learn How Affiliate Programs Work

One Tier – get a commission when a sale is generated from your affiliate link.

Two Tier – get a commission when you refer other affiliates and they start making sales (think multilevel marketing). An example is WP Engine’s program where I tell my readers about their WordPress hosting, they start making sales, and I earn $50/sale from each sale they generate.

Climbing Tiers – increased commissions as you get more sales.

Siteground affiliate program tiers

Recurring Commissions – usually happens with subscription services… you continuously receive commissions as long as people are signed up. AWeber and SEMrush are examples.

Sitewide Commissions – get a commission no matter what people buy on the affiliate’s website. Amazon’s affiliate program does this.

Pay Per Lead – get a commission based on the number of leads (e.g. contact form fill-outs) you send to a business. Be sure to set up your analytics to track this and have a solid, written agreement with your affiliate. You don’t want to spend tons of time and get burned like I have.

Cookies – amount of time after people click your affiliate link you will receive a commission if a sale is generated. Usually 30-90 days but shouldn’t be a deal breaker when choosing affiliates.

Individual Affiliate Programs – affiliate programs that are located on their website.

Individual affiliate programs

 

6. Add Affiliate Links To Content

Step 1: Sign up and get approved. You usually need a decent amount of traffic (or a history of sales) before getting approved. If you have a large following somewhere else (i.e. YouTube), you may be able to convince affiliates to approve you. Otherwise, you need to generate traffic first.

Step 2: Get your affiliate links. Login to your affiliate dashboard and grab your affiliate links. With most individual affiliate programs, they assign you an affiliate ID which you can add to any URL on their website to turn it into an affiliate link. In affiliate marketplaces like ShareASale, they preassign affiliate links but also have a custom link generator. Use these to add deep links.

Cloudways affiliate link

Add your affiliate ID (mine is ?id=262128) to any URL on their website to create an affiliate link

Impact affiliate link

Custom link generators are found in some affiliate programs/marketplaces like ShareASale

Step 3: For blogs, install an affiliate link management plugin (I use Thirsty Affiliates) and add your affiliate links here. This lets you organize, track, cloak, nofollow, and add affiliate links.

Affiliate links

Import your affiliate links into the Thirsty Affiliates plugin

Step 4: Configure the Thirsty Affiliate plugin settings.

Choose a link prefix (I use /go/)

Enable statistics in the “Modules” setting

Use nofollow + sponsored (recommended by Google)

Consider Thirsty Affiliates Pro if you want automatic keyword linking

Thirstyaffiliates settings

Configure the Thirsty Affiliate settings

Step 5: Add affiliate links to posts. If you’re using the classic editor like me, use the Thirsty Affiliates button to add affiliate links. When you do it this way, all the attributes you configured in the settings (cloaking, nofollow, sponsored, etc) are automatically added to the affiliate link.

Add affiliate link to content

Use the Thirsty Affiliates button to add affiliate links

Amazon video affiliate links

Or add them to YouTube video descriptions

Step 6: Use your affiliate dashboard to track sales, statistics, and get to know your affiliate dashboard because it can be very helpful (especially when trying to increase conversion rates).

Cloudways affiliate commissions

Take advantage of features/statistics in your affiliate dashboard

Banners – banners don’t work well. They’re easy to throw up, but distracting and probably won’t get great results. If you try them, be sure to show specific sidebar banners based on the type of content people are reading on your blog (for posts that fall under my SEO category I would show a banner related to SEO, and for posts under my website speed category I would show a different banner). You can control sidebar banners using a plugin like Widget Logic.

AdSense – It’s easy to throw up AdSense on your blog, but good luck making decent income. It is NOT personalized whereas affiliate links involve people taking YOUR recommendation on very specific things. AdSense makes your site slower than a turtle. Not good for monetization.

 

7. Be A “How To Start A Blog” YouTuber

Want to know why this topic is so popular?

Refer people to hosting = $$$

Refer people to WordPress theme = $

Refer people to Elementor products = $

Total income if one person signs up for all three: $200+

The bad news: the industry and keywords are super competitive.

The good news: the amount of people looking to start a blog is enormous. You just need a slice. Many hosting companies pay up to $150/sale once you start generating a good amount of sales.

People are also searching for how to start a food, fashion, travel, and lifestyle blog. You don’t have to limit yourself to 1 single keyword. Learn about hosting, self-hosted WordPress, and Starter Sites. I could literally start a WordPress blog in 10 minutes. Show people how to do that.

Youtube seo keywords

Let’s take a look at some examples:

How he makes money – at 66s, you can see they created their own domain search on their website. When people search, it’s followed by a “get hosting” button which leads to GoDaddy.

How he makes money – he begins his hosting pitch at 4m34s, but at 9m31s he presents his HostGator coupon code which not only saves viewers money, but it credits him for the sale (without people even having to click any affiliate link). That’s why coupon codes are so powerful for YouTubers. Don’t use HostGator though; they’re cheap but a slow/terrible hosting company.

How she makes money – she begins her hosting pitch at 4m48s for Bluehost, but only uses an affiliate link in the video description (no coupon code, no domain search on her website, and no timestamps to help people navigate the video). She could probably increase sales if she did one of these, but Bluehost doesn’t let affiliates create coupon codes so an affiliate link is necessary.

 

8. Use Coupon Codes

It’s a huge bonus if your affiliate lets you create coupon codes.

Since your coupon code is attached to your affiliate account, you will get credit for the sale if anyone uses it. So in YouTube videos, people don’t even need to click your affiliate link – just give them your coupon code to save them money, and you will get your affiliate commission.

Coupon-code

 

9. Get Traffic Before Sales

One of the biggest mistakes bloggers make is focusing on money first.

This is bad for a few of reasons:

No traffic = no sales

Most affiliates require you to have some traffic

Your authenticity is ruined if you’re too salesy from the start

But it definitely helps to have money in mind when you start. That way, once you get traffic and are approved by affiliates, you can easily add affiliate links to blog posts where you already mention your affiliate products/services. Don’t focus on money first, but have it in your plan.

Blogging affiliate marketing mistakes

Source: Blogging Newbs Facebook Group

 

10. Master SEO

Most affiliate marketers get most of their traffic from SEO (or Pinterest which I’ll admit to knowing nothing about). But I do know SEO is a more popular way to get consistent traffic.

The key steps to SEO are:

Researching a keyword, its search volume, and competition.

Creating in-depth content that is better than whoever’s in the top results.

Making content user-friendly (YouTube chapters, table of contents on blog).

Using your keyword in the right places (title, description, content, video file name).

Increasing click-through rates (titles, custom thumbnails, Google’s featured snippets).

Researching A Keyword – find a keyword in YouTube’s autocomplete dropdown (or Google Autocomplete for blog posts). You can use the underline character _ to fill-in-the-blank. Broad keywords have more searches but are more competitive. The best keywords are broad (lots of volume) with weak content in the top results. vidIQ helps you learn a keyword’s competition in YouTube and MozBar helps you learn competition in Google. I find the competition in YouTube is much less than Google, so choose broad keywords for videos and specific keywords for blogs.

Review Keyword Examples

Apple MacBook Pro 16 review

What is the best WordPress hosting

SiteGround WordPress Hosting review

Solution Keyword Examples

How to do yoga at home (recommend a yoga mat)

Why is my website slow (recommended faster hosting)

How to connect laptop to TV (recommend an HDMI cable)

Youtube amazon seo keywords

Creating In-Depth Content Around Your Keyword – 10+ minutes for YouTube videos and 1,500+ words for blog posts depending on how extensive the topic is. Extensive yet concise! If your content is long, make sure to include timestamps in your video descriptions or create an HTML table of contents for blog posts so viewers can jump to specific sections of your content.

Long content word count

Making Content User-Friendly – the two easiest ways are to use timestamps in video descriptions and an HTML table of contents in blog posts (see below). Get a good camera, invest in good hosting to make your site faster (for blogs), and design nice, crisp graphics using Canva.

Use Your Keyword In The Right Places

For YouTube videos, use your keyword in the:

File name (before uploading)

Video title (find a balance between using the keyword and making it catchy)

Video description (about 2-3 times), the description should be decently long

For blog posts, use your keyword in the:

Post title

Permalink

SEO title (in your SEO plugin)

Meta description (in your SEO plugin)

Content body (about 2-3 times, once in the first couple sentences)

Increase Click-Through Rates – for YouTube videos, it’s all about catchy titles and thumbnails. For blog posts, it’s all about a catchy SEO title and meta description (in your SEO plugin), getting in Google’s featured snippets (photo below), and using rich snippets like review stars and FAQs.

Featured snippets can be achieved by answering a question keyword in a very concise way (usually with a paragraph or list from the content). Lists are usually pulled from your table of contents or h3 subheadings. To get a featured snippet for my keyword “how to make money with affiliate marketing” Google will likely use my TOC or maybe (let’s see), this paragraph:

To make money with affiliate marketing, set up a blog or YouTube channel and find relevant products/services to refer your readers to. Sign up for affiliate programs, create affiliate links to products, and add them to your content. Most affiliates rely on SEO or Pinterest to get traffic.

Designing a nice image with your exact keyword helps too!

Featured snippets

List featured snippets

How To Rank YouTube Videos:

YouTube SEO relies heavily on engagement signals.

Find a keyword in YouTube autocomplete with good search volume.

Research the keyword’s competition by looking at videos’ number of views, likes, comments, and other signals top videos have (vidIQ Chrome extension is great for this).

Cover the topic extensively – aim for 10 minutes and be concise (scripts/editing)!

Label the video file (on your computer) as your keyword, and upload it to YouTube.

Craft a nice title that entices people to click your video, with your keyword in front.

Write a long description with timestamps, links, and use keyword in first sentence.

Review the transcript automatically generated by YouTube, then make corrections.

Upload a custom thumbnail (1280px by 720px) that gets people clicking the video.

Always respond to comments, and embed the video on your blog if you have one.

Incorporate your video in your blog, email, social media, other marketing channels.

How To Rank WordPress Blogs:

Use Rank Math Pro and learn how to use it for schema.

Use SSL from the start, most hosts have free Let’s Encrypt SSL.

Choose a fast host + WordPress themes (I like Rocket.net + GeneratePress).

Use post name permalink structure in WordPress under Settings > Permalinks.

Create content around keywords from tools like Google Autocomplete.

Learn about image optimization, internal links, lightweight plugins, OG images.

Add publish dates to blog articles to make content look fresh and increase CTRs.

Use multimedia – whether it be videos, infographics, or audio clips – people love them.

Set up Google Search Console and use it to track rankings, CTR, impressions, etc.

Make your WordPress site load fast (FlyingPress + Perfmatters are both solid plugins).

 

11. Create The Perfect Pitch

Back in the day, I created a pitch recommending a host, then copy/pasted the same pitch to multiple articles where it made sense to talk about.

This is fine if you don’t want to spend a lot of time on it. However, I’ve recently been trying to make it more personalized (since it’s the most important part of your site for making money). Now I have about 5 different variations of my pitch depending on what the article is about (general speed optimization, reducing CPU usage, WooCommerce, speeding up WP admin, etc).

It looks something like this:

Most hosting recommendations are garbage and I suggest joining the WP Speed Matters Facebook Group to get unbiased feedback on hosting and site speed. SiteGround has a slow TTFB, GoDaddy is a big NO, Bluehost is also very slow, and I would stay away from Hostinger.

Rocket.net – look at their specs and have a conversation with Ben Gabler (that’s all it took for me). They average a <100ms global TTFB which you can measure in KeyCDN. Their free Cloudflare Enterprise is superior than Cloudways/Kinsta with full page caching, smart purging, and built their data centers in the same ones as Cloudflare (Ben was StackPath’s Chief Product Officer so that makes sense). Just to give you an idea, their plans start at $25/mo with 32 CPU cores + 128GB RAM + NVMe SSDs + Redis. No PHP worker limits because only about 10% of traffic actually hits your origin. Everything is free (no paid add-ons) and their powerful stack makes scaling affordable with plenty of resources. I asked Ben to create a coupon OMM1 to make your first month $1. Compared to Kinsta, they use about 16x more RAM, 32x more cores on staging sites, and up to 25x more monthly visits. Top performer on wphostingbenchmarks.com with a 4.9/5 TrustPilot rating too? Take 5 minutes to compare specs and see for yourself or see my Rocket.net review.

Keycdn performance test cloudflare 1

Cloudflare free (no full page caching)

Rocket. Net keycdn performance test 1

Rocket.net Cloudflare Enterprise + full page caching

Rocket. Net top tier wordpress hosting benchmarks

Top performer on wphostingbenchmarks.com by Kevin Ohashi

Rocket. Net ben gabler testimonial

Spend 5 minutes talking with Ben Gabler

…something like that!

 

12. Get Involved In Facebook Groups

My conversion rate went from 2.5% to 8% just by including Facebook polls where Cloudways was rated #1, along with a few Twitter screenshots of migration results and conversations from Facebook Groups. Whether it’s Amazon reviews or Facebook polls, you NEED to include unbiased reviews. That’s why I don’t like collecting reviews on my website – they look biased.

People want evidence, not opinions.

There’s a Facebook Group for everything. For me, I mainly use the WordPress Hosting, WP Speed Matters, and WP Speed Up Facebook Groups to keep track of the web hosting industry.

Search facebook groups

 

13. Bookmark Affiliate Statistics In Your Browser

Go to your affiliate dashboard(s) and bookmark the “statistic” page so it saves to your browser. This saves time especially if you’re someone who likes to constantly check sales/performance.

Bookmark affiliate pages

 

14. Set Up Email Alerts When A Sale Is Made

This only works if the affiliate sends you an email when a sale is generated. Any time I make a hosting sale, I get a custom notification on my phone. It is very ENCOURAGING to get these.

Create custom alerts on your phone for affiliate sales – if you use Gmail, go to your settings and create a filter so all emails with “SiteGround Affiliate Sale Generated” in the subject line go into their own folder (tweak the subject line to match whatever email notification your affiliate sends you). Then set up a custom alert on your phone using the Gmail app so whenever you generate a sale, you get a custom alert (here’s a tutorial for Android and here’s one for Apple). I have different notifications for Rocket.net, Cloudways, others. It makes your day a little better :)

Custom gmail filter

 

15. Build Your Community

Respond To Comments – some of my articles have 400+ comments. It’s hard to keep up sometimes but this is a key part of building a community and allowing readers to ask you questions and leave their feedback. You should especially respond to YouTube comments because they are a ranking factor and encourage even more people to leave more comments.

Respond to comments

Build That Newsletter – I use Mailchimp and can’t stress how important it is to build your email list from the start (it’s free until you reach 2,000 subscribers). Once you create an account, add an email sidebar on your blog or create a dedicated newsletter page where people can sign up.

Be Open, Not Salesy – I hold back zero information on my blog, don’t recommend anything I don’t truly believe will help my readers, and try my best not to recommend hosting on every single post I write (only where it makes sense). Valuable information first, affiliate sales after.

 

16. Avoid Google Penalties

Follow Google’s guidelines for affiliate marketing.

Avoid short, thin pages that offer little value to readers.

Don’t always list affiliate products first – Google knows!

Don’t overuse affiliate links in your posts, drop them where it counts.

Avoid too many “list posts” where you just list a bunch of affiliate products.

Write an affiliate disclaimer (you’ll see mine at the very bottom of my blog).

Consider writing a review of your affiliate’s product/service and linking to that post (instead of using an affiliate link) to reduce the amount of affiliate links on your site.

Google affiliate guidelines

 

17. Monitor Conversion Rates

The way you endorse a product or service and the social proof behind it (Facebook polls or maybe reviews from other customers) are the main reason I was able to go from 2% to 8%+. If you don’t see these in your affiliate dashboard, use Thirsty Affiliate’s pro version to see them.

This is from 2017 when I started hitting it hard. Look at that CR (conversation rate) increase!

Siteground conversion report

19. Mistakes I Made

In my Google Analytics graph you’ll see a sudden drop in traffic followed by a long flatline in 2015/2016. These were pretty tough years for me and I hope I can save you from making a few bad mistakes I made, which resulted in years of financial hardship. Here are a few simple tips.

Don’t hire a sketchy link builder to boost rankings.

Get links from great content or hire someone who knows what they’re doing.

Don’t skimp on a free WordPress theme, cheap hosting, or use bloated plugins.

Don’t set a goal to write 3 blog posts a day… set a goal to write 1 blog post a week and make that post super helpful, long, and filled with information that is so valuable you will say “yeah, people will link to that.” 90% of my traffic/affiliate income comes from just 20 tutorials, many of which are 5 years old, but I constantly update content to make it better.

Do this and you should see consistent “small spikes” in your Google Analytics.

 

20. Donate To Charity

Once you’re financially stable, I hope you start giving back. It feels good and people like the idea of supporting a good cause (they will be more likely to click your affiliate link). This also means you don’t have to use as many links in your content. In total, I have given $6,000 to GoFundMe campaigns and $6,000 to my parents who let me live in their house while I worked on my blog.

21. Share Your Story

This is now the #1 visited post on my blog! I knew I could outrank all the fakes.

How to make money with affiliate marketing top page

Many companies have Black Friday + Cyber Monday deals (usually for about 2 weeks) and you can easily make 3x your normal sales during this time if you promote it right. I’ve made $2,000 in a single day during Black Friday season. You can make a “Deals” page but what I like to do is use the Better Search Replace plugin to bulk update all pricing screenshots to a screenshot of each company’s new Black Friday prices. Then when Black Friday is done, I just run another search/replace to change the screenshots back. Doesn’t take much time, but it’s very effective.

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is when you refer people to products or services from a merchant who agrees to give you a commission when a sale is made through your unique affiliate link.

How do I make money with affiliate marketing?

The most common ways are to set up a blog or YouTube channel, grow your audience, then sign up for affiliate programs that make sense to refer your viewers to.

How fast can you make money with affiliate marketing?

It can take anywhere from a couple months to several years to make consistent money with affiliate marketing. It depends on your ability to drive traffic, build trust, and successfully promote your affiliates.

What are the highest paying affiliate programs?

Web hosting programs like Rocket.net, Cloudways, WP Engine, and Bluehost typically pay $150/sale once you start making a lot of sales. That's why the space is so competitive.

Is affiliate marketing passive income?

Affiliate marketing income is not 100% passive income. You still need to create content, keep content current, and adapt to your industry while monitoring sales and conversions.

How much money can you make with affiliate marketing?

Some affiliates make a couple hundred dollars per month while other super affiliates make $10,000+ per month. You will get there quicker if you make it your full-time job and create awesome content on a consistent basis.

How do you get paid in affiliate marketing?

Most affiliates get paid through PayPal or directly to their bank account. Typical affiliate programs make payouts each month or once you reach a specific amount in commissions.

How can beginners make money with affiliate marketing?

If you're a beginner, you can make money with affiliate marketing by setting up a YouTube channel and teaching people how to start a blog while referring your audience to hosting. This is the most popular way beginners start making money.

What are the best affiliate programs to make money?

Amazon and hosting companies are two of the best affiliate programs to make money. Amazon is the most popular online retailer, and hosting affiliate programs offer some of the highest commissions. Bluehost, SiteGround, and HostGator are a few examples.

How do I make money with affiliate marketing without a website?

Setting up a YouTube channel is the easiest way to make money with affiliate marketing without a website. It's free, easy, and you can start creating videos instantly. Once you grow your audience, sign up for affiliate programs and promote products on your channel.

Is affiliate marketing worth it?

Yes, affiliate marketing can be well worth your time. But you need to have a plan on where you will promote products, which companies and products you will promote, and a strategy for getting traffic. Traffic is where most affiliate marketers fail.

How do YouTubers make money with affiliate marketing?

Most YouTubers add affiliate links in the video description or mention promo codes in their video which credit them the sale.

Final thought: It’s A Long-Term Investment