How I Earned $ 3,247 While Building My First Digital Product (Thanks to Affiliate Marketing)

The truth nobody tells you: You don't need your own product to start making money online.

I know this because I lived it. And years later, those "placeholder" affiliate promotions I set up while figuring out my own offers? They're still generating passive income every single month.

Let me take you back to where it all started.

Picture this: It's 2 AM, I'm hunched over my laptop, surrounded by half-empty coffee cups and notebook pages filled with "million-dollar ideas" that never seemed to materialize.

I had been consuming every course, reading every blog post, watching every YouTube video about building a digital business.

The message was always the same:

"Create your own product!"
"Build your course!"
"Package your expertise!"

But here's what they didn't tell me:

• Creating a quality digital product takes TIME (months, actually)

• You need to validate your idea before investing hundreds of hours

• You need an audience to sell to (but how do you build one with no content?)

• You need income to sustain yourself while you're building

I was stuck in what I call the "Creator's Paradox": I needed money to justify the time spent building a product, but I needed to spend time building the product to make money.

Sound familiar?

One day, while organizing my chaotic tech stack, I had a realization that seems almost embarrassingly simple now:

I was already using and loving several tools and platforms. Why wasn't I telling anyone about them?

I had been paying for:

• An email marketing platform that I raved about to anyone who'd listen

• A funnel builder that made my life infinitely easier

• Course hosting software that actually worked

• Design tools I used daily

And here's the kicker: Almost all of them had affiliate programs.

I wasn't creating anything new. I was simply sharing what already existed in my world—tools I genuinely believed in and used every single day.

Instead of waiting until my "perfect product" was ready, I made a decision:

I would build my audience and generate income by promoting the tools that were already helping me build my business.

Here's exactly what I did:

Here's what nobody tells you about affiliate marketing while building your own products:

The income removes the pressure.

When you're not desperately needing your first product to succeed financially, you make better decisions:

• You take time to validate your idea properly

• You don't rush and release something half-baked

• You can afford to invest in quality (design, editing, tech)

• You build with abundance mindset, not scarcity

My affiliate income gave me the breathing room to create a product I was actually proud of.

If I could go back and give my struggling, 2 AM self one piece of advice, it would be this:

"Stop waiting to have something to sell. Start sharing what you already love."

Affiliate marketing isn't a "placeholder" strategy—it's a legitimate business model. But more importantly, it's:

• A way to serve your audience immediately

• An income stream while you create

• A trust-building opportunity

• A testing ground for your voice and messaging

• A compound effort that pays dividends for years

You don't need:

• A massive following

• A finished product

• Years of experience

• Complicated funnels

You just need:

• Tools you genuinely use and love

• A willingness to share authentically

• Consistency in creating helpful content

• Patience for compound results

Action Steps:

• Make your list: What tools do you use and love?

• Research affiliate programs: Most tools have them (usually in the footer of their website)

• Create one piece of helpful content: Tutorial, review, comparison, or case study

• Set up a simple system: One blog post, one email sequence, one funnel

• Repeat: Consistently create valuable content around tools you believe in

If you're ready to start building your affiliate income while creating your own digital products, I've put together something special.

Get My FREE PLR Package — Ready-to-use content and templates that helped me launch my affiliate promotions faster (and you can customize them for your own brand).

Inside, you'll find:

• Blog post templates for affiliate content

• Email sequence frameworks

• Social media content calendars

• Comparison chart templates

• And more resources to jumpstart your journey

The Bottom Line:

I earned over $ 3,000 while building my first product by simply sharing what I was already using. Years later, those efforts still generate passive income every single month.

You don't need to choose between affiliate marketing and creating your own products. Do both. Start with affiliate marketing to build income and audience, then launch your own products when the time is right.

Your future self (and bank account) will thank you.

What tool are you using right now that you absolutely love? Drop it in the comments—it might be your first affiliate promotion opportunity.

Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you make a purchase through them. I only recommend products I personally use and believe in. Your trust matters more to me than any commission.

Ready to start your affiliate journey? Download the free PLR package and get started today: https://www.nubeginning.com/plr-package