How I Made Money Before Selling Anything: The Power of Affiliate Marketing with Systeme.io

1. Landing pages (unlimited)

How I used them:

• Created resource hub for all my guides

• Built dedicated landing page for lead magnet

• Made comparison tool pages

Example landing page that performed well:

• Title: "The Solo Entrepreneur's Complete Tech Stack Guide"

• Offer: Free PDF comparing 15 business tools

• Result: 340 downloads, 47 Systeme.io signups

2. Email marketing (2,000 contacts on free plan)

Email sequence I created:

Email 1 (immediate): Lead magnet delivery + introduction
Email 2 (Day 2): My platform testing story
Email 3 (Day 4): Biggest mistake I made choosing platforms

Email 4 (Day 7): How I cut my business costs by 73%
Email 5 (Day 10): Tutorial: Setting up your first funnel

Results:

• Open rate: 42% average

• Click rate: 8.3%

• Conversion to Systeme.io: 6.7%

The sequence sold without being pushy. I told my story, shared value, and let people decide.

3. Sales funnels (3 funnels on free plan)

Funnel #1: Lead Magnet Funnel

• Landing page → Email capture → Thank you page

• Converted at 38%

• Built my email list

Funnel #2: Video Tutorial Funnel

• YouTube video → Blog post → Resource page → Affiliate offer

• Converted at 12%

• High engagement traffic

Funnel #3: Comparison Funnel

• Google search → Comparison post → Feature breakdown → Signup

• Converted at 9%

• Highest quality leads

4. Blog (built-in blogging platform)

What made this powerful:

• No separate WordPress hosting needed

• Integrated with email system

• Landing pages embedded directly

• All analytics in one place

My content production:

• 2 blog posts weekly

• 1,500-3,000 words each

• SEO optimized

• Helpful first, promotional second

5. Automation workflows

Key automation I built:

New subscriber automation:

• Welcome email sent immediately

• Lead magnet delivered

• 5-email sequence begins

• Tagged based on link clicks

Engaged lead automation:

• Triggered when someone clicks affiliate link

• Sends case study email

• Offers personal help via email

• Follows up after 7 days

These automations ran 24/7 while I created more content.

Total cost for all these features: 0∗∗Value created:∗∗ 1,847 in 90 days

After 90 days on the free plan, I upgraded to the $ 27/month Startup plan.

Why I upgraded:

• Hit 2,000 contact limit

• Wanted more email flexibility

• Could afford it from affiliate earnings

ROI of upgrade:

• Cost: $ 27/month

• Affiliate earnings: $ 327/month

• Net profit: $ 300/month

• ROI: 1,111%

This is the beautiful cycle: Use the platform to promote the platform. Your earnings fund your subscription.

Why comparisons worked:

• People research before buying

• They're comparing options anyway

• Honest reviews build trust

My comparison framework:

Element 1: Clear criteria

• Price

• Features

• Ease of use

• Support quality

• Limitations

Element 2: Personal testing

• I actually used each platform

• Shared specific experiences

• Showed screenshots

Element 3: Honest drawbacks

• Mentioned Systeme.io limitations

• Acknowledged when competitors were better

• Explained who should choose alternatives

Example comparison that performed well:

"Systeme.io vs. Teachable: Which Should You Choose?"

• 3,400 words

• Side-by-side feature comparison

• Pricing calculator tool

• Real user testimonials

• Clear recommendation based on needs

Results:

• 1,240 visitors in first month

• 89 affiliate clicks

• 12 conversions

• $ 132.30 monthly recurring commission

The key: I recommended Teachable when it was better fit, and Systeme.io when it made more sense. This honesty built trust.

Tutorial videos and posts consistently drove conversions.

Why tutorials worked:

• Demonstrated platform capabilities

• Showed it's easy to use

• Reduced purchase anxiety

Top performing tutorials:

"How to Build Your First Sales Funnel in 30 Minutes"

• YouTube video: 18 minutes

• Step-by-step walkthrough

• Used Systeme.io

• 2,340 views

• 34 conversions

"Complete Email Marketing Setup (For Beginners)"

• Blog post: 2,800 words

• Screenshots at every step

• Copy-paste templates included

• 890 visitors

• 21 conversions

The tutorial formula:

• Identify common problem

• Show complete solution

• Use Systeme.io as tool

• Make it easy to follow along

• Include affiliate link in resources

People who followed tutorials often signed up because they'd already invested time and saw it working.

Sharing real results built massive credibility.

Monthly income reports:

• Transparent breakdown of earnings

• Showed how many referrals

• Explained what content drove sales

• Inspired others to try

Example post: "Month 6: How I Made $ 847 in Systeme.io Affiliate Commissions"

• Traffic sources breakdown

• Top performing content

• Lessons learned

• Exact strategies used

Results:

• 560 visitors

• 43% read time (people read the whole thing)

• 18 new subscribers

• 7 conversions

Why this worked: Proof is powerful. Showing real results made people believe it was possible for them too.

The email list became my most valuable asset.

Weekly newsletter format:

• Monday: Tip or tutorial

• Wednesday: Personal story or lesson learned

• Friday: Resource roundup or tool recommendation

Email strategy:

• 80% value, 20% promotion

• Share personal journey

• Answer subscriber questions

• Build genuine relationships

Results:

• Email list grew to 420 subscribers (Month 6)

• Average open rate: 41%

• Click rate: 7.8%

• Conversion rate: 5.2%

The email list became my primary conversion source by Month 4.

Get the Systeme.io courses PLR package (thousands of dollars worth) for FREE. Use these materials for your education or sell them and keep 100% profit for yourself with a full resell license.

With the foundation built, I focused on optimizing what worked.

Key improvements:

Content refinement:

• Updated top-performing posts with better CTAs

• Added video content to blog posts

• Improved SEO optimization

• Created content clusters around key topics

Email sequence enhancement:

• A/B tested subject lines

• Added more personal stories

• Segmented list by interests

• Created specialized sequences for different audiences

Traffic diversification:

• Started Pinterest marketing

• Guested on 3 podcasts

• Wrote guest posts for established blogs

• Expanded YouTube content

Results Month 4-6:

• Month 4: $ 573/month recurring

• Month 5: $ 847/month recurring

• Month 6: $ 1,240/month recurring

Total subscribers: 420
Total conversions: 78
Average LTV per referral: $ 189 (over 12 months)

Reaching $ 1,000/month gave me confidence to scale.

New initiatives:

YouTube expansion:

• Increased to 2 videos weekly

• Created tutorial series

• Built longer-form content

Paid advertising (Month 9):

• Started small: $ 100/month Facebook ads

• Targeted leads to comparison content

• ROI: 340% (earned 340 for every 100 spent)

Community building:

• Started Facebook group for Systeme.io users

• Provided free support

• Shared tips and tutorials

• Built loyal community

Course creation (Month 10):

• Finally launched my first product!

• "Affiliate Marketing with Systeme.io" course

• $ 97 price point

• Used Systeme.io to host it

• Cross-promoted with affiliate content

Results Month 7-12:

• Month 7: $ 1,540/month recurring

• Month 8: $ 1,890/month recurring

• Month 9: $ 2,340/month recurring

• Month 10: $ 2,890/month recurring

• Month 11: $ 3,540/month recurring

• Month 12: $ 4,200/month recurring

Plus course sales: $ 3,470 additional (first 2 months)

Year 1 totals:

• Affiliate earnings: $ 23,580

• Course sales: $ 3,470

• Total: $ 27,050

• Starting capital: Still $ 0

Organic search (35% of conversions):

• Blog posts ranking on Google

• Long-tail keywords like "cheapest course platform"

• Comparison searches

• Tutorial searches

YouTube (28% of conversions):

• Tutorial videos

• Platform comparisons

• Feature walkthroughs

• Honest reviews

Email list (22% of conversions):

• Newsletter subscribers

• Email sequences

• Direct recommendations

• Follow-up campaigns

Social media (10% of conversions):

• Reddit discussions

• Facebook groups

• Twitter engagement

• Community building

Paid ads (5% of conversions):

• Started Month 9

• Small budget

• High ROI

• Targeted campaigns

Top 5 converting pieces:

1. "The Real Cost of Running an Online Business (And How I Cut Mine by 73%)"

• 38 conversions

• $ 4,560 in first-year commissions

• Published Month 3

2. "Systeme.io Complete Tutorial (For Beginners)"

• 29 conversions

• YouTube video + blog post

• $ 3,480 in first-year commissions

3. "I Tested 7 Course Platforms – Here's What I Found"

• 24 conversions

• Comprehensive comparison

• $ 2,880 in first-year commissions

4. "Build a Complete Sales Funnel in 1 Hour"

• 21 conversions

• Step-by-step tutorial

• $ 2,520 in first-year commissions

5. "Why I Switched from Teachable to Systeme.io"

• 19 conversions

• Personal case study

• $ 2,280 in first-year commissions

These 5 pieces accounted for $ 15,720 (66.7%) of my affiliate earnings.

1. Authentic, detailed content
Don't just recommend—teach. Show people how to succeed whether they use your affiliate link or not.

2. Using the platform yourself
I could speak authentically because I genuinely used Systeme.io daily. People felt that authenticity.

3. Honest about limitations
I never hid Systeme.io's weaknesses. This built trust that led to conversions.

4. Email list building
By Month 6, email was my #1 conversion source. Build your list from Day 1.

5. Documenting the journey
People connected with my real story—struggles and all—more than polished marketing.

6. Patience with content
Many posts took 3-4 months to rank and generate traffic. Content compounds.

1. Direct promotion without value
Early attempts at "just promoting" fell flat. Value first, promotion second.

2. Trying to rank for competitive keywords
"Best course platform" was too competitive. Long-tail keywords worked better.

3. Inconsistent content schedule
Weeks I didn't publish, traffic stagnated. Consistency matters.

4. Ignoring analytics
Took me 3 months to really analyze what was working. Should have started sooner.

5. Generic content
My early posts were too generic. Specific, detailed content performed better.

From: "I need a product to make money"
To: "I can add value by recommending solutions I use"

From: "More content is better"
To: "Better content that truly helps is better"

From: "I need to be perfect"
To: "I need to start and improve"

From: "Affiliate marketing is sleazy"
To: "Ethical affiliate marketing helps people discover solutions"

Get the Systeme.io courses PLR package (thousands of dollars worth) for FREE. Use these materials for your education or sell them and keep 100% profit for yourself with a full resell license.

The free plan gave me everything I needed:

• Landing pages

• Email marketing (2,000 contacts)

• Sales funnels

• Blog platform

• Automation tools

I built a $ 1,847/month business without spending anything on tools.

No integration headaches:

• Everything in one dashboard

• No connecting multiple tools

• Simple learning curve

• Less technical complexity

This let me focus on content and marketing, not technical troubleshooting.

I could promote Systeme.io ethically because:

• It saves people real money

• It solves real problems

• It delivers on its promises

• Support is genuinely good

I never felt sleazy promoting it because the value was undeniable.

The 30% recurring commission is powerful:

• One referral pays forever

• Customer LTV is high

• Income compounds

• Passive income becomes real

Example: My Month 2 referrals are still paying me 18 months later.

Systeme.io is perfect for beginners:

• Simple interface

• Good documentation

• Responsive support

• Not overwhelming

This made it easy to create tutorials and help others get started.

Action steps:

• Sign up for Systeme.io free plan

• Spend 2 weeks genuinely testing it

• Build a sample course or funnel

• Document your testing process

• Join Systeme.io affiliate program

Time investment: 10-15 hours
Cost: $ 0

Create your first pieces:

• Honest review post (2,000+ words)

• Tutorial video (10-15 minutes)

• Comparison article (comparing Systeme.io to alternatives)

Focus on: Being helpful, not promotional

Get your content in front of people:

• Share on relevant subreddits

• Answer Quora questions

• Post in Facebook groups

• Build your email list

Goal: First sale by Week 8

Double down on what works:

• Create more of content that converts

• Build your email list

• Engage with your audience

• Stay consistent

Goal: $ 500/month recurring by Month 6

Want to accelerate your journey? Get the Systeme.io courses PLR package (thousands of dollars worth) for FREE.

What's included:

• Complete courses on Systeme.io

• Email marketing training

• Sales funnel templates

• Affiliate marketing strategies

Two ways to use it:

• For your education: Learn the exact strategies that work

• Sell it: Keep 100% profit with full resell license

This is the shortcut I wish I had when I started.