Brought to you by Travelpayouts

Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to monetize a travel blog.

But most bloggers struggle with it because they’re making a few critical mistakes.

I know this because I made these exact mistakes when I started.

If you’re adding affiliate links to your blog but not seeing consistent commissions, there’s a good chance you’re doing one (or more) of these things wrong.

Let’s dive into the top three mistakes travel bloggers make with affiliate marketing and what you should do instead.

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Mistake #1: Not Tracking Performance

A few years ago, I sat down with my brother-in-law. He’s a business-minded guy, so naturally, he was curious about how my blog made money.

I walked him through the process:

1. I write in-depth travel guides and share practical tips based on real experiences.
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2. I recommend hotels, tours, travel gear, and other essentials that help my audience have better trips.
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3. When readers book or buy through my affiliate links, I earn a commission at no extra cost to the reader.
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   Brands like REI, Target, Booking.com, Expedia, and The North Face (along with millions of others) pay bloggers like us for referring customers to their products/services.

He listened, nodded, and then asked one simple question that stopped me in my tracks:

"So, which blog posts and affiliate links are making you the most money?"

I blinked. I had no idea.

At the time, I was throwing affiliate recommendations into blog posts, hoping for the best, but I wasn’t actually tracking which ones were driving clicks or commissions.

(Sound familiar?)

What Happens If You Don’t Track?

Without tracking, you’re essentially guessing, and that guesswork can cost you a lot of potential blogging income.

• You have no idea which blog posts are making you money and which ones aren’t.
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• You struggle to plan future content because you don’t know which topics actually make money.
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• You waste time promoting products or services that your audience isn’t interested in.​
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• You miss out on easy income because you’re not optimizing what’s already working.

Affiliate marketing isn’t about adding random links and hoping for the best. It’s about doubling down on what converts.

And to do that, you need data.

What To Do Instead

Once I realized I was leaving money on the table, I stopped guessing and started tracking.

• I switched to Travelpayouts to manage most of my affiliate programs in one place; no more bouncing between multiple affiliate dashboards.
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• I used their Link Switcher tool to instantly turn existing hotel and tour links into affiliate links, without manually updating every post.
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• I focused on my top-performing links. Once I saw which blog posts and programs were driving the most income, I doubled down on what worked.

Once I started tracking and optimizing my affiliate strategy, my monthly blogging income (affiliate income only) jumped from around $2,000 to nearly $12,000 in less than a year.

That’s a 6x increase just by focusing on what was already working.

Want to stop guessing and start making more money through affiliate marketing?

>> Click here to sign up for Travelpayouts here --> it’s completely free and helps you track everything in one place.

Mistake #2: Writing Posts That Don’t Convert

When I finally started tracking my affiliate links, I had another huge realization…

Most of my blog posts weren’t actually making me money.

I had posts bringing in thousands of readers per day, but they weren’t leading to bookings, purchases, or commissions.

And once I looked closer, I understood why.

I was writing blog posts that attracted a lot of readers, but those readers were just gathering information, not looking to book or buy anything.

Posts like:

• Best Time to Visit [Destination]
• Top 10 Hidden Gems in [Destination]
• Ultimate Bucket List for [Destination]

These kinds of posts perform well in search and can bring in ad revenue, but they rarely lead to affiliate income.

Why?

Because they aren’t buying keywords, meaning the reader’s intent isn’t to make a purchase.

Someone searching for “Best Time to Visit Italy” isn’t looking to book a hotel, buy travel gear, or reserve a tour. They’re in research mode, not purchase mode.

If you want to earn affiliate commissions, you need to write content that matches user intent. The kind of content that leads someone to take action (and spend money) right away.

One of my best examples?

My "Where to Stay in Bora Bora" blog post.

In this post, I break down the best resorts and hotels, recommend where to stay based on budget, and include affiliate links so my readers can book the accommodation they want instantly.

(Quick tip: If you're not sure which affiliate programs to use, Travelpayouts gives you access to 100+ travel affiliate programs​ so you can monetize hotel, flight, and tour bookings all in one place.)

The outcome is simple... Readers follow my recommendations, book their stay, and I earn a commission because the post matches exactly what they were looking for.

Key takeaway: If you want more affiliate sales, write content that naturally leads to bookings and purchases.

Mistake #3: Skipping Clear Calls-to-Action (CTAs)

Once I started writing posts with buying intent, I expected my affiliate sales to skyrocket.

Some did (yay!). But others… nothing. Crickets.

Then it hit me: Most blog readers are clueless when it comes to what they’re supposed to do next.

And I don’t mean that in a bad way. I mean that in a people-on-the-internet-need-you-to-spell-things-out-for-them way.

What Happens When You Skip CTAs?

• People don’t know where to click. They might be interested, but if you don’t make it painfully obvious, they’ll scroll right past your affiliate link.
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• They don’t know links are clickable. You’d be shocked how many people don’t realize that a blue, underlined word means they can click it.​
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• You lose out on commissions 80% of the time. Not because people wouldn’t have bought, but because you didn’t tell them exactly what to do.

What To Do Instead

You have to spell it out. Literally.

Instead of this:

❌ “Find hotels here”

Say this instead:

✅ “Click here to check availability and reserve your stay before it sells out.”

If you assume your readers will figure it out on their own, you’re losing money because most of them won’t.

Quite literally assume most of your readers are at a 4th grade level.

When I finally started adding clear CTAs to my content, my affiliate conversions doubled almost immediately.

Important note: If you want to see how your CTAs are performing, sign up for Travelpayouts here. They make it easy to see which links are getting clicks so you can optimize for conversions.

Bonus Mistake: Not Using Affiliate Links in Email Newsletters

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know I’m relentless about building an email list.

It’s not just a nice-to-have.. it’s the foundation of a sustainable blogging business.

Yet most bloggers I talk to don’t know how to make money from their list. They send emails, maybe even get decent open rates… but see little to no income.

I know this because I was one of them.

I kept hearing, “The money is in the list,” but I didn’t fully get it.

Until I ran a simple experiment.

At the time, I was writing about teaching English online, and one of the biggest challenges for new teachers was getting a TEFL certificate; a required step for most online ESL jobs.

I had been recommending Premier TEFL in my blog posts, and while those posts were getting 25,000 monthly readers collectively, they were only bringing in around $400 per month in total affiliate sales.

So I sent a short email to 300 subscribers (that's all I had on my email list), sharing how I got certified and including my affiliate link.

By the end of the first day, I had made over $800.

Two weeks later, I followed up with tips for passing the TEFL course. That email brought in $1,400.

Finally, I sent one more email explaining how to become an online ESL teacher, with TEFL certification as a key step. That email added another $750.

In just three emails, I earned nearly $3,000 from the same affiliate program that had only made $400 that month on my blog.

Why Email Converts Better Than Blog Posts

• Your audience is already engaged. They know you, trust you, and are more likely to take action.
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• They actually read your recommendations. Unlike blog traffic, where people skim and bounce, email subscribers are waiting to hear from you.
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• You can follow up. Unlike a blog post, where a reader might never return, email lets you remind them, offer more insights, and increase conversions.

If you’re making affiliate sales on your blog, imagine what would happen if you started adding those same links to your email newsletters.

Key Takeaway: Affiliate marketing works best when your links are placed where your audience is most engaged. Don’t limit yourself to just blog posts.

Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine by Mike Michalowicz

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Talk to you soon,

Laura

P.S. Here are my top recommended blogging resources.
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