Chapter 5: Chasing Fast Money: My Hard Lesson with Affiliate Marketing

In the early days of my blogging journey, I was constantly thinking about making quick money. 

I was fascinated by the concept of affiliate marketing and genuinely enjoyed the process of joining new programs. There was something exciting about signing up for new programs and imagining the passive income that would follow. Convinced that more banners meant more clicks (and money), I flooded my blog posts with affiliate links, hoping for an overnight breakthrough.

Whenever I added a banner to my blog, I’d check my account the following day with anticipation… only to find nothing. No clicks, no earnings, just silence.

Not being one to give up easily, I also enrolled in Google AdSense. Unlike affiliate programs, it gave me a sliver of hope—I was earning a few cents here and there. After a couple of years, I was finally getting there. I was only 50 cents away from reaching the $100 withdrawal threshold. But then, out of nowhere, everything came crashing down.

Google disabled my AdSense account. According to them, there were invalid activities happening on my blog. I never clicked on the banners or invited people to do so. The only mistake I made that messed up the entire system was that I followed some technical advice from Google on improving my blog and receiving more views from the audience. Having no technical knowledge, I might have wrongly understood and applied the instructions to my detriment. That was in 2011. I appealed, hoping to clear the misunderstanding, but my efforts yielded nothing. The account remained shut. Just like that, the tiny flicker of hope I had was extinguished.

That moment forced me to confront a painful truth: I had been blogging for all the wrong reasons. My goal wasn’t to help or connect with anyone but to make money. And I paid the price for that wrong mindset. The motivation I once had disappeared. I stopped blogging altogether, feeling defeated, disillusioned, and deeply disappointed.

Looking back, I realize that while the affiliate programs were legitimate, my approach was fundamentally flawed. It wasn’t about the number of links or banners I could cram into a post—it was about providing real value to readers. That’s what builds trust, drives engagement, and, eventually, creates income.

It was a bitter lesson, but a necessary one. If you're considering starting a blog for quick cash, take it from me: value first, money later. Always.