If you’ve spent any time reading family travel blogs, lifestyle blogs, or parenting blogs online, you’ve encountered the little note at the beginning of blogs saying, “This blog may contain affiliate links”. But what exactly does this blurb mean, and how does it affect you, the blog reader, and me, the blogger?

Let’s break this down in a simple, transparent way so you (and I) can understand precisely how affiliate links work, why they show up on the blogs and social media accounts we love, and how they influence what gets posted.

What Are Affiliate Links?

Affiliate links are personalized tracking links connecting a product or service to the blogger or influencer who recommends it. When a blogger, like me, writes about my favorite baby carrier, stroller, activity, or hotel, I inclued a link to where you can buy it. This link contains some code that says, “Caitlin sent me”.

If you click on my links and make a purchase, the company pays me a small commission. This ranges from 1% to 50% of the purchase price, depending on the company or product. The cost of the product or service isn’t influenced by the link you use, unless I offer a special discounted rate through my link.

Why Do Bloggers Use Affiliate Links?

Bloggers use affiliate links to earn money instead of using ads, sponsored posts, or paid writing. There are three reasons why I do this:

1. I don’t like reading blogs that are filled with ads, and keep my blog ad-free. This decision means I can’t earn money from readers, but it also means you’re not constantly clicking away pop-ups.
2. There are products, companies, and services we use daily. If I’m providing my readers with honest feedback, affiliate links are a great way to keep my reviews honest. Sponsored posts (posts that companies pay for) don’t allow me to voice my genuine opinion.
3. I’m a mom first, a traveler second, and a blogger third. I can’t always meet deadlines or handle the lengthy negotiation process required to work directly with brands as a paid writer.

Affiliate marketing is the easiest and quickest way bloggers and influencers can start earning money online. Parenting, traveling full-time, and blogging takes up a lot of time and energy – I don’t have enough time or mental space to maintain another job. This is why I use affiliate links in my blog. It’s a way for me to be compensated for the effort I put into creating helpful, free content for readers.

Affiliate links are a win-win-win. You, the reader, get honest recommendations for travel gear, hotels, and flights. I, the blogger, earn a little bit of money if you decide to purchase something. The company gets a booking or a sale without having to market its product or service directly.

How do Affiliate Links Influence Content?

Affiliate links influence content a lot more than we think.

Commissions

Certain products and companies offer higher commissions than others. This influences the companies I choose to work with. If two companies offer the same service, but one gives bloggers a 10% commission compared to a 2%, the links on my blog send you to the company that offers me the higher commission, unless I hear about overwhelmingly negative experiences through that company.

Cookie Lifetime

Cookies, the tracking elements embedded in affiliate links, give bloggers a limited amount of time to earn. Some companies offer a 1-click tracking, meaning I only earn money if you, the reader, purchase something directly from my link. Others provide a 30-day cookie lifetime. This means I can earn a commission up to 30 days after you initially click my link. When given the option, I’ll opt for the company that provides me with the longer lifetime, but here, I won’t recommend a company that we don’t personally use.

Good Old-Fashioned Greed

As a blogger without a full-time job, it is incredibly tempting to create lengthy packing lists filled with affiliate links. Luxury products, like $2,000 travel strollers, can earn me up to $200 per sale. For now, I am holding strong to my moral values and not recommending products simply for a commission.

When it comes to hotel bookings, I do add a luxury stay to my suggestions. My family always chooses budget-friendly options, but most of my friends and family would rather stay in a luxurious 5-star resort than a cheap studio near the beach. For me, as the blogger, recommending a luxury stay means getting a higher commission.

I will never recommend a hotel if it has overwhelmingly bad reviews, if I know someone who stayed there and had a bad experience, or if it doesn’t seem family-friendly to me.

How Do Affiliate Links Work Behind the Scenes?

Here’s a short step-by-step breakdown for how affiliate links work.

1. A blogger applies for and is accepted into an affiliate company.
2. The blogger recieves unique affiliate links for products and services (sometimes with a discount).
3. These links are included in the blog, free downloadables, and on their social media profile.
4. You (the reader) click the link and are redirected to the company’s website.
5. If you make a purchase on this site within a specific time window (ranging from 1 hour to 1 year), the blogger earns a commission.

The affiliate marketing process is simple, seamless, and secretive. Consumers don’t notice anything different in the pricing or process – the tracking happens automatically.

Why Transparency Matters

When you come to my site, you’re looking to travel with your family. You’re looking to inform yourself about what you need and where to go – you’re putting an immense amount of trust in me. Thank you! The trust you show my by reading my content is worth more to me than all the money in the world. That’s why I am determined to state when a post contains affiliate links clearly, what companies I am affiliated with, and why. I don’t want to push unnecessary products, influence you to buy things out of fear, or share unnecessary services to earn money.

Everything I link to in this blog is something that truly makes life on the road with kids safer, easier, or more enjoyable.

How to Avoid Supporting Blogs and Bloggers with Affiliate Links

If you read this and don’t want to support me (or any other blogger/influencer) through affiliate links, that’s fine. The more I blog and the deeper I dive into affiliate marketing, the less I want to support the entire content creator market as well. While I don’t earn through traffic to my blog, simply by reading the blog, you are helping me – the page views add up and Google recommends my blog to more people.

Here are the easiest ways to AVOID supporting me (or any other blogger) financially.

1. Don’t click on links in blogs. Not all links are affiliate links, but if you follow a link and it takes you to a website that sells a service or product, it’s probably an affiliate link.
2. Clear your cookie history. Affiliate links work through cookies. By regularly clearing your history, you’re making sure your money only goes to the company, not the blogger who convinced you to buy their product.
3. Buy secondhand. There are very few online secondhand shops that offer affiliate commissions, I’ve checked. Purchasing products at a local secondhand store or through Facebook Marketplace guarantees no one gets the commission.
4. Stop buying things. If you really want to make sure no one benefits from affiliate marketing, stop purchasing things online, especially from huge companies that offer same-day shipping.

Just remember, bloggers work for ourselves and rely on your financial support. If you’re going to purchase a product and use a blog to research it, buying it through an affiliate link is a simple, free way to show your appreciation. An average blog takes me about 25 hours to research, write, and publish.

Final Thoughts

Affiliate links are an easy way for me to support my family while creating content that provides you and your family with free destination guides, tips for finding the best places to stay, and inspiration for your next family adventure. But they are a tempting way for me and other publishers to overhype certain expensive or luxury items.

As a reader, your purchasing power is the easiest and cheapest way to show your appreciation for my hard work. An average blog takes about 25 hours to put together—and I’m doing that for free. But, it’s important to remember that overhyping certain products, luxury goods, and claiming you need to purchase more than you actually need is a successful method for me, the blogger, to supplement my income.

Be a conscious consumer. Spend your money on what you need, buy second-hand whenever possible, and don’t buy something just because I claim it’s a “must-have” product. If I do inspire you to purchase an activity, toy, accessory, camera, or laptop, please use my link. It’s a completely free way for you to support what I do.