Joined Amazon Influencer, Ditched TikTok, Built a Website — No, I Didn’t Make $100K in 30 Days
Intro
You’ve seen the TikToks:
"I made $100K in 30 days blah blah blah"
Cool. I made... $0.40 in my first 30 days.
Not a typo. Forty cents. And that’s fine.
This post isn’t a sob story. It’s just the reality of starting affiliate marketing as a regular person, with no team, no viral video, and no sales funnel. No monetized newsletter. No “free masterclass.” Just a guy trying stuff out for fun.
Quick Backstory
Before any of this, I was a federal government employee. I took Elon Musk’s now-infamous “deferred resignation” and walked. I wasn’t interested in waiting for the system to implode—I wanted out, and I’m really glad I got out of there.
Since then, I’ve been on the road, traveling full-time in my van with my dog, really just messing around until September when the deferred resignation dries up and I have to find a job. I don’t have all the answers. I don’t even have most of them. But I’m figuring it out loud.
First 30 Days – Amazon Influencer Overview
Earnings: $0.40
Programs Approved: Amazon Associates + Amazon Influencer
On-Site Commission: Approved
Total Videos Eligible for Earnings: 10
Entry via TikTok: Created a fresh account, one video got traction, helped with approval
Exit from TikTok: Quickly realized I highly dislike the platform and want nothing to do with it
Conversion Data: One sale, one click-through, forty cents. But hey—not zero.
What I Actually Did
Built a website. Basic, but I’m just one guy who has no idea what he's doing.
Got approved for on-site commissions
Uploaded 7 more product videos — 10 total eligible so far
Focused on high-ticket vanlife (hate the term, but SEO, right) / RV equipment I personally use
Launched a basic Google Ads campaign to push traffic to my Amazon storefront (I have no clue what I’m doing, and I’m pretty sure it’s burning money—but it’s an experiment)
Also worth noting: I tested TikTok Shop early on. Made some videos, earned absolutely nothing, and took them down. Wasn’t my thing. Honestly, that space is super weird. Not judging, but it’s not something I want to shape my content around.
Why I’m Sharing This
Because no one else does. Most people only post when they’re suddenly making money. They skip the zero phase, or in my case, the $0.40 phase.
This is what starting looks like for most of us. No secret group. No course. Just showing up and trying to build something that might eventually work. And if it doesn’t? Then at least this’ll serve as a time capsule of what I tried, how it went, and where it broke.
Also — side note — I’m convinced 99% of the main “vanlife” (cringe) creators on TikTok and other platforms don’t actually live like that full time. I’ve been all over the country. I’ve stayed in national forests, free campgrounds, state parks, you name it — and at 36, I’m often the youngest person there by about 30 years. If these influencers are out here in their vans 24/7, they must be parked in some parallel universe I’ve never seen. Just saying.
Where I’m Going From Here
Ditching TikTok — I’m done playing the algorithm lottery. And honestly, the content on there is just not for me.
Doubling down on my website — I control it, and it actually reflects what I care about
Continuing product reviews — No fluff, just gear I use daily. The videos on Amazon are going to be more on the positive side. However, I will post 100% honest product reviews via this blog.
Targeting the RV/travel gear niche — Because it’s my real life, not a strategy
Tweaking the ad campaign — Even if it doesn’t work, I’m learning something
Seeing if blogging can still earn income in 2025 — Or it’s not 2003 anymore. I guess we’ll see. Either way, this format feels better than chasing views for attention’s sake.
Coming Soon: Travel Reviews
I’m building a section of my site to review the places I stay — state parks (mainly), free campsites, some private ones etc. Each post will have my personal score and the Google user rating side-by-side. Mostly because my thoughts almost never match what the public rating says. I think that contrast is useful.
Final Thoughts
Thirty days in: $0.40. Not zero. Not $100K.
This blog will keep tracking my progress—whether the number grows or not. No filters. No marketing speak. Although it will be SEO optimized. Just a real person figuring it out from the ground up. Until September, when I might be living under a bridge—or maybe not. Let’s see.
[Transparency Note]
This blog post is optimized for SEO (Search Engine Optimization), so you’ll see keywords like "Amazon Influencer earnings," "affiliate marketing blog," and "starting from scratch in 2025" woven in. That’s not to sound robotic—it just helps the right people find this post. If any. Keeping it honest.
SEO Keywords (for the bots and the curious):
amazon influencer program 2025
affiliate marketing blog
starting affiliate marketing from scratch
vanlife product reviews
building a niche website
is blogging still profitable in 2025
tiktok shop experience
honest affiliate income report
Thanks for reading.
- Ryan
