How we make money » Rogue Engineer (original) (raw)

When I started this site, my plan out of the gate was to provide extremely valuable content and do so, for free. I wanted to do this because most of the folks that I speak too are young adults to middle-aged people trying to save a buck. Most are trying this whole DIY furniture thing for the first time and are very uneasy about the whole thing. What better way to help people feel more comfortable about diving into a new hobby than to tell them exactly how to do it for free.

So many people ask me, “How can you offer your plans for free?” Well there are many other ways to make money from your reader without taking it out of their pockets. Below I’ve outlined the ways that I make money or in some cases, save money. I’m providing this information to you as a disclosure in order to be completely transparent.

Real Estate | Ad Networks

Yes, I make money off of real estate, but not the kind that your thinking of, real estate on my website. There are many companies out there that want to show you their ads. So much so, that they’re willing to pay me for space on my site to do it. So I “lease out” real estate on my website to them. But, instead of being paid based on a monthly agreed upon amount, I get paid based on how many people see those ads. Most of these ads don’t care if you click-through to them, they just want to be flashed in front of your face, which I like because it doesn’t cost you a dime. Of course, it does get A LOT more complex than this. But, you get the gist of it.

Commission | Affiliate Links

That’s right, but I’m not your typical sleazy snake oil salesman. Most of the links to materials and tools will redirect you to amazon.com of homedepot.com. These links are special, in that they let Amazon or Home Depot know that you were referred to them by me, and if you buy anything within 24 hours, I get a commission. Cool Huh? Even better is the fact that the cost does not change based on the fact that you are a “referral”. So it is Amazon that pays me out of their profits not you!

Personally, I would refer you to Amazon for these things anyways since they have tons of reviews and usually the lowest prices. Plus, most people are already members which makes ordering a breeze.

Free Product

One really cool thing about owning this site is the fact that I can reach out to the brands I love and usually they will send me free product, which saves me a ton of money. There is no agreement here saying that I can only use their things or that I have to like their products. So, if it’s crap I’ll let them and you know about it.

So just to let you know, I choose what products I want to use, or I think would be best suited for my audience, first, then I reach out to them and see if they want to show their love back to me. Not the other way around. They usually do because they know I will brag about their stuff to my readers and they will appear in pictures, which they like.

Some brands are willing to write a check to help cover materials, labor, etc in exchange for having their brand attached to that plan. Sometimes they’ll want a certain product of theirs included in the post which I always maintain my own views and opinions.

Brand Ambassador

After much consideration it is possible that a brand would want to pay me a monthly fee to continually use their products. This is truly after much consideration. Not only do I really have to like the brand, I have to like working with the people behind the brand, and the brand has to make sense for you as my reader!