Cha-ching! How a Vendasta affiliate is making 6-figures in passive income (and counting)
Experienced marketing consultant located in Toronto, Canada.
Joined Vendasta’s Affiliate Program in September 2021 to diversify income sources.
Motivated by the goal to establish a reliable and growing stream of passive income.
The Challenge:
Devon Hennig, a former marketing executive at Vendasta, transitioned to solopreneurship in 2022 to pursue his entrepreneurial dream of running a marketing advisory business. Despite relishing his newfound independence, the uncertainty of irregular income is a common challenge for consultants.
Fortunately, Vendasta introduced its Affiliate Program, enabling Hennig to utilize his familiarity with its software to assist other agencies in scaling their operations and boosting revenue by referring them to the company.
Through this initiative – open to anyone – he successfully generated passive income, establishing a strong financial foundation to support his entrepreneurial endeavors and passions.
Hennig’s projections through Vendasta Affiliate Program involvement
$150-300k
Cumulative revenue
Expected revenue since joining the Affiliate Program, factoring in close rates and pipeline value.
Affiliate income
growth from 2022
Leads closed since
joining
Background
Hennig, like others in his position, sought a dependable source of passive income. This aspiration turned into reality when he joined his former employer Vendasta’s Affiliate Program. The program provides affiliates with a market-leading 30% commission on closed sales, potentially reaching up to$22,300 per referral.
In his own words: “Becoming a Vendasta affiliate has transformed my life by providing a solid foundation of income for all my endeavors.”
“Having a consistent affiliate income has empowered me to take risks in other aspects of my life, particularly in exploring diverse business ventures and passions.”
Objectives
Hennig’s decision to become a Vendasta affiliate stemmed from several key motivations:
1. Build predictable income: His primary goal was to establish a stable, predictable, and progressively increasing stream of recurring income to reduce reliance on project-based revenue.
2. Become selective about project commitments: This income stream aimed to revolutionize his work approach, allowing him to selectively choose projects aligning with his interests and expertise.
3. Enjoy more free time: By strategically selecting marketing projects and relying on passive income, Hennig gained the freedom to spend more quality time with his family and pursue personal projects.
4. Help marketing agencies win: Additionally, he aimed to support other marketing agencies in effectively scaling operations by leveraging his deep understanding of Vendasta and its solutions.
Moreover, it was crucial for Hennig to engage in an affiliate program that allowed him the flexibility to work at his own pace without imposing excessive demands for marketing a company’s products and services.
“Being an affiliate isn’t my identity,” he says.
“I’m not looking for the next product to hawk or referral code to slip into my blog content. It’s something I stumbled into naturally because I cared about Vendasta and knew its solutions deeply, and that’s benefitted both me and them.”
The approach
At first, Hennig joined Vendasta’s Affiliate Program without setting specific goals, considering it one of several income-generating activities for his business. However, after finding success quickly, he increased time spent on the program.
“Once things heated up—probably after the first $10,000—I saw a clear path to $100k and thought I could get there in a year,” he recalls.
Here are the strategies and insights he shares for effective promotion of Vendasta:
1. Use content marketing and organic SEO
Hennig’s core methods revolve around creating SEO-optimized content on his blog, with amplification via social media.
“I was already generating traffic for Vendasta through my articles and videos when the Affiliate Program launched, so I just had to add some CTAs, and we were off to the races and saw results immediately,” he says.
2. Embark on disciplined experimentation
It’s important for affiliate marketers to focus on their strengths instead of attempting everything simultaneously.
“Lean into your superpower. Are you good at social media? Email? Billboards? Every marketing tactic can work—just don’t try to do it all. Establish predictable revenue with what you know best, then experiment and expand,” Hennig says.
3. Spend money to make money (carefully)
While appreciating affiliate marketers need to take a frugal approach to any paid marketing, Hennig emphasizes the importance of strategic spending to maximize the impact of content driving leads to the affiliate program.
“As frugal as I am, I realize that sometimes the best way to scale is by investing in growth. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t spend money on link building, content assets, and more,” he says.
4. Focus on sales enablement
In the context of affiliate referrals, thorough sales enablement is crucial.
“The Vendasta Affiliate Program is commission-based and pays per deal, not per lead. Sales should be well-informed about prospects’ origins, expectations, and ongoing campaigns before you launch,” Hennig says.
5. Manage your expectations
Although affiliate marketing offers significant rewards, it’s crucial to recognize the inherent difficulties in nurturing prospects, with a considerable number of leads expected not to convert.
“Most of your leads won’t close. That’s normal. You have multiple parties trying to contact prospects, and it can be overwhelming,” he says.
“Being a Vendasta affiliate has changed my life. It’s got the best terms of any affiliate program out there, and I’ve been able to build up enough recurring revenue to quit my full-time job and pursue my delusions of grandeur—aka writing books, starting businesses, and spending more time with my family. Who wouldn’t want their own version of that? “
Devon Hennig
Self-employed marketing consultant & Vendasta Affiliate
Conclusion
That being said, we want to be upfront that being a successful affiliate can take time. It requires understanding our platform and developing a talk track on how it solves the needs of your leads.
Our Affiliate Program welcomes everyone, and our dedicated Affiliates team is ready to help you find success and reap the rewards. Click the button below to join today!