Lydia Martin moved from launch-dependent courses to predictable income through a membership that grew to 45% of her revenue by 2024, plus affiliate marketing scaled to 30%. She calls affiliate income "trust-based" and works only when recommendations are genuine.
Chapters
You. We're kicking off a brand new chapter of the podcast with a special 21 day series called From Purpose to Impact. I'm celebrating by giving back to listeners who are ready to take the next step. If you've been feeling stuck, overwhelmed or unsure of how to move forward in your online business, I want to hear from you. Simply go to youronlinebusinessmentor.com and tell me what's been holding you back or ask a question you'd love for me to answer on the show and you'll be entered in a special listener giveaway for access to programs designed to support you in your journey. I can't wait to help you get unstuck and moving forward. Welcome to day 12 of my 21 day series from purpose to Impact. Today I want to talk about how I built predictable revenue in my online business. If you've ever felt a little frustrated about starting each month at zero, this episode is for you. In the early years of my business, most of my revenue came from live launches, courses and workshops. And it worked. Courses and workshops made up about 65 to 75% of my revenue in those early years. And launch months really were exciting. They were big wins, big momentum. But then there were those non launch months. And when my business became our sole source of income after we retired my husband, that revenue roller coaster started to feel heavier. So I didn't just want growth, I needed stability. So I started looking at revenue a little bit differently. The first big shift that I made was in 2023 when I launched my Ignite membership. By 2024, 45% of my revenue was coming from my membership alone. That meant I no longer woke up on the first day of the month wondering if the month would be zero. I had a baseline. I really leaned in on this membership being my main core offer. While the doors were open all year long, I did have some intentional launches of the membership a few times a year. I nurture the community inside it and I treat it like the heartbeat of my business. But there was one other thing in addition to my membership that really layered in an extra level of revenue that that made all the difference. And it was affiliate marketing. Now, affiliate marketing is often talked about as passive income and it is in a way. But honestly, I see it as trust based income. It only works when your audience believes your recommendations are aligned and genuine. Because I had spent years building relationships and showing up consistently, my affiliate marketing grew from about 3.3percent in 2020 to 30percent by 2024. By 2025 it was generating almost six figures all on its own. The beautiful thing about affiliate marketing is it's a win win for everyone. You're simply deciding to partner with tools, products, programs, and people that you already love and use, and you recommend those items to those who would benefit in your audience. While I'm an affiliate partner with a lot of different things, I don't promote all of the things at once. I simply optimize these opportunities when I'm already talking about them. So when I'm talking about the tools that I already use in my business, it's a very easy thing to then share my partner link inside my community, my audience and my membership. By showing how I use the tool or the programs that have helped me the most and showing real results, my affiliate revenue has grown. Honestly, if you're a course creator or coach who's not utilizing affiliate marketing, I feel like you're leaving so much money on the table. It's as simple as using what you love, teaching how you use it, sharing why it works, and being consistent over time. Now, affiliate marketing can start small, but it grows over time. It compounds. So let me show you how my revenue mix has evolved over the years. Back in 2020, 75% of my revenue came from courses and only 3% was affiliate marketing. The rest was from one on one coaching. Fast forward to 2024 and only 15% came from courses, 45% from my membership and 30% from affiliate marketing. The rest came from coaching and a few small digital products, but 75% was recurring or passive revenue. That was a huge shift compared to my live launch strategy in 2020. So even though live launches of my digital course built my business, I was able to grow and change through the years to really focus in on what would support my family. It allowed me to grow my team by hiring an online business manager and allowed us to move to Florida to be near our daughter and first grandbaby. And it just gave us breathing room. I'm still pinching myself that just six years ago I started an online business having no idea that it would retire my husband and allow us to move and hire a team. But this did not happen overnight. It happened because I kept showing up. I kept refining, listening to my audience and I kept building relationships. Our focus for this year is on three things. My ignite membership and all that we do to support that aligned affiliate partnerships that layer in that extra income and my core cohort style offer that I open at various times of the year. What I love is that these are three things that work together. All three are scalable, relationship based and built around transformation. So if you're trying to build predictable revenue, here are some questions to ask yourself. What percentage of my income depends on launching? What percentage depends on trading time for money? What percentage is recurring and what is based on trust? If you answer these questions, think about how you'd like this revenue mix to look in your business two years from now. Remember, you don't need a huge audience for this to work. You just need relationships and consistency. When you listen to your audience and pay attention to what they're asking for, you can build in a way that meets their need and supports your family. Predictable revenue does not happen by accident. It happens when you intentionally design your business model. Courses built my foundation, my Ignite membership built stability Affiliate marketing layers in additional income each season had a purpose, but the goal has always been the same building income that supports my life and my family and impacting others. So I want to encourage you keep pressing in to figure out what offers provide the revenue you need. It's a lot of work and a lot of time invested, but the rewards are so worth it. If you have an online business and you're not quite experiencing the revenue you need to support your life and family, I would love to support you. Ask your questions at youronlinebusinessmentor. Com.
