Revealed: How To Make Money With Affiliate Marketing Without Showing Your Face

On January 20th, Alston earned $130 in a single day with Bluehost’s affiliate program. His YouTube channel had 1,400 subscribers at the time. None of his videos went viral. He never showed his face on camera. He did not run paid ads. What he did was create slide-style tutorial videos in Canva, target people searching how to start specific types of blogs, and place his affiliate link in the description. That is the whole model.

This post walks you through the exact four-part system he laid out in the video above, with every specific tool, keyword method, and content format included. If you have been told you need a massive audience or a big ad budget to succeed with affiliate marketing, this is going to reframe things for you.

What You’ll Walk Out With

The exact affiliate program Alston used to earn $130 in one day, and the network it lives on
Why you do not need a big subscriber count or viral views to make affiliate commissions
Two free keyword research methods that generate 200+ video ideas without paid tools
How to create tutorial videos using Canva without ever appearing on camera
Why most people fail at affiliate marketing on YouTube and what to do differently
The full four-part step sequence you can follow starting today
How to find which online income method fits your existing skills at finder.platformproof.com

The $130 Day and What It Actually Proves

The median individual income in the United States is roughly $40,000 per year. That works out to about $109 per day, every day of the year, including weekends. On January 20th, Alston earned $130 from a single affiliate program on a single platform with a channel that had 1,400 subscribers. He showed the live Bluehost dashboard in the video and refreshed it on screen so viewers could confirm the number was real.

The point of showing that proof is not to guarantee you will hit $130 on day one. The point is to demonstrate that small, targeted audiences can generate real commissions without the kind of scale most people assume is required. One of his most successful videos at the time of filming had 3,500 views. Another had 594 views. Some comparison videos had fewer than 20. The income did not come from one breakout video. It came from a library of tightly focused content that sent buying-intent visitors directly to a product they were already looking for.

That distinction matters a great deal. A video with 3 million views about general motivation delivers almost no affiliate commissions because the viewers are not looking to buy anything specific. A video with 594 views about how to start a gardening blog attracts people who are actively trying to build a website right now. Those viewers click affiliate links and convert. Volume without intent is noise. Low volume with high intent is a business.

Part 1: Setting Up the Foundation

The first part of the system is two things: an affiliate program and a YouTube channel. Alston uses the Bluehost affiliate program, which is managed through the Impact Radius affiliate network. Both are free to join. You go to Impact Radius, create an account, then search for Bluehost in the marketplace and apply to their program. Approval is typically straightforward for most applicants.

If you apply to Bluehost and are not accepted for any reason, the same exact method works with HostGator, GoDaddy, or any web hosting company that runs an affiliate program. The product category is web hosting, and the reason it works so well is that every person who decides to start a blog or website needs to purchase hosting. It is a required purchase in the setup flow, which means commission rates are reliable and conversions happen at the natural moment the viewer is ready to act.

For the YouTube channel, you almost certainly already have a Google account, which means you already have the ability to create one in minutes. The channel does not need a professional name or a brand identity before you start. Alston’s channel was called “Web Hosting Rewind” and it had 1,400 subscribers when it generated a $130 day. The channel name matters far less than the content strategy you attach to it.

Part 2: Figure Out What Your Target Audience Wants to Know

Once your affiliate program is approved and your channel exists, the next job is building a list of video topics. The goal is to find search terms that real people type into YouTube and Google when they are actively trying to start a specific type of blog or website. Alston uses two methods to do this, and both are completely free.

Method 1: AnswerThePublic

Go to answerthepublic.com and type in a phrase like “how to start a website” or “how to start a blog.” The tool returns a large cluster of questions that people are actually searching for across Google and Bing. You will see questions organized by question words like what, why, how, which, and when, plus comparisons and prepositions. Each one of those is a potential video topic.

When Alston ran “how to start a website” through the tool, he found dozens of specific angles that people were actively searching. When he ran “how to start a blog,” he found dozens more. The free tier of AnswerThePublic gives you a limited number of searches per day, so it helps to be deliberate about what you type in and to save your results each time.

Method 2: The YouTube Alphabet Soup Method

If AnswerThePublic runs out of useful ideas, go directly to YouTube and type your base phrase followed by each letter of the alphabet, one at a time. For example, type “how to start a_ blog” and replace the underscore with the letter A. You will see autocomplete suggestions like “how to start an affiliate marketing blog,” “how to start an art blog,” or “how to start an anonymous blog.” Write down every suggestion that comes up.

Then move to B, then C, and continue through the alphabet. By the time you finish, you will have somewhere around 200 video topic ideas, each one representing a niche-specific version of the same core tutorial. That is your content calendar. Alston noted in the video that his channel is built almost entirely on this kind of content. Most videos are some variation of “how to start a [specific niche] blog,” with the niche swapped out each time.

He also creates comparison videos, which target people who are already deciding between hosting providers. Those are searches like “Bluehost vs Squarespace” or “Bluehost vs Wix.” These videos had very low view counts (four views and fifteen views respectively at the time of filming), but the viewer who types in a hosting comparison is usually hours away from making a purchase. Even a handful of views on that kind of video can produce commissions.

Part 3: Creating the Content Without Showing Your Face

This is where the method separates from the usual YouTube advice. You do not need to be on camera. Alston said in the video that if he had not told viewers he ran this channel, they would never have known. All of his content is slide-based, created in Canva, with a screen recording that walks viewers through the process of starting a blog from start to finish.

In Canva, he builds a PowerPoint-style presentation. When the video topic is “how to start a church website,” the presentation title says exactly that, and then each slide walks through a specific step: picking a domain name, choosing a hosting plan, setting up WordPress, selecting a theme, and getting the site live. The underlying process is nearly identical for every niche. What changes is the title slide, the imagery, and the specific domain name examples used.

For images, you can use Canva’s built-in elements library by searching for a relevant keyword, or you can pull free images from Unsplash. Neither option costs money. The presentation itself can be reused as a template across every video you make, with only the niche-specific elements swapped in. That template approach is what makes it possible to produce a large number of videos without starting from scratch each time.

To show viewers the actual process of setting up a blog on Bluehost, Alston records his screen as he walks through each step on the real website. He uses Google to look up background information when he needs it. He narrates the steps as he goes but never appears on camera. The resulting video is a practical tutorial that gives the viewer everything they need to take action, with an affiliate link in the description waiting for when they are ready to sign up.

The content does not need to be polished in a Hollywood sense. It needs to be accurate, easy to follow, and helpful. Viewers who are searching “how to start a dental blog” want someone to show them the exact steps. They do not need production value. They need clarity and a working link to get started.

Not sure if affiliate marketing is the right model for you?

Answer a few questions about your skills and time and find your best starting point at finder.platformproof.com.

Part 4: The Step Most People Skip

Alston saved what he called the most important part for last, and it is not a tool or a platform. It is consistency over time. When he filmed this video, his channel did not have five videos. It had close to 100 videos. That is the actual foundation of the $130 day.

He is direct about why most people fail with this approach: they publish five or ten videos, see low view counts, feel discouraged, and stop. His own view counts were not impressive by viral standards. One video had 3,500 views. Another had 594. Several had fewer than 20. But those views were coming from people with buying intent, and the affiliate commissions they generated added up across the library.

YouTube also rewards channels that publish consistently over time. The algorithm learns what your channel is about, and older videos continue to surface in search results long after they are published. A tutorial about how to start a music blog that you made six months ago can generate clicks and commissions today because someone is searching that topic right now. That is the semi-passive quality of this income model. You do the work once and the video keeps working for you.

The path to a consistent $130 day is not one great video. It is 80 to 100 targeted videos published over a sustained period, each one aimed at a specific search term, each one with an affiliate link ready to receive traffic from the viewers who find it through YouTube search.

The Full System: 4 Parts in Plain Order

Sign up for the affiliate program. Go to Impact Radius, create a free account, and apply to the Bluehost affiliate program. If Bluehost declines you, apply to HostGator or GoDaddy instead. All three have affiliate programs on Impact or similar networks.
Create or confirm your YouTube channel. You need a place to host your videos. Your existing Google account gets you there in minutes. Channel name and branding are secondary to getting your first video up.
Build your keyword list. Use AnswerThePublic and the YouTube alphabet soup method to generate 100 to 200 video topic ideas. Each one is a variation on “how to start a [niche] blog” or a comparison between hosting providers. Save the list. That is your production schedule.
Create and publish the content. Open Canva, build a slide presentation for your first topic, record your screen walking through the actual blog setup process, and upload it to YouTube with your affiliate link in the description. Repeat with the next topic on your list.
Keep going past the point where most people stop. Do not evaluate results after five videos. Give the system time to work. The income Alston showed in this video came from a library of close to 100 videos built over time, not from a single publish.

Honest Drawbacks of This Method

This is a real method with a real track record, and it is also slow in the beginning. Publishing 5 videos and waiting will not produce $130 days. Building a library of close to 100 videos takes months of consistent work. If you need income this week, this approach will not deliver it in time.

YouTube’s search algorithm takes time to index and rank new content. A video you publish today may not show up in relevant searches for several weeks. Early in the process, you are making an investment of time with no immediate return. That is the reality of the model, and it is worth knowing before you start.

The affiliate commissions also depend entirely on the hosting platform continuing to offer the program. If Bluehost changes its commission structure or shuts down its affiliate program, the income stream that depends on it changes too. Diversifying across multiple hosting affiliates (Bluehost, HostGator, GoDaddy) reduces that risk but does not eliminate it.

Finally, you do need to do actual work to learn the product. You need to understand how to set up a blog on Bluehost well enough to walk someone else through it step by step. That means going through the setup process yourself, familiarizing yourself with the dashboard, and being able to answer the kinds of questions a beginner would have. The good news is that this is a one-time learning curve. Once you know the process, you can teach it in dozens of different niches without learning anything new.

Find Your X

The affiliate marketing method in this video works well for people who are comfortable creating tutorial content and willing to build consistently over months. But it is not the only path to making money online without showing your face or spending money on ads. The right starting point depends on what you already know, how much time you have, and what kind of work you are willing to do consistently.

If you want help finding which method fits your actual situation, go to finder.platformproof.com. Answer a few questions and you will get a personalized recommendation based on your skills and starting point, not a generic list of ideas that may or may not apply to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to show my face in the videos?

No. Alston’s entire channel used Canva slide presentations recorded with a screen capture tool. He was never on camera. Viewers who watched his videos would not have known he was behind the channel. Face-based content can build faster trust, but it is not required for this particular method to work.

How many subscribers do I need to start earning?

There is no subscriber minimum for affiliate commissions. Affiliate links work the moment you place them in a video description. If one viewer clicks your link and signs up for Bluehost, you earn the commission. Alston had 1,400 subscribers when he earned $130 in a day. The subscriber count is less important than the search intent of the viewers finding your videos.

Is the Bluehost affiliate program really free to join?

Yes. Creating an account on Impact Radius is free. Applying to the Bluehost affiliate program through Impact is free. You do not need to purchase a Bluehost plan to promote it as an affiliate, though understanding the product from the inside helps you create better tutorial content.

What if I get rejected from the Bluehost affiliate program?

Apply to an alternative. Alston specifically named HostGator and GoDaddy as programs where the same method applies. All three are web hosting providers with affiliate programs and similar commission structures. The content strategy does not change. You are still making tutorials about how to start specific types of blogs. Only the program name in your description link changes.

How long does it take to start making commissions?

It varies. YouTube takes time to index new videos and serve them in search results. Some videos surface within a few weeks. Others take longer. Most people who use this method consistently do not see meaningful commissions until they have published 30 or more videos. The $130 day in this video came from a library of close to 100 videos, not from publishing ten and waiting.

Do I need video editing software?

Not at a professional level. Alston used Canva to build the slide presentations. Canva has a free tier. For screen recording, there are free tools available for both Mac and Windows. The videos in this method are not complex productions. They are screen recordings of a Canva presentation combined with a walkthrough of the actual blog setup steps inside a web browser.

How many videos do I realistically need to hit $100 per day?

Alston had close to 100 videos when he earned $130 in a day. He is also transparent that results will vary based on your niche, keyword targeting, and how well your content answers the viewer’s actual question. A library of 80 to 100 well-targeted videos gives the algorithm enough to work with and creates enough distribution points to generate consistent traffic across multiple search terms simultaneously.

Can I do this in a niche other than web hosting?

The method as described in this video is built specifically around the web hosting affiliate space because that is what Alston demonstrated with real earnings. The principle of creating targeted tutorial content and linking to relevant affiliate products applies to other niches, but the specific tools, keyword sources, and content templates in this post are calibrated for the web hosting approach. If you want to explore other niches, the Finder quiz at finder.platformproof.com can help you identify which model fits your background and interests.

Sources

Alston Godbolt, “Revealed: How To Make Money With Affiliate Marketing Without Showing Your Face,” YouTube, https://youtu.be/4DVbewigKZk
Impact Radius affiliate network, https://impact.com
Bluehost affiliate program via Impact Radius
AnswerThePublic keyword research tool, https://answerthepublic.com
Canva design tool, https://canva.com
Unsplash free image library, https://unsplash.com