Affiliate Links
This post describes how I use affiliate links on my site and will track my thoughts and experiences with the various programs involved.
My Promise #
I only use affiliate links for products and services I have actually used and personally recommend. Brands cannot buy my reviews, so any opinions expressed on this site are my own.
How You Benefit #
From time to time I may recommend particular products or services I've found useful. They've all helped me in some way, whether improving my productivity, making some task or activity easier or more enjoyable, or helping me to achieve something I couldn't before. These recommendations may be useful to you if you face similar problems or have similar interests.
In some cases you may also earn a reward by following the links I provide, such as free trials, additional credits, unlocking premium features, etc. I will always call these out specifically, providing details of what you can expect by following the link.
How I Benefit #
This varies depending on the affiliate or referral program. In some cases I may receive a cash reward, either as a fixed amount or as a percentage of a qualifying purchase. In other cases I may receive credit towards the cost of a particular service or feature.
These rewards allow me to make better use of existing products and services, help me to afford new stuff, and contribute towards hosting this site.
Experience So Far #
DreamHost #
I first started using DreamHost shared hosting in 2007 and have stuck with them ever since, hosting a number of websites (both my own and for others) on their shared hosting service over the years. Any time I ran into problems (admittedly mostly due to something I was doing) their support staff were incredibly responsive and knowledgeable, even helping with queries not strictly covered by the service I was paying for. I also much prefer their control panel to the ones offered by many other hosting providers and domain registrars.
I referred a few friends back in university and earned 50% commission on their annual shared hosting plans. The process was effortless and the commission was automatically applied to my account. I had since forgotten about the referral program but I see now they also offer the option to cash out to PayPal for a reasonable fee, I'm not sure if this was available at the time. Their current reward tiers are still very generous.
If you're looking for somewhere to host your personal website, blog, portfolio, photo gallery, business website, etc. check out their shared hosting plans for as little as $2.59/month (correct as of 2021/06/06), or see their other offerings (including VPS/dedicated/cloud hosting, managed WordPress, domain registration, email, and more).