Can I use my blog for affiliate marketing?
Sure. As long as you can post the tracker codes required by all affiliate programs into your entries, then there's no reason why you shouldn't use your blog for affiliate marketing.
In fact, blogs tend to make better places to place affiliate marketing than traditional static websites. Blogs, if they're to be worthwhile, need to be generating fresh content on an almost daily basis - and if you can find adds that complement your material, there's a good chance of converting that into actual revenue.
We never tire, here at Bodu Web, of advising our clients to develop their content first - without worrying too much about online advertising/marketing to start with. This is particularly true with a blog. If you're blogging, uppermost in your mind must be the quality of the content. If people aren't interested in what you're writing, it's unlikely they'll link to it. Without links, your blog won't get the volume of visitors that is required to have any chance with affiliate marketing (both directly and indirectly - links mean direct visitors, but also higher rankings with search engines like google. See our Search Engine Faqs for more details)
One disadvantage you may have is the tendency of many affiliate networks to turn their noses up at free hosted blogs. There is a tendency, on the part of both affiliate agencies and their advertising clients, to presume that if you haven't shelled out for a domain, and website, that you're not a serious publisher, and thus not worth being involved with - remember, advertising is not just about click throughs, but also reputation and association.
Two ways around this problem. The first is to have onhand your site statistics. If you're getting thousands of unique visitors per day, and your content is reputable, few affiliate networks are going to turn you away.
Alternatively, consider setting up an actual domain name and website. It's not expensive, and can change the way you come across as a publisher. On top of all that, it gives you more flexibility in terms of where you place any eventual advertising on your page - something that standard blog formats are very limited in.
Get in Touch with Bodu Web to discuss the possibilities