Written on August 22nd, 2005 at 08:08 pm by Darren Rowse
Affiliate Programs - Amazon Associates
This post is part of a series on Affiliate Programs for Blogs
Amazon Associates Program
Amazon’s Associate Program is perhaps one of the most popular ones for bloggers because it is pretty simple to use and has such a wide range of products in their system ranging from books, to electronics, to jewelry, to CDs and DVDs etc. It’s also great because there are many tools that can be used to integrate it into your blog including WordPress Plug ins. Some bloggers even integrate Amazon stores into their blogs (something I need to get set up).
Another beauty of the Amazon program is the variety of ways that they give you to link to their products. Even using just their basic tools on the Associates page you have the option to link to products using text links, pictures, buttons and a variety of keyword triggered techniques.
I personally use Amazon’s program quite a bit on some of my blogs and find it quite effective. While my earnings from Amazon are far less than my Adsense income it’s a nice bonus each quarter (they pay every three months). This quarter (just over half way) my total is just over $900 (USD).
Amazon’s affiliate program pays out in either gift vouchers (to be spent in the store), cheque (check) or direct deposit (if you’re in the US).
Amazon Associates Program Pros:
- massive array of products to choose from
- reliable payment system
- options for different payment types
- reasonably easy to use
- variety of linking tools
- Amazon are fairly well regarded and trusted by consumers
Amazon Associates Program Cons:
- only quarterly payments (many other programs are monthly)
- commissions can be lower than some other programs (although they have an incentive/bonus program that increases the % when you sell certain targets)
- incentive program can be a little complicated to understand
- some of their buttons and link methods are a little dated
- not great on some products internationally (ie while Amazon will send books and some products internationally some of the bigger ticket items will not be sent overseas. So if you have a non US readership you might have to also sign up for other Amazon affiliate programs (ie they also have a UK, Canadian, Japanese one etc this can get a little messy)).
I’ll share more tips to help maximise Amazon earnings later in this series - but in the mean time I’m sure others have a variety of experiences with Amazon and can shed some light on it as a program for us. Share your thoughts on the Amazon Affiliate program in comments below.
Sign up for the Amazon Affiliate Program here
This post belongs to the 31 Days to Building a Better Blog Series
28 Responses to “Affiliate Programs - Amazon Associates”
John (SYNTAGMA)
August 22nd, 2005 8:52 pm
Another aspect of Amazon is the Marketplace feature. When I used to review books I’d have scores of new titles arriving by post all the time. I sold most of them through Marletplace for around 75% of the retail price, which is three times what the local second-hand bookshop would pay. You get the postage too. They really are very innovative. Darren, your income from them is awesome. You must be doing something right :-)
Mike
August 22nd, 2005 9:02 pm
$900 a month is fantastic! I am lucky if I can buy a book with the gift voucher each quarter. Although, it is amazing seeing some of the stuff that people buy which you don’t even have links to on your site.
Markus
August 22nd, 2005 9:32 pm
if you are using wordpress, take a look at the Amazon Media Manager (AMM http://www.sozu.co.uk/software/amm/ ) which is the best amazon-plugin I know.
Darren Rowse
August 22nd, 2005 9:39 pm
good tip Markus. I use the Mac version of ecto which has a useful Amazon tool built into it. Works perfectly for me - in multiple Amazon Stores.
duncan
August 22nd, 2005 9:40 pm
Im not so sure about the guy who left a comment ahead of me but that Amazon plugin you’ve mentioned as amazing. I’ve got to find a way to use it, and the guy is right, its hard having to go to Amazon and search for a link and set it all up, if it works half as good as its works….
un papier
August 22nd, 2005 11:00 pm
For those who are technically inclined and willing to code amazon offers a webservice interface that you can roll into a tool that can add value. See about my Amazon sales rank tool here.. You ofcourse use your associate id in all products you display.
Mike Sigers
August 22nd, 2005 11:06 pm
Thanks for this info. I’m off to con my Webmistress into getting on this ASAP !
Dossy Shiobara
August 22nd, 2005 11:24 pm
I haven’t really looked, but does Amazon.com have a content-targeted product recommendation iframe widget, yet? i.e., a widget that tracks what content is on the page combined with what other pages (and their content) a particular visitor has recently browsed, along with perhaps recently browsed Amazon.com product pages — kinda like Google AdSense ads, but for highly targeted Amazon.com products.
Privacy issues aside (which could be addressed with an opt-out cookie), I bet this would really improve CTR’s for Amazon.com affiliates.
I wonder if anyone from Amazon.com reads your blog (and your comments), Darren.
IO ERROR
August 22nd, 2005 11:27 pm
My only complaint with the Amazon program is that someone who clicks through must purchase something within 24 hours for you to receive a commission on the sale. Most other affiliate programs I have seen give 30-45 days for the user to make a purchase.
Tim Flight
August 22nd, 2005 11:33 pm
I’m currently experimenting with adding an amazon store into my blog rather than just affiliate links. You can see it in action at the GPS Store which is a three week old blog.
Quick Online Tips
August 23rd, 2005 1:02 am
I have low amazon conversions. And the 5% commision is a dissapointing. If you still make $900 - it is amazing!
HART
August 23rd, 2005 3:14 am
I will have to take a look at this other Amazon Media Manager (AMM) again but, it was a total failure for me. When I first tried to install it, the options and setup inside wordpress looked interesting what it can do and promise. When I tried to get the output, I nearly crashed my blog and showed only a white screen page.
So, I deleted it and installed my other plug-in .. “WP-Amazon” - from http://manalang.com/wp-amazon/ …. It’s 100 times better, i.m.h.o… you just copy two files into your plug-in folder, activate, change options to use your affiliate code, and you’re done. When you are in WRITE function, you click on quick tag button Amazon and you can pull a text link, or a graphic link with a small, medium, or large picture. It’s just for a one-time input of a product into the current entry - it doesn’t manage or keep track of anything.
Chi An
August 23rd, 2005 3:23 am
With little traffic (150-200 uniques), I only capable to get 1-2 orders per month. Still a long way for get a cheque from Amazon. My only complain is Amazon has lower comission (4% onward) than other products.
@IO ERROR: Walmart got even worse, its cookie only last 0.167 day.
Mac
August 23rd, 2005 6:40 am
I’ve used amazon affiliate links on two of my sites, and I’m always stunned to see what people buy. For example, when I post movie reviews on my site filmfodder, I include a “store” module with Amazon affiliate links to related DVDs, soundtracks, etc. I’m certainly not getting rich, but I’ve seen some nice side income from these links. They’re definitely worth the effort.
Affiliate Programs For Blogs: Blog Tips - enternetusers
August 24th, 2005 10:20 am
[…] This series continues at - Amazon Associates Program, Clickbank Affiliate Program and Commission Junction Affiliate Program. Filed under Affiliate Programs, 31 Days to Building a Better Blog | Get the Free enternetusers Newsletter […]
Affiliate Programs - Commission Junction: Blog Tips - enternetusers
August 24th, 2005 10:32 am
[…] I’ve used Commission Junction for a year or so now and have never really had much success with it - partly because I’ve not found many products in it that quite fit with the topics that I write on and partly because I have found other programs (like Amazon) to be easier to add to my blogs. […]
chen tong
October 20th, 2005 3:37 am
Just a summary of the tools available from the above discussion.
1. WP-Amazon
Good, however, simple. No price feed, no description, just titles and authors and some choice of image. You cannot use this as a store. It is merely a quick way to generate Amazon affiliate links.
2. http://www.sozu.co.uk/software/amm/
Not easy to use for a php learner like me. But manage to get one up. Emmm…it is better than WP-Amazon as it has more
3. ecto
The window version does not support creation of Amazon links. so it is still for Mac only.
Doesn’t seem to able to identify the download page or description page of Amazon Sales Rank Tool. The web site turns you everywhere to show you all the gedgets, except a clear download page. May be I am sleepy now…
The Amazon store at Workboxers.com is abit confusing. GPS store is interesting,but how can we build a store like this with feed from Amazon? Any free or affordable script available for Amazon store?
Thanks everyone.
Roy Osherove
October 31st, 2005 10:02 pm
Check out a tool I built using .NET 2.0 (free with source) that creates amazon links for books along with image if needed.
See more at
amazoner.osherove.com
Thanks,
Roy Osherove
blog: www.ISerializable.com
chen tong
November 3rd, 2005 8:38 pm
Hi Roy,
I checked your website. It would be better if it works without the need to download and install Microsoft .NET 2.0…
wp-amazon works as a plugin in wordpress. so far it is still the quickest way to insert image and text links in wordpress…
But I am really looking for wordpress plugin that update Amazon prices automatically…
Though the crowd of enternetusers have left this topic…
regards,
lawson
December 31st, 2005 6:35 am
I would like to find a way to sell books from my website with an available Donation above the price of the book. Do you know how I can accomplisht this?
Your sites are great. Thanks!
Ian
January 16th, 2006 12:24 pm
I just signed up for the Amazon Associates too. I was so surprised that I was able to put on ads almost immediately, unlike Google Adsense, where I had to wait for like a week?
exl
January 25th, 2006 3:41 pm
I used AA for about 2 weeks. No revenue, just clicks. I stopped. Then I realized why waste ad space, I want that A ad back. Hoping to get sales.
Dornoir Flax
September 25th, 2006 4:06 am
Hello, I am very interest in afiliate marketing programs. And have recntly studied that Amazon has if not the best but amongst the best program to offer. Please notify me to let me know what I have to do to proceed, thank you!
Making Money from Your Blog - Direct Methods
January 5th, 2007 9:03 pm
[…] Affiliate programs are where you take a commission for referring a reader who purchases a product or service to a company. Probably the most common of these for bloggers is Amazon which has tens of thousands of products that you can link to (I reviewed it here). Other affiliate programs that represent many different companies and products include Linkshare, Commission Junction and Clickbank. […]
Make money from your blog through print syndication » Brazen Careerist
January 18th, 2007 2:04 am
[…] Like publishing AdSense links or using affiliate programs, print syndication will not make you rich, but it’s another way you can add a bit of money to your coffers. And, even if you don’t need the money, you can use print syndication as a publicity tool by getting your blog name and URL in the newspaper so you can attract new readers to your blog. […]
Jason Isaks
February 16th, 2007 1:19 am
Amazon often gets a bad rap, but there are lots of creative ways you can use their affiliate program to your advatage. I’ve been with them for 6 years now.
Roo
May 9th, 2007 2:25 am
I’ve been messing around with a tutorial website on all the things that it’s possible to do with an aStore. Many people don’t seem to get on with aStore’s as they don’t integrate them well with their blog or website, yet there are a huge variety of ways of creating links into amazon that will earn you your 5%.
Not sure how best to link to it, but if you click my name above it should take you there.
It’s still in beta testing at the moment and I need to add a few more pages and screenshots to fully justify the adaptability and ease of creating an aStore, but hopefully there’s enough there to get an idea!
Sirius
May 18th, 2007 2:48 pm
I’ve sold exactly one book since my blog began in February.
I had an idea. I spend hundreds of dollars a year on Amazon, maybe more. No one is making a commission on these sales. I can’t get commissions for buying through my own affiliate program.
So I started thinking. What if there was someone else out there in the same situation? I could make all my Amazon purchases through their site and they could make their purchases through my site.
If someone out there does a lot of shopping on Amazon and wants to talk about doing this, click the link on my name. You can find my e-mail address on my blog.
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