Written on August 19th, 2009 at 12:08 am by Darren Rowse
11 Lessons I Learned Earning $119,725.45 from Amazon Associates Program
I have earned $119,725.45 from Amazon Associates Program since I began using it as a way to make money online late in 2003. Around half of that amount was made within the last 12 months.
In this post I want to share what I’ve learned along the way on how to make money with Amazon.
While Amazon’s Associates program is not my largest income stream (I rank how I make money blogging here) it was actually the first experiment that I did with monetizing blogs. I began to experiment with it in the last quarter of 2003 (just before I started using AdSense).
I started using it on a personal blog that had been going for around 12 months and had around a thousand readers a day – the first quarter was not spectacular in terms of earnings – I made $31.80 (around 30 cents a day) and almost gave it away.
I’m glad I stuck with it – here’s a chart of the quarterly earnings since the last quarter of 2003 (note, it doesn’t include July or August of this year as that’s an incomplete quarter so the overall figures from this period is below the $119k figure mentioned above):
As you can see there has been some ups and downs since the early days but the overall trajectory has been positive. It’s a little hard to see in the chart, as it is quarterly, but Decembers are always great months – last December is still the best month I’ve ever had despite last quarter being a record over a 3 month period.
So what have I learned on the way to earning six figures from Amazon?
Today I want to share 11 tips on what I’ve learned in making money blogging from the Amazon Associates Program. Tomorrow I’ll share another 10 (update: You can read Part 2 here).
1. Traffic Traffic Traffic
Let’s start with the most obvious point – one of the biggest factors in the upward swing in my Amazon earnings has been a corresponding upward swing traffic.
As with most ways of making money from blogging the more eyeballs that see your affiliate promotions – the better chance you have of it converting (of course this is a generalization as not all kinds of traffic converts – but more of that in the next point).
While I do think it’s worth starting to experiment with affiliate promotions early on in your blog (even before you have a heap of traffic) your main focus in the early days needs to be upon creating great content and building traffic to your blog.
2. Loyalty and Trust Convert
One of the other major factors that has come into play with the increase in earnings that I’ve had has been the type of readership I’ve managed to gather on my blogs. While I do get a fair bit of search engine traffic I’ve found that in most cases (and there is an exception below) search visitors are not converting with affiliate programs on my blogs – instead it is loyal and repeat readers.
The main reason for this is that those readers who connect with you on a daily basis over the long haul develop a trust with you (and your blog) and so when you make a recommendation or do a review they’re more likely to take that advice.
3. The Intent of Readers Matters
Another big factor in the equation of Amazon conversions is the intent that your readers have when they visit your blog. Why are they there and at what stage in the ‘buying cycle’ are they at?
I began to think about this just over a year ago as I looked at the growing traffic on my photography site but realized that my Amazon earnings didn’t seem to be keeping up with the traffic growth that I was experiencing. What I realized is that DPS was a blog that was largely writing about ‘tips on how to use a camera’ and that as a result it wasn’t really drawing readers to it who were in a ‘buying mood’. In fact a survey that I did found that many of my readers had recently purchased a camera and were on my site specifically because they wanted to learn how to use it.
As a result I added to the mix of new content on the site more articles relevant to people buying a digital camera. I wrote tips with advice on buying cameras, reviews of digital cameras and equipment etc. This culminated in a while new section on the blog devoted to ‘gear’.
Slowly this has attracted new readers to the blog – readers who are researching their next camera purchase – readers who are more likely to click a link to Amazon and who once there are more likely to make a purchase.
This is where search traffic can convert with affiliate programs – ie when you’re writing content that people in a ‘buying mood’ are searching for.
4. Relevancy Matters
This is another common sense tip that many of us (yes I failed on this one in my early days) mess up. The more relevant to your audience the products are that you promote the better chance you’ll have of converting.
- Promote iPods on your blog that largely talks about spirituality and you are unlikely to convert (believe me, I tried) – promote relevant books, CDs and DVDs instead.
- Promote perfume on your travel blog and you’re unlikely to see many sales – travel books, luggage and other travel products will work better.
Sometimes it is hard to find a product that matches your topic (Amazon doesn’t work with every topic) but try different products related to your topic and track what converts best for your audience.
5. Get People in the Door and Let Amazon Do What they’re Good At
One of the great things about Amazon is that it is a site people are familiar with, that they trust and that is very good at converting people to be buyers. They have honed their site to present people with relevant products to them (based upon previous surfing and buying habits) and over many years have tweaked their site to convert well.
As a result I find that once you get people to visit Amazon (pretty much for any reason) that a percentage of them will naturally end up buying something. The cool thing is that whether they buy the thing you linked to or not – you’ll earn a commission.
While I find specific promotions of particular products work best with Amazon – I also have had some success by getting people in the door for other reasons. For example I recently ran a post on DPS that gave readers a hypothetical $1000 to spend on photography gear and asked them to surf around Amazon and choose what they wanted to buy. The result was 350 comments and quite a few sales.
While a ‘get people in the door’ strategy might seem to grate a little with my ‘Relevancy’ tip in point #4 – the key is to get people in the door in a relevant way. Once they’re there the purchases they make might not be ‘relevant’ to your blog but their motivation to visit should be.
6. Social Proof Marketing 1 – Best Seller Lists
People are more willing to make a purchase if they feel that they’re not alone and if they know that others have and are buying with them. I’m sure there’s some insightful psychological reasons for this but from where I sit buying seems to somehow have become a communal activity.
One of the most powerful social proof marketing strategies that I’ve used with promoting Amazon affiliate links is creating ‘Best Seller’ type lists for readers to show them what is currently popular in terms of purchases in our community.
The best example that I can give of this technique in action is my Popular Digital Cameras and Gear page on DPS. It’s a page that I update every three months, that I link to prominently on the blog and that converts really well. To construct it I simply go through the reports/stats that Amazon gives affiliates to look at what products are selling the best from within my community. I then pull it into different categories of products and ‘Waahlaaa’ – we have a best seller list.
It converts well because readers know that others in their community are buying these products too – there’s a Wisdom of the Crowd mentality going on I guess. Another quick example of this was a recent post – 23 Photography Book Reviews [Ranked] where I ranked the top selling photography books in order of sales but also linked to reviews we’d done of each of them on the blog.
Note: the key with these ‘best seller’ lists is to drive traffic to them. One way to do this is to link prominently to these pages from within your blog and to link to them from within other posts from time to time on your blog so that the post doesn’t just convert for a day or two while your post is the most recent one on your blog.
7. Social Proof Marketing 2 – Reader Reviews
I used to do all of the reviews of photography books on DPS. It was mainly because I couldn’t find anyone else to do them and probably partly a little because I’m a control freak.
However one day I had a reader offer to write a book review for me. Because I knew the reader I thought it’d be OK so published it. As with all my reviews it had an affiliate link to Amazon in it. I was a little skeptical about whether it’d convert though because I thought my readers might not respond as well to a stranger’s review of the book as opposed to my own. I was wrong.
The review not only converted as well as my normal reviews – but did even better than normal! This could have been for many reasons but one that I suspect came into play was the way that I introduced the reviewer as a ‘DPS reader’. I didn’t build them up to be an expert, I just presented them as a normal reader with no agenda wanting to share some thoughts on a book that had helped them.
I suspect that the social proof concept came into play a little here. Readers saw another reader recommending something in a genuine way and wanted to get a copy for themselves.
Note: interestingly Amazon themselves uses reader reviews as a fairly major feature of their site.
8. Genuine Recommendations and Reviews
There are two main ways that I promote Amazon links. The first is in ‘Reviews’ for products (the second I’ll cover below in the next point). These links are where I or one of my writers will genuinely look over and test a product and give it the once over.
I insist my writers actually read the books, test the cameras and use the software products that they review and encourage them to be as genuine and unbiased as possible so as to point out both the pros and cons of the product. While there’s some temptation to hype up a product and only talk about it’s positives a real review will help your reader relationship over the long haul and I find actually helps promote sales.
Review links work well because it’s usually people who are considering buying a product who really read reviews – it comes down to the buying mood/intent mentioned in point #3.
9. Informational Links
The other type of link that I use to Amazon is when I’m mentioning a product in passing and/or a new product is announced that is relevant for my niche. For example when the Nikon D300s was announced recently by Nikon we immediately posted about the news because it was a notable and anticipated camera announcement. The camera was not yet available in stores and we were not able to get a review sample yet – but it was available for Pre-Order on Amazon so we linked to it.
There was no recommendation or review attached to the link but it was a relevant link for readers who wanted to know more about it (price, specs, pictures etc). Some readers pre-ordered the cameras from that link.
Similarly if we’re writing about Photoshop or another photography post production software we’ll usually include a link to the software. Again it’s not a review link but rather an informational/contextual type link. These don’t tend to convert as well in terms of sales but they do get people ‘in the door’ at Amazon and can help a little with sales from time to time.
10. Contextual is King
One of the biggest reasons my initial attempts with Amazon fell flat on their face and simply didn’t convert was that I thought it’d be enough to slap an image based button on my sidebar that featured a product or that was simply a banner ad to Amazon.
Amazon give publishers a lot of these type banners but despite trying almost all of them I’ve had little or no success with using them at all. Instead – 99% of my conversions have come from links to Amazon from within blog posts when I’m writing about the products themselves.
By all means experiment with the widgets and buttons Amazon gives you – if they do convert for you then more power to you – but every blogger I’ve talked to that has had success with Amazon tells me that it is contextual links from within blog posts that work best.
11. Promote Specials, Promotions and Discounts
There’s hardly a product on Amazon that does not have a listed discount on it. Most books are as much as 30% off recommended retail prices and at different times during the year Amazon runs other special discounts and promotions on different single products or in different product categories.
Keep an eye out for these kinds of promotions because they can be well worthwhile promoting (if relevant to your readership). In fact last time Amazon had cameras on special I promoted it to my newsletter readers and had readers emailing me to thank me for letting them know about it.
Another related tip is that when you’re writing a review of a product and Amazon have a listed discount – include a note about the discount in the post (see yesterdays post about Chris Brogan’s new book for an example).
11 More Amazon Associates Tips Tomorrow
I’ve got another set of tips to share with you on how to make money with the Amazon Associates program tomorrow (update: You can read it here. I’ve also added a 3rd post to the series with 10 more tips for making money with Amazon Associates).
I’d love to hear how you’ve gone with promoting this program? Have you had any success? What tips would you give?
198 Responses to “11 Lessons I Learned Earning $119,725.45 from Amazon Associates Program” - Add Yours
Matt
August 19th, 2009 12:47 am
Great advice, I noticed yesterday that you were promoting an amazon affiliate link in your post. I’ve signed up for the amazon program but I haven’t promoted any products yet. Perhaps I can learn from your advice.
Surender Sharma
August 19th, 2009 12:56 am
Congrats Darren.
I am following your ways to earn the amount like you.
You have earned your reward not you wages.If you were struggling since 2003 till today was your efforts and today you earned from Amazon that is your Reward.
Rahul Jadhav
August 19th, 2009 1:00 am
wow!!! thats a huge amount. Thanks for the wonderful tips. I havent yet done well with affiliates yet
Kate
August 19th, 2009 1:04 am
Any suggestions for those of us in North Carolina? Amazon has stopped letting us be affiliates because of tax issues.
Kosmo @ The Casual Observer
August 19th, 2009 1:06 am
I’ve been hearing the advice to use contextual links from a few difference places now … so I guess it’s time to start doing this more, rather the relying on widgets.
Very nice revenue stream, Darren.
Chris Mollo
August 19th, 2009 1:18 am
Well, Darren, you’ve done it again. I also don’t use the amazon widgets but instead I’ll use text links to their products in my blog posts. I’ll also include a relative product banner at the bottom of the post and that being the last part of thee post that readers ee, sometimes they’ll click it. For instance, I posted about the return of Mad Men for it’s third season and at the bottom of the post included a little banner for season 1. Several people clicked on it and three purchased. Contextual links are the only way to go in my opinion.
Chris Mollo
August 19th, 2009 1:18 am
Well, Darren, you’ve done it again. I also don’t use the Amazon widgets but instead I’ll use text links to their products in my blog posts. I’ll also include a relative product banner at the bottom of the post and that being the last part of thee post that readers see, sometimes they’ll click it. For instance, I posted about the return of Mad Men for it’s third season and at the bottom of the post included a little banner for season 1. Several people clicked on it and three purchased. Contextual links are the only way to go in my opinion.
Brent Nau
August 19th, 2009 1:19 am
Darren,
Could you update your earnings chart and overlay your blog traffic? I think it would provide a better understanding to point #1. Thanks!
Family Man
August 19th, 2009 1:22 am
It is truly a wonderful thing that you have taken the time, and continue to share all of this information with us. Thanks!
FFB
August 19th, 2009 1:26 am
One thing to mention too is that your products have a tendency to be high priced compared to many items on Amazon. That gives you higher revenue. I usually just promote books so I get like 50 cents for a book someone bought. Lower priced items need more conversions for a payout.
But Amazon is nice in that anything people buy under your cookie will give you a commission so like you said you have to get people in the door. That’s something I need to work on more.
Can’t wait to see your next 11 tips!
2Lincolns.com
August 19th, 2009 1:32 am
Darren,
This is really some fantastic advice. I’ve been wanting to write some product reviews for some time now, so this might be the motivation to get me started. I completely agree about the success of contextual links over the banner ads. Amazon hasn’t generated a ton of income for me yet, but my blog is also still young and has yet to gain a great deal of readers. I’ll stick with it!
Lastly, I think I’m due for a redesign of my sidebars. I’m thinking removal of all Amazon banners and using the space for sponsored ads and site content/widgets would be a better use of the space.
Thanks!
Jeff, 2Lincolns.com
Jim
August 19th, 2009 1:32 am
Thanks for the great post, Darren. This will help me really get a handle on how to leverage my affiliate account. Since my blog is about film music, there are endless amounts of CDs, DVDs, and books that someone can buy from Amazon related to that topic. I’ve already begun creating my own store, but haven’t gotten it to the point where I can put it up on the site yet. Though I’m definitely taking your advice to heart that content links within the posts are the way to go. Even after four months I don’t have oodles of traffic (it’s a fairly small niche), yet the more I use Twitter and Facebook, the more traffic I get. Now to convert that to some cold hard cash. :)
BLOGERCISE
August 19th, 2009 1:39 am
And now if they could just pay us by electronic transfer and I’d be very happy :)!
Alain
August 19th, 2009 1:55 am
I have a question: my traffic comes from about 30-40% US then the rest is divided evenly amount the rest of the countries. Basically, this mean that I am losing about 60-70% of my revenues because links are only valid toward one of amazon country store.
So if the person is from Canada, he goes to the US store (my link) then redirect to the Canada store, I wont get the affiliated money.
Anyone figure out a solution to this? Creating links for every country is just not practical. I am convinced that this is a desired design from Amazon since it allows them to generate sales while not paying commissions.
Asswass
August 19th, 2009 1:57 am
I’ve only earned $9 on my first quarter. I’m creating polls in my website with links to amazon products. I get clicks but I don’t get conversions.
Jason
August 19th, 2009 1:59 am
Those numbers are excellent. And Amazon is not even your top income stream – nice.
Tyler@feet2thfire
August 19th, 2009 2:06 am
That graph is exactly negatively correlated with my retirement account! Seriously, exactly the kind of useful information that has me reading ProBlogger on a daily basis. Thanks for the great information, Darren.
Josh Hanagarne
August 19th, 2009 2:14 am
Thanks as always, Darren. I had almost zero luck with Amazon widgets. But when I refer to books with an in-post Amazon link in book reviews, it kills.
For anyone using Amazon to sell books, I’ve also ended many of my book review posts with a “If you like this, you might also like…” ending. I usually haven’t included links, but often sell more of the suggested reading items than the book I was actually reviewing.
good stuff. Take care, Darren.
Josh
Chris
August 19th, 2009 2:15 am
Excellent post. I did try Amazon Associates before and did not succeed with it. So, I quit using it. I guess I need to check back and make some changes. You have provided invaluable information. Thanks.
Denise at howmommakesmoneyonline
August 19th, 2009 2:21 am
Thanks for this valuable information. I too put Amazon on my personal sites in the early 2000s, but I haven’t pushed any of those revenue streams or sites/blogs much. Guess it’s time to start. My best sales come from an astore on quilling supplies and tools on my personal crafts catch-all site. It’s such a niche topic that it does well in both traffic and sales.
Stretch Mark Mama
August 19th, 2009 2:24 am
Thanks for taking the time to retype that. :)
I love Amazon and have been an affiliate for over four years. (As shown by my impressive earnings of close to three dollars a year.)
I liked your tip about writing posts geared toward someone ready to buy. I tend to write from my ‘expert’ opinion anyway, but have never thought of that angle.
Darren, I’m always glad to hear of your success. You always come across not as ‘bragging’ but as ‘helpful.’ And we appreciate that.
We Fly Spitfires - MMORPG Blog
August 19th, 2009 2:25 am
This is pure gold. Thanks for the advice. I think you’re dead on about the banners not working. I’m gonna change mine now…
Unoblogger
August 19th, 2009 2:37 am
Wow, you sure are a motivator and this helps not just bloggers but vendors alike.:) Gr8 job and I am sure to take cues from your earnings and become a millionaire myself.
Robby G
August 19th, 2009 2:37 am
Amazon is just great because it has so many products that you can link to if it’s relevent to your blog topic. Thanks for the advice.
Chris Clayton
August 19th, 2009 2:47 am
*runs over to blog to fix mistakes*
Thanks darren! i think this might be one of your best posts in quite a while (just sayin!) but worth the wait!
*sighs*
Now i have ALOT of work to do!
Lazlo
August 19th, 2009 2:48 am
Great article Darren. I have a question though, did you ever try the ebay affiliate program? If so, what’s your feedback?
Thanks :)
Nicholas Z. Cardot
August 19th, 2009 2:52 am
Thanks, Darren, for this advice. I’ve experimented with Amazon links a bit in the past but I’ve never really had much luck with them. I’ve never really achieved the earnings potential that I seem to hear so much about.
I’m going to work to begin implementing links into my actual blog posts and see if I can accomplish a stronger conversion rate. Thanks for the information on this.
Mike
August 19th, 2009 2:54 am
Thanks for sharing, I’ve had some luck, but not much yet. Really no more than a few bucks here and there. I spend a lot of money at Amazon, so I wouldn’t mind them giving me some back from time to time. Anyways, this post gave me a few ideas worth experimenting with that I would’ve never thought of.
Greg Ellison
August 19th, 2009 2:54 am
That is pretty cool how much you have made with Amazon. These lessons are great. Thanks Greg Ellison
dan djorgi
August 19th, 2009 3:00 am
Great post! I’m looking forward for the other 11 tips tomorrow.
Thanks for sharing this, Darren.
chuckm37 @ make money blogging
August 19th, 2009 3:04 am
I just started using Amazon and I’ve gathered lots of clicks, but no sales yet. I also just started eBay with the same results.
Zane
August 19th, 2009 3:13 am
Kate, I was going to mention the same thing. Unfortunately for North Carolinians, it seems that Amazon has reached an impasse with NC legislators. We’re out of the Associates loop for now, I think.
infmom
August 19th, 2009 3:19 am
I’ve done a lot of what you suggested, and have yet to earn one dime from Amazon. I’m not sure what to do next.
Adria Richards, ButYoureAGirl.com
August 19th, 2009 3:41 am
I agree with these and the hardest thing for bloggers and consultants to do is to START using Amazon affiliate links!
For years I knew about the program but didn’t see a connection for me as a technology consultant. Even after I started my first blog a year ago, I still stayed away from “linking up” to products.
Now I’m netting a few hundred dollars each quarter just by linking up technology items I’ve bought and when I ask client to buy hardware, I link them to Amazon via email!
I keep a list of my commonly used Amazon affiliate items in a clipboard manager so they’re always easy to get to.
I sometimes use bit.ly, a url shortner to track clicks.
Garry - thisimprovedlife
August 19th, 2009 3:45 am
Thanks for this. I am using a number of methods to bring a little income, but as yet without much success. It is especially interesting about the contextual linking in articles. I would have though images of products would have done better, but it just goes to show what you would consider the obvious, usually isn’t.
teratips
August 19th, 2009 4:32 am
great thanks and creative post
http://teratips.com
Gin
August 19th, 2009 4:36 am
Wow, I was not aware of the contextual links we can use. Thanks for this tip and I’ll have to give it a try. :)
Stephanie
August 19th, 2009 4:52 am
Thank you, Darren. These are excellent tips. I appreciate how honest and authentic you are – about your blogging goals, your blogging income, etc. There are many websites and blogs about blogging, but yours is my favorite – perhaps because you share real, relevant information instead of just promoting “get rich quick” schemes. Thank you for that.
Keep up the good work!
Amy - parkcitygirl
August 19th, 2009 4:57 am
THANK YOU! I’ve seen so many widget shops on other sites and I think they are a joke. Contextual makes so much sense – I will be in the process of setting this up for my blog!
Clara Mathews
August 19th, 2009 4:59 am
This is a great post for me. I am using Amazon Affliiates. Since my blog is about movies, I thought it would be a good fit, since they have movies and video on demand.
I am using the widgets in my sidebar, but as you said, I have not seen any conversion on those.
I will try the contextual links, perhaps I can improve my earnings.
Maria
August 19th, 2009 5:03 am
As my traffic goes up, so does my Amazon affiliate earnings. Be patient, it’ll happen! And Darren is right — contextual is king, do not bother with the widgets.
Shajib
August 19th, 2009 5:08 am
i am using only adsense to monetize my blog. I will try amazon.
Thanks.
Shajib
http://www.ebooksdock.co.cc/
Money Making Ideas
August 19th, 2009 5:36 am
Intressting to read how it worked out for you. I will try to learn and do it myself :)
Web Designer
August 19th, 2009 6:18 am
I have been blogging for almost 2 years now. Although I must admit, I still have a long way to go as compared to your site, I can only agree that success on the internet is all about persistence and patience. My blogs only receive 3000 visits per month which is only about a 100 a day. Nevertheless, it has been a slow but steady progress. Last year even this was unimaginable to me. Now I am thinking in the lines of monetizing as it does not see that impossible anymore.
Michelle {Brown Eyed Baker}
August 19th, 2009 6:49 am
Thanks for this post! I have been an Amazon Affiliate for over a year and have made mere dollars and was just getting ready to toss it altogether. But I’m planning a blog redesign and given this post, I’m going to give it another go. Since I blog about food and recipes, kitchenware and ingredients posts and reviews are usually always well-received by readers. Thank you again for another wonderful post, and one I will definitely use to implement a strategy on my blog!
Andrew Warner
August 19th, 2009 7:26 am
Darren, I submitted it to Hacker News, where there’s an interesting discussion about this article and Amazon affiliate links in general.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=771227
Jill
August 19th, 2009 7:42 am
Interesting post, Darren!
I have recently (February) “hooked-up” with Amazon and Half.com. I run an online computer bookstore that has about 78,000 books in the database, but only about 30,000 of them are available new. I kept the others online and had a link and a note saying that we would look for a used copy if a person was interested.
In the “old days”, we could usually find the customer a great bargain on a used copy, but anymore, the best prices on a used book is usually on Amazon or Half, so we would end ordering the used copy from them, and have to charge the customer for both Amazon or Half’s shipping cost and our own, plus the mark up on the book. Not a good deal for the customer!
Once a marketing guy was looking at my site, and told me to “get rid of all those books that you don’t really have!” I realized that there were twice as many “out-of-stock books as in-stock, and that it was probably a pain to wade through all of them. So I thought and thought and finally decided to bite the bullet and became an affiliate of both Amazon and Half. I felt like I was sending my customers to the competition, but I did it anyway.
Now, when a customer looks at a book that we no longer have, there are links to Amazon and Half.com’s used copies.
They get a good price on their book, don’t have to pay double shipping, don’t have to wait through the double ordering process, and I don’t have to do anything – no packaging, shipping, etc.
It’s not making a ton of money yet, but it does make some, and I feel a lot better about not having my site clogged up with products that aren’t really there. Plus, it doesn’t seem to hurting the regular sales.
I love your idea about contextual links in your blog – my site has a tech blog, and that would be a great way to monitize it! Looking forward to your next 11 tips!
jules
August 19th, 2009 8:30 am
How do you decide which program to promote, i am on the US and UK programme but i believe if someone clicks through to Amazon US on a link then gets redirected to uk there is no commission?
How do you deal with the global thing?
Lars Krumme
August 19th, 2009 8:49 am
Darren, very helpful information to help those of us trying to monetize through the Amazon Affiliates program – and much of this information is really applicable to any Affiliate program out there.
Personally, I’ve found points 5 and 8 to be most relevant on my sites. Product Reviews most often grab readers looking for feedback prior to making their own purchase decision. And Amazon definitely knows how to sell once a user has entered their store – more than 2/3 of my affiliate earnings come from purchases completely unrelated to the product review generating the click-through.
Some great ideas here for increasing CTR for your Amazon links, can’t wait to see your next 11 tips tomorrow.
Technology Slice
August 19th, 2009 9:09 am
Well done that’s a lot of money.
Mitch
August 19th, 2009 9:26 am
There’s one thing I need to get over. Using these links seem spammy and shady to me. I’m not sure why I think it’s any different than Adsense. Maybe it’s because I am trying to get people to buy buy buy instead of click click click.
I also always believed that readers get angry at the site for even trying to get them to buy. I guess your numbers are proof that people are more than happy to be shown the door toward a purchase.
Denny
August 19th, 2009 9:37 am
Nice tip on the contextual links Darren!
Donna Barstow
August 19th, 2009 9:55 am
Very interesting. I’ve put simple links on my regular website, but it’s never done anything. I think I should study their program again.
Also, interesting that readers like reviews from other readers best. I trust them, too! But WARNING about Amazon reviews on tech & software – Vine reviewers – it says this under their name – get all products free, and are totally liars and ignoramuses. They often start: “I didn’t understand how to install this, but gave it to my niece to try, and she said it was great…”, or quote from the box. Revolting.
Also, Darren, no links to your images? Are they all Creative Commons?
Tony
August 19th, 2009 10:34 am
Hi Darren,
I have a gardening blog, but I guess I’m doing something wrong with it. I do get some visitors, but no comments. I have been with amazon for about 3 months, but nothing yet. I do have them as a widget which is also my a-store. One good thing using amazon is that if you make nothing in any month they email you and let you know and try to help you. There has been alot of times I want to stop blogging all together, but I come here everyday and it keeps my blog going. I don’t post everyday like you do, so I guess thats another reason my blog doesn’t do too well.
Tony
needmoney.com
August 19th, 2009 10:47 am
#10 is truth beyond. In-post links are bank, everything else is pretty shrugworthy.
Eric C
August 19th, 2009 11:02 am
I hate comments like this, but thank you thank you thank you. My blog is service related, but regularly deals with books and art. Amazon affiliates, which we are instituting this weekend, is the number one way we will make money. Again, thanks.
alwaysLovely
August 19th, 2009 11:33 am
Hi Darren, Congrats!
I thank you for sharing your story with us.
1 important thing which I learn from your sharing is that, we must hold on to our faith and have perseverance in what we are doing.
“I made $31.80 (around 30 cents a day) and almost gave it away.”
It wasn’t spectacular, just like what many of us face but you kept on while many gave up half way.
Carrie Boyko
August 19th, 2009 11:45 am
Your idea to give readers imaginary money to spend at Amazon was brilliant. You’re a genius. I’m definitely going to try something like that……………hmm?
Ellery
August 19th, 2009 12:12 pm
Thanks for your detail analyst on Amazon Affiliate program. I am also working on this and thanks again for your sharing.
Liane YoungBlogger
August 19th, 2009 12:18 pm
Really, that’s a…w-o-w Darren. I’m experimenting around Amazon Associates right now. I do think if you make an ebook entirely dedicated to amazon associates, it’ll be a hit in no time at all.
Amyrhiz
August 19th, 2009 12:22 pm
Wow..the post is really great, so informative. I am having a hard time optimizing my blog in order to get more sales and I will try this amazon. Maybe this is my luck. Thanks to you. :-)
Adam
August 19th, 2009 12:29 pm
that is very nice Darren.Keep it up.
Brett Favre
August 19th, 2009 1:03 pm
I didn’t realize contextual links with Amazon was the way to go.
uncleboob
August 19th, 2009 1:59 pm
This post is great. I like your tipps very much and hopefully one day I will earn money with my blog. Thanks
Paul
August 19th, 2009 2:06 pm
I tried Amazon before just like you in the beginning( slapping an image or a banner on the side bar) and it didn’t work out (plus I gave it like 2 months). Ater this post ,I am gonna spend more time dedicated to Amazon.Thanks!
WebLogica
August 19th, 2009 2:20 pm
Wow.. that’s a cool earning for your make money online campaign. I believed that traffic is the key.
Arlene deWinter
August 19th, 2009 3:23 pm
Thank you for this wonderful post. I have a blog made for book sales which aren’t much money really, and have an Amazon search box and often use links to relevant books, but not getting much action. I have planned to keep it though because I want to and at some point I may figure out how to use it effectively. Advice like this helps.
Cheers Darren!
Abhinav Kaiser
August 19th, 2009 4:58 pm
Darren, I must admit that none of these work unless you have a considerable amount of loyal traffic. I have seen on my sites that most of the traffic I get is through search engines and that translates into nothing more than pennies that I can count with one hand.
Andy Merrett
August 19th, 2009 5:52 pm
@Alain: I have US and UK stores, as that’s where most of my traffic comes from, and I find that this catches a lot of people who go to Amazon. I’m not sure exactly how stuff is tracked, but I know I’m not losing quite so many (potential) sales.
The only annoying thing is that I can’t set up a direct bank transfer for the US site to a UK bank, so have to work with checks. Oh well :)
Igor Helps You Succeed
August 19th, 2009 5:57 pm
As much as your tips are great Darren,
the posts are overwhelming. I can’t possibly manage to read through the whole thing and take something away with me when I leave.
Igor
Manish
August 19th, 2009 6:56 pm
Great post! Waiting for the other 11 tips from you.
Thanks.
Tim Moon
August 19th, 2009 7:36 pm
This is an excellent resource, Darren! Thanks! I don’t have huge traffic, but I’ve made quite a few sales via Amazon as well. It’s my second best revenue stream.
se7en
August 19th, 2009 7:37 pm
Ha! Just what I needed to read – I am a passive affiliate blogger – always have had one or two links… but really I am earning nothing!!! I do want my blog to look like it is advertising, because I don’t think it is a good idea to switch over at a later stage. What I like is that with even no work, just one or two widgets, as my blog grows so do the number of hits… It really is all about volume of readers and I have spent all my time focusing on content, but it is definitely getting to the stage where the content carries itself and I could spend time strategizing my marketing a lot better! Great post as usual, full of tips and encouragement.
Dean Saliba
August 19th, 2009 8:23 pm
I’m about to start a new blog where I plan on using Amazon as my main affiliate. Hopefully the information here will be of great help to me.
Alain
August 19th, 2009 8:47 pm
@Andy Merrett : I would do it, problem is that I dont think it would worth it for me to link each product to about 6 stores to grab 80% of my traffic.
I am surprised that not more people are complaining about this!
Kristjan
August 19th, 2009 8:58 pm
Great post! I’m looking forward for the other tips.
Thanks for sharing this, Darren.
KETAN RINDANI
August 19th, 2009 10:04 pm
Hi Darren,
Some of the points were lovely. I think the most important and basic one is to keep updating content frequently. This is what will get people through the door. The rest of the things can be handled later. But if you do not have enough and good quality posts, it’s not going to get people back to your blog, thus minimising the chances of their clicking on one of those links.
I have installed Amazon music widgets. Am thinking of switching to carousel music widgets. I read in one of the comments here that text links are most effective. I will study the options and then make the switch. Meanwhile, thanks to you for giving us wholesome bytes of do-able advice.
Randy Allen Bishop
August 19th, 2009 10:17 pm
That is fantastic!
I use Google Adsense and some affilates links.
Thanks for the Amazon info.
Randy
John Davenport
August 19th, 2009 11:13 pm
Great tips. I only recently started with Amazon and I’ll make great use of these tips.
Another tips is to focus on higher priced products to earn more commissions
Brandy
August 19th, 2009 11:32 pm
Fantastic tips and wow I am impressed on how far you have come. I, too, wish to become more successful in blogging that doesn’t just mean by making money from blogging but by gaining a loyal readership who loves my content and trusts my word of mouth advice!!
Joi
August 19th, 2009 11:55 pm
Great advice! I think #s 3, 5, and 6 will help me a great deal.
I’ve had more success with text links within content as well. I’ve also had success with a widget on my self help blog that allows me to highlight my favorite books of the moment.
I can’t wait for tomorrow’s list. Thanks!
Web Marketing Tips
August 20th, 2009 12:00 am
Although every points are important and plays great role in your success but main point is your name and trust behind your name.
I do not know what other people are saying but your blog and your image is really of a highly qualified professional blogger which make you different from other top name and hence earning you more and more money.
Victoria Vargas
August 20th, 2009 12:10 am
This post has perfect timing for me. I recently relaunched a website after broadening its subject matter. When I ran it previously I had the side bar Amazon affiliate widgets and never earned much from them. Now that I’m revamping and expanding, I’ll definitely follow your lead here. The contextual links are just the answer to my questions about how to raise Amazon.com earnings as I build readership. I’m a voracious reader and will be doing a lot of book reviews. Thanks for the coverage on this topic. I’ll stay turned for part 2!
Cynthia
August 20th, 2009 12:13 am
Great Info and so Helpful!
Online Marketing Blog
August 20th, 2009 12:14 am
Thanks for the amazingly open, intelligent and helpful post. Tip #10 especially stands out in my eyes. Looking forward to hearing more.
Mike
fas
August 20th, 2009 12:29 am
Amazon is one of the best ways to earn money online, that is if you know how to convert.
Tuesday Hall
August 20th, 2009 12:34 am
I totally agree with #2. LOYALTY is the like the “foot” that gets you in the door. We don’t need product reviews that sound like informercials. Recommendations sound a whole lot better coming from a “friend.”
linkdan
August 20th, 2009 2:04 am
I think that regarding point 6, people also like to have a product that many other people have because it’s then easier to find advice about it, and more people will be talking about it – which equals more support/interaction/tips…
Paramendra Bhagat
August 20th, 2009 2:12 am
I am listening.
Will
August 20th, 2009 3:15 am
Thank you for sharing this information and congratulations on your success! I think you’re right about Amazon in that it is a trusted resource, has great sales techniques. Even though they don’t pay as high a commission as many affiliate programs, it’s made up for in more trusted sales.
I’ve never been into gear so I never promoted that, but it might be worthwhile, especially since they are usually higher-ticket items.
Alda
August 20th, 2009 3:27 am
The super annoying thing about Amazon for me is the payment methods are so stringent. No direct transfer is available where I live (Iceland), and the check option is not really possible since the cost of cashing a foreign check has skyrocketed since our banking collapse. Thus the only option is an Amazon gift certificate … but I don’t want to use all my revenues at Amazon. Consequently the Amazon affiliate programme just doesn’t work for me.
Bonuses
August 20th, 2009 5:24 am
You know, I never thought of writing about different promotions and discounts that Amazon has going on.
That’s a great idea as long as you’re not pushing anyone to buy anything.
Great post man!
David Stillwagon
August 20th, 2009 6:40 am
the affiliate program at amazon sound great but like you pointed out its all about traffic, traffic, traffic
Paula Atwell
August 20th, 2009 8:01 am
Terrific and helpful post. I have tried some of these tips, and can definitely say they work. I love your bestseller ideas. Looking forward to your next post. :)
John D - eHow Experience
August 20th, 2009 3:27 pm
Outstanding post.
I’m not at all surprised to hear that contextual implementation is 99% of your conversions.
We all appreciate your insights.
Judy
August 20th, 2009 3:30 pm
Your site is very informative. thanks for the great content! Our site is very similar and we will plan on sending traffic your way. Our site includes loads of Web design ideas information
including pictures, videos, tutorials, and more.
Thanks!
Judy
Reza Winandar
August 20th, 2009 6:23 pm
At the age of 18, I will beat Darren Rowse income.
MichaelR@VoIP and Tech Blog
August 20th, 2009 8:12 pm
Wow! More than 100k in Amazon alone. I’m a new blogger and I’m bookmarking your site right now so I can go back and read some of your tips for better blogging later on.
Elias
August 20th, 2009 9:15 pm
hi
i have a question. On point 5 you say and i quote
“The cool thing is that whether they buy the thing you linked to or not – you’ll earn a commission.”
So how do we earn a commision without people actualy buy something? I’d like to see an example because from what i’ve read on amazon people has to follow your link anda has to buy the product so that you can earn a commission
thanks for the lessons.
Darren Rowse
August 20th, 2009 9:23 pm
Elias – they have to buy something on Amazon to get a commission – all I was meaning is that they don’t have to buy the specific thing you linked to.
Kate – yeah that’s a tough one. Aside from moving I’m not sure what to suggest except to petition your legislators.
FFB – see the next post in this series. Big ticket items are great but the small ticket ones do add up and help a lot!
Alain and Jules – I’ll cover this a little in the last post in this series.
Josh – that’s a great tip – promoting related products is a great way to go.
Lazio – no I’ve not tried the ebay affiliate program – hopefully someone else can give us a review on that!
Tony
August 20th, 2009 9:34 pm
Great Info and so Helpful!
Thank you Darren ,
I try to update several of my blogs to promote Amazon products. Buy i get a little revenue . after i read your post and look at DPS. it good motivated to me ..
Thank.
Elias
August 20th, 2009 10:04 pm
ok, thanks for answering, now it makes sense
astrorainfall @ beauty box
August 20th, 2009 11:25 pm
Darren, I totally agree with you that small ticket items do add up. While I probably wouldn’t put all my eggs into the Amazon Affiliates Program, it is something worth getting into as it does generate some revenue without much effort. This post certainly got my attention — a well-written, practical tips post.
Innocent:successprinciplesonline.com
August 20th, 2009 11:34 pm
Thanks Darren for the information.
I used to have Amazon widget on my blog, but, like you pointed out, I noticed it wasn’t converting al all, and it was taken up a huge space on my sidebar.
I then decided to take it off, and use product reviews, and the result has been better than before.
Thanks again for confirming that my action is in order.
Chris
August 21st, 2009 12:12 am
this was such a great information i hope i could also earn that big money soon.
thanks for a great information.
christy
August 21st, 2009 12:45 am
Although I use a computer I do not consider myself tech savy. Hopefully that will change now that I am starting my own business and blog. So far I am learning a lot through other websites/blogs.
I have to say I do not click on ads due to the fact I’m always afraid of receiving spam or getting a virus. So I would probably be typical viewer who would click a link in the blog, but not an ad on the side bar.
Glad I found your blog. Very interesting. Thx
Kouba
August 21st, 2009 1:28 am
I really like your blog and i respect your work. I’ll be a frequent visitor.
trina
August 21st, 2009 1:48 am
Thanks – good reference material. AdSense is just not cutting it for me.
Blogger Rise
August 21st, 2009 4:38 am
cool tips that must be workin on it
James
August 21st, 2009 8:23 am
Thanks for that helpful information! I am an Amazon associate but I didn’t think you could really make money with it.
Mathew Day
August 21st, 2009 9:50 am
I’ve tried making a little money with Amazon before but found it to be quite hard and not enough payout for me. I will try some of your tips and advice, thanks.
Interior Design Tips
August 21st, 2009 9:58 am
I can’t believe you made that much from referrals but then again, seeing how many subscribers and comments you have just on this site, it’s not a stretch. Currently I’d be happy with $5 a week!
joabng@how to make blog
August 21st, 2009 1:01 pm
Hi Darren,
This came at the perfect time. I was sitting here the other night just staring at the screen, wondering how to make money online.It was as if my mind had completely shut down. The post really turned on a light for me. I guess I’ve got more ideas floating around that I realized.
Thanks for the share.
Jay
August 21st, 2009 3:19 pm
Darren,
Great post. I have been using Amazon Affiliates for about a year, and my experience echoes yours (albeit on a much smaller scale). My blog talks about the medical school experience, and not too surprisingly, most of my affiliate sales have come from contextual links about items like textbooks and study guides for med school. Linking to other items not directly to med school has rarely produced any conversions. Banner ads have not produced a sale. Not a single one.
Thanks for the idea of the best sellers list / imaginary shopping spree. I’ll have to try that out sometime =)
Thanks,
Jay
CoolestGeek
August 21st, 2009 3:26 pm
Great post, Darren. Very much interesting to read. Great information indeed.
Carl @ Personal Development Planet
August 21st, 2009 7:04 pm
Wow!
This was really bloody helpful!
Funnily enough, I only signed up for the Amazon programme the day before your first email.
Quite a bit of luck for you to treat me to all the insider secrets on Day 1.
Brilliant mate – very much appreciated, and I’m glad you’re doing so well for yourself.
Boom!
Sanjay
August 21st, 2009 7:38 pm
Hey Darren, your way of writing posts is great and I think this was and will be your best strategy to win the attention of your readers. Content was king before but now I think link baiting contents are the ultimate king.
ATP
August 22nd, 2009 5:04 am
Darren, I have a question:
Will affiliate programs (ie: Amazon associates, Chikita Affiliates, etc)
affect the google adsense (that I dream to add to my site), in any way?
Because, being a teen, I don’t get a very big income stream, and need to support my site somehow…
Anyways, I hope you explain that.
I just had an idea. Maybe you can do a post on what company’s aren’t compatable with Google Adsense, and what are.
I dunno, but it’s an idea…
cameron
August 22nd, 2009 8:43 am
Pretty impressive. Good thing you stuck with it huh? I think that’s probably the biggest factor between people who don’t succeed at making money online and those that do. Perseverence is the name of the game. Congratulations.
eBIZ.com Pvt. Ltd.
August 22nd, 2009 10:48 am
Great it suits just right so my blog … will sign up pretty soon :)
Will
August 22nd, 2009 11:32 am
I thought of another question – did you do any ‘off page’ marketing – such as ezinearticles, ppc, creating squidoo/hubpages/wordpress.com, digg, stumbleupon, etc?
Annie
August 22nd, 2009 6:20 pm
Darren, thanks so much for this post, it’s probably the first post of yours that actually made some sense to me (non IT guru!) about making money blogging… I find it very hard to get cold hard facts about how much you can (and will) make on your blog.
Sarah
August 22nd, 2009 6:27 pm
I have always wanted to make use of the Amazon Associates Program but always end up at the dead end.
storesonline123
August 22nd, 2009 7:16 pm
Really Great information.It will help the newbies like me.stimulating and informative post and its contents are amazing.Excellent work.Really impressive.
Spider Jones
August 22nd, 2009 8:39 pm
Very good article. I’m pleased you stuck with it too, otherwise we wouldn’t get this good advice. Amazon certainly do know how to convert visitors into buyers, probably better than any company on the Internet.
Darren
August 22nd, 2009 11:04 pm
Amazing stuff Darren. there is LOTs to learn from this, I have made a few bucks with amazon but guess will focus more on it :)
Wakas Mir
August 22nd, 2009 11:06 pm
Previous comment got a bit messed up with the name .. sorry
Amazing stuff Darren. there is LOTs to learn from this, I have made a few bucks with amazon but guess will focus more on it :)
Matt
August 23rd, 2009 8:25 am
Hi Darren,
Thanks for posting this info. I was looking for another affiliate program to add to my site and I think the Amazon would be great. I can’t believe how much money you have been able to earn from it in recent times, great stuff and keep up the fantastic work! Like anything, it pays to stick at things!
Matt
Nits
August 23rd, 2009 8:47 am
Congrats i am using the amazon and clickbank but earn only few $. Hope this article will boost my earning as well.
Pete Bailey aka sidewallfusion.
August 23rd, 2009 2:38 pm
Hi Darren,
I have to congratulate you on your success with Amazon, I also thank you from the bottom of my heart for the invaluable info you have passed on to me and other budding authors regarding writing good copy. I particularly thank you for making me realise the importance of headlines. When I looked at my blog after reading your advice my head hung in shame, mundane isn’t the word, sheer boredom comes close. Suffice to say I changed every headline on my blog pages. To a more eye catching hook for my subjects.
I also signed up for Amazon through your affiliate link and hope that I can lead some buyers through the door.
I’m just starting out and really appreciate people like you with a talent for writing passing on good, logical and impartial advice.
Cheers mate!
Trump Network
August 23rd, 2009 3:47 pm
Thank you so much for breaking it down in such easy, digestible steps. I checked out your blog on cameras and can see how you applied each and every step! Great job and congrats on your success! I look forward to implementing some of these techniques!
~MD
Lakshmi
August 24th, 2009 1:33 am
Though I have experimented with Amazon, I never had luck with it. There is much to learn from your wonderful post.. Thanks for sharing.
Peter
August 24th, 2009 5:13 am
Very interesting and amusing subject. I read with great pleasure.
mike
August 24th, 2009 7:34 am
You need a lot of traffic. A lot of people will browse the items but will not buy them.
soytico.info La pagina de los ticos
August 24th, 2009 2:21 pm
Hi Those numbers are excellent. And Amazon is not even your top income stream – nice.
webtech
August 24th, 2009 8:17 pm
Nice post. I got very interesting articles in your website. Since I go through Amazon a lot, this advice is very much appreciated. And I really thankful for the article “Three simple actions that doubled my website traffic in 30 days”………….. Thanks Bro. Keep it up.
Tooth Fairy Pocket Pillow
August 24th, 2009 9:57 pm
Very helpful of you to post information like this for all of us to use.
Nick Stamoulis
August 24th, 2009 11:16 pm
I think the important item your graph shows is the time. Often times people think blogs get you paid quickly. I’m glad how you show you started in 2003 and it has taken time to get ramped up.
Seth W
August 25th, 2009 2:31 am
Amazon is an old, but powerful way to make money online with the right set-up and products. It seems like their are more profitable ways to make money, but having multiple streams of revenue is always good!
Sean Morrissy
August 25th, 2009 3:46 pm
Awesome, I’m definitely using tip #5. I’ve never made a cent with Amazon, but it has to be a good source of income for people like us. If I went in under someones affiliate link they’ll be very happy, I spend a fortune there.
Cheers,
Sean
unemployed chris
August 25th, 2009 3:58 pm
VERY nice work. I have worked with Amazon affiliate and have not converted too well. This is a little bit of inspiration however. Thanks.
myskin
August 25th, 2009 7:05 pm
you are amazing, I’ve never managed to sell 1 product on amazon, since registering a year ago
Mike from Drop Ship
August 25th, 2009 9:23 pm
Very well written. Amazon can help people make money online. It is very old and reliable site.
Dan
August 25th, 2009 11:36 pm
Thanks for writing this. My blog is fairly new and you gave me some reallygood ideas. I have had dismal results with Amazon so far but probably due to the lower amount of traffic.
Michael
August 26th, 2009 1:03 am
Oh man I love this blog, thank you for the sound advice regarding the Amazon affiliate program. I have used it in the past but without much success but this post gave me some great pointers.
Thank You so much and keep bloggin!
Manie @ Best Best Web Site Host
August 26th, 2009 2:06 am
Thanks for lots and lots of very useful information! I have never managed to sell anything on Amazon, now I see why…
Passionate
August 26th, 2009 12:04 pm
Great article.
A great event for all cool young people interested in IT is just around the corner. Dont miss out!
http://www.acs.org.au/youngit/2009conference/
Hot News Today
August 26th, 2009 12:24 pm
I never try Amazon Association before. But after reading this post, I decide to built new site and sell something. Thanks Darren!.
Julius People Search Engine
August 26th, 2009 12:37 pm
Hi Darren,
Thanks for sharing your success at Amazon Associates Program.
I was making money also but not quite as much as you earn here.
The only affiliate program that making money more income is my People Search Engine and you can see that to my website here.
Thanks again for sharing,
Julius
PeopleSearchRocks!
G-Roc
August 26th, 2009 4:15 pm
WOW! I never knew Amazon was paying like that. I guess I’m on the late side. My site is a sneaker based site, and the readers are true sneakerheads. With that said, they can be very picky about the products they buy, and where they buy them from. I can think of a couple of books that might interest them. I seriously need to look into this because I’m about to start my personal blog which is still centered around sneakers of course. Thanks for the tips!
Aqif
August 26th, 2009 5:00 pm
Thanks a lot for sharing. Seriously I never thought of making money through Amazon until today because lack of confidence and still learn, learn, learn without making any action to generate income through blogging.
I just make a first step designing my web blog. Sooner I will provide high quality content for readers. Give give give.. :)
Joss
August 26th, 2009 7:35 pm
Thanks for sharing the info about amazon.
I think in general you can earn much more from an affiliate program than from google adsense..
garlica
August 27th, 2009 12:18 am
VERY nice work. I have worked with Amazon affiliate and have not converted too well. This is a little bit of inspiration however. Thanks.
Eric
August 27th, 2009 1:51 am
That is really impressive. The thing that bothers me about Amazon is the extremely low payouts that they give. Making only 5-10% on products really stinks.
steve
August 27th, 2009 3:56 am
WANT TO MAKE MONEY FOR JUST READING SMS ,JUST CLICK BELOW LINK OR COPY AND PASTE
http://mGinger.com/index.jsp?inviteId=1998489
Max Martin
August 27th, 2009 5:07 am
Wow, this so impressive.
Thanks for your share.
Truck Driver Jobs
August 27th, 2009 10:11 am
Whoa, so many tips… i hope its not too hard to remember them all!
-Jason
smart lighting05
August 27th, 2009 1:23 pm
It’s a very Useful post, this is both good reading for starters and experts, have quite a few good key points, and I learn some new stuff from it too, thanks for sharing your information with us.Keep blogging.
bandwidth optimization
August 27th, 2009 3:51 pm
Its nice to read a useful article for beginner like me.Some of points from this article are very helpful for me as I haven’t considered them yet.I would like to say thank you for sharing this cool article.Thanks.
thaidigg
August 27th, 2009 5:59 pm
thank for your sharing..
Sleep Disorders
August 27th, 2009 6:14 pm
$120,000 divided by 6 years roughly gives $20,000 per year. Divide that by 12 months and it averages $1600 a month from Amazon.
Not bad for a blog, but it seems stores do better with the same equivalent traffic.
Profilo Blogger.com
August 27th, 2009 9:15 pm
Great article Darren! That is really important information for me, for my blogging. Good Luck Darren!
elle kaye
August 27th, 2009 10:50 pm
I recently integrated an aStore in my wordpress blog – I used the iFrame option so it sits well with the rest of the website. Also built in ad blocks for adsense, works well overall – at http://www.kiddingabout.com
elle
fordisim
August 28th, 2009 3:22 am
Thanks for the info Darren, this information is very useful. As a noobie I look forward to reading and researching your material. I strive for the knowledge, and it seems that you have tons of it.
Thanks!
Definately will subscribe.
elle kaye
August 28th, 2009 4:02 am
I have updated my website http://www.kiddingabout.com to a new wordpress theme which I tweaked to use the iFrame version of the aStore, also put in a few ad block for adsense, works pretty well so far!
Elle
Computer Videos
August 31st, 2009 2:37 am
Thank you for sharing such great tips with all of us. It is indeed very helpful to all of us.
Keep up the good work and God bless!
Cheers!
Sid
http://ComputerVideos.110mb.com/
Real Estate Investing Software
August 31st, 2009 3:15 am
Great Post! Don’t think the average person has the patience to wait that long to make money though.
junaebah
August 31st, 2009 12:41 pm
Great post, I found it useful that I need information and relationship with my blog too…thanks
Andre Ocean
September 1st, 2009 3:49 am
I’m like a baby in this field…just started out 2 months ago and i feel like i’ve found a guru in you. Thanks for the time you’ve spent in putting up this article
kris
September 4th, 2009 1:34 am
Hi Darren, Im newbie in affiliate bussiness and Im still learning about it. Your articles were great! thank you!
Discount Ugg Boots
September 4th, 2009 10:59 pm
Thanks Warren again for a great article. I’m in the process of adding amazon products to my sites. They are definitley one of the most reliable programs and oldest around. There are so many products to promote.
maxhavelaar
September 5th, 2009 4:40 am
What should I do if I want to joint with Amazon affiliate program. Is there have some kind a special rule? thanks
Affiliate program - people search
September 6th, 2009 9:03 pm
Very interesting article with very useful and important information for beginners, and not just for them.
bandwidth management
September 8th, 2009 7:31 pm
Interesting post, as well as your blog. This is my first time here, and just wanted to say that i have enjoyed reading your article. Keep blogging.
asyed
September 12th, 2009 6:16 pm
Great info…
This is definately gonna boost affiliates strategy,the small mistakes you pointed out will help the most of people…
Thankyou.
Jennifer
September 16th, 2009 11:02 am
Thanks for these tips! I rarely get any conversions from my widgets, I will definitely start doing book & product reviews, and using contextual links. Thank you so much!
Christa Herzog
September 21st, 2009 11:29 am
Of course, the more traffic you get the more you will probably sell.
The more information like with reviews you give the more interesting a certain book can get to be bought.
I will add reviews to my books. I actually thought about doing this several times. Just did not get the time doing so yet.
Your blog is really great. I read in another blog about it.
Christa
http://www.privatedimension.at
audiokabel
September 21st, 2009 5:51 pm
Your article is very useful. I am currently attempting to monetize some of my blogs. I feel that maybe I should build a bigger readership first but I grow a little impatient. What you say about contextual advertising is spot on however. I think those type of ads convert best because they don’t scream “ad” That’s amazing that you’re making so much money through amazon. Congrats on that. Hopefully I can find a way to succeed with affiliate marketing. It’s a tough game to learn.
Ronblogger
October 2nd, 2009 6:44 am
Great post there.All the tips are useful and i will surely implement these on my blog
Burglar Alarms
October 2nd, 2009 8:08 pm
Absolutely great post with valuable tips..i enjoyed reading your blogs..Thanks for sharing such points. I am impressed.!!;) I would like to say thank you for sharing this cool article. Bookmarked and sharing for friends.
Apx Alarm
October 2nd, 2009 11:37 pm
Great informative post. I found a lot of worthy tips about amazon from this post. Thanks for an insightful post. These tips are really helpful. Again thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.
dattai
October 3rd, 2009 2:29 am
hello ProBlogger
U are very famus.oneday i will be famus like you .
Thank for this post
Sellin2Shopin
October 3rd, 2009 6:53 pm
Hello! I like your site.. I am a new associate to amazon..I have my site set up..now just to get the traffic..do you or anyone here have great tips to getting people to come to your site? Thanks alot!
Helen Hunt - Free Links
October 4th, 2009 8:35 am
Thanks for this nice tips, I will definitely check it out. I’ve been hearing of Amazon affiliate, but didn’t give it much thought.
I will definitely add it on my new site :)
Brice
October 5th, 2009 5:01 pm
Great advice, great tips. As usual. As you mentionned it most of those tips are common sense but I just realized my understanding and approach to amazon affiliates was far to be appropriate. Thanks for sharing
Down Comforter Sets
October 5th, 2009 7:24 pm
I found this post at DP, those lessons are really great and I know why my traffic not to convert into sales. I think the best part of generating sales is to get targeted visitor who looking what we reviewed.
thepadi
October 12th, 2009 4:35 am
Around half of that amount was made within the last 12 months. So much to learn before this december.
Thanks for sharing.
Burglar Alarms 126
October 13th, 2009 2:34 pm
Hi! This is the post which I like most and the first impression is the last so when one person see this blog he/she must impressed to see the attractive pictures which I saw before so this is very nice impressive post which I have never seen ever.so keep up post continue and stay tune with us.Thanks a lot.
Affiliate Tips
October 20th, 2009 9:20 pm
As someone still struggling to make the first cent with Amazon, this two posts gave some useful advice to me. Actually I spotted one or two things that I was doing wrong with promoting the Amazon stuff.
Thanks Darren, great stuff as always.
george
October 21st, 2009 11:46 am
Great information about Amazon,I recently joined their associates programme and was wondering how best to promote their links and as you pointed out in number 10.Contexetual is king,I do firmly agree,it’s much more easier as well as convenient.
All the best and thanks once again
joe
October 24th, 2009 1:32 pm
I guess amazon program is not for sites that just provide services than sell products.
caius
November 3rd, 2009 7:11 am
Thanks for the advice – that is great – and easy to follow.
DemoGeek
November 9th, 2009 9:05 am
Darren – sure, it’s another well explained and exciting article from you…great…I just was wondering what if those embedded links expire…wouldn’t that be a hard thing to maintain? How do you keep track of those links and make sure you deal with those expired links?
Deal Gal
November 9th, 2009 3:28 pm
Very inspiring, not to mention helpful. Look forward to further updates and tips. Bookmarking this post now.
Alex
November 11th, 2009 1:29 am
Thanks for this information . It is useful for me.
netbook reviews
November 13th, 2009 8:19 am
These are great tips that I use in my blog,
CJ
November 14th, 2009 6:50 pm
Thank you for sharing this information – there is so much more to learn than just putting a link on a website.
Joel Osteen: It's Your Time
November 16th, 2009 9:30 am
Agree 110% with you Darren:
If we put our foot on reader’s boot (see what I did here?), what they want is information, information, and information. Smart reader will only gives 5 seconds to decide whether an article is worth to read or not. They don’t care about how nice you design your ads.
If they like the article, they will stick to read it. Thus, the ads must be part of this “information” that the readers try to get. Hence, textual text is surely the way forward on advertisement.
That’s what I (try to) do on my site.
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