The debate whether the Amazon Associates Program is worth it or not for bloggers is an old one. Some warmly recommend it, praising it as the best affiliate program out there, while others like John Chow state simply that it’s more trouble than it’s really worth and, pointing at the low 4% commission, frown ☹.

What’s obvious to me is that the Amazon affiliate program works really well for some blogs, while for others it doesn’t at all. I myself have a good opinion of it and I advise all bloggers who haven’t tried it yet to give it a go, for there is no other way to find out whether it works for you or not.

To justify my recommendation I’m going to give seven reasons why I think the Amazon Associate Program to be well worth it.

1. Amazon Enjoys a Good Reputation

Despite some critics here and there, Amazon enjoys a fairly good reputation all over the world, being one of the most trusted online brands. Many of your blog readers are familiar with it, in contrast with other stores that offer affiliate marketing programs which, even though worshiped by some, don’t enjoy the same wide acclaim. If you link to Amazon you’re more likely to generate a sale than if you link to a less known store for the simple reason that people have confidence in it.

2. Commissions Are Not That Bad

I know some fellow bloggers who see Amazon’s 4% commission as too low, and who point that other affiliate programs are more rewarding. While it’s hard to disagree with them, the rate is indeed humble, it’s important to consider that this is only the base rate. When selling certain products in large quantities the rate can go up to 8%.

Even if this doesn’t impress you then keep in mind that in time it all adds up. My Australian friends Paula and Wanda of Only-Cookware.com started with a few dollars a day on Amazon Affiliate commissions and 3 years later they are earning over $1000 a day! So, 8% commission is not restrictive by any means.

3. Amazon Knows How to Convert

With the Amazon affiliate program you earn a commission for all the products bought by a person in a 24-hour time frame after he or she was directed to the store by your blog. Due to Amazon’s compelling recommendations it frequently happens that the people you redirect make multiple purchases. All these will bring a commission, which really adds up.

You will often make more from the additional items purchased than from the particular product you promote. In fact, 2 out of the 3 Amazon sales that my weight loss programs blog generates have nothing to do with the products featured on my site.

People visit my site to read a weight loss product review or learn how Medifast diet compares to Nutrisystem meal replacement program, and yet they will often head over to Amazon to end up buying a digital camera, an iPod touch case, a deep fryer or the book “Dirty Money” in paperback! Amazon is obviously the master of cross selling.

4. Instead of Receiving Money You Can Receive Products

The Amazon affiliate program enables you to choose from multiple payment options, including one in products. The store has a rich variety of items for you to choose from whenever you’re in a buying mood.

Being paid in items is useful when you feature a contest on your blog and you need prizes for the winners. While it’s unlikely that you’ll want to be paid in products every month, every now and then it can come in handy.

5. It’s An Income That Grows Steadily

The amount of money you get from the Amazon Associate Program, while it fluctuates based on the season, it tends to increase steadily if you keep on at it. Each new link you add to your blog increases your chances of making cash, and once you have quite a lot of them (along with enough traffic to your blog) you’ll begin to see noticeable improvements. It takes time but money will come.

About a year ago, I started writing every other day relevant content with links to Amazon products. Since then, my diet blog of Medifast coupons and Diet to Go discounts has shown an upwards trend in its Amazon affiliate earnings, as the graph shows below (compare 2010 to 2011).

6. It Works Really Well With Holidays

The income the program generates can be considerable every month, but during the holidays it gets a boost that sometimes exceeds 50%. I’ve noticed that in December earnings with Amazon always grow, as long as the right links are prepared with about one month in advance. I’ve talked to other bloggers about this and they too earn more with the program during the holidays, so I suppose it’s something that happens for all who use it.

7. It’s Compatible with Different Kinds of Blogs

Being a large and diverse store, Amazon features an associate program that seems to be compatible with all sorts of blogs. This cannot be said for many other stores that offer such programs. Even bloggers in obscure niches are likely to find products on Amazon that they can advertise.

While Amazon’s affiliate program is not for all, it definitely works well for many. There are professional bloggers who use it and recommend it, so you should at least think about giving it a chance. It’s the only way to discover if it’s profitable for you.

Are you an Amazon affiliate? If you are, what’s your opinion of the associate program? Do you think it’s worth it?

Guest author Matthew is a scientist who early in his professional career figured that blogging as an affiliate would give him much more freedom than conducting biology research. His first online venture, WeightLossTriumph, is a diet blog that features weight loss plans and monetizes partly through Nutrisystem discount code deals and Medifast discount promotions, two medically designed meal replacement programs.

© guestposter for DazzlinDonna, 2011. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Affiliate marketing, Amazon
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Affiliate marketing sounds like something that should be relatively easy to do. Sign up for an affiliate program, paste some links and banners around on the Internet, and start earning money. But is it really that easy to learn and to do, and create the multi digit incomes that everyone says you can earn in just a few days?

How to be honest in your customers eyes

Regardless of what you are trying to sell, your customers need to believe what you are telling them and that you are being honest about the product. If you already have a website that is up and running with quite a few subscribers, you need to stay true to the site. For instance, if you are selling pet supplies, and then you start to promote feminine health products, you could lose the trust of many of your customers, especially if they are a male. If you choose to get into some affiliate products that are very different, it is best to create a new blog/website/method of marketing.

Promote benefits, not features

Make sure that you are able to promote the items instead of just advertising them. How likely are you to buy a product that someone comes to you and says, please buy this from me? But if they came up to you and said ‘You know what? I tried this product, and it’s awesome. I can clean my house in half the time, and there are no streaks on my mirrors!’ Chances are you are more likely to buy the product and try it out.

Choose affiliate programs wisely

There are many different affiliate programs out there, so make sure you find a program that works for you. It is likely best to find a company that has been out there for a while and has a good reputation behind it. This way you know you will be paid for your efforts, and that people will be able to get the product that they paid for. It is best to do some research before deciding on a program, as it needs to be something you can promote and support.

Before signing up with an affiliate program, you want to make sure that they pay out and that what they pay is worth your time. A good rule of thumb is to find programs that pay at least a 20% commission level. There may be some times when you choose to join a program that pays less for whatever reason, which is not necessarily bad. Beware that having too many of these will actually lower your earnings. Two tiered affiliates are a great way to go as you earn money from your sales, as well as those made by those below you.

It costs nothing to say thanks

Whenever someone new signs up as a customer or as an affiliate through you, make sure that you send them a personal message thanking them. Help your affiliates learn and as a result, they will make money and you potentially will as well. They could also sign up with other opportunities you have due to the relationship that you have established.

Setting up an affiliate business does not have to be difficult, but it is not the easiest thing to learn how to, as there are many components and steps you need to look into and investigate before making a decision on how to handle them. Affiliate marketing does take some time to learn, but can be a great income resource.

Lena Morrish and Dima Nikolayenko who own Bridge to Success Co can help you establish your residual income business on the Internet. Learn the tools and methods of the trade on their website.

© Donna for DazzlinDonna, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Affiliate marketing, Dima Nikolayenko, Internet Marketing, Lena Morrish
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As you are aware, I make my living online. A large portion of that income comes from sites I own which promote affiliate products that I believe are of value. Over the years, I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t when promoting affiliate products. In addition, I’ve paid attention when successful affiliate marketers (and non-affiliate marketers) shared their secrets. On top of that, I’ve been coaching clients for the last couple of years, helping them bring their ideas to life on the web. My learning, my experience, and my teaching led me to realize that there was something missing from the product lineups I’ve come across. I decided to fill that gap.

I’ve put together the Q&A Affiliate Formula. The product consists of not just an ebook that describes the formula, but also a valid XHTML/CSS static website template (and a WordPress theme as well). This way, you aren’t merely reading a formula, but have a template to use that makes it extremely easy to follow. Speaking of easy…some people might look at it and say, “Wow, this is simple. Maybe too simple to pay for?” But of course, I disagree. I believe the hard work I put into making it so simple is a large part of it’s actual value. And since I’m not charging a lot for it (just $27), I don’t feel bad about making it a paid product at all.

The gist of this product is a formula designed to increase conversion rates for people who are promoting affiliate products within their niche, combined with a template designed to use that formula. If you aren’t satisfied with the size of your monthly affiliate checks, the Q&A Affiliate Formula was created for you.

If you want to get more details, just head on over to the Q&A Affiliate Formula site. You can also become an affiliate of the Q&A Affiliate Formula from there as well.

© Donna for DazzlinDonna, 2010. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Affiliate marketing, affiliate products, Conversions
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If you do any affiliate marketing at all – occasionally or as a large business – you should consider adding a new free tool that can make a huge difference in your affiliate earnings. This awesome new tool is a URL shortener called Cli.gs. For those of you who may not be familiar with URL shorteners, they are simply web tools that allow you to turn all those extremely long, extremely ugly URLs into nice short ones. The one most people are used to seeing and using is TinyURL, and although I give them respect for being around so long, they just no longer are the winners of the best URL shortener out there anymore. That honor goes to Cli.gs now, and Cli.gs has special features that are especially wonderful for anyone who has ever used an affiliate link on their site or blog.

Here are the main reasons why an affiliate marketer should use Cli.gs:

1. The affiliate URL is shortened and looks much less intimidating, and much more inviting to users. But of course, other URL shorteners do the same, so this one feature alone doesn’t put Cli.gs above the rest. But Cli.gs also allows you to rename the URL using user-friendly words, and that is very cool! Here’s an example. Let’s say you set up a Cli.gs URL pointing to a product page that is selling straw hats. You could rename the Cli.gs URL so that it would literally be http://cli.gs/strawhats. Can you see how inviting that URL is to visitors, as opposed to some random mix of letters and numbers, or a long affiliate code?
2. Cli.gs allows you to set up a private account (free) that lets you track statistics of every Cli.gs URL you use. What does that really mean? That means you can TRACK WHAT AFFILIATE URLS YOU’RE USERS CLICK ON. Yes, Cli.gs comes with its own analytics, so you are no longer in the dark. You know which ads work and which don’t! That is powerful information to have. You can create different Cli.gs URLs for different ad placements – all leading to the same affiliate URL. You’ll be able to test your ad placements and decide which section of your web page provides the best clickthrough rate for each affiliate you place! Or test different versions of link text for each affiliate link, and determine which is most clicked on by users. The amount of information you can gain from analyzing which affiliate links get clicked on most can improve your success rate – a lot! And you’ll never again wonder if the affiliate company is being honest about the amount of traffic you’re sending either!
3. Geotargeting – This one is extra cool. This feature is called Right Clig, and it allows you to set up Cligs with various alternative destination URLs that are targeted based on the visitor’s country. An example use would be if you wanted to direct UK visitors to Amazon’s UK URL and German visitors to Amazon’s German site. You would only use one Cli.gs URL on your page, but the rules you set up would determine where the visitor was from, so each user will be sent to the correct destination. This feature isn’t one that would be used in all of your affiliate links, but when appropriate, it can make a HUGE difference in your affiliate earnings.

Cli.gs has been the most exciting new thing I’ve used in a long time. It can literally change your affiliate marketing. Look, it’s free – and it’s extremely simple to use. If you’ve ever placed an affiliate link on any of your sites, I urge you to try this. You won’t really get how absolutely awesome this can be for you until you take a couple of minutes to try it out. No gimmicks. Just a straightforward tool that is easy to use, and gives back a wealth of information and usefulness for free. You can read more about Cli.gs on its blog, and you can follow Cli.gs on Twitter as well. Oh yeah, one other thing I forgot to mention – Cli.gs can automatically post new blog posts to Twitter, and since it has an API, any service can be hooked up in the same way. Trust me – Cli.gs is cool. It’s the affiliate marketer’s new best tool.

© Donna for DazzlinDonna, 2008. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: affiliate marketer, Affiliate marketing, Amazon, awesome new tool, Cligs, free tool, short URL, straightforward tool, Twitter, United Kingdom, URL shortener
This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this in your news aggregator/reader or on DazzlinDonna, then the site you are looking at is probably infringing upon my copyright.