Hands down, one of the easiest way to start monetizing your blog is to sign up for an Amazon Associates account.
Have you visited another blog or website and noticed that in their sidebar they have their own Amazon “store” or products that they recommend on their sites that link to Amazon.com? The people that have these stores have signed up to become an Amazon Associate, meaning that they receive a small commission every time someone purchases an item they feature.
Amazon Associates can earn money by setting up stores and posting links to them in their sidebars, or from referring to specific Amazon products in posts. For instance, is there a book you just read and want to rave about on your site? Link to that book on Amazon and if anyone buys it based on your recommendation you’ll receive a commission!
There are also different widgets that you can add to your site. You might have noticed that I have a widget like the one below in the sidebar of Fantabulously Frugal.
Being a deal-based site, I thought it was appropriate to post a widget that highlights some of the best deals to be found each day at Amazon. Everyone can post widgets similar to these on their sites if you don’t feel like going through and setting up your own store. There are quite a few widgets to choose from and anytime someone purchases one of these deals you’ll receive a commission!
A couple of months ago Amazon made it way easier for everyone to become an Amazon Associate by partnering with Blogger. If you run your blog out of Blogger, find the “Monetize” tab. Then go to the link that reads “Amazon Associates.” From there you can either set up a new account, or enter your account information from an account you’ve already set-up. Easy as pie! I have not personally used it, but it appears that you can easily search for Amazon products to include in your posts without ever leaving Blogger.
If you do not run your blog out of Blogger, click here to register to become an Amazon Associate. I’m sure there is some sort of WordPress Plug-In that you can use, but I always sign into Amazon to look specifically for items. A toolbar shows up at the top of the Amazon page with a link that reads “Link to this Page.” When you click on that you will be given the HTML to post onto your site that corresponds to that specific item. If someone buys that item, you will automatically receive a referral fee. {You can use this process for Blogger, too.}
While all of the literature about Amazon Associates boasts referral fees of up to 15%, you would have to sell a TON of products to receive a 15% commission. There are two different fee structures, and you can choose the one you prefer. Under the first fee structure, otherwise known as the Classic Plan, you can earn a flat 4% per referral. Under the Performance Plan your commission is based on how many items you sell. Your referral rate starts at 4% but can get as high as 8.5% if you sell more than 3,131 items. {No joke. Good luck.} It appears that the commission structure varies each month, and February was not one of the months where it was possible to earn up to 15% commission.
The nice thing about the Amazon Associates program is that it is very organized and very user-friendly. The FAQ section is wonderful and easy to understand, which is particularly nice when you are first getting started. Payments go out like clockwork once per month as long as you have earned more than $10 in referral fees. {If you have not met the $10 minimum your payment will be rolled over to the next month.}
Hands down I think the Amazon Associates program is one of the easiest ways for any blogger to make a little bit of extra money. And hey, even if you’re not making much in referral fees, just think of it this way: Every nickel, dime, or quarter that you earn is a little bit of money that you didn’t have before and all of that change will eventually add up.
Please share – are you an Amazon Associate? What do you think are some of the strengths of the program? What are some of the weaknesses?
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{ 1 comment }
Interesting.. Have you heard of AffinityClick.com contextual product placements as another method of blog monetization?
I think differences would include the interactivity of the ads, the access to geo-targeted product placements from 10,000 merchants and 40 million products and probably the biggest would be access to keyword intelligence data that would help you target your content with keywords to optimize payouts.
Take a look, let me know what you think!
Marie
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