How to get the best from being an Amazon affiliate

The good news is that most bloggers sign up to be Amazon affiliates pretty early – the opportunity seems huge as Amazon sells so much stuff, and it’s easy to both become an affiliate and also to use their links, widgets and other tools for bloggers.

The bad news is that most bloggers quickly become disillusioned with Amazon as they go for month after month getting 4 clicks and selling one book to earn 82 cents!

The key to success with Amazon is to treat it as a long term project. What you are doing now is sowing the seeds for future income, when your blog traffic gets larger and larger.

Use text links

You will get the best conversions by using text links, or the small photo and text links Amazon offer. And put them in the content, rather than in the sidebar.

Use lots of them!

Because of the huge range of products Amazon offer, you can often find something relating to a post on pretty much any subject. For example, while researching this post I simply searched on Amazon for “Affiliate help” and came across half a dozen books on the subject, including this one:

The Complete Guide to Affiliate Marketing on the Web: How to Use and Profit from Affiliate Marketing Programs

And of course, if your readers prefer to download information rather than read it, you could always recommend they should buy the fabulous:

Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, U.S. Wireless)

Make sure the post is well key word optimized, then publish it!

As your post gains traction on the net, and decent search results, people will start clicking your link and you’ll start making sales!

Disclosure

You should make it clear to people that you may make a small commission if they buy through your links, so either set up a site wide message explaining that, or add a small message to each post where you use an affiliate link.

If in doubt, leave it out!

If you’re not sure that a product is any good, or useful to your readers, then don’t link to it. You’ll do more harm than the small amount of money you can make will compensate for.

Find out what works for you and keep doing it

Over time, you’ll start to establish a pattern for what sells on your site. Is it books about a topic, cameras, maps? Once you know, then begin to focus more on those types of products, and consider putting up an Amazon shop or widget.

Don’t forget you’ll benefit from further clicks and add ons

Amazon are brilliant at maximizing their income per customer. When you order one product, their system recommends other things that the customer may be interested in. As the affiliate recommending them, you will earn commission from these additional products, and a few cents for a book you recommend, may turn in to a few dollars for other stuff.

Get moving for Christmas!

Like any retailer, Amazon enjoys huge sales leading up to Christmas, so now’s the time to start cashing in on the opportunity!

Summary

It can take years to build up a decent income as an Amazon affiliate, but the sooner you start, the sooner the income will become worthwhile for you. In the meantime, keep adding those links and think of it as something you’re building for the future.

Disclosure: The links above are really there as examples, but if you do click them and buy something, I will earn a small commission.

You should also read:

1/ How does E-Junkie work?

2/ How do you sell an affiliate product?

3/ How does Clickbank work?