In an earlier post, I outlined three quick tips for boosting your Amazon earnings. Given the sheer variety of products that are available for sale on Amazon and seeing how the online retailer oftentimes has the best (or close to the best) price on so many different things, it only makes sense that the Amazon Associates program represents huge potential for affiliates. The practically global reach of Amazon is nothing to sneeze at either.
If you’re ready to earn even more money from the Amazon Associates program, then check out the three more nuggets of advice below. Don’t leave any money on the table.
Use Your Own Images
By default, you have a few different options when you click to “link to this page” through the Associates toolbar on Amazon. You can have the Text and Image, Text Only or Image Only. These can work for a number of different circumstances, but they can also be quite limiting. When you choose Image Only, for instance, it will only let you pick the default image for that product and you have very limited control over the size and dimensions of the image.
Instead, it could be a better idea to put together your own custom banners and images for promoting the various products. This way, you have total control over how the ad placement looks and you can make sure that it integrates perfectly with your blog design. Are you using images of a specific width within your blog posts? Why shouldn’t your images monetized through Amazon Associates use the same pixel width?
Promote Your Own Products
You know what’s even better than earning a 4-10% commission on a veritable cornucopia of products through Amazon? Earning that commission on top of what you earn from selling your own products too. The most natural fit here would be if you authored a book or e-book. I’ve discussed self-publishing with CreateSpace before, so I won’t do that again here.
When you sell your print book or your Kindle e-book through Amazon, you earn a specific amount for each sale. When you sell that same book and use your affiliate link, you can effectively double-dip on your earnings and Amazon has no problem with you doing that.
In fact, it’s a great idea to set up your own custom redirect URL for this purpose. I created michaelkwan.com/marginbook as a quick link to my freelance writing book, for example. If you want to buy the book that John and I co-authored, you can go to johnchow.com/moneybook. This is great for branding, easier to remember, and terrific for making money too.
Offer Real Value to Readers
A simple affiliate link to an Amazon product page might work. Sharing that link through social media or via your mailing list might work too. However, you can really boost your earning potential when you provide better value to your readers and make your blog post, landing page, or other page a useful resource in and of itself.
The most common way to do this is with a product review. When you have used the product being promoted yourself, and you’ve discussed all the things that you like about it, visitors are more likely to click on the link and buy the product too. Another method could involve reporting on the best “deals” you’ve found on Amazon; you’ll notice this is a common tactic used by many tech sites.
Making money with Amazon Associates is no different than making money with any other affiliate network. It will involve a lot of trial and error, and every situation is different. By putting all of these tips together, you give yourself the best shot at commission success. Good luck!
