Six months into blogging, I realised that this hobby of mine was going to need some kind of income stream, and I happened to come across the Amazon Affiliate program, where I would earn a small commission on their products I recommended. Twelve years later, I’ve earned over half a million dollars with them and I continue to be an Amazon affiliate seller (primarily on Digital Photography School, my main blog).
In today’s episode of the ProBlogger podcast, I discuss the reason I chose Amazon out of the many options available, and how I have made the most of that relationship. I also give 20 practical tips for making affiliate selling a profitable income stream.
I cover:
- the reasoning behind my choice
- why you should have a go at affiliate sales even when you don’t have a lot of traffic
- what your focus should be if you choose affiliate sales as an income stream (it might not be what you think!)
- what I’ve found converts the best
- buying cycles and how to read the mindset of your audience
- the strategy behind relevancy
- how to use social proof marketing for higher conversions
- how to write great product reviews
- the usefulness of relevant links even to non-reviewed products
- what type of promotion is the most successful
- capitalising on trends for higher sales
- how many contextual links are best in one post
- the value of linking the images in your post to the product
- how to find products to recommend
- how to track campaigns
- the reasons you should bother promoting less-expensive items
- transparency and disclosure
- how to watch for opportunities.
Listen to this podcast in the player below or head over to the shownotes where it’s also embedded with some further reading, diagrams and other show notes.
Darren, as a fellow Australian and aspiring blogger, your information on monetization is invaluable to me! I have learned so much just from reading your posts. Thank you for making this venture far less daunting for me!
thank you for the insight. Can I ask though, what do you suggest for those who live in a state (nc) that Amazon doesn’t allow affiliate marketing with them?
Hey! Just wanted to let you know that NC actually does allow Amazon affiliates now!! I live in Raleigh and have been using it for nearly a year. Woohoo!
Oh wow! Thank you so much! This will make a load of difference! :)
Sidenote: I lived in Raleigh for 5 years during my stay at NC State before I moved just North of Charlotte!
Pooh!, It seems to be a great amount of commissions that you have earned. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us.
Hi,
I recently moved to Amazon Affiliates with just single website with a weight loss product. By far now it is running good. The money has floated in. I want to expand it and looking forward to hear your podcast. I truly hope it will help me expand this business.
Regards
Tauseef Alam
We all know making that kind of money from Amazon takes time.
I think Click-Bank is much better for Amazon Affiliate Program.
Hi, Darren, Very informative article and indeed very inspirational also. I am also struggling to make money with Amazon affiliate program and this article really give the energy to start again.
Personally speaking cookie life of amazon is too short, but nice to see the amount of income you made. It’s always an inspirational to read your post.Thanks for the post.