With increasing cost of living in metropolitan cities and big corporates (especially guys like JP Morgan and the IT guys) going for Employee layoffs in response to low market response, earning extra bucks through other avenues has become the norm amongst the middle class to help their families survive for the long run.
One of the most interesting ways which have now emerged thanks to technology is through Blog Writing. Many eminent individuals have forayed into Blogging to spread awareness on social topics and political issues. Seeing their potential and reach has forced Corporate behemoths like Amazon and Google to come up with their own Digital Marketing initiatives through which common Bloggers like you and me are able to earn some quick bucks through monetization of our Blogs.
If you are reading this article, chances are at 100% that you are looking for guidance on how to start off monetizing your blogs. Well, you have come to the right place as Amazon’s affiliate program codenamed Amazon Associates is considered as the most simple, convenient and easy to understand program in the Digital Marketing arena. You can even check out Affiliate Marketing Reviews for more on Amazon affiliate business model.
The program was launched in 1996 at a time when letting alone Digital Marketing, Computer Technology was not having the kind of penetration that it has now in our lives. Despite that, it has a healthy reputation of more than 12 years in developing solutions for small Business owners, website owners as well as Bloggers to earn revenue from Marketing thereby enabling such institutes to provide their actual service at possibly free of cost to their target customers.
Registration to the service is free of cost and the best thing is that it doesn’t involve any 3rd party oversight/negotiation whatever you may call it. Once registered, you will be given permission to create links on your blog/website which takes your target customers to Amazon shopping website.
Considering different regulations in different countries, Amazon has come up with its own country-specific programs. So, if you are from India, you can join their Associate India program by navigating to their official website.
Now coming to the most important part of the program: the commission to be earned. Amazon has a unique concept of commissioning its affiliates. Consider the example in the following para.
You are the owner of a Blog and an Amazon affiliate. I visit your blog and read your articles and come across the ad of an interesting book on sale at Amazon which I cannot find anywhere. I click on it, go to the website, check out the book and leave immediately. Later on, I go back to Amazon and buy a notebook set worth Rs. 5000. Now, the question: Do you get a commission for the notebook set bought by me? The answer is YES.
The commission rate might be hovering around 5-10% but its expected to garner enough returns for your Business once it becomes popular amongst your target population. And Besides, where else can you get a commission on ANY AND ALL products a person might buy within 24 hours of their clicking an ad located in your blog/website?
Another great benefit is that it works on any niche which is what Amazon is expecting to take advantage of. If one of your friends is a travel blogger, they can promote travel products on their website which can be considered must need if you, let’s say, go for a hike to the Himalayas. You can also set up an Academic blog to recommend students on reference books and link them to the Amazon website. Another great advantage is that if your website/blog is popular enough, then you can take advantage of the Festive seasons (Christmas in UK/US, Diwali in India) to attract enough revenues from your membership in the program because these are the periods when people usually prefer purchasing.
Now, coming to the registration part. Just go to their official Amazon website and register. If you already have an AMAZON account, they will ask you to join the associate program without asking for extra details (else you have to create a separate account). Once you are in, they will ask for your personal details and whether you are a US citizen. There are also details required of your mobile app and website, what your blog is about and other such necessary info which you need to fill. Once done, they will give you full access to their software tools which you need to use in your Blogs/website. They also provide a real-time Business Intelligence system which gives you info on how much you have earned, where your customers are and which regions were the most customers from as well as other relevant analytics.
Keeping in mind that something is better than nothing, so do consider registering for the program. But, the earnings will only be fruitful if your blog/website is. So don’t keep any notions in mind that it will be an easy earning opportunity. With this, I end this discussion wishing you all the best in your endeavors!!!!
