Monetizing your blog or site is an important step anyone can make when going from amateur to professional. This step shouldn’t be taken easily, as it is important to make the right steps at the right time, thus resulting in a steady income. If you start too early, you may not be focusing on proper content or building enough traffic. If you start too late, you may be missing out on a ton of money.
Before getting started on your Amazon Associates Program, be sure to check out the tips below as they will help you avoid any mistakes, many would otherwise make.
1. Optimize your Amazon Affiliate Program – deciding to setup an Amazon Affiliate Program may sound tedious and complicated, but it really is worth the effort. Choosing products to display on your blog really needs to be optimized to meet your target audience and also flow smoothly with the content you are presenting. You also want to make sure that you aren’t displaying content which is too broad as it may only be seen as a distraction rather than a possible purchase.
2. Gather Emails for Future Sales – for those of you who are just starting off, we highly recommend setting up a newsletter service. This will allow you to collect emails, which will help you with your sales down the road. Collecting emails allows you to develop an audience to which you can send a reminder about a particular sales event. If you develop a trustworthy relationship with your readers, they will be further inclined to make purchases through your recommendations.
3. Market Socially – this may sound odd, but once you have your Amazon account setup, you can send a reminder link with your Amazon affiliate ID on Facebook, Twitter, Digg or any social networking platforms. It doesn’t need to be delivered as spam, but rather as a reminder for a sale that Amazon is having.
4. Create a Best Sellers List – people are more confident in their purchases when others are purchasing the same or similar products. I’m not a specialist in the human psyche, but people feel comfortable buying a product that others have purchased or reviewed. So it’s only natural that you would setup a page, demonstrating what the top sellers currently are. It may sound dumb, but it really is convenient for your readers, and your pocketbook
5. Build Anticipation – this technique can be used in various methods. First you can provide information for products that will soon become available. You can do that by linking to the product, or sharing some information about it; essentially hyping up the product. You can also add pictures and links directly to a particular product. Getting readers to Amazon is the big task, having them buy is the next big step (but Amazon is good at getting people to make a purchase, so getting users there should be your main concern).
6. Sell the Seasons – if you know Black Friday is coming up, or Boxing day, then be sure to market accordingly. If you aren’t providing your readers with information on sales and big events, you are hurting yourself (and your wallet) as well as your readers, as you are showing them you aren’t on top of your game. Market according to the season at hand.
7. Get Readers Involved – this might sound strange, but it relates back to the best sellers list. If someone purchases one of the products you are marketing, have that user right a review. This will demonstrate to others that not only are you able to make solid recommendations, you are also getting users to make a purchase. This in turn leads to additional sales, because users see other people buying.