And if you *really* want to say thanks to an Amazon reviewer who's part of the Amazon Associate program...
Category Book Reviewing
... you can start any and all of your Amazon shopping experiences by clicking on one of their blog reviews to get to the Amazon site.
The Amazon Associate program is a paid referral program run by Amazon. It's designed to drive traffic and sales to their sites by getting people to link to items on Amazon using an Associate ID code in the URL. When you click through one of those URL links to Amazon, anything you purchase during that browser session (even items that weren't linked) earn the referrer a commission. Here's a URL link for an example:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0981697801/duffbertsrand-20
This is a link to a book review I did for Roseanna's Reply. At the end of the URL, you'll see my Amazon Associate ID of duffbertsrand-20. If you click through using that link and purchase the book, it will count as a referral sale in my account. In addition, if you also decide to pick up three other books, a new camera, and a DVD or two during the same session, they'll also count as referral sales. Even if you *don't* purchase the main item you clicked through to get to Amazon, the other items purchased during that session still count for referral sales.
So are we talking retirement money here? At my level, no. Commissions are calculated on a monthly basis. Under the Performance plan (the one I use), the commissions get higher based on the number of items purchased:
For instance, say you purchase a $10 DVD. If I've only referred 2 items that month, I'd get a commission of 40 cents. If later in the month I refer 10 more items, I'll now see 60 cents from your purchase. At the beginning of the month, all the totals reset to zero and we start over.
You'll see some of the major tech blogs do this when they review a new gadget. They have an Amazon Associate ID and they'll link the item to the Amazon page. If you're getting a million hits a day and a couple hundred people buy the item in question at the 4% constant rate for electronics, you can see how well that might contribute to the bottom line of running a site like Boing Boing. In my case, the best I've ever done is the 6.5% range for a month. I think that added up to $75 or so as someone had purchased a rather substantial item during that time.
For those who wonder, no... I can't tie you to your purchase (unless you tell me). I can see what was purchased on a given day, but there's no association with the buyer. I do have a few people (thank you!) who start all their Amazon shopping through one of my links, and it's a nice treat to hit the Associate site in the morning and find 3 or 4 new items purchased over the last 24 hours. I may wonder who bought *that* DVD or book, but unless you IM or email me, your anonymity is assured. Just don't blog a review of it later thinking I won't make the association... :)
Again, this is a (very) tangible way to say thanks to those sites you appreciate. Your cost is the same at Amazon regardless of whether an Associate referral is used or not. All things being equal, I'd prefer give back if it's not going to cost me anything. :)
... you can start any and all of your Amazon shopping experiences by clicking on one of their blog reviews to get to the Amazon site.
The Amazon Associate program is a paid referral program run by Amazon. It's designed to drive traffic and sales to their sites by getting people to link to items on Amazon using an Associate ID code in the URL. When you click through one of those URL links to Amazon, anything you purchase during that browser session (even items that weren't linked) earn the referrer a commission. Here's a URL link for an example:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0981697801/duffbertsrand-20
This is a link to a book review I did for Roseanna's Reply. At the end of the URL, you'll see my Amazon Associate ID of duffbertsrand-20. If you click through using that link and purchase the book, it will count as a referral sale in my account. In addition, if you also decide to pick up three other books, a new camera, and a DVD or two during the same session, they'll also count as referral sales. Even if you *don't* purchase the main item you clicked through to get to Amazon, the other items purchased during that session still count for referral sales.
So are we talking retirement money here? At my level, no. Commissions are calculated on a monthly basis. Under the Performance plan (the one I use), the commissions get higher based on the number of items purchased:
|
Total Items Shipped
|
Referral Rates
(All Categories except Consumer Electronics) |
|
1 - 6
|
4.00%
|
|
7 - 30
|
6.00%
|
|
31 - 110
|
6.50%
|
|
111 - 320
|
7.00%
|
|
321 - 630
|
7.50%
|
|
631 - 1570
|
8.00%
|
|
1571 - 3130
|
8.25%
|
|
3131 +
|
8.50% |
For instance, say you purchase a $10 DVD. If I've only referred 2 items that month, I'd get a commission of 40 cents. If later in the month I refer 10 more items, I'll now see 60 cents from your purchase. At the beginning of the month, all the totals reset to zero and we start over.
You'll see some of the major tech blogs do this when they review a new gadget. They have an Amazon Associate ID and they'll link the item to the Amazon page. If you're getting a million hits a day and a couple hundred people buy the item in question at the 4% constant rate for electronics, you can see how well that might contribute to the bottom line of running a site like Boing Boing. In my case, the best I've ever done is the 6.5% range for a month. I think that added up to $75 or so as someone had purchased a rather substantial item during that time.
For those who wonder, no... I can't tie you to your purchase (unless you tell me). I can see what was purchased on a given day, but there's no association with the buyer. I do have a few people (thank you!) who start all their Amazon shopping through one of my links, and it's a nice treat to hit the Associate site in the morning and find 3 or 4 new items purchased over the last 24 hours. I may wonder who bought *that* DVD or book, but unless you IM or email me, your anonymity is assured. Just don't blog a review of it later thinking I won't make the association... :)
Again, this is a (very) tangible way to say thanks to those sites you appreciate. Your cost is the same at Amazon regardless of whether an Associate referral is used or not. All things being equal, I'd prefer give back if it's not going to cost me anything. :)
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