One of the stumbling blocks for new bloggers is that I think we often are in such a rush to try to start making money from our blogs that we don’t always stop and read the rules. I urge you, when you become an affiliate of any network or company, to closely read their affiliate rules so that you can adhere to them and not get kicked out of their program for non-compliance.
Here are some links to Amazon’s in particular:
- Amazon Associates Home
- Amazon Associates Program Policies – Includes:
- Fee Statement
- Participation Requirements
- Products Statement
- Mobile Application Policy
- Trademark Guidelines
- IP License
- Amazon Influencer Program Policy – For influencers with a social media following.
- Local Associates Policy – Selected Associates may curate and offer from their own page on Amazon.
Amazon offers different rates of commission depending on the type of product. Even though their rates may be lower than a lot of affiliate marketing offerings, their trust factor is high — a lot of people already purchase items through Amazon and have accounts/Prime membership.
Its only a 24 hour cookie (plus a lot of competition so the last click may win out), but the sheer volume of people making purchases through Amazon makes being an affiliate for them very appealing. Plus, you get to earn off whatever the consumer purchases (except for items already in their cart) from Amazon after clicking through your link, not only based on your linked item(s).
Remember, too, that if it sounds too good to be true, it often and likely is. Some of those programs out there that promise free traffic and sales all day are just to entice and make money off you. In the meantime, implementing them may cause you to be banned, if it doing things outside of their Terms of Service!
Don’t risk it and think about things through the eyes of your audience. Help them, solve a problem, offer them something of value.
