Amazon Associates Account being terminated for lack of sales.

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   Mary McShaneposted 10 years ago

   I just got this email.  Is terminating your account normal if you don't have any sales or referrals in 90 days????
   Hello,
   Thanks again for joining the Amazon Associates program. We’re reaching out to you because we have not seen sales activity on your account.
   At the time your application was submitted, you were given access to Associates Central  and the link building tools located there. However, we haven’t recorded a referral from your account yet.
   Associate accounts that have not referred a sale to Amazon.com within 90 days of sign-up will be automatically rejected.  However, if your account is automatically rejected, you will be welcome to re-apply to the program in the future.
   There  are many ways to increase referrals and advertising fees you earn through the Associates
   Check out our blog at https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/gp … /promo.htm
   If you would rather close this account now, you can contact us at the link above to request the account closure.  We hope that you’re able to take advantage of this opportunity, and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

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      IzzyMposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I've never heard of this before. Maybe it's a new policy, I don't know.
      I am more concerned to read you have had no referrals, which I assume means click-throughs, to Amazon. Are you sure your account is set up properly? Check again that the associate number you have entered into Hubpages (under Earning settings) exactly matches the one given to you by Amazon.
      Even with no sales, you expect a click or two.
      I would also strongly suggest you write a hub aiming at a product. I see you already have one but the chances are it doesn't get traffic because  it either isn't searched-for or is oversubscribed.
      If you are already getting a few hits on that hub, then check your Amazon affiliate number.
      Look at an everyday product you have in your house, which is sold on Amazon. It could be a kitchen appliance, or your Tv or mobile phone or floor cleaner or whatever and write a review.  Anything that is currently sold should have buyers looking for a review over and above the Amazon reviewers. Point out the good and the bad. Readers trust user experiences that don't just wax lyrical.
      Then you should see clicks and possibly sales. Good luck!

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      1. 79

         Mary McShaneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, I'm sure the account is set up properly, and the affiliate number is correct on HP Earnings section. I find this pretty disturbing since there are click through's. I just wrote back to them and asked them if this is in error because I can see the number of click-through's on the amazon trends report. There are no orders, but the clicks are over 270 for the last 90 days. I know now that you don't get paid for clicks. lol  I wrote 2 review hubs that were high traffic products- Raspberry Ketones and Coconut Water. Both were getting good HP traffic until they were chosen for editor's choice. Since then almost no traffic now.  I thought maybe because both hubs are editor's choice and now that my name is off the URL, that I wouldn't get paid for any more clicks on those two hubs.  I only got clicks before they were editor's choice and none since - about 6 weeks now.
         
         Thank you for writing back and for your suggestions.  I have 1 week before 90 days is up with Amazon. I wrote hubs on BPA and bottled water, so I'll put some products on those and see what happens. In the meantime I have another hub ready to go and I usually put books on the hubs, but I'll be more product specific this time and see what happens.  Again, my thanks.

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            IzzyMposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            That is very disappointing to hear your traffic collapsed after being made EC.. It is likely that the spammers have stolen your work. In this case, Google would maybe see your hub as the copy with the url change and move them lower in the index.
            To check for yourself , highlight a paragraph of your hub, right-click and choose "search Google", (this option is there in Chrome).
            If the page results don't show anything untoward, add quotes around the phrase you have chosen and search again.
            Even on the main domain, you still get the usual 60% share of views and sales, as there is a redirect back to the original url in place.
            
            It is still worrying that Amazon are now threatening to terminate accounts that have not generated sales.

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            1. 79

               Mary McShaneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               I'm sitting here putting Amazon capsules on every hub I have that has a product I can conceivably match up to the hub.  Yes, it is disturbing that they are terminating accounts. I guess some employee got a bonus for thinking up the idea of getting rid of dead weight accounts.  The more I got through the hubs and put in amazon capsules, the madder I am getting.  I am about ready to let them terminate and be done with them.

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            2. 79

               Mary McShaneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               by the way, you are right about 1 of my hubs being stolen. I just checked. It is on dysphagia, which is also an editor's choice hub. This is the website who copied it word for word.    http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/s … &gl=us

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               1. 79

                  Mary McShaneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Google webmaster tools won't let me put it in for removal because I am not the owner, but the URL to the contact person is a broken link.  I AM PISSED. UGH.  Thank you IzzyM for your help.  Looks like I have some work ahead of me for someone stealing my work.

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   2. 86

      My Esotericposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      My hubs aren't product oriented either and I only put an Amazon ad at the bottom, along with an e-bay ad (even more worthless).  For the longest time, I got few clicks and the only sales I got were from friends and family and one science geek.
      
      Lately, the clicks have come in, a hundred or so a month off of a few of thousand views, but still no sales to speak of (one every two or three months, maybe) and it is going on three years of active hubbing.
      
      If you ask me, like the rest of you, I think Amazon is a waste of valuable time and ebay is worse.

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      1. 79

         Mary McShaneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Well, ebay hasn't kicked me off the program yet, and I only have 3 ebay capsules on my hubs.  I'll probably chop their capsules off my hubs next just because like Beth Eaglescliffe said, more room for HP's ads.

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      2. 86

         Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I'm not surprised.   Amazon and eBay capsules at the end of a Hub never, ever, ever work.  Total waste of time, no matter how carefully you select your products.
         
         If you're going to use Amazon and eBay capsules, they need to be right-floated, right next to the text that's relevant to them.  The correct positioning can make a dramatic difference.
         
         Of course the product has to be carefully selected so it's totally relevant to the text, too.

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            Matthew Meyerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            @Marisa I think that your strategy seems to make the most sense.
            As you mention, positioning the capsule near the text that discusses it as well as having carefully selected products tends to make them perform better. If the products are right, then you are providing a service to your reader and not simply injecting an unrelated advertisement.

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         2. 79

            Mary McShaneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I always aligned my Amazon and Ebay capsules to the correct text.  I look at my hubs from the readers point of view, so placing all capsules (text or sales) next to the corresponding paragraph is only logical. I don't doubt my set up was incorrect, either then or now.
            
            I just doubt if anyone actually buys from the hub links, as opposed to going to Amazon and shopping around for price, more product choices and good values. By the time they get done surfing Amazon, they can conceivably click to buy a product that they came across in their travels that has no referral back to the original link that took them there in the first place. 
            
            I have tested this myself, by using my partner's site. I clicked a product on his site, which took me to Amazon to purchase, but I decided to price shop and compare features of the product to others that were offered.
            
            I ended up closing the window of his product which was my Amazon entry point.  By the time I got done settling on a product, the link to his product with his code was no where in site.  Thus the original link I clicked to get there that would have given him views, and possible sale, fell by the wayside.
            
            Unless I were to click on his product (saved it instead of closing the window), then he would have received credit for the sale. But when readers have tons of tabs open to compare and then decide against the  original product (the link that took you to Amazon), it is very easy for hubbers to lose a sale due to shoppers practicing price shopping strategies.

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            1. 86

               Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Good to hear, I wasn't suggesting you were doing anything incorrect, just wanted to be sure you were aware of what to do.
               
               
               
               Yes, and if they buy something or put something in their cart during that visit, you will get credit for the purchase.  It doesn't matter what they buy, and it doesn't matter that the product link has "disappeared".  Behind the scenes, Amazon's system has tagged that visitor with your affiliate ID (using a "cookie")  and will give you credit for anything that is purchased on that visit.  In fact, the cookie is valid for 24 hours after the person arrives.
               
               I find that most of my sales are not the products I featured in my capsules.

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               Dressage Husbandposted 8 years agoin reply to this

               Clicking on your partners Amazon link would be counted as clicking on your own link (related account) and Amazon would not credit it even if you bought. The cookie is valid for 24 hours or until the customer leaves and re-enters using another associates link. In some cases if you use a linked store and automatic product loading a cookie is valid for 90 days (max), however this is only true if the customer places the item in their basket on Amazon.
               
               If you directed that customer that places an item in their basket to Amazon all items they purchase in the 90 days are credited to you, unless the item is removed and they return via another affiliates link. I believe that this is also how the standard 24 hour cookie works. The availability of the 90 day cookie is not apparent to new users and it explains why you often get click throughs but are not credited with the sale.
               
               This whole issue makes ones own blogs look more attractive!

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                  Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  Why does it make your own blog look attractive?   The Amazon 90-day rule now applies to any new member, whether they're selling on their own blog or on HP.

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                     Dressage Husbandposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                     See Linda Smiths comments on this above.

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   3. 88

      NateB11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      That's discouraging and disappointing. Makes me worried about my account. I'll have to check my email.

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   4. STAFF

      pauldeedsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      We believe this is a new Amazon policy, and we are in the process of updating our messaging on it.  For the time being, new users probably ought to wait to sign up for Amazon Associates until they have significant traffic.
      
      Site wide, we send about 1 click to amazon for every 200 times a hub is viewed (but of course, not every Hub has Amazon capsules), and about 6% of amazon clicks result in a sale.  If you do the math on that, an average Hubber can expect to make one Amazon sale once every 5000-6000 hub views.  Of course, there are some hubs that convert much more effectively than this and a lot that are below average (here are some tips for effective use of product capsules).
      
      We are also investigating the possibility of making Amazon an option in the HubPages Earnings Program, which would make the signup process much easier for new users and this 90 day issue moot.

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         Mary McShaneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you Paul.

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         ologsinquitoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Making Amazon an option in the HP earnings program would be a good idea, on a number of levels, as long as it's an option. This would allow new writers to immediately start using Amazon capsules, and earning, for one. Thanks for telling us about this.

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   5. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      This is weird.  If it's genuine, then it must be very new - because I couldn't find any mention of it on Google.  No one is discussing it on the Amazon forums, there are no announcements about it on the Amazon Associates blog or on the forums either. 
      
      It is a worry if it's kosher, because as Izzy says, it can take a while for a new Hubber to learn how to place ads well - and it takes a while for a Hub to rank well enough to get visitors.  So 3 months isn't giving a newbie much time to get started.
      
      If this is going to be the case from now on, then I would be advising new Hubbers not to sign up for Amazon until they've got several Hubs written and receiving traffic.

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         jansharesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I immediately thought "scam" when I saw this post this morning. Something doesn't sound right about it.

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      2. 79

         Mary McShaneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         @Marisa - It's kosher. Since they were going to close my account anyway, I wrote to tell them to don't delay the inevitable and just close my account.  I got an email back.
         
         Hello Mary,
         
         I'm sorry our Associates program didn't work out for you. As you requested, I've closed your Associates account  for you. If you should ever wish to reapply after 90 days, we would certainly welcome you back to the program.   
         
         Only your Associates account has been closed so you still have access to all your other Amazon accounts.
         
         You'll continue to receive monthly payment reports and occasional announcements regarding tools, and features for up to 60 days after the end of this month.
         Amazon Customer Service
         ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
         I have a Kindle e-publishing account, a Mechanical Turk account and a shop account so when he says "other accounts" that is what he is referring to in the email.
         ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
         @ comments made about ranking well enough to get visitors -- I think if you have high traffic blogs before you come to HP, that is a good place to sell Amazon products, but on HP when you are just establishing yourself, I don't think it isn't a good endeavor. It takes time to create good hubs, to get a substantial following and get your name known.
         
         I agree 3 months is not enough time to learn it all, especially for those who don't publish on HP every day or even every week.

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            Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Oh good, at least they give you an option to rejoin later.   Once you've got Hubs with decent traffic, it would be worth reapplying and inserting some really targeted ads.  Looking at your Hubs, however, I don't see many opportunities for you to do so.   You don't have to write product reviews to use Amazon ads, but you must identify a really specific product that's relevant to your text, and I can't think of many that would work for you.
            
            For instance, say you're writing about how to grow a lemon tree.  Many people will show a book about gardening, or about lemons, in their Amazon capsule - that's not specific enough to sell anything.  Talk about the importance of fertilizing and show a fertilizer in your capsule - then you'll make a sale.

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   6. 91

      Jodahposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Mary, I just got exactly the same email, and I only joined it three days ago, after advertising Amazon stuff on my hubs for months. I just checked my account and it said Amazon Associates wasn't activated....duh! I wondered why I had made some money from Ebay and nothing from Amazon. I have had three hubs made Editor's Choice and they have had virtually no traffic since.

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         Mary McShaneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Jodah,, I am thinking of opting out of Editor's Choice altogether because no traffic means no $$$ from any ad program and at this rate I'll never get to $50 to get paid. At least before EC, I had traffic. Now on those 2 hubs, no traffic.  I don't get what's up with that. Either they are getting traffic and we just don't see it anymore because it goes to another stats board and not our own, or they truly don't get traffic.  No comments on either hub since EC, which reinforces the no traffic theory.
         
         Gotta activate Jodah!!  or no $$$.   With Amazon, my clicks didn't count, they were looking for only sales. If no sales, it is also no $$$. LOL  I hope it works out for you.

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            Mary McShaneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Ok, I have another EC hub that was stolen - Coconut Water.  That's 2 EC hubs in less than 2 days that I have found stolen. I don't check these things and the dates they were stolen was within 24 hours of appearing as EC.  I will be occupied for the next 2 hours furnishing Google with the sites and specific parts of each site that stole my content - because they didn't just steal it, they weaved in between gibberish paragraphs for products and Bible passages, but my content is clearly on the websites.
            
            And I just made a decision after thinking  about it and seeing another hub stolen and that is to opt out of EC. My hub URL's immediately went back to my name and EC banners came off my stat page.  I will diligently track the views now to see if indeed these 2 hubs get traffic or not.
            
            You know, I started this forum question because of an email from Amazon that pissed me off. Through the evolution of conversation, I learned alot about how others use Amazon, but the true lesson I learned here is to start checking my hubs for stolen content.  If you guys hadn't said a word about it, I never would have checked to see if any were stolen and now inside of 24 hours, I have located 2 stolen articles.
            
            Who says diversity doesn't have a silver lining! Out of one problem (Amazon termination), came a solution (to not be so pissed about it and let them terminate). Out of the process of defining a solution came a revelation and a lesson (check for stolen hubs), which now makes me pro-active and more attentive to checking my work to see if it has been hijacked to someone else's website. 
            Even though this is possibly the reason why traffic fell off on those 2 hubs and maybe not even because of their EC status, I can't help but wonder if the EC status brought attention to them attracting someone to steal them in the first place.
            
            And who knows how long I would have been in the dark about my stuff being stolen if you guys hadn't offered that as a possible reason for traffic issues.
            
            Again I can only thank this community for being so helpful.

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      NateB11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Curious if anyone knows what Amazon means by referrals. In that email, they make reference to terminating the account due to no sales or referrals. What about clicks? If you get clicks, then do you get to keep your account?

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         Mary McShaneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I had clicks but no sales and no referrals (where someone signed up for Amazon using my code).  I only had 270 clicks in 3 months. The email clearly said sales or referrals. So clicks didn't count

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            NateB11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Bad news for me then. I'll be awaiting my email from them telling me my account has been terminated, unless I get lucky. Well, I wasn't doing too well with their program anyway. I made a sale a long time ago. Thanks for the info.

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               Mary McShaneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               I think they are only going after the newly signed up - first 90 days. Although it should count as activity, if you had a sale a long time ago, chances are that you aren't even on their radar yet. lol

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               1. 88

                  NateB11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Thanks, Mary, that is very reassuring. But it's completely unfair to those just starting out, I don't get that new policy at all: How are people supposed to get the ball rolling if they stop them before they can get started? Well, maybe HP will make Amazon a part of their Ad Program and then it won't matter anyway.

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   8. 70

      Matthew Meyerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      UPDATE: We just made a change to the way that the Amazon program works on HubPages. It is somewhat related to this thread, so I thought you might be interested.  You can find it here.
      http://hubpages.com/forum/post/2544122
      And the blog post referenced is here.
      http://blog.hubpages.com/2014/02/introd … n-program/

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         Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         This is great news considering Amazon's new policy.   
         
         Wonderful news for non-US members, too.  No more paying through the nose to cash US dollar cheques, or trying to find things to spend gift vouchers on!

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            Writer Foxposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            It's commendable that HP was ready to rollout a solution to Amazon's terminating new accounts for lack of sales.  This new program should also benefit people living in some US states who are not allowed to participate in the Amazon affiliate program right now. 
            
            I live outside of the US and it looks like I will save money on check cashing fees.  Also, I have my Amazon payout figure set at a very high amount because I don't want the hassle of dealing with the mailed check every month.  The HP program looks like a partial solution to that for me.

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         NateB11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I agree with WF and Marisa. This is truly a good move and it's nice that we are given these options. The program certainly is beneficial to many writers here.

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2. 95

   Beth Eaglescliffeposted 10 years ago

   I’ve just received the same email from Amazon, but in my case I’d already decided to leave their affiliate program.  I’ve been gradually going through my hubs and deleting all the Amazon capsules (I’ve still got the last few to do, before anyone tells me that I’ve got a hub with ads).
   
   As an experiment, I’d tried a “before” and “after”; I put Amazon capsules on all my hubs for the month of December.  Result - not a single cent earned with just a few clicks. My hubs are just not product orientated, so it’s a no-brainer for me to leave the Amazon Associate program.
   
   On the other hand, removing Amazon capsules leaves more space for the HP earning program so I should earn more that way.

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      Mary McShaneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Great minds think alike Beth Eaglescliffe.  I thought the same thing a few minutes ago and decided the heck with putting more Amazon capsules on my hubs.  I am setting about to go remove all the Amazon ads and let Amazon close my account.   I also have Amazon ads on my blogs, so I have to go through each post and get them off there too.  I'm not as pissed about it as I was 3 hours ago when I got the email.
      
      What I'm more pissed about is someone stealing my dysphagia article. I just filled out the Google form for copied content and Google's form said to show author ownership - in essence they said I had to prove I wrote it.  Thankfully the datestamp is one day before the stolen article is dated.  My name is off the URL because it is an editor's choice hub, but my name is on the bottom of the article with a copyright blurb from HP format.
      
      This is the 2nd HP hub that was stolen. I had to remove the other because the person stole it the same day I wrote it and I couldn't prove it was mine. So I deleted it altogether.  This one I'll have no problem proving because the dates are clearly defined a day apart.
      
      Thanks for writing, Beth and IzzyM  - I'm starting to feel better about Amazon.  I guess you can say I redirected the anger .lol

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3. 95

   Beth Eaglescliffeposted 10 years ago

   Hey, I like the thought that I'm a great mind
   
   Glad I could help you diffuse some of that anger

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4. 75

   Anna Marie Bowmanposted 10 years ago

   I got worried and checked my email. I did not get an email like that, so I guess I am good, for now. I did get an email saying I got a payment!! Woo hoo!!

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5. 87

   IzzyMposted 10 years ago

   The sad thing about you guys deleting your Amazon capsules is that Amazon is a great source of income once you realise how easy it is to get a sale.
   This learning process can take longer than 3 months, so Amazon is being a bit short-sighted by terminating accounts.
   You have to target a product to get a sale. That is why I suggested writing a review hub above. Choose a product you have and use, and include your own photos to prove it.
   Simply adding in product capsules to an informational hub seldom works. Shoving those products at the very end is even worse.
   Sales sites do not go into depth about a product. They write sales copy to make it look as if they have.
   A genuine user review shines through.
   It will be sought for, and hopefully found, by people who are considering buying it. They have their credit card in hand.
   Amazon has always made me way more money than Adsense and HPads together, so don't give up.

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      My Esotericposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      That's the difference between you and me.  Your gig is making money by writing ads, which, of course, is nothing to be sniffed at by anyone; but mine is to write about politics and science and other more, hehe, esoteric stuff;.  This, obviously, doesn't l,end itself to a lot of sales.  What I am surprised about though, is that it leads to almost no sales.  After 192,000 views, I have had what, maybe 20 purchases from strangers?  Not a very good rate; I would expect better than that even if I am not trying.

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         calculus-geometryposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         That's rather presumptuous, have you ever read any of Izzy's hubs?  Just a glance at her hubs' titles will tell you she's not an ad writer.  I could point you to a dozen HubPages accounts that truly offer nothing but advertorial content.
         
         Anyway, writing about esoteric stuff isn't mutually exclusive to making Amazon sales, and you don't have to write pushy ad copy to get clicks.  You have to get creative to subtly interest readers in the products or books.

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            My Esotericposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Nope, just read her post, which generated my response.  I am not suggesting that Izzy doesn't write for other reasons and I tried to be clear that there is nothing wrong with writing reviews of products with the idea of making money from those products through Amazon either ... that is rather entrepreneurish in my book, which is a good thing.  Sorry if I gave any other impression.

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               IzzyMposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               I like writing, and I like writing on a lot of the topics you write about.
               But really, earning a little money while writing is great! We have the tools here to make a little profit, so why not put them to good use?
               If writing any type of sales-type hub isn't up your street, then by all means leave the Amazon or eBay capsules out.
               But when people are getting thrown off the affiliate program for not generating sales, then it is time to spend a little while writing a sale-targeting hub.
               Just one or two should keep the hubber in the program, because sales hubs do generate sales and quite easily too.
               I have a hub that despite being published for best part of a year, only receives sporadic hits. But each time, it gets a sale!
               There is a feel-good factor involved here. Somehow or other I have managed to persuade people to click through to Amazon and buy the product I recommended.
               Meanwhile, I am free to write about topics and things I am interested in.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Do you choose a specific  book or DVD that offers further information on your topic?  Do you actively recommend that item in your text?   Do you place the item right-floated, next to the text that's related to it?
         
         All these things are necessary to make sales.

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         relacheposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         How you use the word 'esoteric' and how the Internet at large uses the word are quite different.  Essentially by writing a lot about politics and science, you aren't going to make a lot of sales.
         
         By having my own Amazon account, and using it across multiple websites, the combined sales are more robust.

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   2. 79

      Mary McShaneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      @ Review hubs.
      I have written 2 review hubs, and neither one generated a sale in the 3 months I've been on HP. I did receive an HP message on a hub the day after I published it, that the one hub had 5 Amazon capsules (used for comparison) and that it was 2 too many so I removed two I thought I could spare.  I don't really enjoy writing review hubs but I gave the two I wrote the same dedication and effort as my other hubs. Primarily I'm a medical writer. I rather put my efforts into writing hubs with useful health information and possibly make a difference in the world.
      
      Both hubs were about high profile products - Raspberry Ketones and Coconut Water - but were not geared strictly to advertising. They were geared to actually making comparisons and reviewing the products. 
      
      @ sales being easy. Getting a sale is not that easy or one of these 2 topics would have generated a sale. Or maybe I'm just not that kind of writer. In 66 years, I've never put commerce first and writing second. So I guess I'm glad I'm not that kind of writer.
      
      As Paul Deeds said, it takes 5000-6000 views to get a sale and I'm just coming up to 4,000 after 3 months here with about 35 hubs.
      
      Even though I write for several other sites, I spend the most of my time on HP because it is more user friendly than other sites. The people are nicer and are very helpful and the feedback is great.
      
      Thank you to all who answered my plea.  I appreciate it.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Even though you use different tracking codes, all the money goes into one pot which counts towards your threshold (unless you've actually opened two different accounts, that is!).
         
         
         
         High profile products are often the most difficult to make sales from!   That's because other writers are very quick to jump on the bandwagon, so your Hub will be swamped by the millions of other articles out there.
         
         Something to consider for the future - Amazon stocks quite a lot of medical equipment.   I used to have a Hub about how to assess your asthma, and made regular sales of peak flow meters, and my Hub on neck problems gets the occasional sale of specialist pillows.  Think about it from that angle and you might find you could sell more than you think.  If not Amazon, then perhaps eBay.  The secret is to find products you can actually recommend as helpful to your readers.
         
         
         
         Not true - HP won't fill the spaces you leave with HP Ads.  If you're breaking your Hub into several text capsules, as you should, HP will display the same number of their ads whether you have Amazon/eBay capsules or not.   What can happen is that the eBay or Amazon capsule can tempt your reader away from clicking on an Adsense ad - but if you're in the HP program, that is less important.

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            Mary McShaneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I do know it all goes to the same account. I was talking about Adsense with the different codes.  I use different Adsense tracking codes to see which sites are doing better (or worse) than others and which type of displaying ads gets the most attention. My partner shares the Adsense account because we have a Vietnam war website we co-author. He uses separate Adsense tracking codes on that site, so he can keep track of clicks, views, and sales.  I look at using different Adsense tracking codes as a sort of filing system to manage views, clicks and sales.
            
            However, that is Adsense. With Amazon, I only had the one account which was opened 1 week before I came to HP because it was used on my blogs. When I came to HP, I used the code in both places, which is acceptable practice.

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   calculus-geometryposted 10 years ago

   Mary, do you have another website that you could display Amazon products on? You can use the same tracking code on any site you own/control, so that might help you get more referrals.
   
   Amazon must have their reasons for the new policy.  Perhaps their rationale is that if an account is not making sales after 3 months, then the site may be low quality, or spamming readers with totally unrelated products, and perhaps Amazon wants to avoid getting penalized by Google for having so many low quality links.  Not saying that your hub account is low quality, but that Amazon might be using lack of activity as a weed-out criterion.  Just a theory.

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      Mary McShaneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Calculus-geometry - yes I have two tiny health blogs and their traffic is not high by any means. I was displaying Amazon ads there along with Adsense but I used different tracking codes to be able to monitor traffic better.  I haven't met the $100 threshold to be paid on those blogs which are about 5 months old.  My HP hubs get far more traffic (views) and $50 doesn't seem so far to go to get paid, whereas $100 seems like forever. lol. 
      
      I am not too concerned now after all these hours since receiving their email. They said one can re-apply for their affiliate program in the future, but I don't know if  I will bother.  I will wait and see what HP works out, as per Paul Deeds note above.

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   DzyMsLizzyposted 10 years ago

   I've had the Amazon Affiliate program in place for well over a year--probably two--and I've only just recently gotten a notice that I earned a gift card.
   I have not ever gotten a notice about 'non-referral' or 'inactive' status. ...
   
   And I do not put a lot of Amazon capsules on my Hubs--most are not relevant for the type of article I write.

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   psycheskinnerposted 10 years ago

   I got this same email, not surprising as I only had two affiliate links on one hub.  I will try adding it to one of my blogs as well.

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   Connie120posted 10 years ago

   I guess I should expect one of those emails. I've had an Amazon Associates accoutn for several years, and at first got some sales, but the website I got those sales from closed, and I haven't gotten anything since.

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      Barbara Kayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      In almost 4 years here, I've only earned around $27 from Amazon, but I have earned good money from the eBay program. I know I am the strange one. I'm not thrilled with Amazon at all.  I don't earn the money I once did from eBay, but at least I earn a little. I think these 2 programs all depend on what you write about.  I removed most of my Amazon ads because of this.

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         susi10posted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I never really got much earnings from Amazon either. The only way I can earn and get some sales is if I write product reviews or hubs especially about a group of products. Other hubbers (such as Susana S) have had extreme success with the Amazon Associates program so they keep me motivated.

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         NateB11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I've had more success with eBay too. I think it might be the subject matter of my Hubs maybe lends itself more to eBay type products; don't know.

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    ilikegamesposted 10 years ago

    Very interesting change, lots of people must have been applying without any traffic.
    
    Guess I'll wait for a bit before I start applying.

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    Earl Noah Bernsbyposted 10 years ago

    After reading through this thread, I decided to peruse the Amazon Associates User Agreement, again.  I came across a passage, under "Section 10. Identifying Yourself as an Associate," that said:
    
    "You will not issue any press release or make any other public communication with respect to this Operating Agreement, your use of the Content, or your participation in the Program."
    
    So, I have read that it is both responsible and prudent to disclose when you are a member of an affiliate program, when attempting to sell products, via a short disclaimer somewhere on your page.  But, does the above passage indicate that you are not allowed to do so? (Kind of a tangential question, I know!)

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       NateB11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

       That's interesting, because lately I've seen numerous sites in which a disclaimer is placed about the site using Amazon ads. This definitely would go against Amazon's TOS then. It says you cannot make any "public communication with respect to...your participation in the Program." I'm afraid that's exactly what it means. A disclaimer is a "public communication" and points to participation in the Program. Their rules are seeming more and more misguided.

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          Earl Noah Bernsbyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          Yes, my understanding is that it's common practice for freelance writers (especially those with a journalism background) to disclose affiliate relationships that might be perceived as a conflict of interest.  I feel more comfortable doing so, as well, in the interest of "trustworthiness."  I think I would like to hear some more opinions on the matter though, before determining how to proceed.  Perhaps I am misunderstanding some of the fine print in Amazon's TOS.

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             calculus-geometryposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             It's not necessary to clutter up your articles or profile page with disclosures about Google Adsense, eBay, and Amazon. Since we publish on HubPages' platform, we're all covered under HubPages' own Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which I imagine were written and updated by an authority who covered all the legal bases.

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             Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             That's true, but the correct place for your disclaimer is on your profile.

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12. 71

    amiebutchkoposted 10 years ago

    Hi guys, just wanted to let you all know that I did get this e-mail the other day as well and called Amazon.  They told me that it is a new policy and these were the first batch of e-mails to be sent out in regards to this.  I am over my 90 days just now, but I was told I will most likely be terminated from Amazon if I don't get a sale very soon.  It is sad because, being new, I just started using capsules in my last two hubs!  I suggest for new hubbers that when you do initiate your amazon associates account, be ready to go as far as using capsules right away!  If you do get terminated, you can reapply later if you have some sales off your capsules, however, you will not get paid for them while you are terminated.  At least, this is what customer service told me.  Hope this information helps.

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    Jodahposted 10 years ago

    I thought it must be an automatically generated email to everyone who isn't shown as having a sale within 90 daysbacause I have only been officially on the program for 3 days when I got the email, so they didn't even give me the 90 days for a sale before warning me.

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    psycheskinnerposted 10 years ago

    I added some new links and still have no purchases but a couple of unique visits a day--and my account has not been cancelled.

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       amiebutchkoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       My account has not been cancelled yet either and I still have no purchases.  I did manage to get some clicks, though!  Guess we'll see....

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       Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       ...but haven't you had an account for a long time?   As far as I'm aware, this new rule is only for the first 90 days of a NEW account.

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          Matthew Meyerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          That was the impression I had as well. That this Amazon policy change had no real effect on existing Amazon accounts past the 90 day period.

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             psycheskinnerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             My account was opened on 2014/01/02
             
             And I am not putting up all the many links for the very reason that I don't want to be having to take them all down in 60 days if they dump me.

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                Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                Sorry!  Since you've been around here such a long time, I assumed you would've joined long ago.
                
                This new rule is pretty harsh, IMO. 
                
                You're in a much better position to make sales because you've got some established Hubs which are already getting traffic.   You only need one sale, I think.  I reckon you would get that if you could identify an older Hub, with traffic, that could take a relevant Amazon ad.   I have to admit, though, that apart from your costume Hubs, I can't see many opportunities.

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          amiebutchkoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          Marisa, I am just past 90 days....

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          psycheskinnerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          No, it is an account only a few week old.  I never used Amazon before.  And I did get the warning email being discussed.  That is why I am posting here.

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    VictoriaSheffieldposted 10 years ago

    wow!!

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16. 83

    psycheskinnerposted 10 years ago

    +1 on the endorsement of this approach.
    
    And I must say my CPM and earnings in general have been very good these last few weeks.  Thinks are looking up and I am sure HP constant efforts to improve things are the reason.

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    lovebuglenaposted 10 years ago

    This is definitely a new thing because I have not heard of this before.

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18. 83

    psycheskinnerposted 10 years ago

    The post announcing it as a new thing is on this thread.

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    LindaSmith1posted 8 years ago

    I moved to my own sites.  This year, so far has beat all of the years together from 2010 to 2014 when content was on HP.  Since creating my own sites, my earnings have soared, my sales have soared. by 200 percent.

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    calculus-geometryposted 8 years ago

    why was this 18 month old thread resurrected today?

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21. 61

    LindaSmith1posted 8 years ago

    This is what happens when HP does not get rid of outdated forums, questions and answers.

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       calculus-geometryposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       They don't need to delete ancient threads, they just need to close them to new replies.

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    DzyMsLizzyposted 8 years ago

    Update on my earlier post:
     
    I never did get around to redeeming my gift card, and at this point, I don't know where it is.  LOL  (It was in an e-mail with a reference number to enter.)
    
    Besides that, I've made exactly THREE Amazon sales in all the time I've been an affiliate, and only one was for the product referenced in the article--the other two were totally unrelated items.
    
    As for writing a review on a product I own, I could, but the only thing that might be is the carpet shampooer machine I have..and that would probably end up with a lot of duplicate content (a big no-no), from my educational article on 'how to' shampoo your carpets.
    
    To date, I've had no threats of termination, however, for lack of enough sales..  Is Matt saying that those of us with older accounts are 'grandfathered' in?

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       Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       You can contact Amazon about the lost gift card.
       
       You're safe - you can lose your account only if you make no sales during the first 90 days of membership, and you're well past that date. 
       
       As for selling unrelated products - that's normal.   What happens is that once a reader arrives on Amazon (via your capsule), they start browsing around and will often remember they need something totally different.  Your affiliate code stays with them while they're browsing and therefore you get credit for whatever they buy. 
       
       BUT it doesn't change the rule about making sure your capsules are absolutely, totally relevant to the content of your Hub.  Sure, you don't care what they buy, but you need to get them to go to Amazon in the first place!  Readers won't bother to click on an Amazon ad unless they feel a need for the product.  So for instance, if someone is reading a Hub about how to treat a mosquito bite, they will click on a capsule for antihistamine cream but they won't click on a book about mosquitos.
       
       Your problem is that in most cases, it's hard to think of a product readers would need while reading your Hubs.  That happens - not all Hubs lend themselves to the use of Amazon capsules. However you are missing some obvious opportunities - on your ugly sweater Hub, for instance, you could end your Hub by suggesting that if DIY is too hard, they can buy one on eBay - and have an eBay capsule for an ugly sweater.

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