Amazon Affiliate

     So you're ready to start hubbing and making money, eh? Well, in order to do that through Amazon, you are first going to need to set up an affiliate account. To begin with, you are going to have to follow a few steps set up by Amazon.

Affiliate ID's -

     First of all, you need to click on the link to the right of your 'My Account' section that says 'Affiliate Settings.' Once there, you will find a box with the affiliates and a space to type in your affiliate ID. An affiliate ID is a code given to you by Amazon, Google or Ebay. After you have completed the individual affiliate's sign up process and been accepted, they will supply you with this code which you will place in the box and click 'OK.' Then the affiliate will be set to active. These can be modified and edited later if you start using a new affiliate account and need to change information.

Creating affiiate ID's -

     In order to receive the ID, you must first sign up for the Amazon Affiliate Program. As soon as you click the 'edit' button next to the Amazon Affiliate box in the Affiliates section, a large blue box will appear to the bottom, explaining the steps you need to take and a few tips, and even includes a cut and paste option for the questionaire questions. There is a link provided in the box, just follow it and complete the form and you will receive your Amazon ID. The Amazon ID is a word or list of letters/numbers followed by '-20' Type the code into the box and you're all set.

Adding the Capsule -

     To get Amazon products on your hub, you will need to add an Amazon capsule. This is located in the box on the upper right hand side of the hub assembly page. Simply click on the capsule to add it to your hub. You can also add other capsules here as well. Keep in mind the layouts provided are merely a template. You can add and delete whatever capsules you wish simply by clicking on them. They can also be rearranged how you like.

Placement -

     Once the capsule has been added, you can place it where you wish. HubPages ettiquette, however, discourages you from putting this capsule on the very top of the page. Most hubs include the capsule on the bottom of the page, usually below the comments section. Of course, the placement is up to you. If you are writing about a specific product and want the Amazon link to be nearer to your text, the capsule can be placed next to text, similar to a picture or news capsule. To make the capsule fit along text, hit the arrow button on the upper right hand side of the capsule.

Selecting Products -

     To place products in the capsule, you can choose one of two ways. By choosing specific products or by typing in a keyword and taking what Amazon turns up. The keyword option is basically a search done by Amazon for the capsule contents based on the word or words you type in.

     When the capsule is in place, simply click the edit button. This will open the box and give you two choices. If you choose to pick a keyword, you will type your keyword into the space provided and click the "preview results" button to see what the search turned up. You will want to choose a keyword relevant to your hub so that the products chosen make sense to the readers and have a higher likelihood of being clicked. Sometimes this method is not successful and may require you to try a few different keywords before finding relevant products. You don't want to be promoting pet products on a hub about cooking and vice versa.

     If you choose the specific product method, Amazon will then ask you for the URL, IBN or AISN for the products you wish to include. You can get this by visiting the Amazon.comin a new window and searching for products relevant to your topic. When you find one you want to include, right click on the title of the item and hit 'copy shortcut' then go back to your Amazon capsule and paste the link in the space provided.  If you have an IBN number, you can type it into the space as well.

     You can include anywhere from 1 to 10 items in the capsule. Four is the average number of items included on hubs, but feel free to change that if you wish.

     Once you have your products in place, hit the 'save' button on the capsule and you are all done. You will now have your Amazon affiliate set up and an Amazon capsule on your hub. Just keep in mind, having the capsule on your hub does not guarantee you will get clicks or that anyone will buy a product, just as having an affiliate account does not guarantee revenue. It takes a while to build up revenue, so if you are in it to make money, you have to be patient. Just include an Amazon capsule in each of your hubs and be prepared to wait a while.