Your best Amazon learning experience

1. 59

   Jule Romansposted 14 years ago

   I'd really enjoy hearing some snippets of Amazon wisdom. I know there are lots and lots of threads about making money with Amazon. I am interested in hearing the one best learning experience- good or bad- that you had as a beginner.
   
   Maybe it will be fun to share.
   
   I just started, so I don't have one yet. But, if this thread gets action, I will share mine in three months. Sound like a deal?
   
   Jule

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2. 72

   livewithrichardposted 14 years ago

   If you want to earn money with the Amazon affiliate program you have to write copy oriented at people that are ready to make a purchase and not to people that are looking for more information.
   
   Amazon only has a one session cookie which means if someone adds a product from your hub to their shopping cart and then visits my hub and adds another product or just clicks on product from my page then checks out, I get the commission and not you. 
   
   Learn to write great product copy on products people are actually buying add lots of product links, include comparable products and up-sale products then give it a call to action and you'll see a good boost in your Amazon sales.

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   1. 82

      Rafiniposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      are you serious?   a one session cookie - i didn't see anything about that before, kinda sounds like a gip.  on the other hand...how do I get them to come to my hubs after they have a full shopping cart?    lol

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      1. 72

         livewithrichardposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Pure luck if you ask me. It happens all the time though and has happened on many occasions with my own account.  Many people will notice that they have earned commissions on products they didn't even promote and this is why.  One session so make it right.

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         1. 82

            Rafiniposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            I will have to keep an eye on it, so far I dont have any earnings
            
            this will be interesting...

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   2. 82

      IzzyMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Your post has just struck a chord!
      I think I've finally clicked. I've written amazon hubs full of information about why you would want a certain product - talking the people into buying it, so to speak.
      I should be writing it differently. I should assume they already know all these things and remind them of why they want to buy it and suggest they buy it now before stocks run out....or something...
      Funnily enough, my only major sale has been that greenhouse, and I was never entirely happy with that hub because I sepnt too much talking about the technical details of each product...but that was what they wanted, wasn't it?
      Damn! Need to re-write few hubs in that case..

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3. 59

   Mike Rogersposted 14 years ago

   Get as many targeted properties out there as you can handle with Amazon product links.
   
   You never know who is going to find you right when they're ready to buy.
   
   Mike

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4. 0

   shazwellynposted 14 years ago

   I wrote a hub about how to twiddle with Amazons url CODE  to get the bargains at up to 99 percent off the original price.  Many people have been pleased with this learning experience but I enjoyed working it out... I had a eureka moment when I discovered this - I have been selling on Amazon for a number of years, so when I twigged it, it was my best learning experience.  You can take a look at my hub if you want to learn how to get items at bargain prices just by tweaking the address bar....
   
   How To Decipher Amazon’s URL Address Code and Bag the Best Bargains at The Cheapest Prices! hehehe ... it is a great cheat but dont tell anyone! x

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   1. 82

      IzzyMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I'm off to look but if they buy cheaper, your percentage of the revenue is less too.
      Hey I desperately need a laptop cooler, but one at 99 percent off the original price

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         IzzyMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         OMG Amazon.co.uk are dirt cheap for laptop coolers. Might be ordering one tomorrow. Anyone here got a co.uk affiliate I can order through?

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         1. 79

            thisisoliposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Yep
            
            I have a few laptop cooler hubs as well

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            1. 82

               IzzyMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               Thanks Oli

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      2. 0

         shazwellynposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Did you manage to search the basement bargain with the URL tweak template?
         
         Oh, and we cant use amazon.co.uk here at hubpages fro affiliates

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         1. 82

            IzzyMposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Yeah I know but someone here will be an amazon.co.uk affiliate. ( I am, Thisisoli is too). Unfortunately they are refusing to ship to Spain though I don't know why not, I got stuff sent before - maybe a year ago and the postage was only £5 or so. This time, they wouldn't send a laptop cooler but they would send a pressurised air can, but they wanted over £11 in postage alone!!!
            So now a bit pissed off with Amazon at the minute so I'm not playing. Have saved your hub - still to try it out, though why bother if they're going to charge a fortune in postage - if they send at all?

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            1. 0

               shazwellynposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               Oh Izzy... you can use the template for amazon.com too! 
               
               I cant understand, I am an amazon.co.uk affiliate too but cant use it in hubpages capsules - is it me?
               
               Im not surprised you are peeved with amazon... I am as well - will produce a hub with more details soon as to why. 
               
               They dont charge normally.  Are you looking at 'dispatched by amazon and amazon Jersey'?  They do a supersaver delivery but you must select this at checkout to get it.  Or are you buying from a marketplace seller?  They charge for postage and packing. You could try amazon.de and amazon.com.  You can apply the same principals with the template that I have demonstrated in my hub. 
               
               I hope this might open up more options for you x

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                  shazwellynposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                  http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/130  You cant use amazon.co.uk affiliates with hubpages.  I hope this helps x

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5. 66

   Ladybird33posted 14 years ago

   I have been here 10 months and learned something new today.  I have to tweak some of my hubs but thank you all for your insight!

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6. 92

   Susana Sposted 14 years ago

   I've learnt that writing a hub on something you just fancy writing about such as politics, religion, personal experiences etc and sticking some amazon products on there doesn't work. You may get the odd sale, but they are few and far between. As Richard says amazon hubs need to be sales hubs. I've written more of those kind of hubs lately and I'm getting sales every day now, instead of once in a blue moon. Still learning how to write to sell, but I'm sure I'll get better at it

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7. 0

   Nelle Hoxieposted 14 years ago

   You need to write a lot of sales of hubs if you want consistent earnings. The internet is very competitive and it's not just you writing about a subject. It's beating everyone else out and getting to the top of the search engine results. Even if you write the "perfect" sales hub, someone else's might be more perfect. So the more hubs you write the more chances you get.

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      shazwellynposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Wow Nelle, you have a hard job - hats off to you!

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8. 79

   thisisoliposted 14 years ago

   I asked a question about geotargetting, apparently it is too technically difficult right now though, which is a shame since near 10% of my traffic seems to be from here!

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9. 0

   shazwellynposted 14 years ago

   I have been a marketplace seller since 2002 and have learned lots about business, buying, selling and marketing. 
   
   Amazon have provided a good income source for me that enabled me to work from home, whilst being available for the kids.
   
   If it weren't for Amazon, I wouldnt be in the position that I am today.  It was a springboard for me. 
   
   Im not too happy with them at the moment, but you will have to wait for my hub to be published to know more!
   
   I dont know if you are interested, but I have a hub on how to become an Amazon marketplace seller. 'How To Earn Online Money with Amazon – A Guide To Getting Started!'

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10. 48

    DanPowersposted 14 years ago

    Have any of the newer hubbers made it good with Amazon? After being on here a month I've had no Amazon sales so far, so epic fail there. Adsense is good though so maybe I'll just stick to that.
    
    Are there Amazon products you can write about to cut your teeth so to speak? What kind of general stuff sells in vast quantities on Amazon?

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    1. 0

       shazwellynposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       For Amazon to work, you have to write hubs that directly targets amazon products.  I have a hub that I am about to publish to say why amazon doesnt work.
       
       Hope this helps x

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       1. 79

          thisisoliposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Not necessarily, you can talk about a subject, and then advertise products which the buyer might want in relation to teh product
          
          Ie. a hub on finding roman coins = Amazon metal detector advert

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    2. 79

       thisisoliposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I generally earn a lot with Amazon, business has been slow the last couple of months though, it will soon pick up again though!
       
       Even though I am having a slow patch, I am still earning several hundred dollars a month through amazon.

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       1. 48

          DanPowersposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Wow that's a lot! I'll have to rethink my Amazon strategy as it's epic fail so far.
          
          I have made one Amazon sale though - a set of $15 hair straighteners!
          
          I didn't write about those - somebody has been impulse buying in the Amazon store!

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    3. 80

       CMHypnoposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I found Amazon sales really hard to come by for the first few months - I think it is a case of the more hubs you have and the more traffic, the more likely you are to get a sale.
       
       Have a look at what the good Hubbers who do well on Amazon are doing, and see if you can incorporate some of their techniques into your hubs.

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11. 62

    mcbeanposted 14 years ago

    Amazon Tips:
    
    1) You need organic traffic to sell so you need to rank well in the SERPs. Easier to do this with long tail keywords. Avoid high competition areas. You are not going to sell an iphone or ipad if you write a hub about them as there is next to no chance you will appear in the first 10 PAGES of google.
    
    2) The single session cookie means they have to buy it then and there. Most successful hubbers make money by lots of little sales rather than the odd big ticket item. Buyers tend to think more about a $500 TV than they do about a $10 shirt. Remember, as soon as they navigate away your sale is lost.
    
    3) Listen to Richard. As he rightfully said, the more people you send to amazon, the more they will buy (and a good percentage will not be the product that sent them there). More hubs = more traffic = more sales.

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       Daisydotposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Your second point is interesting. I guess lots of little sales mean that you bump up a commission tier too, which helps, right?

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12. 59

    Jule Romansposted 14 years ago

    Thanks for all the information. I am enjoying reading them!

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13. 81

    bgpappaposted 14 years ago

    Just watned to add something from someone who does not write for Amazon sales, wouldn't know how if I wanted to.  It is better to put specific and relevant ads on your hubs rather than using keywords.
    
    You won't make all that much, but I am had a few payouts, granted mostly on items that had nothing to do with what I wrote about.  But you make a little money, give a little more information to your reader, etc.

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14. 92

    Susana Sposted 14 years ago

    How do you find that works Oli? Personally, I have not had much success with that approach. Yes I get the odd sale, but nothing consistent. My "sales pages" do much better. At the moment I'm going through all my hubs and making sure I've included a "call to action", so maybe the "write a hub and stick some related products on it " approach will work better after that.  Hope so anyway

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15. 59

    Jule Romansposted 14 years ago

    I just thought of another question....
    
    does the product have to say "sold from and shipped by Amazon" to earn commission?

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       Jule Romansposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I mean "ships from and sold by."  :-)

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          Living In Parisposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Hey Jule,
          
          You earn commission on third-party goods on Amazon also. The item doesn't have to say "Shipped from Amazon." In fact, I recently read a strategy on an Internet Marketing forum where someone found a hot item that Amazon was out of stock on, but that a third-party seller on Amazon had in stock -- for a higher price (higher commission).

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16. 74

    calicoasterposted 14 years ago

    I donno, if anyone even looks at what amazon products I publish in my hubs!! . Anyways, I get a lot of information just browsing through them!!

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