Ideal method for affiliate sales ?

[ashlen]

I am setting up a 'store' section on my blog to promote products from artists, authors, musicians, etc. The easiest way I can think of doing this is using Amazon affiliate links but Amazon doesn't really jive with the theme of my blog which is more local oriented, not big corporation like Amazon. Another perk about Amazon is that I don't have to correspond with the sellers or buyers. I am wondering if there is anything better than Amazon that would jive with my blog?

Setting up a store would give me more control of money but then I have to intervene with the product shipment.

[Harold Mansfield]

I am setting up a 'store' section on my blog to promote products from artists, authors, musicians, etc. The easiest way I can think of doing this is using Amazon affiliate links but Amazon doesn't really jive with the theme of my blog which is more local oriented, not big corporation like Amazon. Another perk about Amazon is that I don't have to correspond with the sellers or buyers. I am wondering if there is anything better than Amazon that would jive with my blog?

Setting up a store would give me more control of money but then I have to intervene with the product shipment.

Here are my thoughts:

First of all affiliate sales suck these days, and music is one of the lowest paying programs out there. Literally pennies per sale.

Second, you will never get traffic or sales from a site that is merely just plopping up artist links to purchase from somewhere else. With all of the options people have including having iTunes and other music programs already installed, why do they need you?

The only way I see anything like this being remotely worthwhile is if you are a music store for independent artists who are not on Amazon or iTunes, or you write a great music blog and try to monetize it with ads, affiliate sales to all kinds of audio products, sell show tickets, and so on.

You have to create a full featured website that is a source of information or IMO you're wasting your time.

FYI, I ran a music blog that was a source of information for years and that's how I did it, but it took a while to get it there. Trust me when I tell you...you will never make any money as a music affiliate.

[ashlen]

My blog is about environmental conservation and is closely associated with a part of California that is on the map for art, music and activism. The people here are very protective of their territory and people from all over the world visit and keep an eye on this area. My blog is a source of information that no other publication in the area covers and is growing in popularity. I am primarily focused on promoting local oriented products, I am just not sure of how to approach locals about it, i.e. Amazon listing.

Currently I have been more successful in trading advertising for service rather than being paid up front for advertising. I think promoting products would take my blog to the next level but yes also wondering which option is most profitable.

[Harold Mansfield]

My blog is about environmental conservation and is closely associated with a part of California that is on the map for art, music and activism. The people here are very protective of their territory and people from all over the world visit and keep an eye on this area. My blog is a source of information that no other publication in the area covers and is growing in popularity. I am primarily focused on promoting local oriented products, I am just not sure of how to approach locals about it, i.e. Amazon listing.

Currently I have been more successful in trading advertising for service rather than being paid up front for advertising. I think promoting products would take my blog to the next level but yes also wondering which option is most profitable.

Affiliate sales isn't profitable. With the time, and amount of execution you have to do to drive traffic to what is basically someone elses site so that you can make peanuts, you'd be better off creating the full featured website yourself with a shop. Yep, it's hard work, and takes a lot of time. But you're asking which way is more profitable and I'm telling you 100%, hands down the most profitable way is the hardest way. Do it all, control it all, market it all, and sell it all yourself.

If you just want a hobby that maybe makes enough on the side to pay hosting, then do it the way that doesn't take much effort. A few blog posts and some affiliate links.

[ashlen]

An easy way to go about direct sales may be to post a a photo of the item and list a 'Buy Now' Paypal button. Then I can follow up with the buyer and seller.

[Harold Mansfield]

An easy way to go about direct sales may be to post a a photo of the item and list a 'Buy Now' Paypal button. Then I can follow up with the buyer and seller.

There is no "easy" way. I'm starting to get the feeling that you aren't listening and want someone to tell you how easy it is.

[ashlen]

I am not seeking to set up a full out online store, I am looking to feature 5-10 items for sale on my website and negotiate with the seller. It seems a Paypal Buy Now button could be a way to create an online store by inserting HTML rather than having to establish a full store.

[Harold Mansfield]

I am not seeking to set up a full out online store, I am looking to feature 5-10 items for sale on my website and negotiate with the seller. It seems a Paypal Buy Now button could be a way to create an online store by inserting HTML rather than having to establish a full store.

Maybe I misunderstood the question.

A Pay Pal button is a purchase button that links to your account. If the transaction goes through the money goes into your account. If you want to sell someone elses product then you need to either link to their store, or use their Pay Pal button on your site.

If you're looking to make a fee for any sales that come through your site then you need to set that up with the seller, or join the affiliate program where those items are sold.

If you're trying to put a button on your site that splits payments between accounts, it's possible but a little more complicated . That's called Pay Pal adaptive payments and it's easier to set that up with an ecommerce solution that already has support for it, or you need to build your own application...and you need a Pay Pal Pro account.
https://developer.paypal.com/docs/classic/adaptive-payments/integration-guide/APIntro/

If you're trying to sell items, but someone else is responsible for fulfillment that's called drop shipping and again...an ecommerce solution with support for it is the way to go or you need to custom code something.

Except for just the button, all of the other solutions require either some coding knowledge, an upgrade to your account, and possibly an SSL.

So I know you keep saying "I don't want to build an actual store" but you seem to want options and functionality that are more work to implement alone than to just build the store.

[johnmatos]

I am setting up a 'store' section on my blog to promote products from artists, authors, musicians, etc. The easiest way I can think of doing this is using Amazon affiliate links but Amazon doesn't really jive with the theme of my blog which is more local oriented, not big corporation like Amazon. Another perk about Amazon is that I don't have to correspond with the sellers or buyers. I am wondering if there is anything better than Amazon that would jive with my blog?

Setting up a store would give me more control of money but then I have to intervene with the product shipment.

I think the best way is to provide top quality content to your blog and start collecting emails. Then followup with your list via email marketing. Amazon product have very low commission percentages. Therefore its hard to monetize a blog with just a couple of sales here and there.

On another note, ClickBank.com offers digital products with HIGH profit margins. And chances are, that your specific niche can be found within their platform. Try it out and see if you could promote something from the site..

All the best to you,

John Matos

[amjenx]

Agreed - collecting emails is the best way to drive traffic to affiliate offerings.

I've used Leaddyno to track affiliate sales to my products and programs. There's a specific way to write posts that the natural step is to collect an email and make an offer. To generate affiliate sales, you can earn a great portion, you need to deliver massive value though.

[Fulcrum]

If u wanna fast make money, make parasite and churn and burn method :D

Ummmm, what?