So I’m trying to figure out how to make Amazon Associates work with the League. A number of people have suggested it as another good way to – I don’t want to say monetize, because we’re not trying to monetize – but to help fund the site’s basic operations.
Anyways, here’s a book whose predecessors we’ve been talking a lot about and which I should have a full review of by next week when I finish the damn thing: A Dance with Dragons. (also on Kindle.)
If you purchase the book through these links, a small portion goes into our coffers and we will use it to pay our hosting fees and any other expenses that might come up in the future.
League bloggers are encouraged to use these tools, obviously, and I can send any writers here an invite to get added to the League’s account so that you can log in and get links, widgets, and so forth to add to posts.
Any ideas/feedback/etc. are very welcome.
Thanks to everyone who has donated so far in the fund-drive. Hopefully this Amazon deal, if used properly, will lessen the need to rely on your generosity to some degree, and we will still be able to avoid ads at least for the time being.
I’ve considered doing something with the Penguin Classics editions. I constantly recommend them to friends, students, and family members as great books for the general reader, and would have no problem including links or pictures when they’re applicable to my posts. The trick would be convincing them that my posts are worth their while! Anyway, I emailed them about this a year ago or so and never heard back- although I remember someone at Penguin contacting us about a political book at one point. Anyway, I could bug them again.Report
Sure. I can also send you an invite to include the Amazon links. I’ll do that, too.Report
Please send me instructions. I can go back and update my recommendation posts.Report
You should have an invite. Once you see it and do whatever it asks I will confirm you and you should be able to log in.Report
Awesome (that’ll happen tonight).Report
Jaybird’s (very excellent) blog is going to single-handedly fund your whole site, I hope you realize.Report
This was originally his idea and I’m taking full advantage of it!Report
I don’t know if it requires a banner ad, but quite a few sites that are Amazon affiliates just have a general link to Amazon in addition to specific items and if someone buys something from Amazon after clicking through… they get a percentage I guess (No real idea how that works). I for one, would use that if there was a link on the front page or something.Report
I’d strongly recommend having a League Library, where _all_ the recommended Amazon media can live — whether they’ve been in a post or not.
The library could just live on a standard WP Page — or, if someone is feeling adventurous, they can set up a bookstore via Amazon ( I believe that option is still there, but I can’t vouch for it ).Report
Very good idea. I’ll set one up.Report
Watch carefully it may be that due to the sales tax issue you may no longer be able to do this. Amazon is cancelling links to folks in states that want Amazon to collect sales tax, because the states are saying that the associates constitute a nexis for tax purposes. States in particular are at least Ny, Ca, and Tx, others will follow as the war escalates.Report
I think we’re okay.Report