Add Amazon Product Links to Blogger Posts

In this tutorial you will learn how to deep link a specific Amazon product directly into your Blogger posts so that the link will appear either on every post page or alternatively only on a selected post page. By deep linking a targeted Amazon product directly to your Blogger blog you can expect to increase your Amazon sales and to make extra money from Blogger. If you wish to learn more about adding Amazon widgets to your blog please refer to my earlier tutorial Make Money Add an Amazon Widget to Blogger


This tutorial provides you with a complete walk through of the process of adding Amazon product links to Blogger. I have rated the tutorial as moderate as it involves setting up the Amazon product link, converting the code and adding a block of code to your Blogger template. All these steps are within the capabilities of the average Blogger user provided you follow the step by step instructions below.

How to Deep Link an Amazon Product to Blogger Posts
This tutorial will show you how to add an Amazon Product Link at the foot of every post in your Blogger blog. If you want your link to appear only on a specific individual post page see Tips and Troubleshooting below for instructions.

Difficulty Level: Moderate

1. Sign in to your Amazon Associates account. If you are not a member sign up is free to both Amazon.com and Endless.com
   
   
2. Click on the Links and Banners tab
   
   
3. Under the Product Links heading choose the Add Product Links Now link
   
   
   
4. From the Product Links page choose your Product Category from the drop down list and enter your search keyword phrase to identify the product you wish to link to. Hit the Go button.
   
   
   
5. From the search results choose the individual product you will linking to by clicking on the Get Link button on the right hand side of the product
   
   
   
   
6. You will now be taken to the Customize and Get HTML code page.
   
   
   • Select Link Type
     By default both the product image and text link will display but you can customize it to display the image only or the text only by checking the box alongside these options
     
     
   • Customize Link
     Choose the appearance of your product. With or without a border. Choose color options to suit your blog. I suggest you keep the default setting for the link opening in a new window. Amazon lets you see a live preview of your product on the right so that you can make any adjustments before embedding the code into your blog.
     
   
   
   
7. Once you are satisfied with the product's appearance click on the highlight code button at the foot of the page and copy the HTML code for the Amazon Product Link.
   
   
8. Open a Javascript to HTML converter such as Centricle. Paste your code into the content window and press the Encode button
   
   
9. Highlight and copy the code that has been converted
   
   
10. Login to Blogger if not already logged in
    
    
11. Navigate to Layout > Edit HTML
    
    
12. Back up your Blogger template as a precaution
    
    
13. Check Expand Widget Templates box
    
    
14. There are several places you may wish your product link to appear. I have assumed for the purposes of this tutorial that you want it at the bottom of your post. Therefore find the following code in your template:
    
    

    <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-3'/>

    
    
15. Directly below this line paste the converted Amazon HTML code
    
    
16. Click on Save Template
    
    
17. Click on View Blog to view your link at the foot of every Blogger post including the home page view.
    

Tips and Troubleshooting
If you are writing about a lot of different products on your blog you may need to place targeted Amazon product links on your Blogger individual post pages. To have the Amazon Product Link only appear on a specific post page follow these steps.

How To Add an Amazon Product Link to an Individual Blogger Post
Before you get started you will need to know the full URL address of your Blogger post. To get this navigate in a new window to the specific post page of your Blogger blog and copy the address from the address bar at the top of your browser

1. Follow steps 1 to 13 as per adding an Amazon Product Link to the foot of every Blogger post.
   
   
2. Find the following code:
   
   

   <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-3'/>

   
   
3. Directly below this line paste the following code:
   
   

   <b:if cond='data:blog.url == "your blog post URL including http://"'>
   Paste your Amazon code here
   </b:if>

   
   
4. Replace "your blog post URL including http://" with the URL address of your blog post
   
   
5. Paste over "Paste your Amazon code here" with your converted Amazon HTML code
   
   
6. Click on Save Template
   
   
7. Click View Blog and navigate to the individual post page to see your Amazon Product Link at the foot of your Blogger post (Blogspot post)
   

In this tutorial you have learned how to add an Amazon Product Link to your Blogger posts (Blogspot posts). I have also shown you how to embed an Amazon Product Link directly into a specific Blogger post. By adding targeted Amazon product links to your Blogger blog you can expect to make extra money from your blog. I would love to hear from anyone about their experiences of adding Amazon widgets or product links to their Blogger blog so if you have the time please let me know how you get on.




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Make Money Add an Amazon Widget to Blogger

In today's tutorial you will learn how to place an Amazon widget on your Blogger blog (Blogspot blog) to enable you to add a further income stream to your existing Blogger earnings.

Adding an Amazon widget to Blogger is not difficult. No change or very little change to your Blogger template is required. There is some time involved in setting up the widget itself and choosing the products to link to and customizing the look to match your blog however. This tutorial will walk you through the steps involved but first a few need to know facts about Amazon's affiliate program.


Important Details For Bloggers About Amazon's Affiliate Program

• Amazon have 2 referral structures: Classic Plan and Performance Plan
  
  
  • For the Classic Plan - A flat rate commission of 4% is paid
    
    
  • For the Performance Plan - A sliding scale between 4% and 8.5% commission is paid on general product items shipped. Consumer electronics is paid at a flat rate of 4%. Kindle, MP3,video on demand and game downloads are at the rate of 10%. View fee structure for Performance Plan
    
  
  
• Sell 7 items in a month and you will receive 6% commission on sales. Sell in excess of 30 items and receive referral fees at the rate of 6.5%
  
  
• Affiliates earn commission on the total of items shipped not just the first product bought
  
  
• Payment options are direct credit, check or Amazon Gift Certificate. There is a $15 charge for the issue of a check.
  
  
• Payment of referral fees is made once your account reaches $10 provided you have opted for the direct credit or Amazon Gift Certificate option. Otherwise it is $100 for a check (cheque)
  
  
• Amazon offer a choice of 17 different widgets
  
  
• Amazon also offer links and banners and an astore option

Earning Money from Amazon Widgets
Linking to Amazon products on your blog can generate significant income depending on your blog topic and the type of links you choose. I personally find that my sales are not always related to blogging despite the Amazon widget on this blog linking to books about blogging. However I would strongly suggest that you try to match the products offerred to the general content of your blog so that your links are targeted to your blog's audience. Another option is to add a generic Amazon widget such as the Deals Widget to snag those bargain hunters and impulse buyers from your readership.

Placing Amazon Widgets on Blogger
There are 17 different Amazon widgets to choose from. The decision about which widget is best will partly be determined by the type of blog you have and where you want to place the widget.

I have had some success with the Carousel Widget that I have on Blogspot Blogger Guide - another of my blogs. I have found under the header to be a prime location for this gadget and as it is displayed on every page the widget is getting maximum exposure. I have also had moderate success with a sidebar location using the I Recommend widget. I think it is true to say that you will need to experiment a bit to find the best type of widget for your blog.

How to Add an Amazon Widget to a Blogger Blogspot Blog

Difficulty Level: Easy to Moderate

1. Join Amazon's Referral Program and create an affiliate account at Amazon. You will need to supply your direct deposit details as Amazon charges to issue affiliate checks (cheques)
   
   
2. Once your affiliate registration is confirmed (this is a fast process) you will then be ready to start to create an Amazon widget for your blog. So go ahead and login to your affiliate account at Amazon and click on the widgets tab
   
   
3. Now comes the fun part - choosing a widget. Amazon currently have 17 different widgets to choose from. The Amazon help section is good and I suspect will answer most of your questions if you get stuck.
   
   
4. Choose your widget. For the purposes of this demonstration let's choose a Recommended Product Links widget. Click on the Add to Your Webpage button
   
   
5. From the drop down select a product line eg Cameras and Photo. Select a subcategory eg General Bestsellers. Click the Continue button.
   
   
   
6. Select the size of widget according to the location where it will be placed on your blog eg 160x600 in the sidebar of Blogger. Click on the Select This Size button at the right of the example widget
   
   
   
7. Now you will need to customize your widget. Click on Customize Link Appearance and enter link and text colors to suit your blog. Ensure that the widget opens in a new window unless you are quite happy for your readers to leave your blog. Leave this window open in the meantime as we will be returning
   
   
   
8. In a new window login to Blogger if not already logged in
   
   
9. Navigate to Layout > Page Elements
   
   
10. Click on Add Gadget in the sidebar and choose HTML/Javascript from the list of available gadgets
    
    
11. Copy the widget code which contains Amazon's tracking code and paste it into the content area of the gadget. Add a title if you wish. Click the Save button
    
    
12. Use the drag and drop feature to reposition your widgets in the sidebar in the order that you want them to appear. Save any changes
    
    
13. Click on View Blog and admire your new widget in the sidebar of your blog
    

Tips and Troubleshooting
Some placements of Amazon widgets will require tweaks to your Blogger template. For instance the Carousel widget which I mentioned earlier I inserted under the header in my blog. To place an Amazon widget or for that matter any widget below the header and above the first post in Blogger do the following:

1. Login to Blogger if not already logged in
   
   
2. Navigate to Layout > Edit HTML
   
   
3. Find the following line of code
   
   

   <b:section class='crosscol' id='crosscol' showaddelement='no'/>

   
   
4. Replace the no with yes and click the Save button
   
   
5. Navigate to Layout > Page Elements
   
   
6. You will see that you can now add a gadget below the header
   

In this tutorial you have learnt about adding Amazon widgets to a Blogger Blogspot blog in order to earn cash from referral fees. Most bloggers earn around 4 to 6.5% in commission for items shipped from Amazon. While not the best affiliate scheme Amazon referral fees can add up to tidy sum at the end of the month. I would recommend giving it a try. You will need to experiment to get the best fit of location and widget. Good luck and let me know how you get on.

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