Well, I have now got a couple of sites up following the Amazon auto-updating plugin model.  While it is nowhere near enough time to really judge how things have worked out, and I really don’t have enough sites to really get an accurate picture – I do want to let you know my results so far.

As I had mentioned in a previous update – I had 2 orders within just a few days of finishing up the first site.  I have had a few clicks here and there since then.

Meanwhile, I had built another site – this one using keywords for my domain name, after doing some keyword research to choose my niche.  This site is taking a little longer to get the traffic to it, simply because it is new.   The first site was one I had for awhile, so it was already getting some traffic.

I have had 2 more orders yesterday on my first site – so in total, I have had 4 orders out of about 80 clicks.  And I think I should also mention – I have really done nothing to promote these sites yet.  I am going to do some social bookmarking and link building – but really, up until this time, I have done nothing.

That isn’t a very bad conversion rate at all, when you consider conversion rates on some digital products.  So, for anyone who doesn’t think using Amazon is worthwhile with the lower comission rates, remember – you have the trust factor with Amazon that you just don’t have anywhere else.

It is so much easier to make a sale through Amazon simply because everyone has heard of it, they trust it – and many people have even already purchased through them.  And, although it seems that so many people complain about the commissions for Amazon, really it is on par with many other companies that offer an affiliate program.  The thing you need to remember is that with physical products, there are many other costs involved for the merchant – they have had to pay for the product at cost, then there are all the other costs with running a business, such as paying employees, overhead and everything else.  So, of course a physical product simply cannot offer the commission structures of a digital product.

But, in my opinion – when you are working with the trust factor of Amazon, not to mention their incredible upsell sequence they offer – it is just much easier to convert visitors to buyers with Amazon.  2 of the 4 purchases I had were for things that I hadn’t put on my site, the customer was just picking them up to add on to their order while they were buying the original product.

So – if you were to get enough sites out there, or get enough traffic to your sites with Amazon feeds – I really do think this is a very viable money stream to add to your affiliate marketing efforts.  I know I am getting a few more sites put up this week – I will let you know after a few weeks how things are going.

Meanwhile, go ahead and get your own Amazon sites set up!  The sooner you start building them, the sooner you will see just what possibilities there are!

Here is the link to my original article, which outlines what kind of model I was using.  There are some links that you can use to get information on keyword research, choosing a niche, setting up a WP site – everything you need to get started.

Affiliate Marketing Case Study – Step One

Affiliate Marketing Case Study – Update

I would love to hear your own experiences with Amazon, or your thoughts on using Amazon as a possible revenue stream!