My blog post about Kindle covers brought in enough revenue in December to pay for my Kindle. It now brings in enough every month to cover my Kindle reading habit.
Granted, I could use that money for something else, but I like to think of it as my Kindle paying for itself. I mean, I wouldn’t have written a review of covers if I didn’t own a Kindle.
Amazon pays a healthy 10% affiliates fee for any Kindle product sales that you send them. Those affiliate fees have encouraged a huge number of Kindle blogs. All people hoping to get rich from Kindle sales.
They fall into a number of categories.
- Books. There are blogs that just talk about books available for the Kindle. Since Amazon makes it pretty easy to find Kindle books, I don’t understand the point of these blogs at all. If I want advice on what books to read on my Kindle, I’m much more likely to read a blog about the genre I like to read, not about the reader I like to read on. These blogs can be useful when they point out free books, but you can find those easily on
Amazon’s sitetoo. Or just check the bestseller
list – the good free books hit the bestseller list fast. (Interestingly enough, Amazon’s own
Kindle blog - Merchandise. People have created entire blogs about Kindle accessories. I can see a blog about home accessories for people that like to decorate, but a blog about Kindle accessories? How many can you add to the little thing? A cover, a light, a screen protector, and then what? These blogs must live off searches. Much like my cover review blog post does.
- Kindle news. These blogs try to update you on Kindle news but there isn’t much. Some also offer tips and tricks for your Kindle and some of these are rather useful. I enjoy being able to check the time on my Kindle. (Now if they would just release the source code so I could make the time display permanently at the top of the screen …)
- E-reader news. Some blogs cover all the e-readers and the news about the industry including DRM issues, debates between publishers and distributors, etc. I think these are the only blogs that are going to live long term. Ones like the Kindle Review. If you want to try getting rich off Amazon Kindle affiliate sales, this is the long term category to be in. (I don’t think your chances of getting rich off Amazon Kindle affiliate sales are really good though.)
But even if most of those blogs don’t work out … Amazon’s affiliate program has given them enormous amounts of cheap advertising.
So the real question is how can you create an affiliates program around your product? Can we add an affiliates type program to Friends of GNOME? To GNOME? To Kids on Computers?
Ah… Kindle… a pyramid scheme in a web 2.0 world.
Can you really map an this to GNOME? Is there enough cash floating around to make an affiliates kickback enticing? This only works for Amazon because there is a revenue feedback loop. What’s the revenue loop for Friends of GNOME or GNOME that would drive a kickback affiliates pyramid?
-jef
I would make a snark about shilling (but all in good fun!) if I were more motivated right now. 🙂
If I ever get something like a Kindle, I’ll probably come from a bit of a weird niche in the market, because I’ll likely want it for the specific purpose of use while backpacking, to avoid carrying bulky, weighty books (so it’ll have to be smaller and lighter than a book and relatively rugged, maybe waterproof or water-resistant to boot). The market’s too new (likely with higher prices), and my need is too small right now, to consider getting anything at the moment.
I would definitely filter all my Amazon purchases through a Kids On Computers affiliate site or link. I do this currently with a friend’s Little League link site but having more ‘giving’ options when I buy would be great. Ever since Amazon stopped letting you get the kick back on your own purchases I’ve been seeking out charity type sites to buy through.