I was working on another installment of Bourgeois Book Club this afternoon, and as I pasted in an Amazon link to one of the books, I thought to myself, "I'm giving them business for free! I should make some money off of this!"
Bourgeois Nerd has never had, and never will have, advertising. I don't do this for the money (just the groupies), and if we're being frank, I don't like most of the online ads that are out there nowadays. It's all acai berries and belly-loss secrets and it's just not my scene. But joining Amazon's affiliate program and maybe making a coin or two from the links to Amazon I do anyway for nothing? It's totally logical and synergistic.
Yet, dear readers, is it the right thing to do? Would I be compromising my blogtistic integrity for the lure of filthy lucre? Would you feel betrayed that I sold out to The Man? Would you feel it intrusive and unseemly? And does anyone have any experience with the Amazon affiliate program and have any advice to proffer? Your response is both earnestly requested and appreciated.
There is no guarantee, BTW, that even if greed overcame me despite pleas to the contrary that I'd even be accepted into the program. I was reading the agreement, and it said they don't accept sites with "sexually explicit" content, so depending on how whoever it is that determines these things reacts to Skimpy Sundays this whole issue may be moot anyway.
4 comments:
If profit can be had without loss than reason dictates that the issue can be pursued without risk. While I enjoy the ad free space it's really about you doing what you like or need. I have no idea how much profit could be made from them but some bloggers are self sufficient, and others have gotten book deals based on proof of ability. Would you like to pursue the chance of being free from an office job? : )
Oh, let's be clear: I ain't gonna quit my day job with this. Heck, after all this hubbub, I'll probably end up with $.05 at the end of a year.
Also, there will be no ads as such, just an Amazon link to whatever book I'm talking about. It'll look like any other link, except it will be a special URL or something that will be tied to my account.
Take the money. Some of us will click the link; you might as well get paid for it.
Will the feature come with one of those little pop-up (pop-out?) windows? I find those annoying. When it comes to a money-making link, I prefer a lack of 'noise'.
i think that's perfectly reasonable and even useful
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