Reached 7% Commission At Amazon
By Marika on Aug 22, 2010 in My Progress
This is one of my personal milestones - might be a small one for some, and a giant one for others. For me, it just happened after consistent work. I reached 7% commission at Amazon.
Pitty it resets to 4% again next month 
However if I did it once, I am confident that I can do it again. My secret? Focused more on Amazon than on Adsense this month. Not that I neglected Adsense, afterall there is not much one can do about it, once placed on the site, it just simply is. What I did though is add two extra things to my niche sites: the phpZon plugin to my existing pages and the Amazonian Profit Plan as separate review pages.
Sometimes I used a combination of both, but generally I simply added the phpZon plugin to my niche sites done with Xsitepro (yes, there is an API version, extremely easy to install) that can be used with Xsitepro sites as well, and with other regular html sites. So now you no longer HAVE to have a Wordpress blog in order to automatically pull data from Amazon. The setup is about 5 minutes and it’s quite easy to do. All you need to do is edit the .htaccess file, modify the config.php file to add your own affiliate ID and a few other bits of information, upload a couple of files through ftp to your sites and simply add 3 lines of codes to the pages of your sites that you want the Amazon products to show. It’s simply awesome and I’ve added it to nearly all my niche sites.
The Amazonian profit plan works as well, and it pulls in also some nice sales. I really like the mix of the two.
And if you look at the screenshot I took today from my Amazon affiliate account, I should be able to easily reach $300 from Amazon this month. I only have about $35 or so to get and I still have over one week until the month is over. Actually I predict I’ll be a bit over $300 this month from Amazon. Which makes actually two milestones in one month: reaching 7% commission with Amazon AND getting my first $300 Amazon check in the the mail soon. Wohoo!
If you want to check out the phpZon plugin that was part of my success with Amazon, click the link. To see it in action, simply click either on ‘phpzon Pro Amazon Wordpress Plugin’ or ‘phpzon Pro Amazon API’, depending on which version you want to check out, the Wordpress version or the html (and XSP) version. Then simply scroll to the very bottom of the page and you’ll have a short demo with a few products listed. It has a very neat appearance that I really like and it seems that visitors find appealing as well, as they click through nicely. Also to check out my previous Amazonian profit plan case study, click here.
Btw, some people might say that this is hardly money to be worked up about. Indeed, as an amount it might not be much. But don’t forget where I started. Last year in September, when I was still working at a 9-5 dayjob, I had my first Adsense check of $120 if I’m not mistaken. Fast forward 5 months and I quit my job to work for myself and earn my own money (of which Adsense was and still is a major part). So don’t discount small milestones in your life, as they are not for nothing called stepping stones. They are usually a turning point in life which should not be easily dismissed.
Congrats on reaching the 7.00% referral rate! I’m sure it feels great! The first time I reached it, it’s funny because my referral rate did not reset to 4% the following month…or if it did, I didn’t realize it because I still had unshipped items and once those were shipped, my rate jumped right back into the 6% range.
Cheers to reaching 7% from here on out!
Yolanda from Paid in Passive.com | Aug 23, 2010 | Reply
Hi Marika, I’m trying to reach you but I can’t find a contact form on this site. I’m a member of the Xfactor Forum and you’ll remember me by the name of Jesseric. I need to ask you some questions about the Amazon Fresh Store script, what’s going on with XFactor Forum and the like. I dont’ know how else to contact you now that the Xfactor forum is down. Please contact me at the email I’ve submitted in this comment. Thx, Jesse
Jesse | Aug 27, 2010 | Reply
Sent you an email Jesse.
Marika | Aug 27, 2010 | Reply
Hi Marika
Good to see you are going well. I’m gonna break $300 from Amazon too this month. Drop me a line at my email address for a chat about the adsense forum etc
smr | Aug 29, 2010 | Reply
Hey Marika
Looks like a few of us ex-xfactor groupies are going to be hanging out here with you for a while!
Well done on your success this month with Amazon and I hope things continue to improve for you. I’ll keep in touch.
Cheers
Greenpaw
Greenpaw | Aug 30, 2010 | Reply
Hehe greenpaw, thanks a lot! And keep in touch!.
Can always send me an email at marika(dot)charalambous(at)gmail(dot)com
Marika | Aug 30, 2010 | Reply
Hi Marika,
I discovered you website through Johns forum. If you don’t mind me asking, you posted in the forum a coupon code to buy the phpzon pro and api bundle at a discount. I was wondering if you still have that code. Im planning on buying both versions and every penny I can save counts. Any help you can provide I would really appreciate. Also I just wanted to say I really really like your website. Great work. Hope to develop the talent you have some day. Anyways hope you can find that code.
Regards,
Tim
tg143 | Aug 31, 2010 | Reply
Sorry Tim but I don’t have it anymore. I didn’t write it down somewhere, I noted it directly in the forum as soon as I used it to buy mine and with the forum gone, I just can’t remember. But if you google ‘phpzon coupon’, there are a couple there that you can try, I’m pretty sure one of them will work.
Marika | Sep 17, 2010 | Reply
Hi Marika,
I know this thread is old, but it’s the best one to post the question I have for you.
Just wondering how you’re doing with the PhpZon API on your sites. I’m using version 2 Beta, and put it one several of my sites, but so far this month my conversions are terrible. Last month I had 1365 clicks with 41 sales, for a conversion rate of about 3%. Some of these items were high-priced so I got a pretty good commission last month on the sales.
However, this month so far is really terrible. I’ve had 1212 clicks, but only 7 sales, which brings conversion down to 0.58%. Earnings are about $42, which is way less than this time last month. I’m not sure why it’s dropped so much this month. Perhaps it’s seasonal, or something else, I just don’t know. Are you seeing something similar on your end? Please let me know how you are doing if you can.
Jesse
Jesse | May 11, 2011 | Reply
Hi Jesse,
Actually this is one that I’m using a lot and it’s great. Maybe it’s the fact that people actually see a list of relevant items right there on the page before they click through to Amazon, but the clicks are more than where’s no phpzon on the page. At least it’s from what I’ve seen.
Marika | May 18, 2011 | Reply