[shellerik]

I have had some success in affiliate marketing using an approach that I think many on Hacker News could duplicate. I launched my Amazon affiliate site about a year-and-a-half ago and its earnings have increased by about $100 per month with December being the first time I earned over $2,000 in a month.

The approach is to find a type of product where Amazon has thousands of listing but the specifications are not very accurate and the filtering criteria are limited, and where there are highly active forums with people talking about and asking about these products. Then you build a proper searchable catalog for the products. Include lots of search criteria, sorting criteria, side-by-side comparison, recommended accessories, anything that would be useful for people looking to buy them.

Once my catalog contained over 1,000 models I started replying to posts on forums with a link to my site that provided what they were looking for. People loved the site and it wasn't long before they were posting links to it to answer each others questions. That's all it took to start ranking on Google which is now responsible for 3/4 of my traffic.

Initially this is not passive income. The first few months are a lot of work for very little money. Eventually the balances shifts to the point where additional work is only needed if you want to keep growing. Amazon's product advertising API allows you to get current prices, availability and popularity (sales ranking) to keep everything fresh.

[akavlie]

Did that entail a lot of hand entry of product information? (considering that Amazon was, as you said, lacking specifications)

[shellerik]

Yes it did. I have spent a lot more time researching and documenting specs than I have writing code. The good news is that I don't mind that type of work. I often build spreadsheets for fun to compare things I'm thinking of buying so I just took that to another level.

[sixQuarks]

You seem like you might be a good fit for something I have in mind - how do I contact you?

[shellerik]

I never noticed before that this site doesn't seem to have any way to send private messages. I guess if one wants to be reached they have to share a way publicly.

[rompic]

Did something similar for gifts. was a little hacky, but fun to build.

[tmaly]

what is the typical commission that you earn on a single purchase through a link clicked on your site?

[shellerik]

Currently my average commission is about $5.

[tamersalama]

Do you mind sharing your site?

[shellerik]

I'd prefer not to but I'll check back a few more times to see if there are any questions about my post to answer.

[pknerd]

would love to connect w/ you. My email: kadnan@gmail . com