Using Amazon Affiliates to Generate Additional Income

A few weeks ago, I put together a five-part series on affiliate marketing for resume writers. Another source of affiliate income is with Amazon Affiliates.

I suggest you set up an account with Amazon Affiliates and build a “Recommended Resources” page on your website, featuring links to books that you’re featured in, that you’ve written, and/or that you’d recommend to clients. While this isn’t a large income source, you are doing clients a favor by offering your recommendations, and any sales you make are gravy. 

You can also use your Amazon Affiliates link to include book links and graphics in your blog posts, especially if you use Blogger. I’ve found my top two book recommendations that have led to sales are Jason Alba’s book, “I’m on LinkedIn, Now What?” and “Career Distinction,” Kirsten Dixson and William Arruda’s book on personal and career branding. 

I also used to sell a couple of copies of “The Insider’s Guide to the World of Pharmaceutical Sales,” but that hasn’t been published in a few years. 

If you have a blog geared to job seekers, I’d recommend doing regular book reviews — review books you’ve read and then include links to your Amazon Affiliate site. 

You can also excerpt your reviews on the book’s page on Amazon directly, which will help increase your “Digital Distinction” rating — and if you don’t know that that is, you should read Career Distinction.

Getting E-Book Ideas from Amazon (Second in Three-Part Series)

This is the second in a three-part series of blog posts designed to help you get ideas for e-books to supplement your income as a resume writer. The first post in the series focused on Google.

Next up: Amazon.com

From the world's largest search engine we move to the world's largest bookstore.  At Amazon.com you'll really get your creative juices fired up.

Again, you'll want to search the listings by entering a keyword or keyphrase into the search box on the main page at Amazon.com.

You'll get a returned listing of numerous books, courses and other periodicals. Search these listed items for ideas for your own ebook.

--- Example ---

If you were to search for "Job Interview," you'd find a variety of ideas just waiting in the listing of books 

available, including: an ebook with common interview questions & answers, how to research an employer before a job interview, preparing for an interview using LinkedIn, creating a portfolio to use in a job interview, preparing for a virtual job interview (Skype, by phone, etc.), and avoiding the most common job interview mistakes.

Any of these ideas (and the dozens of others listed) would be great ideas for the topic of your next ebook.

Pay particular attention to the first page of the listing.  Amazon ranks their listings based on popularity of actual sales volume.  In other words, #1 is a better seller than #50.  This is a ready-made indicator of demand!

This is book #1: Acing the Interview: How to Ask and Answer the Questions That Will Get You the Job by Tony Beshara (Paperback - Jan 23, 2008)

This is book #49: Everything Job Interview Book: All you need to make a great first impression and land the perfect job (Everything Series) by Joy Darlington and Nancy Schuman (Paperback - Jul 1, 2008)

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Jimmy D. Brown is the author of, "5 Keys To A Big-Profit, 

S.M.A.L.L. Reports Business."  To download your free copy, 

visit http://www.SmallReportsFortune.com.

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Career Directors International Global Career Empowerment Summit 2011

Just saw the e-mail from Laura DeCarlo announcing the lineup and speakers for the CDI annual conference ... ahem ... I mean the "Global Career Empowerment Summit 2011," scheduled for Oct. 20-22, 2011 in Savannah, Georgia!

Once again, CDI has put together an impressive lineup of topics and speakers. You can learn more here.

Just a few of the notable subjects being covered:

• Magic Bullet to Six-Figure Success: Strategies in Packaging & Pricing (panel)
• Your Clients Are Leaving You! How to Win Over and Keep a Transient Audience (with Tim Tyrell-Smith!)
• The Bullet Train to Job Search Success: Best in Class Online Identity Model (with Susan Guarneri and Laura DeCarlo)

Plus, they offer 3-, 5-, and 7-month payment options (as low as $77/month!)

I have to say, I loved Savannah when I was there a few years ago. Be sure to come in a day early and head up to Hilton Head Island. It's gorgeous. You may also find cheaper fares by flying into Jacksonville, FL. That's what we did, and then just drove up to Savannah.

Getting E-Book Ideas (First in Three-Part Series)

This is the first in a three-part guest-author series on coming up with ideas for e-books. Resume writers who only trade their time for dollars (the "time-for-dollars trap!") are missing out on the opportunity to made additional income. The blog post series is by Jimmy D. Brown.

I've always been impressed with those who seem to always be ahead of the pack when it comes to new ideas.

When I first started publishing information products online, I thought that certain people had a crystal ball they gazed into.  Or some top-secret contact who was providing them with inside information.

Over time, I realized that it wasn't magic that allowed these people to come up with red-hot ideas on demand.  It was simply that they knew where to look.

I soon discovered many places where ideas seemed to always be found.  I call these places "idea hangouts."  In this blog series (this is the first of three posts), I'd like to share three of my favorites "idea hangouts" where you can find ideas for your next ebook anytime you want.  Almost like a genie granting you three wishes...

Today's blog post focuses on Google.com.

Google is the ultimate "idea hangout."  There are so many ways to mine the gold in Google's amazing search database that it would take another article to graze the surface of this enormous iceberg.

What I want to mention are just two quick ways to find ideas by searching Google.

- Identify Listings.

Search for a broad topic related to your area of interest or expertise  (i.e., "resume writing" or "job search" or "job interview"). Look at all of the web sites listed in the index of returned results.  You'll likely find some ideas for information products right there in the first couple of pages.

Here's some e-books I came up with when I Googled "job search":

• "Find a Job Faster Using Job Boards"
• "Ten Tips for Getting a Federal Job"
• "Using Social Media to Find Your Next Job"
• "How to Successfully Change Careers"
• "Find Your Next Job Using Craigslist"

- Identify Advertisers.

You'll probably notice small ads on Google -- either at the top of the page or to the right of the page (or both!).  These advertisers represent your competition.  They also represent your thermometer for taking the temperature of your market and gauging interest in specific topics. Chances are, what they're selling, you should be selling.

In both of these examples, you can click through to the web pages of the sites listed and study their respective sales pages.  Look specifically at the "bullet points."  Each of these represents a potential idea for your next ebook.

Here were some of the products/services being advertised with "Job Search" on Google:

• "Find Your Perfect Job" using Taleo.
• "Job Search at Job.com" 
• "Real part-time jobs" from pic.tv
• "Job search from JobSquared."

Next up: Getting E-Book Ideas from Amazon.com (Part two in a three-part series.)

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Jimmy D. Brown is the author of, "5 Keys To A Big-Profit,
S.M.A.L.L. Reports Business."  To download your free copy,
visit http://www.SmallReportsFortune.com.
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