Online shopping slows way down this time of year
I’ve mentioned here from time to time that one of the ways I put food on my table and pay the mortgage, gas up the old jalopy, and afford all those wonderful prescription medications is through affiliate marketing.
For those of you who don’t understand “affiliate marketing,” it basically means I put links on my websites to various online merchants’ websites. If someone goes to that merchant through one of my links to make a purchase, or in some cases just to fill out a form, I get paid a (usually very small) commission. Affiliate programs run from merchants similar to the many brick-and-mortar merchants in Everytown, USA, to insurance companies, construction contractors, to you name it. There are hundreds, probably thousands of affiliate programs I (or you) can join. It would be hard to pick any one “best affiliate program” out there. That’s like trying to pick the one best casual shirt for men. There really isn’t any “best,” but you find out from experience which ones are better than others.
Anyway, rambling aside, right now is sort of a “down time” for affiliate marketing. This weekend in particular is very slow here in the U.S., because people are far more eager to go to the lake, or fire up the backyard barbecue, or prepare for a fireworks extravaganza, or whatever than they are to go online and shop.
Still, it’s a fun “career” option, though I’ve never done well enough at it to make a living. If it weren’t for my wife’s income, some freelance writing income, and both her’s and my Social Security retirement benefits — I’d have to get out there and find a real job!
So okay, back away from the computer and have a great holiday weekend. But then get right back here and do your online shopping afterward.
Here’s an interesting website if you do much online shopping
I don’t make it a habit of endorsing a lot of online shopping websites. But I just discovered one I would encourage you to take a look at. It’s called “eBillMe” and it’s loaded with products and categories of products for just about everything you might want to buy online. (Well, I didn’t look too closely, but they’ve got a lot of stuff, from books and music to everything for your home, including some useful coupons and bargains — some real “home everything coupons” for you to browse through!)
They offer some very unusual, quite attractive “pay by cash” options for online shopping I’ve never seen before. And the site has a wealth of “FAQ” information to help you understand how it works, as well as some easy to understand videos explaining all about the unique offers you can take advantage of at this interesting online shopping mall.
Do you shop online? Do you shop more or less online each year?
Time for a little informal poll — well, really not a poll, just a question or two I’d like you to comment on.
Do you shop online?
If so, do you shop more or less on line, say this calendar year, than you did last calendar year?
I’ve mentioned from time to time that one of the ways I make my living is affiliate marketing. I “partner” with online merchants of many sorts and build links on my websites (in some cases entire websites) to the merchant. Each time someone goes to a merchant partner through one of my “affiliate” links and makes a purchase, or does some other easy action on the merchant partner’s site, I get a commission (usually pretty small).
So I’m always interested in peoples’ online shopping habits. Your response or comments on this will — hopefully — help me do my job better and earn a bit more money toward the mortgage.
One of the really well-know online merchants with whom I (and several hundred thousand others) partner is Amazon.com. If you’ve done any online shopping, I’d be willing to bet it was either at Amazon, or perhaps eBay. (I also partner with eBay.)
What I like about Amazon is 1) their incredible variety of products, and, 2) an abundance of customer reviews for many products. I’ve often bought something based on my evaluation of Amazon customers’ reviews. Whether you’re looking for a computer, lampshade, looking for diet pills and apidexin reviews, bicycles, or books — chances are good you can find something good at Amazon — and chances are good you’ll find customer reviews there.
Of course, whatever you buy online you need to be very careful to evaluate the item, the price, the website selling it, etc.
So — leave a comment and let me know something about your online shopping habits, if you wish. It would be very helpful.
‘Real Subliminal’ products
