Self-Publishing Your Patterns and How-to's (Pt. 5)

Ok.  So this posting isn't so much about self-publishing but more like how to go about generating a little more revenue from your patterns.  The way to do this is through affiliate programs.  Now there are lots of websites and blogs out there that can give you a whole lot of information about this topic, but here's the jist of it.  You can make money from generating sales through your blog or website.  You get a percentage of the sale as long as the purchase is made within a given period of time.  It usually is a few days, but depending on the company could be longer.  Each affiliate program is different and you'll have to read their TOS (Terms of Service) for the details. 

So here is what I'm doing...I joined the iTunes affiliate program to promote my patterns even further and make a little extra on each sale.   See this link

on the left hand side? That's a direct link to my patterns I'm selling through the iBookstore. Pretty cool huh?

Now also with this I can promote other people's patterns too.  According to my blog stats, the majority of folks are coming to my site to see my knitting patterns.  Therefore, it would serve me well to add a widget where all sorts of knitting patterns and how-to's are listed.

And there it is!  It really is super simple to do.  iTunes gives you the code and all you need to do is copy and paste it where ever you like on your blog or website.  It takes care of itself from there.

So how did I become a member of the iTunes affiliate program?  First I had to join LinkShare.  Once I was accepted into their affiliate program I could then pick and choose what companies I would like to work with.  They work with a bunch of companies selling all sorts of stuff online.  LinkShare then compiles everything into one place. It makes it easy to work with and collect the money that I earn.



And what's even more cool, if you click that box right above here and join their affiliate program, I can make money from your referral! You can do the same on your blog or website too! It's just the gift that keeps on giving.

And it's not just iTunes that has affiliate programs. Amazon does the very same thing though they run their program themselves and not through any other partners.  If you're interested in joining that one you can try this link...become an Amazon Associate.

These are the ones that I've signed up for but you may want to look for others.  I would love to get a little feed back on this and if you have any suggestions to other programs, by all means, let all of us know!  Give your suggestions in the comments section.