Yesterday at the Kiss Club we got involved in an interesting discussion about product selection. While I generally look for products that are over $100 dollars to promote one of the members brought up the fact that your commission level is based on the number of sales made.
She asked:
Wouldn’t it make sense to promote some low priced items to make more sales and up my commission level?
Hmm… well that sounds like a pretty smart idea to me.
I did some research and then my brain started going around in circles with the possible ways to make this work. I think that creating lenses that will give you decent commissions is smart ~ I also think it’s smart to find a way to get 6 sales to move up to a higher percentage payout. It’s giving yourself a raise!
Here’s some ideas I had:
1. If you have a blog, review something related to your blog that is a low price to get a few sales. The few sales will bump you up to the next payout level.
2. Do a lens on a small item with tons of search volume to get you up to the next level.
3. Read amazon’s blog for more ideas.
I was there today and they are some smart smart people! There are tons of ideas in just the first page of posts!
4. If you have a blog keep up to date on the specials going on at Amazon. Like this month there is a huge sale on school clothes. There is also a magazine offer going on ~ 2 years for the price of 1. You may find some great deals that are relevant to your site ~ in fact, if you’ve got lenses that are getting traffic you could go back and add something related to the special. (which makes me think I have a couple parenting lenses that the clothes thing might work well on!) These huge deals may not make you a fortune in commission, but they will help you move to the next commission level which gives you a raise with no additional work, on your low priced items, but also the high priced items you’ve been doing lenses on.
5. The Amazon blog is also an excellent place to find ideas for lenses! Did you know that Amazon sells text books? Get a syllabus and a reading list for some colleges and get started! Psych 101 ~ here’s the books. 
This was just one of the many many ideas that popped into my head reading the amazon blog ~ and I must admit ~ it’s the first time I’ve ever been there. What a resource I’ve been missing out on!
So what do you think? Is it worth selling some low priced items? Will you? How will you add that to your strategy? Tell me in the comments! I wanna know!
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Wow! Thanks Jackie.
Maybe I’m still half asleep, but I’m not finding it. Can you please post the link to the Amazon blog you’re referring to? Thanks!
I went back and added the link in the post in #3.
I use Amazon to promote my products also and never even thought to go and check their forum, so I am off to do it right now. You are like a little ‘post it note’ reminding me to check things…:-) Thanks
This sounds like a sound marketing idea to me. Any chance you’ll give us some specialized info at KISS?
Btw, I’m really enjoying the Kiss Forum…chalk full of info, and everyone’s really supportive.
I think it’s my best investment so far!
Bea´s last blog ..Lladro nurse updated Thu Aug 5 2010 4-37 pm CDT
That’s where this whole conversation started Bea ~ stop by the thread and ask any questions you have. Not sure what “specialized info” you’re looking for.
I find that my lenses with products less than $100 do pretty well. They do like Jackie said and produce some quick sales to get me up to the 6% commission level pretty quickly. I did a lens last Christmas on the Elmo Live doll and I actually made about $200 on that particular product so those small commissions can add up.
Tina @ Fisher Price iXL Learning System´s last blog ..The Fisher Price iXL Learning System A 6-in-1 Learning System updated Mon Aug 16 2010 5-13 am CDT
Thanks for the input Tina. It’s nice to hear some “real world” examples. I wonder though if those sales might be because Elmo Live was a hot gift last year? Not that there’s anything wrong with that ~ just trying to refine the process so it works more often than not ~ kwim?
Yes, it certainly would be a clever strategy to be selling lower priced items in order to up the commission!
I’m thinking of starting the 52-week Squidoo run later this week, so that’s when I’ll start strategizing!
To Lisa who worries someone might hesitate to buy from a Squidoo lens, I say that a person is buying from Amazon, you’re lense is the conduit
Fran@boomers making money´s last blog ..Freedom of Religion … Only Valid When it Fits
Some time back I chose made lenses for some products that were over $100 but now Amazon has reduced the price! Oh, well, maybe they’ll sell better and I can move up to the next commission level!
Deb @ That Figures Women’s Fitness´s last blog ..The New CPR
Great idea – both on raising rates with smaller items and appreciate the Amazon blog tip. Haven’t had the time to check it out. Now I’ll make a point to do so.
June´s last blog ..Cellular Marketing Does’t Have to Be Limited
I swear I wanted to ask you this very question. I thought about this seriously over the past week. I almost wonder if people would be hesitant to buy something that costs more than $100 from a Squidoo lens? I haven’t made any sales yet, and all my lenses are for products over $100. Maybe Im just too anxious about making sales, maybe a bit paranoid– either way, I thought to try a lower priced item just to bump up my commission for when I eventually do make the sales.
Lisa @ Zojirushi NS-LAC05´s last blog ..Zojirushi NS-LAC05 updated Tue Aug 24 2010 3-34 pm CDT
(you can tell I’m slacking on my work when I’m the first person to post!)
Thanks for the heads up on the Amazon blog – it never occurred to me to check it before either, and I can probably use a few of those ideas to monetize my main blog until I figure out a way to start building my list.
Kelly @ Queen of Hearts Halloween´s last blog ..Alice in Wonderland Queen of Hearts Costume