****How you can help the group******

[Patti (baconater)]

Simon has set up an affiliates tag we can add to amazon product links that then gets us a teeny percentage of each sale. That's how the room and everything was paid for on Saturday. It's not to make any sort of profit. Simon and I don't do this for any financial reward. It is nice to have a small pot of money available for prizes and what not though.

All you do is copy and paste the amazon link into a post then add &tag=ethings-21 onto the
end of the link before you hit post.

It only works through the amazon.uk site though. Seems its a major hassle to set it up through amazon.com because of the tax implications, etc.

Hopefully that makes sense and Simon will have time to explain more fully soon.

Please do ask any questions you may have about this. I'll do my best to find the answers.

[Darren]

Ask not what this forum can do for you, but what you can do for this forum.

[Patti (baconater)]

Well, both really. :)

Starting new threads and asking lots of questions and sharing thoughts is really the best thing we can all do.

And I mean on any topic under the sun, of course.

Please don't ever worry about not putting a thread in the appropriate place or having the thread title just so.

That's where Simon and I come in. We'll sort that bit.

[B J]

Sorry Patti, but 'add &tag=ethings-21' isn't totally clear to a technophobic old codger. Can we have an example please?

[Jud]

Like this

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dartmoor-The-... then at the end of the link add &tag=ethings-21 with no spaces

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dartmoor-The-...

[Jud]

If you click on the second link and scroll to the end of the web address you'll see the &tag=ethings-21

[B J]

Jud (Disney Diva) wrote: "Like this

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dartmoor-The-... then at the end of the link add &tag=ethings-2..."

Hang on a minute - that looks vaguely familiar.

[Patti (baconater)]

Thanks Jud!

You should work in IT or something.

[Jud]

Yes, did you like the little bit of free PR I did for you BJ? You can send me a check in the post

[B J]

Crystal clear advice and a plug. Perfect.

[Vanessa (aka Dumbo)]

Glad you posted how to do it Jud, I had no idea. I'll do it on all future orders now. I expect it all adds up to a reasonable amount after a time.

[Patti (baconater)]

Was talking to Simon about it last weekend. Seems we have to accumulate £25 or something before amazon sends any money to us.

Simon said 'touch your toes'

No he didn't. :)

He said we'd not actually got any money off them in months.

Hopefully our efforts will help. We need dosh to pay for the next meet. We've got a year, so hopefully we'll be successful, although neither Simon nor I mind throwing some of our own money at the group.

[Rosemary (grooving with the Picts)]

I'm quite sure that most meetup attendees would happily stump up a contribution if it helped!

[Jud]

Aye, I'd be happy to pay a wee fee to contribute to costs for any meet I attend.

[Patti (baconater)]

Thanks. :)

Hopefully that won't be necessary though.

[Patti (baconater)]

Jeez. I'm rather hopeful today, aren't I?

[Michael]

Just so everyone knows, the 'Super thread for super people' topic I started is completely free for everyone.

So no need to waste your pennies on any of these fancy schmancy meetups with free arrowheads.

[Patti (baconater)]

You make me smile so much Mike. :)

[Gingerlily - The Full Wild]

And mugs.

[Kath]

i only buy ebooks from amazon
i only spend vouchers buying said ebooks
i dont buy vouchers myself - i earn them from various sources and just attach them to my account

so, what i'd like to know is...

is there any point me using the store tag... cos i am quite happy to add it on the end of the url for any books i buy if there is a point to doing that, but tbh life's too short to try keep remembering to do it if there isn't...

answers on a postcard........

[Patti (baconater)]

That's a good question, Kath!

Let me see if I can dig up an answer.

[Patti (baconater)]

I'm hopeless.

I'll ask Simon.

[Kath]

thanks patti :)

[Jay-me (Janet)]

I only use vouchers to buy my books - it is annoying now that I can't use my nectar points to collect amazon vouchers. I have put the store tag on when I remember - I've always assumed that it counted.

[Patti (baconater)]

Gingerlily (The One and Only) wrote: "And mugs."

Yeah yeah. Rub it in.

[Philip (sarah)]

So sorry but even after reading the advice above I haven't a clue how to add the tag. Which post do I copy the link into? I buy a fair few books direct from the Kindle Store so there is no link! Sorry to be a pain but I am just clueless when it comes to technology:@(

[Patti (baconater)]

If you buy most of your books directly from your kindle, the tag won't work, so don't worry about it.

If you buy your books through your computer, just click on a link you already know is tagged from somewhere in the group. Don't worry about adding the tag yourself.

If you open amazon by clicking on a tagged link, you're tied to the tag for all your purchases for the next 24 hours, so it seems.

Please tell me if that made sense.

[Philip (sarah)]

Brilliant, Thank you so much Patti!
I will try going into Amazon using a tagged link then I won't have to worry about adding anything. I used to always ask if links were tagged prior to making a purchase but then got lazy.

[Patti (baconater)]

Kath wrote: "i only buy ebooks from amazon
i only spend vouchers buying said ebooks
i dont buy vouchers myself - i earn them from various sources and just attach them to my account

so, what i'd like to know is..."

Just heard back from Simon, Kath.

He said 'yes, it's worth doing'

[Vanessa (aka Dumbo)]

Philip (sarah) wrote: "So sorry but even after reading the advice above I haven't a clue how to add the tag. Which post do I copy the link into? I buy a fair few books direct from the Kindle Store so there is no link! So..."

I think I'm right in saying that when you're on the page of the item you want to buy you add &tag=ethings-21 to the text in the address bar with no spaces.

[Patti (baconater)]

Yes you are, Vanessa.

[Michael]

Kath wrote: "i only buy ebooks from amazon
i only spend vouchers buying said ebooks
i dont buy vouchers myself - i earn them from various sources and just attach them to my account

so, what i'd like to know is..."

That should work, it's the fact the item has been ordered with the tag, not the method of payment.

[Kath]

will carry on using it then - thanks Michael, Patti & Simon :)

[Kath]

I tend to put the tag on book links on my blog too. If you succumb to temptation by clicking a link there we get a penny or two for the group.

[Patti (baconater)]

Oh yes. Thanks for that, Ignite. Thank you very much!

All you lot with blogs and websites n whatever, please feel free to do the same.

Doesn't have to be just books, of course. It works for everything sold through amazon.uk.

[Philip (sarah)]

Vanessa wrote: "Philip (sarah) wrote: "So sorry but even after reading the advice above I haven't a clue how to add the tag. Which post do I copy the link into? I buy a fair few books direct from the Kindle Store ..."
Thanks Vanessa, I will try doing that:@).

Ignite- You have just given me another excuse to lurk around your blog (not that I needed one of course);@)

[Joo]

If you click on someone else's affiliate link, then that will over-ride this one.
And it's not just books, I don't think. If you were going to spend a grand on a telly from Amazon, make sure you go via a link here first then buy it before you get distracted and click elsewhere :)

[Patti (baconater)]

Oh yes, Joo. That's true.

[Vanessa (aka Dumbo)]

Wish I'd known how to do it sooner as I've bought quite a bit from Amazon recently and not just books.

[Patti (baconater)]

Don't worry about it, lovely. :)

[Karen]

I failed. Sorry.
Just couldn't manage to fit the tag onto the end of the code in the bar.
must try harder.

[Patti (baconater)]

No worries Karen.

It's may be easier to go through a link that already tagged like the one Jud did further up this thread.

[Karen]

well I just had another go with Jasper Fforde, so I hope it worked!

[Vanessa (aka Dumbo)]

I've just made a purchase of £24.45 and remembered to use the tag. Don't know how much you get as a percentage though.

[Patti (baconater)]

Nor me Vanessa.

I think it depends on the total for the month and stuff.

[Rosen]

Thanks for this info. I shall use your tags in future, not my own! Hee hee!

[Michael]

Vanessa wrote: "I've just made a purchase of £24.45 and remembered to use the tag. Don't know how much you get as a percentage though."

It depends on the purchase but it's usually around 4%.

[Vanessa (aka Dumbo)]

Michael wrote: "Vanessa wrote: "I've just made a purchase of £24.45 and remembered to use the tag. Don't know how much you get as a percentage though."

It depends on the purchase but it's usually around 4%."

That doesn't sound too bad. It was for a push on to the tap shower. If it works ok I'll probably get the shower rail and curtain from Amazon too, so a bit more in the kitty.

Ok, another silly question. Sometimes I buy a gift voucher for myself, to pay for books that are often under a pound, because it saves having all the individual purchases showing up as a long list on my bank statement. My question is can you put a tag on the purchase of a gift voucher or is it only for the actual goods bought with it? If you can it'll be doubling the amount you get, so I suspect not.

[Michael]

Yes you can tag gift cards, they have a decent percentage as well (6% according to my reports).

[Jud]

Wow!

I was thinking, if anyone isn't sure about tagging the links for Amazon before buying stuff feel free to post it in here and I'm sure one of us will happily oblige by tagging it for you.