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Praise for the Extreme Review course!! Just one question though for the Amazon experts

by gwenhwyfar37
8 replies
Well, one day I took the bait and purchased "Extreme Review" by Erica Stone, and I am happy I did, seeing that I got so much for $29...a great investment!!


Sojourn, if you are here right now, here's a big shout-out!!


I was asked by Warrior Plus to rate the program, however I could not give my feedback not being a Warrior Plus member, but I'd have given it a full positive for the material's thoroughness alone :-)


If you are an Amazon Associates member (obviously experienced or well-versed) I just wanted to know, when is the time right to finally apply for an Amazon Associates account? I could wait til I have a sizeable traffic amount, I know, but seeing that we are just about to hit that season of shopzillas coming out of the woodwork (seeing that people treat "Black Friday" as practically the most important day of the year, almost, even more so than Christmas) I know that one the application you get asked about your traffic volume.


(And let's not forget about Cyber Monday, also important, and I love that day too, as per the fun of shopping part!)


I would say my proposed niche site has at least 10-12 articles so far right now; four of them being detailed product reviews.
#amazon #experts #extreme #praise #question #review
  • Profile picture of the author seobro
    Here is a heads up. Frankly, amazon is really clamping down more an more. What was OK before is not OK now. Just because you read it in a book, does not make it so. Great tricks might have worked years ago. Back then companies were a lot more generous. Please read up on the latest changes so that you do not run afoul of their new regs. Sadly, a lot of people have lost their accounts with amazon. Remember that amazon sees you as competitor or an enemy. I use to rec this enormous company. Hey, that is not longer my case.

    Amazon, New York Times Duke It Out Over Scathing Exposé

    Making them angry is so easy. Also, they will use excuses to not pay you. If they kick out, they will not let you back in. Best to keep your eyes open. Things to watch out for are:
    • Do not use in your web site amazon reviews.
    • Make sure you have image permissions.
    • Create unique content - do not copy.
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    http://www.seobro.com
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by seobro View Post

      Here is a heads up. Frankly, amazon is really clamping down more an more. What was OK before is not OK now. Just because you read it in a book, does not make it so. Great tricks might have worked years ago. Back then companies were a lot more generous. Please read up on the latest changes so that you do not run afoul of their new regs. Sadly, a lot of people have lost their accounts with amazon. Remember that amazon sees you as competitor or an enemy. I use to rec this enormous company. Hey, that is not longer my case.

      Amazon, New York Times Duke It Out Over Scathing Exposé

      Making them angry is so easy. Also, they will use excuses to not pay you. If they kick out, they will not let you back in. Best to keep your eyes open. Things to watch out for are:
      • Do not use in your web site amazon reviews.
      • Make sure you have image permissions.
      • Create unique content - do not copy.
      The article referenced here referred to the Amazon workplace - offices, warehouses, etc. - not associates. Further, even the execs at the paper acknowledged that the "expose'" relied way too heavily on the war stories of ex-employees. Again, not associates.

      While it is true that Amazon does view associates as competitors in some areas, most notably Adwords and similar PPC venues, they aren't out to get anyone. If they really wanted to eliminate such competition, all they would have to do is kill the associates program. A couple of keystrokes and an email and the competition would be gone.

      Amazon is not "easy to make angry" unless you try to cheat.

      They don't look for excuses to not pay you, unless you get caught cheating.

      If you do get to the point where they close you down and ban you, you do stay banned. They believe that a wolf in sheep's clothing is still a wolf, and they keep them from the flock.

      Use Amazon reviews and images in accord with the TOS and you're safe. Try to get clever with the TOS, and you're gone. This is definitely one case where it really is easier to ask permission than forgiveness.

      Creating original copy (too often 'unique' copy is not particularly original, just derivative) isn't the answer IF you go overboard with lies and outlandish claims. If you do it right, though, it is more effective than being just another copycat.
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  • Profile picture of the author gwenhwyfar37
    Thanks John! Honestly, I knew that there was and is a sticky post about Extreme Review (and a link to purchase it-which I must have done so from there) just haven't been able to locate it yet.


    I was very interested in Gaz Cooper's "Killing it with Amazon" program until I was informed that the forum there was a ghost town now (not to take anything away from the program, I'm sure it's good, I just heard people say it was expensive at $39 a month.)
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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      You should post on her thread for the review part of your post, or in the reviews area of the forum.

      As for the right time to apply for amazon associates - uh, like when you first set up your blog?

      Just do it already.
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      "May I have ten thousand marbles, please?"

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  • Profile picture of the author Stevie C
    As Gaz's partner in the AMZ Authority Zone I thought I'd comment. First off you made a good move purchasing Erica's Extreme Review a fantastic Amazon Resource and I have every product that Erica has released since 2011.

    But back to Gaz and My's Membership site you heard right regarding the forum being a ghost town. Everyone is given the opportunity to post their questions or opinions but sadly they don't. Gaz and I are totally transparent we will answer any questions on the forum, on our support desk or by personal email but very few take advantage of this.

    I was one of Gaz's first students and my success was due to constantly questioning on the forum I pestered Gaz every step of the way!

    Membership is $27 a month that can be upgraded to lifetime for $97 sometimes we offer a one off for $67 lifetime you can PM me if you want to know when our next offer is.

    As for applying for the Associates program As long as you have 5-10 well written articles on the site you should be fine. They are not interested in traffic, from the sounds of things you should be good to go.
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  • Profile picture of the author gwenhwyfar37
    Good to know, Stevie C! Did I mention that I totally dig listening to the English, when it comes to videos and narration? Seems you guys have got it going on!! A pleasure to listen to.


    And I just may give that AMZ Authority Zone the ol' college try; since I ended up being "gifted" with a free pdf download guide (about 50 pages long-I forget whose mailing list I was on, but it piqued my attention enough to want to learn more about your program!)
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  • Profile picture of the author Sojourn
    Originally Posted by gwenhwyfar37 View Post

    Sojourn, if you are here right now, here's a big shout-out!!
    So sorry I didn't see this sooner but thank you for the shout out!

    As for applying for your Amazon account, the process these days is that Amazon seems to auto approve an application but only as a 90 day temporary account. If you make a sale in that 90 day window they then review your website. If they find it suitable they'll make your affiliate account permanent. If they don't find it suitable, they'll close your account and give you some idea of what should be changed in order to reapply.

    If you don't make a sale in the 90 day window they close your account and invite you to reapply which gives you a new 90 day window.

    To me, this means that getting your site as ready as you can to make a sale in that first 90 days is beneficial. I usually recommend someone have 10 posts on their site and then apply but plan on continuing to add more content after you've applied in order to make sure you've given yourself the best chance of making that first sale.
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    Free blogging guide with clone site | Currently running: 6 Mos Amazon Affiliate Coaching
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  • Profile picture of the author gwenhwyfar37
    Great info there ! (Stuff I haven't came across on their site) Still plugging away here...


    Now I have come to the part about rich media elements....You and Gaz Cooper and Stevie C both recommend the use of videos to illustrate any important points, but I am trying to get my head around the whole thing about copyrights, what kinds of videos are appropriate and not appropriate to be used on my website; since technically they are owned by someone...I know that the "Share" feature once enabled is a big part of it, but I'm just wondering if I am missing anything here.


    My website's niche is on coffee makers and I'm also wondering if I should cite information such as "Keurig/Cusinart/Bunn/Mr Coffee, etc...is a registered trademark of XYZ industries, inc." I know that I can never be too professional here :-)
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