Pay for Christmas with Blurb
I get a lot of emails and questions asking about the best affiliate schemes to sign up for, and how to make money from them. Today I am focusing on one of my favorites and show how you could pay for Christmas with sales from Blurb.
So why do I recommend Blurb and what do they do?
(Keep reading for the extra special offer of a free photo book for all readers below.)
Blurb print books. Not just any books – they print books just for you, that you design. You design the cover and all the pages. You fill the book with all of your favorite images. But its not just images, you make the book entirely your own. Here are just a few ideas of books you could design and print with Blurb:
- Travel journal
- Event guest book
- Wedding photo book
- Baby’s first year book
- Pregnancy record and journal
- Cook book of your favorite recipes
- School year book
- Custom diary or notebook
- Fine art photo books
- Portfolio of your work
- Family photo books
- Graduation photo books
- Pet photo books
- Kids photo books
- Family tree or generational photos and info
- Anniversary photo books – great for a Silver Wedding
- Holiday books, Baby’s First Christmas, Father’s Day etc
- Tribute or memorial books
- Coffee table books
- and the list really is endless. Only limited by your imagination.
Why is a photo book such a great idea to promote at this time of year?
Everyone loves their family, and loves photos of their family. Christmas is coming and it’s the perfect time to year to promote this kind of product. Digital photos are great of course, but there is nothing more special than holding a personalised book in your hands with all of your favorite photos from the last year. Either made for yourself or made for a gift.
Ideas to think about:
- Family year book for yourself
- Gift for Mom or Grandma
- Gift for teachers
- Gift for new parents or newly weds
- A cookery book for your friend with all her favorite recipes
- A family tree book with photos of all the generations
- I’m sure you’ve got lots of great ideas too
Blurb offers a great deal for bloggers and affiliates for these reasons:
- Good rate of commission – 15% on sales
- $90 average order size
- Long tracking cookie – 120 days. So if someone clicks today and doesn’t buy until after Christmas, you still earn the commission
- Fabulous product – easy to promote for the holiday season especially
- Monthly newsletter with updates on promotions, contests, and sales opportunities
- THE BIGGIE – Blurb give all new affiliates a voucher for $33.95 so they can go to the site and design and order their own photo book for free!
Why is point 6 the BIGGIE reason for signing up with Blurb? Well, if you read my post about how to earn with affiliate sales – a case study, you will see that I recommend that buying the product yourself and personally reviewing and recommending it in a blog post is the number one best way to be successful and earn good money from affiliate sales. And with Blurb giving you this photo book for free – you have nothing to lose and lots of possible commission to gain.
Signing up NOW to the Blurb affiliate program will give you the opportunity to design and order your photo book and then time to review it and show your beautiful book on your site, just in perfect time for the holiday season coming up. Give your readers some great ideas for why they should design one of these books and who they would be perfect for. Then sit back, admire your free book, and count the orders and commission.
With the average order size of $90, each sale would earn you $13.50.
Even if you decide for whatever reason not to recommend Blurb on your site to try to earn a little extra money for Christmas – you still got a free photo book out of the deal just for applying to their program!
Sign up with Blurb as an affiliate here.
October 6, 2013 @ 10:07 am
I’ll come back tomorrow and click your link to sign up! Thanks!
October 7, 2013 @ 6:19 am
Thank you for the link! My mother just had to clean out the attic and found boxes and boxes of photos from my grandparents… this would be perfect! Julia
October 7, 2013 @ 10:25 am
Sounds like a great idea. I have been wanting one of these photo books for quite sometime. I’m going to have to look into this one more. Thanks for the tip! Have a great day!
October 7, 2013 @ 10:28 am
It’s a great opportunity just to get the book for free for yourself, even if you never decide to go on and promote the affiliate offer on your site! There;s not much in life which is free these days!
October 8, 2013 @ 1:37 pm
Hi Deby ! Thank you cause i just signed up and it really sounds interesting! I learned a lot from you ,such as how to set up mailchimp etc ! Thanks for that bytheway!..
x-Yasmina
October 9, 2013 @ 10:35 pm
I’m clicking right as soon as I finish this comment!! Thanks so much for sharing on All My Bloggy Friends!
October 10, 2013 @ 8:01 am
This is really neat, and I think it’s a great idea, especially this time of year! I’d love to make a great affiliate connection, but a free book regardless?? WIn win!! Thanks, I didn’t know about this one!
Found you at Reasons to Skip the Housework! 🙂
October 10, 2013 @ 8:32 am
Some offers really are a good deal whichever way you look at it!
October 10, 2013 @ 3:32 pm
Thank you for this great tip for an affiliate program. I love making photo books so this is great for me. Emily @ Love, Pasta and a Tool Belt
October 10, 2013 @ 6:17 pm
Thanks for a great idea to help save for the always overpriced Christmas! I will definitely check it out.
October 10, 2013 @ 8:05 pm
I wish they’d had the $33 voucher when I signed up as an affiliate. That’s a great deal!
Clickin’ in from Friday Flash Blog …
October 10, 2013 @ 8:19 pm
Stopping by from T.G. I. F. party~ Was just thinking I should look into this affiliate program~ It sounds fantastic~ Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines
October 10, 2013 @ 9:34 pm
What a great idea! Thanks!!!
October 11, 2013 @ 9:21 am
Thanks for sharing. I am going to try it for my first affiliate link.
October 11, 2013 @ 3:46 pm
Good luck with it Kathryn. It’s a great product and its the perfect time of year to promote it, so I hope you will get some good sales.
October 11, 2013 @ 1:36 pm
I signed up. Do you use the “Make a Page” and “Make a Video” option in Shareasale? If so (and if you have time) could you write a post sharing some of your page campaigns and how successful using those options has been for you. I couldn’t tell if these links were going to your special pages or to the site. You can email me directly if you choose, i’m desperately trying to up my anty in this affiliate marketing game. I have to say that i’ve been a little successful with Linkshare using them only on my Beauty Blog. They have all the good ones like Nordstroms, Sephora, Beauty Bridge, Beauty Encounter, bh Cosmetics, Saks (only 5% so I don’t really use them), Folica and so many more beauty related. So my post have been promoting specific products using the “Deep Linking” option and focusing only on sale items. This is saving me money because I was buying makeup and only writing makeup reviews. My sales has really boosted almost 100% with Linkshare. Now I want to focus on Shareasale and use my six other Blogs for the same way, i’m getting crazy desperate. My husband is retiring in March and I haven’t worked since 2008, thank goodness for Youtube and my Wigmaking business
October 14, 2013 @ 8:09 am
Hi Lily, no I’ve never used those options for make a page or video. I usually use simple text links and an occasional banner. I feel a text link doesn’t appear to add more advertising to the site in the same way it would if I added banners or product pages. Although I do have an Amazon store on my sewing site – but i gets NO sales. I should consider closing it really and promoting my ‘for sale’ patterns instead. It’s a great idea to promote sales on your site because, yes, no product to buy yourself and you are doing your readers a favor by saving them money too. Linking out to free content might also be a good idea – use your deep link to link to a page without any products – such as a make up tips or tutorials page. The affiliate link still counts. I do think makeup is challenging to sell online. Your readers can easily go to the dept store to buy it and would probably prefer to do so anyway because they get to see the product before choosing. The fact that you are making some success with make up and beauty products is very positive.
October 11, 2013 @ 11:55 pm
I signed up for Blurb. I read your blog frequently. I love all the blogging tips. I followed you on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google Plus. I was already following on Pinterest.
October 12, 2013 @ 6:58 am
That’s very nice of you to leave a message and tell me you find the site interesting. I’m glad it is helpful. I’ve been browsing your site too. Your weight loss is inspirational – I could certainly do with losing a few pounds myself so I’ll be reading all of your tips later today.
October 12, 2013 @ 2:19 am
This is great! I use to use Snapfish. But I may have to check them out. Thanks for telling me about them! I will have to feature them for Christmas.
October 12, 2013 @ 7:49 am
Such a great idea -everyone loves photobooks and we order a lot here around Christmas. Thanks for this great money-making tip!
October 13, 2013 @ 3:58 pm
Thanks for the info on Blurb. Hopefully this will help to bring in some extra money!
October 15, 2013 @ 7:38 pm
Hi Deby, thanks so much for sharing this great link at the Krafty Inspiration Thursday Party! I applied over the weekend and was just approved as an affiliate today. I can’t wait to get started.
Maria
October 17, 2013 @ 8:54 am
hmmm..this one too runs on Shareasale. somehow sharesale doesnt approve my blog (its been months since I signed up) I cant even figure out whats wrong
October 17, 2013 @ 9:55 am
Have you tried writing an email to ask them? Sometime just reaching out and saying that you are really keen and want to participate in this promotion, or work with a certain vendor can help and show you are serious about being a member. Give them a try, there’s nothing to lose.
November 28, 2013 @ 8:32 am
Thanks to your recommandtaions I cam to ShareSalesI do not earn a lot (maybe yet 😉 ) but it is easy programme with a lot’s possibilities.
January 25, 2014 @ 5:33 am
Yet another interesting post by you, wow you are simply great!! However i am unable to understand blurb too well. How can i make money by selling books on blurb- i mean can i create any book and then may be promote it on pinterest and earn? Is this so, please let me know
January 25, 2014 @ 9:03 am
Yes if you have some great content, such as recipes to share, craft ideas, beautiful photos, you can actually use Blurb to design your own book and have it for sale in their online store, so that people can go and order it. Its printed on demand and no doubt some bloggers probably do well with this. In this post however, I was suggesting using Blurb in the more traditional way that your readers would use it. To make a photo book of their year, their family or a special occasion and earn affiliate commission by sending them to the site. But that’s another great idea for a follow up post – I’ll ask around and see if anyone has done it.
January 26, 2014 @ 3:06 am
Just had a look at blurb, but i think its not free, that’s a major turn down
January 26, 2014 @ 7:27 am
The only thing at Blurb you have to pay for, as far as I can tell, is to have a book printed and sent to you. Joining, becoming an affiliate to sell their products, and designing a book for sale, those are all free.
January 27, 2014 @ 7:30 am
Thanks Deby, then definitely i will recheck it again