RE: Amazon associates are we.

Dan Kohn (dan@teledesic.com)
Mon, 25 Aug 1997 08:32:32 -0700


Brilliant job, Adam. Really nicely done. Now, the cash can start
rolling in. You know, if we just added a multi-level marketing aspect
to the plan....

The only thing to add to the FoRK book page is some text at the top
saying the whenever any FoRKer buys any book from Amazon, and has a URL
like:
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0345373162/7252-6257979-927080>,
you should delete the last string of numbers and replace it with
"forkrecommendedrA" as in
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0345373162/forkrecommendedrA>,
so that FoRK gets credit for that purchase as well.

And, we need to test whether FoRK gets credit for other books selected
on the same order (I would think yes).

- dan

P.S. Your link for Accidental Empires is missing the FoRK-URL.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: I Find Karma [SMTP:adam@milliways.cs.caltech.edu]
> Sent: Monday, August 25, 1997 2:55 AM
> To: FoRK@pest.w3.org
> Subject: Amazon associates are we.
>
> Okay, feel free to start recommending books...
>
> ------- start of forwarded message (RFC 934 encapsulation) -------
> From: associates@amazon.com
> To: adam@cs.caltech.edu
> Subject: Amazon.com Books: Thank you for your application
> Date: Mon, 25 Aug 1997 01:13:10 -0700 (PDT)
>
> Thanks for submitting your application to participate in the
> Amazon.com
> Associates Program. Your application has been temporarily approved.
> We'll contact you by e-mail once we have reviewed and approved your
> application.
>
> *Important*: Be sure to save this email message--you will need some of
> the information here to properly set up your links to Amazon.com.
>
> You can set up your Web site now. You have been assigned a unique
> Associates ID. You'll use this ID when linking your sponsoring Web
> site
> into our catalog; detailed instructions are included at the end of
> this
> message.
>
> Your unique Associates ID is: forkrecommendedr.
>
>
> USING THE AMAZON.COM BRAND NAME
> ---------------------------------
>
> As you may already know, Amazon.com has received a great deal of very
> positive press coverage since we opened. From The Wall Street
> Journal,
> Newsweek and the Associated Press to PC Magazine and WebWeek,
> mainstream
> and industry press alike have helped to make the Amazon.com brand name
> one of the more well-known among Internet sites.
>
> Our extensive advertising campaign reaches users of many major Web
> services and search tools, and our printed ads are found in places
> like
> the New York Times Review of Books. You should consider using not
> only
> our name but one of the logos or banners found on our site at:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/assoc-art.html
>
> so that your visitors have the chance to recognize our name as a
> familiar and trustworthy Internet retailer working in association with
> you.
>
>
> SUGGESTIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL PRESENTATION:
> -------------------------------------------
>
> We've put a page on our Web site filled with suggestions for building
> a
> great online bookstore. These tips are taken from our most successful
> Associates, and we highly recommend reading them. Follow the link on
> our home page to "Build Your Own Bookstore", and from there link to
> "Build a Great Bookstore". You can also connect directly at this URL:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/assoc-success-tips.html
>
>
> HOW TO LINK INTO OUR CATALOG:
> -------------------------------
>
> You can use any sort of book descriptions, review material and
> graphics
> that you like when describing books on your Web site. All we need is
> a
> separate link into our catalog for each book you wish to recommend.
> You
> may add or remove these links at any time without our prior approval;
> as
> long as they follow the prescribed format we'll detect them
> automatically when they are used.
>
> Each link to our catalog will be the same except for the ISBN of the
> book. You'll see the "isbn=" part of the link at the end of each
> example below. To find the ISBN of the book you wish to list, use our
> Web site and search for that book with any of our search tools. The
> ISBN for each edition (hardcover, paperback, book on tape) is
> displayed
> on the detail page for that book.
>
> Remember--you may change which books you list whenever you like. You
> won't need our permission and it's not even necessary to advise us of
> the changes--they'll be automatically detected and commissioned
> properly.
>
>
> EXAMPLE:
> ----------
>
> For each book you recommend, link it to us like this:
>
>
> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=1234567890/forkrecommendedrA/
>
> Note: You *must* use a capital A at the end of this link, not a
> lower-case a.
>
> Of course, the ISBN will change for each book. Do not include any
> spaces or dashes in the ISBN when making these links. Also, make sure
> to check our catalog first--we can only sell what's listed there.
>
> VERY IMPORTANT: If you copy the URL of a book page from our Web site
> and
> modify it to fit the format above, be sure to remove the 19-character
> shopping basket ID that appears at the end of the bookmarked or copied
> URL. Your store code should immediately follow the ISBN as in the
> example above. If you leave this in your modified links, they will
> not
> work properly.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
>
> The information we have about your Web site is as follows:
>
> Recommended Readings for the members of the FoRK mailing list.
>
> Archive:
>
> http://pest.w3.org/FoRK-archive/
>
> FAQ:
>
> http://www.cs.caltech.edu/~adam/local/faq-fork.html
>
> Recommended reading list:
>
> http://www.cs.caltech.edu/~adam/local/fork-books.html
>
> Sponsoring Web site name:
>
> FoRK Recommended Reading
>
> Sponsoring Web site URL:
>
> http://www.cs.caltech.edu/~adam/local/fork-books.html
>
> Your Web site name, in the format we may use on our website:
>
> FoRK Recommended Reading in association with Amazon.com Books
>
> ---------------------------
>
> If you have any questions, you can e-mail us at associates@amazon.com
> and we'll be happy to help.
>
> Once again, thanks for your application.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Associates staff
> Amazon.com Books
> http://www.amazon.com/
> 2.5 million titles, consistently low prices
>
> ----
> adam@cs.caltech.edu
>
> How did you do it? You know, evolve, survive this technological
> adolescence without destroying yourself?
> -- Contact