The next big thing? Affiliate opportunity - Sony eBook Reader
I remember at last year’s A4U Expo when I was on the “Ask the Super Affiliates” panel, we were all asked what the “NEXT BIG THING” will be. To be honest I don’t think any of us gave the real answer as why would we? We all wanted to keep our thoughts to ourselves so we could make the most of it with little or no competition.
The thing is that the “next big thing” comes along quite often, if you keep your eyes and ears open. Another case in point is the FitFlop. A few weeks ago there was some chat on the A4U forum about this product, so much so that a representative from FitFlop joined in the debate. So…always being on the lookout for opportunities I created my very own fitflop landing page and watched to see what would happen. Sure enough Google liked the post and before long I was appearing on the first page of Google for a load of fitflop terms and I’m making some nice money from it.
So this time I thought rather than cash in on the “next big thing” I thought I would share it with you guys. Not only that but I’m going to give one away too 
The product in question is the Sony eBook Reader. It’s available from Sony Style for £199 and as luck would have it, Sony Style have an affiliate programme on TradeDoubler whereby affiliates can earn 5% commission on this product. So approx. £10 a sale, not bad.
So what makes you think the Sony eBook reader is the next big thing?
A few things actually. When I read this piece in the Telegraph the following paragraph really stood out to me:
What has been the Reader’s impact in the US?
Last year, online book giant Amazon.com launched its Kindle reader and Sony introduced the Reader, which catapulted e-books into the mainstream consumer environment. Industry experts say that sales growth has been gradual rather than meteoric, but the fact that Amazon now offers more than 140,000 different titles for the Kindle demonstrates the potential.
It was the figure of 140,000 eBooks on Amazon that highlighted the potential for this product. Also, Waterstones will be supporting the Sony eBook Reader in the UK and already have about 25,000 titles to buy.
Want more? A bit of research shows that the product is certainly picking up press:
iGizmo
Trusted Reviews
Telegraph
PC Advisor
T3 online
Even though eBook readers have been around for a while, nobody has really perfected the technology and brought it to market. I think that’s about to change as the Sony model has the capacity to store up to 160 books on the reader (more via SD or memory card) and has decent battery life (7500 page turns on average). There is no backlight, it has clever “eInk” technology and is also very slim and lightweight, unlike previous models.
So, take all of that on board and the fact that we’re coming up to Christmas - I would certainly envisage there being a high demand for the Sony eBook Reader.
So how can affiliates capitalise on this opportunity?
PPC - You can’t bid on the brand term “Sony” but you can bid on “ebook reader” and variations. A quick check on Google shows that there isn’t that much competition on these terms, so I’m sure there is opportunity there. You could also get really creative and use the titles of some popular books that are available as eBooks in your search terms. These key phrases can be bought *really* cheaply and the volumes on some of them are huge.
SEO - As per my example with FitFlops if you have an established site/blog then why not dedicate a page to the Sony eBook reader and see how it fairs in the search engines? I’m thinking that there isn’t much competition about so you should be able to rank quickly and easily. Just in time for Christmas
The Sony Style affiliate programme on TradeDoubler is being managed by i-level and being on the ball, they already have some creative live featuring the Sony eBook reader. The guys at i-level are very keen to work closely with affiliates on this programme too and are available to help with enquiries and tips on how to get the best from the programme.
If you’re already signed up to the campaign please use this deeplink replacing XXXXXX with your TD affiliate ID.
http://clkuk.tradedoubler.com/click?p(57701)a(XXXXXX)g(17066594)url(http://www.sonystyle.co.uk/deeplink.do?s=external&ss=promotion_e-reader_en_gb)
If you are not signed up to the campaign currently, please go here.
Win a Sony eBook Reader
If that wasn’t enough then I’m delighted to announce that I’ve teamed up with i-level who are managing the Sony Style affiliate programme - to give a Sony eBook Reader to one lucky affiliate!
To be in with a chance of winning the excellent new Sony eBook Reader, simply put some links up on your site. When your links are live, please send the url along with your Tradedoubler affiliate ID to sonyaffiliates@i-level.com. Entries must be received by 13th September 2008 and one entry will be selected at random on that date to receive the Sony eBook Reader.
How easy is that? Fair too, as any affiliate can be in with a chance of winning. Good luck!!
What I’m listening to right now: Robin Thicke Feat Mary J Blige – “Magic (Remix)”