Amazon RSS Feeds for Your Squidoo Lens

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A Tool from SQUIDUtils.com

There is a special service for Squidoo Lensmasters whom are also Amazon Associates - RSS Feeds containing products from Amazon. You can put these feeds into your lens to show books, DVD, electronics and more from specific categories.

"But Why?" you may be asking.
"Squidoo already has an Amazon module."

Well, this is different for two main reasons; firstly the images are bigger, and secondly it has the product description which wraps around the image. Plus, you can choose to see items from a particular category or a Listmania list. also, your Amazon Associate tag will be included in the links, so you can potentially earn more revenue.

If you're still not convinced, have a look at the examples below.

Alternatively, you can paste static links into your text modules.
See the Amazon Link Generator for more information.

Amazon RSS Feeds: Features 

An alternative way to promote Amazon products on Squidoo

  • Display items from any category (browse node), Listmania list, or custom list of ASINs.
  • Explore the categories with the integral node browser. NEW!
  • Items are tagged with your Associate tag, so that you can earn revenue from sales.
  • RSS Feeds are available in 4 styles, including images, prices and Buy Now buttons.
  • Choose between left or right aligned images.
  • Formatting is specifically optimized for use with Squidoo, and so will look great whatever style you choose.
  • Feeds are automatically refreshed, so your lens is always showing the latest products.
  • Data is cached on the server to provide quick updates to your visitors.
  • Get it here: Amazon RSS Feeds for Squidoo

How to Add an Amazon RSS Feed to Your Lens 

A Step By Step Guide

  1. Add an "RSS Module" to your lens.
  2. Go to the Amazon Feeds page on SquidUtils.com.

    Amazon RSS Feeds

  3. Select which type of feed you would like:
    - top or new items with a specified category
    - items from a Listmania list
    - individual items selected by ASIN
  4. The first text box on the page requires the appropriate code from Amazon. If you're not sure what any of these mean, you can just paste in the entire URL from Amazon, and it'll be worked out automatically. More details about this is given below.
  5. The second text box is for your Associate Tag. If you are signed up as an Amazon Associate, you should know what this is. If you are not an Associate, then you probably better off using traditional Squidoo's Amazon modules.
  6. Below the text boxes are a number of options, which might include a product filter, which is specific to the type of feed you are creating. There are also 4 different styles of feed, ranging from plain text to fully featured.
  7. Once you are happy with your inputs, click on the [Get RSS Feed URL] button. The URL of your new feed will appear below the button. If you want to see what this feed will look like, click on "preview".
  8. Using the right-click menu on the URL provided, select "Copy shortcut" or "Copy link location".
  9. Paste the URL into a new RSS module on your lens, save it, and you're done.

    If the RSS module doesn't accept your URL, check that there are no spaces at the beginning or end of the URL.

What information do I need to provide? 

Here is more detailed information of what information you need to provide, and where to find it on Amazon.
  • For category feeds, you need the 'browse node id', which you can get by browsing the categories on Amazon. For example DVDs have the node ID "130". Subcategories will have their own node IDs. There is an interactive menu on the right-hand side of the page that will help you drill down to the node IDs that you need.
  • For Listmania feeds you need the list ID. The easiest way to do this is to find a Listmania list (they often appear in the sidebars on Amazon), and paste the whole URL into SquidUtils.com. (Read about Listmania)
  • For individually selected items, you need to provide a list of one or more ASINs, separated with commas. The ASIN can be found in the URL and on the page under 'Product Details'. Books have their 10 digit ISBN number as their ASIN, while non-book ASINs look like this: 'B000NK8L6W'.

Example: Amazon Listmania Feed 

With Descriptions and Images

Here are some items taken from a Listmania list, showing the comment by the list maker, the product description, images and prices. This list is also available with small pictures, or as plain text. Up to 5 items can be displayed.

The options used for this example are as follows:

  • The Listmania ID is 'R2NY6DSPUNH5QT'.
  • The style of the feed is 'HTML & Large Images'.
  • Image alignment is 'Right'

Loading Fetching RSS feed... please stand by

Example: Amazon Products by Category 

As a Grid of Images

This example shows 6 items from the 'Digital Photography Books' category on Amazon, without any text or description. You can choose to see just 3 items if you wish.

You can also choose between the 'Top Sellers' or the 'New Releases' for a given category. Amazon's category tree does go very deep, so you can get a very specific list of items.

The options used for this example are as follows:

  • Product Filter = 'Top Sellers'
  • Node = 3825141 "Digital Photography Books"
  • Style = 'Just Large Images (Grid)'

Loading Fetching RSS feed... please stand by

Get Your Amazon Feed

Visit SquidUtils to build your own Amazon RSS Feed. Step-by-Step instructions are available above.

More for Amazon Associates 

Add Amazon Affiliate Links to Your Lens
Here is a tool which generates a static version of the Amazon Affiliate Links, which can then be pasted into any suitable module (e.g. Text/Write).
RSS web feeds for tagged products
Get an RSS feed direct from Amazon for any 'tag'.
Amazon RSS Search Feeds
Create an RSS feed from any search query on Amazon.
eBay Product Feeds for Lenses - NEW!
This tool will generate a link to an RSS Feed containing eBay auctions, for use on a Squidoo lens. You can get feeds for a number of countries, and restrict the search by keywords and/or by seller.

Love This Tool? 

If you would like to rate this lens, then you can do so here (Squidoo members only)

Add this to your lens »

Reader Feedback 

I'd love to know what you think of this new service. Specifically, what features would you like to see added? If you have a style in mind that you think will work well, then let me know about it. Also, if you have any questions, submit them here...

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Also Available on Yahoo Pipes 

Amazon: Show Similar Items (RSS Feed)
This will generate an RSS Feed containing Amazon items that are similar to a specified ASIN or ISBN.
Amazon Items by Listmania ID (RSS Feed)
This will generate an RSS Feed containing Amazon items for a specified Listmania list. The List ID can be found by looking for /lm/RXXX/ on the URL, where RXXX is the list ID. Each item comes with a link and a description.
Amazon Items by Category (RSS Feed)
This will generate an RSS Feed containing Amazon items for a specified Browse Node (aka Category) . The node can be found by browsing Amazon.com, and looking for node=XXX on the URL, where XXX is the node number. Each item comes with a link and a description.

by thefluffanutta

I write about what I know, and I build tools for Lensmasters at SquidUtils.com. Read more about me on my Lensography, and follow me on twitter.
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