Sell Posters Online, Or Why Being An Allposters.com Affiliate Is Pretty Nifty

So what's Allposters.com all about? Posters. Lots and lots of posters. A metric buttload of posters. More posters on more subjects than you'd ever care to think about. You'll probably be suprised to know that they also sell a lot of other products like tshirts, magnets, original artwork and even life-size celebrity standups. Their specialty, however, is clearly posters.

Allposters.com is one of the most popular and visible ecommerce sites on the net. Just google the word "posters" and Allposters pops up as the #1 result (or it does as of this writing, at least). It's a successful site to say the least, and by joining their affiliate program you can share in a bit of that success.

You sign up for an account and Allposters provides you with special links to place on your site. Each of those links includes a special tracking code that's unique to your account. If a person clicks on your link and subsequently buys something from Allposters.com, you get credit for the sale and earn a commission.

• It's Easy and Versatile
  Of all the affiliate programs out there, Allposters.com is probably the simplest and the most potentially lucrative. As I mentioned above, they've got every kind of poster under the sun: Movie posters, music posters, animal posters, fine art posters, flower posters, sports posters, anime posters, nekkid lady posters - you name it, they've got it. That means that no matter what audience you're targeting, you'll be able to find the right posters to sell to them.



• Big Fat Payouts
  You make a 20% commission on each sale you refer, which is very generous compared to other affiliate programs I've tried. Consider the fact that Allposters offers customers some pricey framing options for their posters, along with more high-end items like giclee prints, wall tapestries and original art. 20% on a single $19 movie poster is pretty good. 20% on a $140 framed art print is even better. 20% on a $300 wall hanging is practically orgasmic. Plus, if a customer comes back to Allposters within 10 days of clicking your link, you still earn a commission on any purchase they make.



• Perks
  Allposters.com actually lets you purchase items through your own affiliate links. Yeah, that's right. You're earning commissions on your own purchases. Or getting a discount on your own purchases. Or something. Either way that's a couple of bucks you get to save on that awesome Dark Knight poster you've had your eye on.
  
  Oh, and did I mention that it's free to sign up? Because it is.

Sounds tasty, doesn't it? Now wipe the drool off your keyboard. It's time to get down to business. Read on.

So after reading about all the groin-tinglingly wonderful incentives outlined above, you've decided you want to use Allposters to sell wonderful shiny pictures to wonderful shiny people. Great! So the first thing you need to do is sign up, post some links on your page and start selling, right?

Um, wrong.

I'm going to school you on the one point that a lot of people don't emphasize when they're introducing a website to you. You know that little checkbox and disclaimer you see on signup pages when you're signing up for a shopping site or social networking site or affiliate site or whatever-site? The one that says "I have read and agree to the Terms of Service?" The one you usually check as "Yes" even though you haven't read one single word? Yeah, that one. We've all skipped that step before. Goodness knows I have. But it's just not a good idea to ignore the rules, especially when you're working under the good graces of someone bigger and more omnipotent than you. So I'll just tell you straight up:

READ THE TERMS OF SERVICE.

Yes, we all hate that infinitely scrolling onslaught of mind-numbing legalese. Yes, it is the textual equivalent of chloroform. Regardless, you need to know the rules of the site that you're selling for. If you slip up and do something that's against the TOS you could get your account suspended or banned. If the company thinks you're being particularly obnoxious, they may decide to make an example of you. You could end up like these guys.

So long story short: Play nice and you won't get sent to the corner. And if you need clarification on something in the rules, contact the site directly for assistance. I had a question about linking techniques that was answered by Allposters staff within an hour. Your mileage may vary.

• An Allposters.com affiliate account
  First things first: You need to sign up for the Allposters Affiliate Program.




• A website
  Of course you need somewhere to paste your links. Got your own site or blog? Perfect. Don't have a website? Never fear. A Squidoo lens like the one you're reading right now is the perfect place to set up shop, and you can get yourself one just like it by signing up for a lens. Affiliate links are allowed on your lens. And yes, it's free.



• Traffic
  If you've already got a site with decent traffic, then you're well on your way to making at least some spare change with your Allposters links. If not, you'll have to build a following with advertising and SEO. In this case, I'm going to once again suggest Squidoo if you're just starting out. This is an established site that's spidered regularly by Google, and there are thousands of other people here to network with. Not only can you find potential customers here, but you can also uncover tons of valuable info from experts who have been doing the online-selling thing for years and years.

By now I'm sure you've noticed all the nifty images on this lens. Did I sign up for some unbelievably expensive stock photo site or did I simply gank them off the internet? Neither. They're from Allposters. Acting on a brilliant tip from fellow lensmaster enslavedbyfaeries,

I now use Allposters' massive inventory of images to pretty up my layouts or reinforce whatever point I'm making in my writings. I'm an Allposters affiliate so I can use them in this manner. You can too. Creating a website about Botticelli? Pepper it with images of his most famous works. Addicted to coffee? Show it. You're allowed to use the images to your heart's content, but only under the following guidelines (subject to change of course, per the TOS):

• You must be an Allposters Affiliate.


• You cannot alter the images. (no cropping, adding captions in Photoshop, etc)


• The image must link to the Allposters site using your unique tracking url.

As an Allposters affiliate you are given limited legal license to use those images. Step beyond that limit and you may incur the wrath of the copyright gremlins. Besides, why would you want to do it any other way? You're getting PAID to do it the right way. If only politics were like that.

Depends. There are some folks out there making enough to pay their mortgage. There are others who don't even make enough to pay for a can of soup. You'll just have to try it out and see for yourself. One thing I can tell you is that you should try to have fun with it. The less like work it seems, the more likely you are to keep plugging away until you meet your goal, whatever that goal may be.

So, ready to give this whole "selling posters online" thing a shot? Sign up and get started hawking all those pretty pictures.