It’s a pretty well-established rule that nonprofits should not have advertising on their sites. If you need a good explanation of why not, there’s a Nonprofit SOS post from earlier this year that covers it pretty well. The short story is, it dilutes your message and implies endorsement of the products being advertised. But what if the products match your message, and you have no problem endorsing them? Is advertising still so bad?
One case where I would argue in favor of advertising is the Amazon Associates affiliate program from Amazon.com. Associate sites make a percentage of purchases made by visitors that navigate from their site to Amazon. I’m definitely not advocating a big gaudy Amazon logo and search box in your sidebar, or a banner across the top of your site. But, when used in an appropriate and targeted way, Amazon affiliate links can not only provide an income stream for your site, but a service for visitors. Here are a few ground rules for using the program in the best way for both you and your readers.
Recommended Reading
One important criticism of ads on nonprofit sites brought up in the Nonprofit SOS article has to do with implied endorsement. Amazon Associates lets you choose to link either to specific products or to sections or even the Amazon.com homepage. By selecting products that are appropriate to your cause, you can make this endorsement perfectly clear. I can’t think of a single nonprofit organization off the top of my head that could not pick ten books that relate strongly to their cause. A homepage link or search box might end up making you more money, but what it costs you is control over your message. Always link to specific products, and make sure you are 100% comfortable with them. If you wouldn’t want them visible in your office, don’t link to them.
Separate the Store
Once you’ve assembled 5 or more products that you are comfortable selling on your site, set up a separate page for your site’s affiliate storefront, with a descriptive link in your main menu like “Store” or “Bookstore”. Keep the Amazon links all on that page, rather than in a sidebar or in your content. That way, the only visitors that see the links are those that know beforehand what they are going to see. Most visitors will come to your site through a link or search because they care about your cause, and because they want to learn more or help your organization. Don’t reward those good intentions with ads they didn’t ask to see.
Reviews
I’m going to contradict myself almost immediately here, and I apologize for that. In the last paragraph, I said not to embed Amazon links in your content. The one exception to this is a book or other product review. If a book comes out that is extremely relevant to your organization’s mission, and you have a blog-type site with fairly frequently updated content, you should absolutely be doing book reviews. Not only are you an authority on the subject of the book, but your perspective as a nonprofit manager will often give you a different take from traditional reviewers. At the end of these reviews, I think an affiliate link to the product is both appropriate and helpful to the reader. Make it perfectly clear that the site makes a percentage of sales. If you didn’t like the book, and write a scathing review telling readers how badly the authors got it wrong, obviously don’t link to it. Once again, the link is an endorsement of the product, and that should always be kept in mind.
No tool is right for everyone, especially in the realm of monetizing nonprofit sites, something that makes a lot of us more than a little uncomfortable. But if you can find products that you honestly like and use, and that are appropriate to your organization, why not give your visitors a chance to support you while also getting a product they want? With the holiday shopping season close at hand, it’s worth considering if this kind of program could help bolster your bottom line. If anyone has any experience or thoughts on this, positive or negative, I would love to hear them in the comments.