Fundraise by recommending good books
You have a large supporter base of interested people visiting your website. If you recommend them a book, they will pay attention and possibly buy it. If they do, you will get a percentage from Amazon.
You can use this to recommend good books that inform your supporters about your cause. If you're campaigning against corporate takeover of schools, recommend No Logo. If you're campaigning against union-busting companies like Coca-Cola, recommend Mark Thomas' Belching out the devil.
This is an all-round win. Your supporters are reading books that they enjoy, and that inform them about your issue. They'll naturally be better educated and more passionate about your cause. And if you've got high traffic on your website, all the small percentages will add up to a decent amount that you can use to pay for more good work.
A big mistake would be to create a section of your website where you promote books. Nobody will look at it, and nobody will buy the books. Don't create a book ghetto. Instead, recommend books amongst your regular content. Intersperse your campaign messages with book reviews of good, relevant books. Before long, this will turn into a steady stream of income.
Comments
Amazon
How much do Amazons offer as a donation to this project? Is it plausible to offer a recommendation through Housmans online Bookstore
the ethical alernative to Housmans?
William
Amazon vs. Housmans
Amazon give you 5-10% of the sale price. This can add up to quite a lot of money if your website is high-traffic.
When I posted this, I did have in the back of my mind that Amazon are a big corporation, and it would be better to partner with a more ethical organisation.
But at the moment, Housmans don't have an affiliate scheme. Websites have to choose between supporting a radical bookshop and earning money for their campaign. What would be really great, is if Housmans started an affiliate scheme. Then we could have the best of both worlds. Housmans?
Housmans Affiliate
That's an excellent idea, watch this space, I will keep you updated as this develops.