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Using Amazon with Typepad

Typepad offers you the tools to integrate your Amazon Associates ID into links to Amazon products displayed on your blog, and you can also add an aStore to display a number of items on your blog.

Adding Amazon Associates ID

With a Typepad Pro plan, you can add your Amazon Associates ID to your Typepad account. Then, your associates id will be automatically linked to items added to Books and Albums TypeLists. When a reader clicks on an item in your TypeList and purchases it, you will receive credit to your Amazon Associates account.

If you do not have an Amazon Associates account, you can register here.

To add your Associates ID, go to Account > Other Accounts. Select Amazon from the drop-down menu and click Add.

  • Local Vendor: Choose the Amazon website that ships to your country. The options include Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.jp, Amazon.fr and Amazon.ca.
  • Associates ID: Enter the ID for your Amazon Associates account. You can find your ID by signing into your Associates account and looking under Tracking ID at the top left.
  • Wishlist ID: To find a wishlist ID in Amazon, go to Your Lists > Wish List and look for Tell people about this list on the top, left side. There will be a URL for "Your unique Wish List address is." Copy the ending string of letters and numbers. For example:
    http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/3S3ZNMBT00GA5

Displaying Amazon items with Books and Albums TypeLists

After adding your Amazon Associates ID to your Typepad account, you can add items from Amazon to a Books or Albums TypeList, and the links to the items will include your associates ID automatically.

After creating a Books or Albums TypeList, click the Add button. Enter a Keyword or ISBN in the Quick Add field and click Go.

Quick Add

A list of results from Amazon will display. Check the radio button next to the thumbnail image you want to display on your blog and click Choose Selected to add the item to your TypeList.

Adding Amazon Wishlist

At Design > Content, select Amazon WishList from the Modules list and click the Add This Module button. You will be prompted to enter the email address for your Amazon account. All public wish lists are eligible to be displayed on your blog. If your wish list is not public, no wish lists will be found. When your Amazon Wish List is located, you will be able to set the Title and number of items to include in the list. When your wish list is configuration is complete, click Ok. Finally, Save Changes to update your published blog.

For a blog using an advanced template set, we recommend using the Amazon widget for wish lists here: https://widgets.amazon.com/Amazon-Wishlist-Widget/. Enter the email address associated with your Amazon account and click Submit. You'll be prompted to configure your widget. Once complete, click the Add to my Web page button. Copy the code for the widget. (Do not select the Add To Typepad option.) Then, you can paste the code directly in your templates.

Adding an Amazon Widget

Amazon offers several widgets which you can add to your Typepad blog. From the Amazon Widgets page, click the Add to your Web page button for the widget you are selecting. You'll be prompted to customize your widget. Then, click the Add button when the widget is complete.

Finally, click the Add to Typepad link. You will return to Typepad where you can select which blog to add the widget and click Add Widget button.

Please note if you are using a Mixed Media Layout, Chrome Theme, or Advanced Template design, you will need to select to Copy the code for the widget. For Mixed Media Layouts, go to Design > Content and select to Embed Your Own HTML to add the widget code. With a Chroma Theme, go to Design > Custom Sidebar and add the widget code. With an Advanced Template set, you can add the code for the widget directly to the template.

Integrating an Amazon aStore into your blog

You can also set up an Amazon aStore to offer a full selection of items and receive referral earnings from these items. You can let Amazon suggest items for your store based on category or keyword, or you can choose items in your store individually and provide your own descriptions - like we've done at http://books.typepad.com/store/

You can create an aStore by logging into your Amazon Associates account and clicking the aStore tab. Follow the instructions to to create and customize your store. You can also customize the colors of your aStore to complement your Typepad blog.

Once your store is completed, you can get the link to your store. Here you will want to select the Embed my store using an inline frame option. Click to Highlight HTML and copy the code.

aStore

Within your Typepad account, create a New Page for your blog. From the HTML tab, select Convert Line Breaks and paste the code for your aStore into the Body field. Finally, click Publish to publish your aStore to your blog.

Now, you can include a link to the Page within the Navigational Bar below your banner image or in the sidebar with a Links TypeList.