Whether you are blogging for money or for pleasure, there are costs involved in maintaining your website. The Amazon Associates program offers a relatively simple vehicle for bringing in some cash to cover your costs, assuming you have readers who will buy through your website. The process of getting the widget is not rocket science. But if you are a middle-aged non technical blogger like me, it can take you a while to figure things out the first time. Staingirl Kaye and I hope that the instructions below make the process easier and faster for you. NOTE: These instructions assume you have already established an Amazon Associates account.

1) Once you have signed into your Amazon Associates account, click on the “Widgets” tab above.

2) Click on the “Add to your Web page” button of the widget you select.

3) On the left hand side, review your display options as well as the color and design to see whether you wish to accept the default display. Most of the options are self-explanatory. This article will discuss the changes most likely to affect your blog: size and color.

4) First, select the desired design displayed toward the bottom in the “Color and Design”.

5) The last option within the “display option” portion is size. The drop down menu for “Select size” contains standard widget sizes.
6) If these standard sizes do not fit within the space, click on “Custom size” Select. Select the desired width by moving the arrow on the line in the “width” section or by writing the desired width in the box provided. The widget will appear in the preview section to the right in the selected size. As a matter of reference, the ideal width of the widget for our sidebar is as of this writing 180. You may have to paste the widget more than once into your webpage to verify the appropriate size. Select the desired number of columns and rows.

7) You may change some color options for your widget by clicking on “Customize it….” in the “Color and Design” section. Click on the color boxes for each area available and select the correct color in the spectrum.

After accepting the widget as is, or making your preferred changes, click on “Add to my web page”.

9) A new screen pops up, click on “copy”.

10) Paste script in the appropriate place for your blog or website.