Wow, How Much Can I Make If You Click?

I have received this email twice now:

Hi Cara,

On behalf of B&H’s affiliate marketing team, I’d like to invite your blog to join our program and give you an opportunity to monetize your site.

You have a tremendous photography blog, and are exactly the kind of quality organization that B&H, the world leader in the photo and electronics industry, looks to associate with. I believe your members would find it useful if you featured a brand name like B&H on your page.

Just a quick run-down of our company, although you’re probably familiar with us:

With over 30 years of outstanding customer service, B&H has become a New York institution with a loyal local and international following. We are the largest retailer of photo, video and pro audio products. Our website features over 200,000 products and growing, with an easy to navigate user-friendly interface.

To sign-up for our Affiliate Program and read additional information regarding commissions and program details click here:Like many of our relationships with our successful affiliates, I believe this partnership will be beneficial to both yourself and B&H…and of course your readers. With the quality of your site, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t generate clicks and sales and profit from the program. Normally, we start off our affiliates with a 2% commission structure, but in your case I’d be willing to offer 2.5%. You’ll also get our “extended” cookie…meaning that if someone purchases a product after linking to us through your site within a three day period, you get credit for the sale. B&H only looks for sites with potential to align with, and we’d be honored to have you come aboard. My contact information is below, so feel free to call or e-mail me back at your convenience.

And I have to say it is tempting, but I figure I would get the occasional check for 16 cents out of it. I still don’t really understand how people make money off blogs or the internet. But if I could, I would be very happy. I have several projects I would like to begin, but all of them require $ $ $, and depressingly enough it seems that most grants got to those who are the least needy, case in point Elizabeth Peyton.

Peyton recently received over 50,000 grand from the Aldrich Museum to take snapshots of all her friends for fun. Because her Ryan McGinley fabulous NYC art life is ever so fascinating and important to document for future generations. Wow, did that sound bitter? She is certainly a very good painter, and if she was getting a grant to paint, great. When there are so many talented people out there who have amazing work to be made, and neither the resources to make it nor the outlet to show it (her images got a big juicy portfolio in the NY Times) it does seem unfair to give the money to someone with an abundance of both. But unfortunately that is how things work. I guess that is why over 1700 people have submitted to the Blurb contest, a $25,000 grand prize is a rare thing. Usually it is over a thousand artists competing for maybe a $1000 dollars, if they are lucky. It is not Ms. Peyton’s fault that the world operates this way, and all artists need support to work. And she should certainly be allowed and encouraged to make the art she wants to make. However it would be nice if they was more support for emerging artists. I am lucky to not have an outrageous amount of school debt, but I have enough. My sense is that most grants go to those in academia or who have very established names. Leaving the rest of us to be like the most Americans, crossing our fingers, and living with credit card debit. Hmmm… Maybe I will add B&H to my site, if you all click on them a couple hundred times a day and buy hundreds of thousands of dollars of photo equipment, I will have my own grant system:)