Linking to publisher?
August 13, 2019 9:26 AM - Subscribe
It would be nice to be able to link to publishers when posting books to fanfare in addition to the automatic amazon link. It feels like not giving full credit when the publisher doesn't get a shiny link, too. Maybe this feature already exists and I just don't know about it?
For instance, I just posted a book by Chelsea Green Publishing. I really like them! In case it helps, they have an affiliate program, too.
For instance, I just posted a book by Chelsea Green Publishing. I really like them! In case it helps, they have an affiliate program, too.
his is already an issue with Amazon, where (I'm pretty sure) Amazon.com is the default Amazon site, but members and visitors click on the links from around the world.
I'm in Germany, and clicking on the "Buy at Amazon" link sends me to Amazon.de. (Which was not what I was expecting, so thanks for making me try it out!) So there does seem to be some sort of regional recognition for Amazon.
It would be a great deal more complicated for publishers, assuming that it even makes sense in a lot of cases. Even just looking at English language books, you normally have at the very least a North American vs. UK/Ireland split, with different publishers. Sometimes though you can have even more, e.g. a book published in Ireland initially but later gets published in the UK and US. Then add translations...
But I would assume that this would only really wanted for specific publishers - where the publisher is more of a "brand" and acts as a distributor as well. I don't expect that anyone really cares whether it was Hachette or Penguin Random House (via one of their imprints) who published a book.
posted by scorbet at 5:25 AM on August 27, 2019 [1 favorite]
I'm in Germany, and clicking on the "Buy at Amazon" link sends me to Amazon.de. (Which was not what I was expecting, so thanks for making me try it out!) So there does seem to be some sort of regional recognition for Amazon.
It would be a great deal more complicated for publishers, assuming that it even makes sense in a lot of cases. Even just looking at English language books, you normally have at the very least a North American vs. UK/Ireland split, with different publishers. Sometimes though you can have even more, e.g. a book published in Ireland initially but later gets published in the UK and US. Then add translations...
But I would assume that this would only really wanted for specific publishers - where the publisher is more of a "brand" and acts as a distributor as well. I don't expect that anyone really cares whether it was Hachette or Penguin Random House (via one of their imprints) who published a book.
posted by scorbet at 5:25 AM on August 27, 2019 [1 favorite]
Yeah, I feel that it's kind of weird that Books get linked to Amazon, but TV/ Film links to IMDB.
Does someone at Metafilter have a grudge against Goodreads? Or are the automatic Amazon links ad-revenue-enabled? Why not do the same with TV/ Film if that the case instead of going to IMDB?
posted by porpoise at 4:02 PM on August 29, 2019
Does someone at Metafilter have a grudge against Goodreads? Or are the automatic Amazon links ad-revenue-enabled? Why not do the same with TV/ Film if that the case instead of going to IMDB?
posted by porpoise at 4:02 PM on August 29, 2019
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The former is an easier topic to discuss, and I think it's a pretty good idea. Personally, I tend to link to Amazon (dot com - US site) and Goodreads. Adding a 3rd link is a pretty basic change for individual MeFites, and could even be supported through the post prompt.
I think there's a complication here for the latter, as there are so many different publishers, and for MetaFilter to get enough hits to get paid out, it may not be worth the efforts to auto-generate affiliate links. But it looks like Chelsea Green Publishing currently 1) pays out a 15% commission on sales based on links from an image of the cover, a banner, or the company logo, which could work with the current FanFare layout, and 2) they use an affiliate platform, which could simplify coordination with publishers. But because this affiliate program requires images, it would only work on FanFare, as currently designed. If it were only a link, such affil. codes could be auto-inserted across the site.
Either way, this is an additional element/ feature, which would require input and review from frimble, if not cortex and the mods. You should probably send a note via the contact form, seeing as there's no reply here to date.
Parting note: I don't know enough about international distribution for books, but I know on the music side of things, you may have a number of different companies distributing the same album in different parts of the world. If books are similar, that means a lot more affiliate links. This is already an issue with Amazon, where (I'm pretty sure) Amazon.com is the default Amazon site, but members and visitors click on the links from around the world. Regional recognition (or user-set preferences) could (maybe?) be done, but I'm not sure if individual product links would work across different Amazon regions and domains, let alone trying to map out which publisher sells where.
In short: this could work decently if we assume the majority of readers are in the U.S., but we're also trying to broaden the appeal of the site, which significantly complicates automated referral link generation.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:41 PM on August 21, 2019 [1 favorite]