Seriously, We're Closing Up Shop
It's with deep regret that I write the following announcement. It's something I never conceived would happen, and yet here we are....
I want it known that this is not a result of any decision made by me; it's simply an inevitable result of capitalism.
Quite the contrary, I'd never abandon this.
First off, I've been working on this thing of mine since 2011, when I thought 500 readers a day was a lot. The truth is, writing, for me, is a sort of obsessive compulsive thing, and this blog, the perfect outlet.
Yikes! I read over what I'd previously written about readership level, etc. Every word of it was true, but it sounded so damn superficial to me that I needed to whack it out of existence. Writing about readership size is not among my favorite things. Reflection in general is best avoided, I've found.
Hopefully, the envelopes will even have something inside them.
Anyway, if you care, this is why Amazon is pulling the e-store plug....or, a-store plug, as they call it an a-store:
Why is Amazon retiring aStore?
aStore usage is very low among the associates community. Only 25% of active aStore pages actually lead to Amazon.com product sales.
The aStore product is not being utilized by new and experienced associates alike. New aStore creation has been stagnant the last three years, and less than half of existing aStores have been updated since 2014. Associates realize putting up sites that do little more than reorganize items from Amazon.com, does not attract or retain visitors.
It is proven that you earn the most with highly engaging and interactive content on your pages. aStore enables only a curated listing of Amazon products which typically means aStore sales have very little contribution to the overall sales generated by associate links.
There is no meaningful way to weave content around the lists created using aStore.
aStore has not shown monetization gain for associates. The initial click takes your visitors to a product page within the aStore and does not set the session cookie. This means your visitor could land on the aStore to visit and browse but not get attribution to generate fees.
aStore pages are not search engine friendly. They are treated like ad widgets by search engines therefore do not help the site to gain rankings.
aStore pages are not responsive and does not render well on various mobile devices.
This story mainly was an excuse to run the photo of Neil up top....
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| All good things must come to end.... right? |
I want it known that this is not a result of any decision made by me; it's simply an inevitable result of capitalism.
It's actually physically painful to make this kind of announcement, I'm realizing now, as I write this.
It's been years since we launched, but as the saying goes, All good things must come to an end...
I'm going to stop beating around the bush and tell you what's happening.
As of Oct. the Cosa Nostra News e-store will be shuttering its virtual doors permanently. As I said, this is not anything resulting from my choices. Rather Amazon is stopping the feature.
Wait a sec, I'm hearing a little chatter out there.... What did you think I was referring to? I'd certainly never stop writing this blog, if that was what you were thinking....(I'm sure a few were hoping exactly that.... ;-)
Quite the contrary, I'd never abandon this.
First off, I've been working on this thing of mine since 2011, when I thought 500 readers a day was a lot. The truth is, writing, for me, is a sort of obsessive compulsive thing, and this blog, the perfect outlet.
Yikes! I read over what I'd previously written about readership level, etc. Every word of it was true, but it sounded so damn superficial to me that I needed to whack it out of existence. Writing about readership size is not among my favorite things. Reflection in general is best avoided, I've found.
As I've said, I'll never stop writing this blog. My interest in organized crime may rise and fall slightly from time to time, but I'm a lifer --- and I'm a blogger at heart.
I am also an entrepreneurial wannabe, and I'm under the delusion that there's the potential that one day this blog will allow me to somehow make serious money.
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| Willie.... |
Some of my longtime sources have helped me out A LOT by simply talking to me and accepting my friendship (and my annoying habit of occasionally falling off the earth or, as someone told me yesterday, "pulling a Jimmy Hoffa") and telling me things they haven't thought about in years, painful things, while also subjecting themselves to the taunts of some readers. I have this dream that one day I'm going to pull a surprise visit on some of them who I consider friends and present each with an envelope, to show my appreciation.
Hopefully, the envelopes will even have something inside them.
Anyway, if you care, this is why Amazon is pulling the e-store plug....or, a-store plug, as they call it an a-store:
aStore usage is very low among the associates community. Only 25% of active aStore pages actually lead to Amazon.com product sales.
The aStore product is not being utilized by new and experienced associates alike. New aStore creation has been stagnant the last three years, and less than half of existing aStores have been updated since 2014. Associates realize putting up sites that do little more than reorganize items from Amazon.com, does not attract or retain visitors.
It is proven that you earn the most with highly engaging and interactive content on your pages. aStore enables only a curated listing of Amazon products which typically means aStore sales have very little contribution to the overall sales generated by associate links.
There is no meaningful way to weave content around the lists created using aStore.
aStore has not shown monetization gain for associates. The initial click takes your visitors to a product page within the aStore and does not set the session cookie. This means your visitor could land on the aStore to visit and browse but not get attribution to generate fees.
aStore pages are not search engine friendly. They are treated like ad widgets by search engines therefore do not help the site to gain rankings.
aStore pages are not responsive and does not render well on various mobile devices.
This story mainly was an excuse to run the photo of Neil up top....