Need someone to lead product management at your software company? I build high-craft software and the teams that build it. I'm looking for my next opportunity. Check out my resume and get in touch.

Adam Kalsey

This is the blog of Adam Kalsey. Unusual depth and complexity. Rich, full body with a hint of nutty earthiness.

Content Management

Better Amazon links

Freshness Warning
This blog post is over 22 years old. It's possible that the information you read below isn't current and the links no longer work.

24 Aug 2002

Dori asked for an MTAmazon feature that would allow you to link directly to a product page instead of Amazon’s marketing page. She pointed out that if you add ref=nosim to the end of a product URL, you’ll bypass Amazon’s landing page for a product.

The other advantage to using this link format instead of the one that Amazon provides through their Web services interface is that you’ll earn a larger commission on products sold this way.

Amazon uses a special URL for their Web services links and that’s the URL that MTAmazonLink uses. Products sold through this special URL only earn a 5% commission. Products sold through a normal URL can earn up to 15%.

You can link directly to a product page by using this MTAmazon template code for your link:

<a href= "http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/<MTAmazonASIN>/<MTAmazonAssociateID>/ref=nosim/"> <MTAmazonTitle></a>

Recently Written

Product Add-Ons Are An Expansion Myth
Dec 1: Add-ons can enhance your product’s appeal but won’t drive significant market growth. To expand your customer base, focus on developing standalone products.
Protecting your Product Soul when the Same Product meets New People.
Nov 23: Expand into new markets while preserving your product’s core value. Discover how to adapt and grow without losing your product’s soul.
Building the Next Big Thing: A Framework for Your Second Product
Nov 19: You need a first product sooner than you think. Here's a framework for helping you identify a winner.
A Framework for Scaling product teams
Oct 9: The people, processes, and systems that make up a product organization change radically as you go through the stages of a company. This framework will guide that scaling.
My Networked Webcam Setup
Sep 25: A writeup of my network-powered conference call camera setup.
Roadmap Outcomes, not Features
Sep 4: Drive success by roadmapping the outcomes you'll create instead of the features you'll deliver.
Different roadmaps for different folks
Sep 2: The key to effective roadmapping? Different views for different needs.
Micromanaging and competence
Jul 2: Providing feedback or instruction can be seen as micromanagement unless you provide context.

Older...

What I'm Reading