The D20PFSRD Open Gaming Store Wants to Help You Make Money

Are you a gaming blogger? Do you write popular, in-depth reviews on gaming books, rules, and settings that make your readers go out and buy books? Well, if you are, then the Open Gaming Store wants you as an affiliate marketer!

Yes you! No, not you... the pretty one!

What's Going on Now?

Perhaps I should begin at the beginning.

If you're a fan of Pathfinder, you've likely been to the D20PFSRD. It's the site that has a huge repository of information, including most of Paizo's published material, and a huge chunk of third party material as well. You're probably aware, too, that the site boasts the Open Gaming Store, which is the go-to place for many gamers who want to browse through big and small publishers alike.

The Open Gaming Store is currently accepting applications for affiliate marketers.

What is That, and How Does it Help Me?

I talked about this more in-depth in my post How To Make Money on Your Blog With Affiliate Marketing, but I'll give you a simple example for quick clarity. Let's say that you are an RPG blogger, and you are a fan of a particular third party book that doesn't get a lot of press. A book like The Demonologist, from TPK Games, which is all about an infernal-themed summoner archetype. You write an article about how cool the demonologist is as a class, and you put a link for people who want to check out the book. For every person who clicks your link, and then buys a copy of the book through you, the Open Gaming Store gives you a commission.

How big of a commission? 5 percent of the customer's purchase.

Be honest, you've raided dungeons for less than that.

That 5 percent might not sound like a lot, but it will depend directly on your readership, and how popular your particular post is. After all, the more people who check out your proposed character build for a devil-summoning spellcaster, the more people you expose your link to. And, if you're lucky, your readers will come to trust your recommendations, and they'll see what you have to say about a product before they get it. Which gives you a change to put your commission link in front of their faces before they go off and spend their money without your involvement.

You are being paid because you're helping the Open Gaming Store make money. The more they make, the more you make.

How Do I Get In On This?

If you want to roll up your sleeves and start making some commissions, then all you have to do is contact the Open Gaming Store, and ask to become part of the program. You fill out a simple form, and then boom, you're ready to get started.

Have you started yet?

I have, since you asked, Perturbed Swan. In fact, I've been poking around my dashboard for several days now, figuring out how all the gadgets work, and how I can incorporate them into my past and future posts here on Improved Initiative.

So, if you've been waiting until now to pick up some of the products I've had a hand in creating, why not get them through these links?

- Feats Reforged IV: My first major project from Total Party Kill Games, I went through all the feats in Ultimate Magic, and juiced them up a bit.

- Feats of Legend: The Celestial Feats: A list of 20 feats brought to you by myself, and talented designer Simon Peter Munoz. If you want angel's blood flowing through your heroes, this one's not to be missed.

- Feats of Legend: The Infernal Feats: A list of 20 blasphemous feats, used by devils and devil-hunters alike.

- The Demonologist: I already listed this one, but the Demonologist is too much fun to miss. If you're worried your DM won't let you have something evil in game, relax, yours truly created a good-aligned archetype for this hellraiser that's included in the book.

I'm sure this list will get longer, and quite soon. I'm wrapping up a lot of projects, and I can't wait to tell you all about them!

As always, I hope you found this week's Moon Pope Monday post informative. If you know anyone who wants to turn their hobby into an income stream, if not an actual career, make sure you spread the word! If you'd like to help fund Improved Initiative, but you don't feel a need to buy any new gaming books, then why not stop by The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page? All it takes is $1 a month for me to keep bringing you the sort of content you want to see. Lastly, if you haven't done so already, why not follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter?

The D20PFSRD is Now on Patreon!

The D20 Pathfinder System Reference Document, located at www.d20pfsrd.com, is one of the most popular resources on the Internet for Pathfinder players. A collection of every resource players need from the Core Rulebook to obscure supplements like Bastards of Golarion and Blood of the Moon, this site makes it possible for players who can't afford hard copies to still play the game with a full library. It even collects third party supplements, providing the information free of charge to anyone who wants to pop in and have a look around.

It even has obscure relics like The DM's D20!

The site, for those who don't know, is run by John Reyst. John is a long-standing member of the gaming community, and he's been rolling the bones since there was only one edition of Dungeons and Dragons. What surprises most about John is that he isn't a big-name RPG developer. He isn't an industry insider, and he's not even a third party publisher (not in the strictest sense, anyway). John is just a gamer who loves Pathfinder (at least as much as the rest of us do), and he wanted something similar to the system reference document that was available when Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 was the mainstay.

So he made one. Because no one else was doing it the way he thought it should be done.

The result is a website that has made all of our gaming lives that much easier. It's also made it possible for John to pay some of his bills, and to take care of his family. In case you didn't know, that's what the store on the site is for, along with all of the ads you see every time you're clicking around to see what traits you may have missed for your new character.

The key word there is some.

The D20PFSRD is a useful, as well as gigantic, undertaking. With the constant releases from Paizo, as well as third party publishers, there's a ridiculous amount of work that goes into keeping it up to date. Even with helpers, it's more than a full-time job. The problem is that it's falling a little short.

That's where we come in, because the D20PFSRD now has a Patreon page!

Bribe The DM, Go Up A Level!

Why should you become a patron for the D20PFSRD? For one thing, if you use the site then you recognize it's a resource for you as a gamer. That means if you don't support it, and the person behind it, then there's a chance it might go away. Secondly, if you fund the site then you're likely to see it grow bigger, better, and faster. More updates, more material, and Reyst even hinted that if he had the funding then readers might see a lot more independent projects from the site.

Do you want to see that? Then go and become a patron today!

Also, if you're throwing patronage around, feel free to stop by The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page if you'd like to support Improved Initiative! Also, to make sure you don't miss any of my updates follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, or Twitter.