Amazon is slashing commissions

I remember a while ago Amazon used to pay you based on how much you sold. So if you sold 500 products you got 5% commissions and if you sold 1000 products you got 8% commissions.
That's when I started and when Amazon was an awesome affiliate program.
Then they switched it to commissions were based on the product you sold. So if you sold an outdoor product it was always 5% regardless. Home improvement was 8% and so on.
It probably cost me 30% of commissions.
It was bad but not horrible.
Now they're taking products that you used to make 8% commissions on and now make only 3% on:
This is pretty bad and I would suggest getting out of Amazon and signing up for other affiliate programs.
Most of these niches have other affiliate programs with better commissions.
You may also want to get into collecting emails and selling through emails (you can sell Clickbank products after a series of emails and stuff like that).
There's a lot you can do still so don't be frustrated. But the Golden Age of the Amazon Affiliate Program is over and it seems to just getting worst every single year.
Edit: This definitely doesn't kill the best of strategy. I just wouldn't link only to Amazon. Link to multiple programs (you can include Amazon if you want) with your best of posts. Diversify!
It is also important for the guys that are new to this to understand that Amazon is one of the easiest programs to get accepted for and might be the only option whilst you are building the traffic on your site. Many of the others will be looking for good monthly traffic to your site.
I know there are other options, but look around before judging Amazon as a bad move - it's always worth having them as part of your affiliate plan.
Just to confirm, I don't agree with what they have done, but they aren't the only company to slash commissions.
I do have some related questions. This goes out to everyone. Please feel free to comment.
First, though, I assume the following statements are true, but I may be wrong. So, again, please reply with your views if you disagree with any of these assumptions.
1) Those AMs who deliver value to their clients deserve to be paid well for their work.
2) Market structures change constantly.
3) We each need to regularly evaluate which partners are paying the most for our valuable services. Those are the partners who need us.
4) It only makes economic sense to serve those partners who pay well and who are honest in their own right.
5) "Google believes that pure, or "thin," affiliate websites do not provide additional value for web users, especially (but not only) if they are part of a program that distributes its content across a network of affiliates. These sites often appear to be cookie-cutter sites or templates [with] the same or similar content replicated within the same site, or across multiple domains or languages. Because a search results page could return several of these sites, all with the same content, thin affiliates create a frustrating user experience. Added value means additional meaningful content or features, such as additional information about price, purchasing location, or product category.*)
Question: What is the most time-efficient way to find good affiliate partners right now?
Question: Is it safe (sustainable) to use affiliate networks anymore?
My Experience So Far
Like many people here in the WA community, I am relatively new to AM. I must daily remind myself to focus on one core fact about our business that I would forget about otherwise. You see, I find that I am easily distracted by managing all of the moving parts needed to make a successful business, including finding affiliate partners.
In my opinion, I think we all know this, but for me, it bears repeating every day.
Our Core Mission
As affiliate marketers, we have one, core mission (and only one way to make money, when you boil everything down) - create value for 'our people' - our audiences - by providing unique, quality content and features online so those people are able to have better (i.e., easier, more informed, more fun) purchasing experiences than they would without us. Doing so is my definition of success as an AM.
If one does not deliver that value, then there is no reason for this kind of business to exist. Product manufacturers and service providers who create things of real value for other people will always be able to find their own customers without AMs (i.e., Amazon.)
So why are we here?
How do we become and stay relevant players in the market?
We need to become and stay experts at putting ourselves in the way of success by learning what 'our people' really want, and then figure out how to give them what they really want in ways that our affiliate partners cannot (or don't want to) do on their own.
And we must do it in an honest, ethical, and sustainable manner.
In my view, how people discover what they really want to buy will continue to evolve. Our 'core mission' as AMs must never change or there will no longer be a need for our skills.
Thanks all!
Todd
*Quote from Google Help
kind regards,
Roy