Amazon has become one of the largest online retailers in the world, selling everything from books to furniture to electronics. And it's not just because they're such a big company—they also have some pretty awesome deals on their products.
The beauty of shopping for anything through Amazon is that you don't even need to physically go into a store or browse around someone else's inventory before deciding whether something will look good in your home. It's all done right there in your browser while sitting at work. But did you know that if you use Amazon to shop for things like groceries or household items, then you could potentially earn yourself extra cash as well? You'll actually get paid to buy stuff! That's called affiliate marketing, which we're going to explore below.
In this article, we'll discuss what exactly are Amazon Associates (or "affiliates") and how they earn commissions when people click on their links to purchase certain types of goods. We'll explain why you might want to consider becoming an Amazon Associate and give you tips on how to start making money today by joining the program. Let's dive in!
There are two ways to sign up to sell Amazon products as an associate: One route involves getting approved first so you can receive payment directly into your bank account each month. The other option allows you to keep 100 percent of the commission when shoppers decide to purchase something via your link, without having to wait for monthly payments.
If you choose to set up your own website(s) using Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, etc., then you'd probably opt for direct deposit since those sites offer merchant accounts. If you already have a site, however, you may want to try setting up a Fulfillment By Amazon page instead. This lets you process orders through Amazon itself, which means you would only pay $0.30 per item sold rather than the standard $1-plus fee charged by most websites. In addition, you wouldn't have to worry about any shipping fees. All customers who order through your Amazon pages will see prices displayed in U.S. dollars, regardless where you live.
Either way, once you've been accepted as an Amazon Associate, you'll be able to claim a percentage of sales made using your unique ID code whenever anyone clicks on one of your Amazon product links. How large that cut is depends entirely upon the amount of traffic generated by your content. For example, a newbie blogger who writes three blog posts every week but gets just 1,000 visitors total over a year will likely earn far less than a more established writer whose articles regularly attract thousands of readers.
But let's say you wrote 10 blog posts last week and got 500 views total. Assuming you earned 0.5% of each sale, your earnings were $25, plus whatever Amazon pays its associates based on volume.
So now you know how much you stand to earn as an Amazon Associate —but how does Amazon determine how much you should get paid? To learn how Amazon calculates these commissions, read on.
An Amazon Partner is simply somebody who earns a regular paycheck from Amazon for promoting specific products. They typically fall under either the Direct Selling Businesses or Retail Categories categories. As of 2019, Amazon partners must adhere to strict guidelines regarding the number of hours worked each day and the type of materials promoted.
Direct Sellers aren't required to meet Amazon's minimum requirements, although many seem to believe otherwise. One popular Facebook group claims that one person makes seven figures annually working full time as a direct seller, but this is highly unlikely given that sellers spend countless hours updating listings, completing paperwork, managing customer service issues, and responding to emails.
Retailers are limited to spending 40 hours per week promoting Amazon products, though many choose to devote more time to doing so due to better earning potential. Amazon mandates that no more than 35% of retail category promotions can consist of promotional material containing images or video footage. However, Amazon doesn't outright prohibit the practice altogether. Instead, it requires advertisers to disclose that fact upfront.
As long as you follow Amazon's rules and stay within the parameters outlined above, you shouldn't run afoul of the platform's advertising policies. Plus, you won't risk violating regulations since Amazon isn't involved in facilitating transactions between buyers and sellers themselves. Rather, it merely facilitates delivery of the purchased items after the deal is completed.
While earning a steady salary from Amazon is possible, it takes a lot of hard work. Be prepared to put in 12+ hour days if you really want to maximize profits. With that said, here are some helpful resources if you plan to pursue a career in retail marketing.
Now that you understand what Amazon Partnerships are, let's talk about how to earn money with them.
To begin, you'll need to create an Amazon Wish List, which serves as both a cataloging tool and a useful resource for shoppers looking to find special gifts for friends and family members. Once you add items to the list, you can promote them to others via email, social media platforms, forums, blogs, and elsewhere. Here's how to do it:
Go to My Account & Lists.
Click Create New List.
Type in a name for your new list.
Choose Items.
Select Add to wishlist button. Then enter a title and description for the selected item. Click Save.
You can also post items to your Wishlist publicly, meaning everyone visiting your profile will be able to access it. To do so, open the item's listing in a web browser, scroll down until you spot the Share with Friends section, and select Post Publically. Anyone who visits your profile page will also automatically see your updated Wishlist status.
Once you've added the desired item(s) to your Wishlist, proceed to step #4 below. Otherwise, skip ahead to Step 5.
After adding the product(s), you can immediately send promotional messages to potential buyers via text message, phone call, or email. Whenever someone buys an item using your promotion code, you'll receive a portion of the profit.
Here's how it works:
Navigate to the relevant Amazon Product Page.
Underneath the Buy Now button, locate the Promo Code box. Enter the promo code you received in the confirmation email you sent earlier.
When prompted, confirm that you agree to the terms and conditions listed.
Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and check off the box labeled Continue Shopping.
Continue browsing Amazon for additional items. Or, hit Continue Again if you changed your mind about buying the current selection.
Your credit card will automatically charge at the end of the transaction. When you log into your Amazon Payments account, you should see a pending charge notification.
Keep in mind that you cannot track individual purchases unless consumers provide consent during checkout. So, you won't be notified about every single sale.
With the steps laid out above, you can instantly turn your Amazon shopping experience into a lucrative side gig. Not sure how to start? Try sharing informative guides and ebooks related to topics like personal finance, business management, health and fitness, dating advice, DIY projects, and more.
And remember, you don't necessarily have to write and publish your own content. There are plenty of high quality content creators available who specialize in writing reviews, posting videos, creating infographics, editing photos, designing graphics, and providing podcast recommendations. Many experts recommend outsourcing the creation of original content, especially if you lack expertise in niche areas.
Also note that Amazon offers higher rates for premium subscribers compared to free users. Subscribers can enjoy unlimited skims, whereas non-subscribers are restricted to five per month.
Forums are another excellent source of targeted traffic. People tend to flock to communities composed solely of likeminded individuals interested in similar hobbies or goals. Take advantage of this tendency by finding active groups related to your interests and offering insightful commentary on topical matters. Just ensure that you stick to the topic at hand and avoid spreading misinformation.
Finally, you should always strive to increase engagement among viewers. Engagement refers to the overall level of interaction taking place throughout your YouTube channel, including likes, comments, shares, subscriptions, and dislikes. Keep tabs on metrics like watch time, subscriber count, and average view duration to help improve the performance of your content.
Not happy with the results? Donate to Fundable's creator community fund. You'll never know what impact your contributions had on creators worldwide.
Amazon is one of biggest names in online retail, and it's easy to see why. It offers over 100 million items for sale on its website alone, including books, electronics, home goods, clothing, foodstuffs... pretty much anything you could want or need.
And that breadth means there are plenty of products available to sell for Amazon's platform—and lots of them have been doing just that since 2004. As an Amazon Associate member, you'll earn commissions from each item your visitors click on after they've landed on your site through links provided by Amazon itself (or any other seller). The more popular your content gets, the better!
In this article we will explain what exactly being an Amazon Partner involves, how to apply to become one, and some tips to help you succeed as an Amazon Partner.
Being an Amazon affiliate isn't particularly difficult. You don't even need your own product to use their services—you simply sign up and wait for orders to come into your inbox. Your job is to promote Amazon products using various methods, such as email marketing campaigns, blog posts, social media advertising, etc., so people visiting your page would end up buying those products if they were interested in them.
The commission rate varies depending on which product category you're promoting, but generally ranges between $3-15 per referral. For example, if someone clicks on a link and buys something worth $90 within 30 days, you'd receive 10% of the total purchase price ($9), minus whatever fees Amazon charges for processing payments. So, let's say Amazon takes 2% off the top to cover things like credit card transactions and refunds. That leaves 8 cents left for you. Pretty sweet deal right?
But keep in mind that these numbers go down significantly when you factor in competition. If you run a blog, then you're competing against thousands of blogs with similar topics. How good are your chances of getting readers who actually care about the topic of your blog post? On average, most bloggers only see around 1 percent conversion rates. Which means that you probably won't convert many visitors unless you provide really interesting content that others find valuable enough to share. In addition, every time you write a new post you must maintain existing traffic while also attracting new audiences. This makes blogging quite competitive compared to selling on Amazon, where all you need to do is send emails.
So, becoming an affiliate marketer may seem daunting at first sight, but once you dive deeper you realize there are several ways to maximize your efforts.
As mentioned above, the payouts depend on which product category you choose to target. Typically, you'll earn either a flat fee or percentage of sales based on the type of business relationship you establish with your customers. Let's look at both options below.
Flat Fee - This option gives you a fixed amount of money without requiring you to reach specific revenue goals. Basically, you receive a certain number of dollars whether the customer purchases something or not. A lot of times this kind of arrangement happens when you refer prospective buyers to another company that handles billing for you. An example might be when you refer potential clients to a mortgage broker who processes loans for multiple banks. They handle everything related to lending, paperwork, and invoicing, so essentially you give them permission to access your list of leads and charge them a small monthly service fee instead of paying them directly.
Percentage Based Fees - Here, you earn a portion of the profit generated by your referrals. Depending on the product you promote, you may receive anywhere from 5% to 75%. This depends on factors like how well targeted your promotions are, the popularity of the product, and the actual value of the product. Since you're earning smaller amounts than in the case of flat fees, the goal is to increase conversions as high as possible. Generally speaking though, the higher your conversion rate, the greater your earnings.
There are pros and cons to both types of arrangements. With flat fees, the risk level remains low because the payout never exceeds the initial investment made. However, you won't receive full compensation until the final transaction has taken place. Also, it's harder to predict your earnings here due to fluctuating demand. When dealing with percentages, however, you should expect larger paychecks upfront. But, the downside is that you may feel tempted to take shortcuts like offering lower prices than the normal ones. After all, you know you can always offer additional discounts later on if needed. However, this often results in lost profits and devalued brand reputation.
On the whole, choosing the latter approach seems preferable given the fact that you get to enjoy bigger rewards sooner rather than waiting till the end. Plus, you avoid missing out on future discount opportunities.
To begin, head over to the official Amazon Associates page and fill out the application form. Once approved, you'll be able to create custom URLs that direct users back to Amazon's main site whenever you mention particular items. These URLs appear in emails, ads, articles, or wherever else you wish.
You can also set up customized landing pages featuring special deals for your audience. Then, add different banners and text links pointing to appropriate products onto your webpages. Be sure to include the correct URL associated with each banner/link so that shoppers can easily navigate back to your site. To improve your rankings, try reaching out to influencers via Twitter or Instagram. Share relevant information about the products you recommend, ask questions, and encourage feedback from followers.
Once you decide to launch your campaign, make sure to stay consistent in terms of posting frequency, style, tone, and urgency. Try to refrain from writing too frequently about the same subject, otherwise your audience may lose interest. Keep your language simple, friendly, and professional. Avoid spamming keywords in general. Instead, focus on providing quality content that your subscribers appreciate.
If you ever run short on ideas, check out our helpful guide on creating compelling copy for your promotional materials.
Once you start seeing a steady flow of visitors coming to your site, you can gradually decrease your ad budget to save money. Over time, you can afford to spend less and less on promotion altogether.
Becoming an Amazon Partner doesn't necessarily require you to buy expensive software or invest hundreds of hours into research. There are three primary steps to follow:
1) Registering for free accounts
2) Creating personalized URLs
3) Setting up a dedicated domain name
Step 1: Registering for free accounts
Head over to Amazon Associates' Sign Up Now page. Fill out the registration forms carefully. You can skip step 4 if you plan to build your websites elsewhere. Choose a strong password for your account and enter your real birthday. Don't forget to verify your identity, especially if you intend to use personal data collected during checkout.
After signing up, you'll have immediate access to tools designed specifically for Amazon Partners. Among them are order management apps, tracking systems, reporting dashboards, analytics platforms, and a marketplace to browse and compare products offered by sellers. Most importantly, you can utilize the Amazon Advertising API (application programming interface) to power your campaigns.
When building your website, consider adding unique AMP version code to your pages. Doing so lets Amazon show advertisements next to search engine listings and organic results. By enabling this feature, you guarantee yourself visibility on the world's largest eCommerce store regardless of competitors' actions. If you currently operate a WordPress site, you can install Google Ads Manager Plugin [No Longer Available].
This plugin allows you to display ads across different domains and monetize them accordingly. Moreover, you can track user behavior, adjust budgets, and customize creative elements such as colors, images, fonts, position sizes, etc.
However, before launching your campaign, test drive the system yourself to ensure that everything works properly. Make sure you understand the technical requirements necessary to host AMPs on your sites.
We hope you found this article informative! We invite you to leave comments regarding the issues discussed. All submissions are read, appreciated, and if applicable, answered. Do note that no question is considered stupid. Should you still have doubts, visit this FAQ section.
Amazon has become one of the largest online retailers in the world, and its affiliate program is no different. The company's network spans more than 100 countries around the globe, making it easy for anyone to earn extra cash from their home using just a few clicks.
In this article we will cover everything you need to know about earning money as an Amazon affiliate member. So let’s get started!
First things first—what exactly are affiliates? In simple terms, they're people who have joined Amazon's affiliate program. Each person gets access to special links that allow them to promote products on behalf of Amazon. These links redirect customers to Amazon when clicked, which means all affiliates receive commissions after each sale based on various commission tiers.
The amount these special links pay out depends entirely upon what product or service you choose to sell. You'll find tons of information regarding Amazon's payout rates on their official website.
Here's an example of two unique affiliate links (one red, one blue) used by popular sellers on Amazon. Note that while both links take users directly to the same page, the blue link pays $5 per click ($25/m), whereas the red link only pays $2.50 per click ($12.50/m). This is because the seller offering those particular products chose to offer higher-value items through the red link, so there was less incentive for clicks.
If you want to learn even more about your own potential earnings via Amazon, here's a helpful calculator that helps determine your potential monthly revenue if you were to use one specific link. By entering some basic data into the form, including how many sales you think you would make, along with price points, average order value, etc., you should come up with a rough estimate of your possible profit margin.
While such calculators aren't always accurate due to factors like marketing budget limitations and competition, they help give you a general idea of how profitable your chosen Amazon link could potentially be.
You may also wish to check out our guide detailing how to start selling on Amazon for beginners.
Yes, absolutely. If you put forth effort towards learning enough about Amazon affiliate programs, then you will definitely see results over time. However, it takes longer to build residual profits than it does to earn immediate rewards.
It's important to note that most sites will tell you that "you won't make any real money" without providing concrete evidence to support that claim. We've covered plenty of ways to make money online, but not every method works equally well for everyone at all times. That said, I personally made a decent sum of money using Amazon affiliate links within my last year of college, despite having very little prior experience working remotely.
One thing we can say for sure is that you shouldn't expect to make thousands of dollars in your first month as an Amazon affiliate. It requires patience and persistence over long periods of time before you reach truly impressive figures.
As mentioned earlier, Amazon offers several different types of affiliate links, ranging anywhere from 2.5% to 15%. Most of us probably don't care too much about where our referral traffic comes from, since we'd prefer to focus on maximizing conversions instead. What matters far more is whether or not visitors actually end up purchasing something, and whether or not they keep coming back to shop again and again.
Another point worth considering is that although affiliate links do increase overall conversion rates, sometimes they might cause bounce rate problems. For instance, someone looking for an item on eBay might land on an unrelated site thanks to clicking your link. While this isn't necessarily bad, it certainly doesn't benefit either party involved.
So if you decide to go ahead with an Amazon affiliate link anyway, please ensure that you include relevant text linking back to the original source whenever applicable. Your goal must always remain focused on increasing customer loyalty rather than simply getting referrals.
Keep in mind that certain products may require additional steps beyond merely setting up a webpage or blog post. Some vendors may ask you to set up a separate account specifically designed for tracking orders, others may request that you send out physical promotional materials to customers.
Additionally, other services may require you to create custom emails aimed at enticing new subscribers. Depending on your niche, you may also run into issues with content moderation policies if promoting adult products, illegal goods, or gambling websites.
Now that you know what kind of commission you stand to make, it's time to figure out how some big names on Amazon manage to turn their hobbyist side projects into full-time jobs. Here are three individuals who currently bring in massive amounts of revenue thanks to their efforts as Amazon affiliates.
James Bruce -- James is known as Mr. Fulfillment on Reddit, and he runs his entire business off the back of Amazon affiliate sales alone. With an estimated annual turnover exceeding $1 million, he now spends roughly 50 hours per week fulfilling customer orders. He began his journey as an Amazon affiliate in 2014, and today earns approximately $90k+ per year.
Trevor Owens -- Trevor is best known as the founder behind /r/CasualConversation, one of the most successful subreddits ever created. After successfully growing the subreddit to 10 million readers, he turned his attention to creating an ebook titled How To Start A Conversation With Anyone. Despite being written almost exclusively for casual conversation starters between friends, the book became a bestseller on Amazon and remains available today. His success is largely attributed to his ability to connect with Redditors on a personal level. Currently, Trevor brings in an estimated annual salary of $200k+, bringing him total revenues of over $400k+.
Lance Roberts -- Lance recently earned himself a place among the Forbes Top 20 Online Influencers list, alongside household names like Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and Jack Dorsey. As an Amazon affiliate, he makes good money running his blog Traffic Secrets Pro, helping others improve their organic search rankings. He regularly receives praise from high profile entrepreneurs and internet marketers themselves for his exceptional work ethic and dedication to excellence.
After reading the above examples, hopefully you feel inspired to pick yourself up a couple of Amazon affiliate accounts and begin learning more about the platform. But why stop there? Why not try becoming an expert in multiple niches?
Once you've got a grasp on the basics, you can move onto building your own Amazon store or blog. There are countless resources available online that show you how to quickly set up a professional ecommerce storefront, and blogging platforms like WordPress allow you to easily customize your posts according to whatever niche you fall under.
If you're interested in furthering your career prospects, meanwhile, consider taking part in social media influencer campaigns. Many companies rely heavily on influencers to advertise their wares, and you can often find opportunities to earn reasonable sums of money from Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Facebook, Google+, Vine...the list goes on.
Of course, there's never going to be a single answer to the question "how to make money with Amazon". Every individual situation is bound to differ slightly, so you'll need to conduct thorough market research before deciding which type of affiliate model suits you best. Fortunately, however, once you understand the fundamentals, finding an effective approach to generating extra funds becomes easier than ever.
Just follow our battle-tested guidelines and rake in the profits.