Amazon has been making waves in the ecommerce world since its inception back in 1995. Today, they're more than just a bookseller – they've become a technology powerhouse as well. They sell everything imaginable on their website including all kinds of electronics, clothing, food, toys, books, music, video games, and even household items like furniture!
If you have any interest at all in starting a business selling products through the internet, then you'll want to get involved with this massive company. One way that many people choose to go about doing so is by signing up for an Amazon Associate's Account (AA). This is the first step towards becoming an Amazon Affiliate Marketer.
In order to be able to set-up shop selling goods on the popular digital marketplace, you will need to create an AA account. You can find out more information about what exactly an AA account entails along with other important details about setting up your own Amazon storefront in our article How To Set Up An Amazon Storefront On Your Own Website.
As mentioned above, however, there is another option available if you don't wish to take the time to build your own store and instead prefer to work directly with an existing merchant. That alternative is to use an affiliate marketing strategy where you earn commissions based on sales made through your links placed on other websites.
The best part about working this way is that once you have signed up for an AA account, you simply connect your new account with the merchants who offer products you would like to promote. As long as these merchants agree to pay commission fees when customers buy through your links, you stand to profit handsomely.
There are several ways to approach this process, but below we provide a brief overview of each method.
No matter which route you decide to take, before you begin promoting certain products on your blog or website, you must first register yourself with one of the major affiliate networks. There are many different companies offering such services, but the two main ones include ClickBank and Commission Junction. Both of these sites allow users to quickly sign up and easily add content to their pages without having to worry about HTML code. This means anyone reading your page, whether human or robot, will see your banners, text links, images, etc., immediately.
To learn more about these affiliates, check out our article titled "5 Best Places For Affiliate Marketing".
Once you have registered with either of the aforementioned platforms, you may begin placing ads within them. These ads contain tracking codes that enable the platform to keep track of your clicks and conversions. Once someone actually purchases something using one of your links, you receive credit accordingly.
It should also be noted that some affiliate networks require you to post banner advertisements elsewhere on your webpages. Although this does not necessarily mean that you cannot still make money off your efforts, the majority of affiliate marketers believe that this practice does reduce overall revenue because it forces visitors away from clicking on links leading to your product/service offerings.
Therefore, while it might seem convenient to place your banner ad right next to your affiliate links, remember that you won't be receiving much, if any, traffic unless you actively seek it out.
Although there are various benefits associated with participating in an affiliate program, the primary reason why most people sign-up is due to the fact that they will be able to generate thousands of dollars per month in additional income. In addition, you'll be helping to support a reputable brand name, which often results in increased customer loyalty.
Furthermore, once you have successfully developed your own audience around your affiliate offers, you could potentially grow your following substantially over time. Many of those followers will end up buying things on Amazon themselves in the future, thus increasing your chances of generating further profits down the road.
That being said, there is no guarantee that every visitor who comes across your affiliate links will purchase anything. Therefore, although it certainly seems possible, it isn't guaranteed that you will ever make enough money via affiliate advertising alone to cover your expenses.
However, if you enjoy writing articles or blogging regularly, consider taking on a side job as an independent writer or blogger and try your hand at writing reviews or columns related to your favorite topics. By combining both writing skills and promotional strategies, you could very well reap great rewards in terms of additional income.
Depending upon which affiliate network you choose to participate in, you will likely have to fill out some forms prior to completing the registration process. Here are a few examples of typical form fields:
Name
Address
City
State
Zip Code
Email Address
Phone Number
Websites / Blogs
Affiliates Earnings Goals
Payment Method(s)
Here is a quick rundown of the steps required to complete the entire registration process:
1. Go to the home page of whichever affiliate network you plan on registering with.
2. Log onto your account (if necessary) and click the Sign Up button located near the top-right corner of the webpage.
3. Fill out the appropriate information requested by the system - Name, Email address, Phone number, State, City, Zip code, and Affiliates Earnings goals.
4. Click Next after entering the correct data.
5. Read and accept the Terms & Conditions Agreement displayed on screen.
6. Complete the rest of the necessary paperwork and submit payment info.
7. Finally, verify your email address.
You can now proceed to market whatever products you'd like to promote.
With the advent of social media, millions of people are turning to Facebook and Twitter to share opinions and ideas. However, if you are only interested in promoting specific brands and products, it doesn't really matter which social networking service you utilize. What matters is that you know how to access your Amazon Influencer account.
Before you begin sharing your thoughts and opinions about particular products, it's highly recommended that you first familiarize yourself with the rules and regulations governing the program. Fortunately, you can locate these guidelines on the official Amazon.com website under the section entitled "Our Policies" found here.
After you read through these policies, make sure you understand them fully so that you have nothing to hide later on. It's okay to admit that you aren't 100% comfortable with them, but you shouldn't let your fears stop you from taking advantage of this incredible opportunity.
When you feel confident that you have everything covered, it's time to get started. Below you'll find instructions regarding how to log into your Amazon influencer account.
Step 1. Enter your username and password.
Step 2. Choose the country and language you prefer to communicate in.
Step 3. Select the category you would like to contribute posts in.
Step 4. Make sure you select the correct tagline.
Step 5. Add tags to your contributions.
Step 6. Start posting.
By following these simple steps, you will soon discover that the possibilities are virtually endless. With the help of Amazon's powerful algorithms, you'll be able to target niche audiences and earn extra income from the comfort of your own home. Just imagine how easy it would be to turn your passion for fashion into cash flow. Imagine how fast you could increase your monthly income.
And with the huge amount of competition out there, it's almost impossible to compete without an effective promotion campaign. So if you haven't yet decided which avenue to pursue, perhaps it's time to give it a shot. After all, it couldn't hurt to try, right?
If you spend any time at all browsing through Amazon’s website, chances are that you have seen some form of advertising for their associate program. This includes banners in search results pages (SERPs), pop-ups in between webpages, and even ads within product reviews. They offer this because they know there's a lot of potential revenue out there if only it could be tapped into! The Amazon Associates program is one of the largest and most successful online affiliate programs, with over 900,000 members joining worldwide. If you are a Web site owner, an Amazon seller, or a Web developer, you can start earning money today.
Amazon offers two ways for affiliates to earn commissions by promoting products sold on its platform. These include the Amazon Associates App and the Amazon Associates Central website. Both require registration, but once registered, both allow you to promote products and receive commission payments directly deposited into your bank account. While the Amazon Associates app has been around since 2010, the Amazon Associates Central service was launched just last year. It allows users to manage multiple accounts and earn more than $2 million per month. We'll explain each of these options below so you don't get lost along the way.
An Amazon Associates account serves as a hub for all information related to marketing opportunities with Amazon. You must register before starting to advertise on Amazon. Once signed up, you will have access to several tools including tracking links, payment methods, and promotional codes. There are also several benefits associated with becoming an Amazon Affiliate such as being able to drive traffic to other websites via banner advertisements and email newsletters.
To create your own Amazon Associates account, simply visit Amazon.com/Associates and click “Sign Up Now.” From here, enter your name, e-mail address, password, and zip code. After submitting, you will then need to verify your identity using either Facebook Connect or Google Account Sign In. When you click "Verify" next page, you will see additional fields where you can specify which services you use, like Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, etc., as well as whether you want to participate in the Amazon Influencer program. Clicking "Next Step" will take you to the final step where you agree to the Terms & Conditions.
Once complete, you should now have an active Amazon Associates account ready to go. To log in, head back to www.amazon.com/associates and select Login under My Account. Enter your username and password, and voila – you're logged in!
As mentioned earlier, Amazon pays out monthly commissions ranging anywhere from 8 percent to 25 percent depending upon what type of merchant you choose to work with. Most merchants pay 15 percent while others pay 20 percent. As long as you meet certain guidelines, you can apply to be part of the Amazon affiliate network. Some of those criteria include having an established presence on the internet, receiving sales above a minimum threshold, and selling items listed on Amazon.com itself. Other factors like number of orders placed, average order value, and total number of customer referrals play into how much you may earn.
You can learn about your current level of performance by logging into your Amazon Associates account. Under Your Activity tab located towards the bottom of the screen, you can find details regarding your activity history during the past 30 days. Here you will see breakdowns based on different types of activities including clicks, purchases, and orders completed. At the end of the day, you can view the amount earned, percentage earned, dollar amounts earned, etc.
There are three main steps involved when applying for membership in the Amazon Associates program. First, you need to decide on which category(ies) of goods and services you wish to sell. Next, you must submit a request to join the program. Finally, you will need to set up any necessary payment processing. Each of these steps will be discussed briefly below.
Step 1 - Choose categories
Before signing up, you need to determine what type of merchandise you would like to market. A good place to begin searching for products to purchase is the Marketplace section of Amazon.com. Here you will discover thousands of unique listings available for sale. Browse categories by interest, price range, brand, or popularity. You can filter searches according to specific keywords, ratings, and more.
Step 2 - Request Membership
After deciding on which brands, suppliers, and manufacturers you'd like to represent, you can proceed to requesting affiliation with the Amazon Associates program. Head back to the homepage of Amazon.com/associates and scroll down until you reach the following button titled "Request Membership." Beneath this text box, you will see a dropdown menu listing various categories. Select the desired option and press Submit. Upon submission, you will be redirected to another webpage where you can review the terms and conditions governing your participation.
Step 3 - Apply Payment Processing Methods
Lastly, after agreeing to the rules and regulations, you will need to provide payment processing support for your chosen business partners. For example, many sellers opt to process credit card transactions themselves while others prefer to partner with third party companies who specialize in handling financial transactions. Whichever route you choose, you will first need to establish a relationship with a company that accepts direct deposits. Then, you will need to obtain a Merchant ID Number (MID). Lastly, you will need to add the appropriate payment processors to your Amazon Associates account. All of these processes can be handled through the Amazon Associates Central website.
While there are no hard numbers yet, we expect that the overall payout for 2017 will exceed $10 billion dollars. That means that every hour, millions of people across the globe are making hundreds of cents to a few bucks per hour. With the right strategy and proper application, you too can enjoy similar success.
How to Join
First things first, make sure your site has been properly optimized so that it displays on top of other sites when people use Google’s keyword tool “Keyword Planner”.
To get started, simply go to http://www.amazon.com/gp/associates and click "Join Now". A window will appear where you can sign up for a free membership.
Once signed up, you'll see a message stating, "Welcome to Amazon Associates!" Clicking this link takes you to your personal dashboard page which lists all of your current products as well as provides access to your shopping cart if you've already added something to it.
On the left side menu of your dashboard page, you should now see the option to join the Amazon associates program under Affiliations.
You must then select from the dropdown list what type of affiliation you would like to create - EBookstore or Product Store.
After selecting either ebook store or product store, you need to fill in your details such as email address, name, password and country location.
"I agree" to accept these terms and conditions.
Click save changes.
Now you're ready to promote your own products by adding them to the Amazon marketplace. For more information about how to add your items to the Amazon marketplace, check out our guide here.
Next, choose whether you'd prefer to receive emails promoting new sales opportunities on Amazon. Once completed, click finish.
Finally, after signing up for your affiliation, you may want to consider using an ad management service to help manage your traffic flow. AdMob offers great features including realtime statistics, detailed reporting, and advanced targeting options.
The Amazon.com Associates Program offers anyone interested in making some extra income through promoting products on their website or blog by becoming an "associate" (also known as an affiliate) - a person who promotes specific items offered by others, based on his/her expertise and knowledge about those product(s). Amazon pays its affiliates when someone purchases that item using the link provided by them.
There are many benefits associated with being part of this particular affiliate program, including the ability to earn commissions without having to build any new sites or promote anything yourself. As long as you have a URL address where people can click to purchase the advertised product, you will be eligible to receive commission payments.
In addition to that, if you're not familiar with what an associate is, they are also referred to as internet marketer, webmaster, Internet salesperson, or simply as affiliate marketers. They do all kinds of things like writing articles, building websites, running e-commerce stores, developing software applications, etc., but the important thing is that they know which products sell well on different platforms.
So, let's get started! We'll take a look at everything there is to know about getting signed up for the Amazon Associates Program, so you can become an active member of this huge affiliate community.
You might notice that the prices listed on the Amazon Associate page are not exactly the same as the ones found on other pages within the company's store. This has nothing to do with discounts or promotions, rather it's because the price displayed there includes several fees, such as the following:
Affiliate Marketing Fee -- $30 per year
Payment Processing Fee -- 3% + 30 cents per transaction
Cancellation Protection Fee -- 2.5% of total order value after 90 days
Shipping & Handling Fees -- 1 cent per unit plus 5 cents per pound
Taxes -- 9.3% tax on gross merchandise revenue
Total -- $59.34 USD
If you want to set up a business selling Amazon products, then you should definitely consider taking advantage of these additional fees. However, keep in mind that since each country has its own laws regarding taxes, those amounts may vary depending on where you live. For example, in Canada, the taxes are only applied to the first $20K earned annually.
This could possibly be the biggest question here, especially considering the fact that no matter whether you choose to use the Amazon Associates App or just go to the official page directly, you still end up paying the same amount. So, why would anybody bother signing up for something that costs the exact same amount? Well, there are two reasons actually:
First, even though the payment processing fee is the same regardless of which option you select, the app version allows you to generate more leads, thus increasing overall sales. In fact, according to studies by Amazon itself, users who downloaded the app made approximately 20 percent more orders than those who visited the main page. That means that every time somebody clicks on your referral link, you stand to gain more profit.
Second, while the standard registration process takes less than half a minute, the app requires you to complete an entire application form before you can begin generating traffic. Once approved, you will need to wait another ten minutes until you can start receiving visitors via links shared on social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube, etc. That's assuming that none of them block your access, of course.
However, if you'd prefer to skip the hassle altogether, you can always opt for the free route and create your own unique Amazon Associates ID. Just follow the steps below:
Sign into your Amazon account. Go to the My Account section and scroll down to find the Create New Profile button. Click on it and fill out the required fields. You will now see a screen similar to the image above. At the bottom right corner of the page, you will see the Sign Up Now field. Enter your email address and click Continue. Then enter your password, confirm it twice, and click Submit.
Once you have been verified, you can proceed to register your domain name. You will require an.org,.net,.biz,.info, or.us top level domain (.tld), unless otherwise specified. Choose the correct TLD extension and add it to the appropriate box before clicking Proceed. Fill out the remaining information and click Register Your Domain Name. Wait for 24 hours before confirming your domain ownership.
Now, you can log back into your previous account and claim your newly created Amazon Associates ID. When prompted, enter your new Amazon ID along with the confirmation code sent to you via email.
Finally, click Accept Terms of Service and continue browsing the site with ease knowing that you've successfully registered for the Amazon Associates Program.
Well, unfortunately, we don't really know yet. To date, Amazon hasn't disclosed how much it pays out to affiliates, however, we do know that the payout ranges between 0%-100%. Keep in mind that this depends entirely on how popular the product you advertise is among customers. For example, if you run an electronics store and sell laptops, chances are high that you won't make very good money. On the other hand, if you sell books, you probably wouldn't lose too much either.
As mentioned earlier, Amazon doesn't disclose the details of its compensation structure, except that it varies slightly depending on the category of product you are promoting. It is worth mentioning that the higher your conversion rate, the better off you will be. Therefore, if you believe you have a solid track record of converting potential buyers into actual customers, you should apply for a higher tier of sponsorship.
It really comes down to three factors:
Your website's popularity and authority
The number of times your site gets indexed in search engines
Whether or not you have a strong presence on social networking sites
To determine the size of your target audience, you must conduct research into the following metrics:
PageRank score
Domain Authority
Social Media Influence Score
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) keywords
These numbers help predict the type of content visitors will enjoy reading and therefore allow you to focus on topics relevant to them. There are plenty of tools available online that can provide you with accurate insights into these crucial aspects. One great option is Moz Pro, which enables you to analyze the performance of various domains and identify opportunities for improvement.
When determining the success of an affiliate campaign, you should think about both short-term goals and long-term results. While it can be tempting to sign up for the highest tier of membership immediately, remember that the sooner you achieve your primary objective, the bigger reward you will reap later on.
By doing so, you will maximize your profits and ensure that you stay ahead of competitors who fail to deliver consistent quality services.
Now that you understand what it takes to become an Amazon Associate, hopefully our article helped answer all of your questions and gave you the necessary guidance needed to succeed in this lucrative industry. Good luck!
Just follow our battle-tested guidelines and rake in the profits.