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How to Become an Amazon Affiliate and Make Money in 2024 — Complete Guide
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Amazon Affiliate Program: What Is Amazon Affiliate Marketing?
As one of the largest ecommerce stores in the world, Amazon launched its affiliate network in 1996. Amazon’s affiliate network, also known as Amazon Associates, allows creators to monetise their content by promoting Amazon products and earning commissions.
With the Amazon affiliate network, sellers can reach additional sales and visibility, and affiliates can increase their income. Additionally, affiliate marketers will need to optimise their content to drive sales, which can generate income on its own.
Like many other affiliate networks, the Amazon Affiliate program uses the pay-per-sale model to commission their affiliates. Amazon’s massive selection and established brand make it a natural fit for many affiliate marketers.
How Does the Amazon Affiliate Program Work?
Amazon commissions its affiliates based on the number of sales they drive. In order to get paid as an affiliate, you need to use your affiliate link and guide users to Amazon. If they decide to purchase the product within 24 hours of using your link, you’ll get paid a commission.
The best part is that this commission is based on their entire purchase value, not just the product you have promoted. So, if you’re promoting an Amazon game but the user decides to also include a cat toy in their purchase, you’ll be commissioned on both of these products.
The standard Amazon Associates cookie duration is 24 hours. However, if buyers add the product they found through your link to their shopping cart and keep it there until the cart expires (which usually takes 90 days), you’ll still earn a referral fee.
How Much Does the Amazon Associates Program Pay?
Amazon Associates affiliate program provides a wealth of opportunities for their affiliates to make money. Although they are not among the highest-paying affiliate networks, their sheer number of buyers and conversion rate make up for the seemingly low rate.
Amazon has a standard fixed commission structure that pays affiliates based on the product category they promote. As expected, the more expensive the product is, the higher the compensation rate will be.
The highest-paying product category is Amazon Games, which pays a 20% commission rate. Next in line are luxury beauty products, for which Amazon pays a 10% commission. The commission rates continue to fall after that, averaging 3-4%.
Why Become an Amazon Affiliate?
Amazon is one of the largest and most reputable brands in the world. This credibility alone incentivises many people to join their affiliate program, because people are more likely to purchase things from a trustworthy source. As a global marketplace with diverse products, they have one of the highest conversion rates amongst ecommerce affiliate networks and can easily generate income for affiliates.
Trusted Brand
The Amazon affiliate network is one of the oldest and most credible programs in the world. There are tonnes of good reviews and feedback on their affiliate marketing services, helping affiliates ensure they’re reliable and scam-free. By choosing to work with such a credible affiliate network, you can build your audience’s trust in your content and bring legitimacy to your website or social media. On top of that, the positive reviews on the network vouch for proven, fair payment.
Global Reach
Amazon is a global ecommerce space that gives affiliates a major target audience from around the world. With a wider potential audience, affiliates can expand their sales potential beyond their local market. They can also access more niches and take part in location-specific niches that they wouldn’t be able to benefit from in their local marketplace. Lastly, people choose if they want to spend money on pricier products depending on the economy of the country they live in. Affiliates can target people from wealthier countries to maximise their income.
Wide Range of Products
You might have heard before that the Amazon affiliate program is a place with something for everybody. This, of course, stems from Amazon’s product diversity. They offer a vast range of product categories. The diversity makes it possible for affiliates from different niches to increase the likelihood of generating sales and making money. In addition to the increased number of sales, the product range on this affiliate network allows for affiliates with very specific niches to acquire passive income from the Amazon affiliate marketing program.
Regular Promotions and Deals
Amazon Associates regularly offers promotions, deals, and discounts on different products. Affiliates on this network can use these deals and promotions to attract more website visitors. Especially if the affiliate uses social media channels as their marketing tool, the additional traffic from advertising these products leads to increased views and engagement on their content, helping them earn extra cash from these platforms. As these deals, discounts, and promotions attract more potential buyers to the affiliate’s content, they can expect an increase in sales and, ultimately, their commissions.
High Conversion Rates
When compared to other online retailers, Amazon has a higher conversion rate. These skyrocketing conversion rates stem from the high user intent on Amazon. Most of the people browsing Amazon are already there to purchase something or at least are extremely close to the point of purchase. This user mindset creates a great opportunity for affiliates to use Amazon to their advantage and increase their sales. This is why Amazon Associates continues to be a great affiliate network, despite the fact that its commission rates on certain product types are lower than those of its competitors.
Performance-Based Incentives
Affiliates on the Amazon affiliate marketing program are constantly encouraged to work harder and make more money. Amazon provides performance-based incentives for its affiliates so they can get paid not only from their commissions but also from the bulk of their sales as a whole. For one, they offer a tiered commission structure, which will reward affiliates based on the number of their sales. On top of that, there are some sale targets on this network that affiliates can try to exceed and receive bonuses for.
Marketing Tools and Resources
Another benefit of joining Amazon’s affiliate network is the various tools and resources they offer to help their affiliates optimise their efforts. These tools include banners, widgets, link builders, and tracking tools for analysis. For example, they have SiteStripe, which is a customisable toolbar for generating text or image links. They also have Publisher Studio, a browser extension that links up Amazon items in the content editor the affiliate is using. Aside from these practical tools, Amazon Associates offers many other tools, which you can find on their tools and resources page.
Analytics and Reporting Tools
Affiliates are heavily dependent on performance analysis and reporting tools. By tracking and analysing their data, affiliates can gain valuable insights into their campaigns and make informed decisions. Amazon affiliate program makes it easier for affiliates to optimise their strategies and monitor their performance. They can utilise the analytical tools offered by Amazon to check their click-through rates, identify trends, and find areas for improvement. These tracking and reporting tools also help affiliates discover customer preferences, which can help them in the long run.
Popular Products and Services for Amazon Affiliates
As mentioned before, the Amazon affiliate network is a diverse marketplace with something for everybody. The most popular products and services for affiliate marketers to promote are as follows:
- Amazon Games: With a 20% fixed income rate, Amazon is determined to expand and promote its games in the years to come, making it a wise idea for affiliate marketers to jump on the train and make money from it before it gets late.
- Luxury beauty: Luxury beauty products have the second highest commission rate in Amazon Associates, standing at 10%. This is why we’re always hearing influencers talk about their Amazon storefront and how every product they use is linked there.
- Amazon Explorer: Another area of practice for affiliates is Amazon Explore, which provides virtual experiences around the world. This service also includes a 10% commission rate, which incentivises bloggers, influencers, and affiliates in the travel niche.
- Digital and physical music: With a 5% commission rate, music is a decent niche for affiliates to promote. Music is an enormous industry where there is high demand for both digital tunes and physical, collectible forms of the art.
- Paperback books: For many years, Amazon has had a monopoly in the hardcover book industry. With the high user intent and the 4.5% commission rate, books have become a lucrative target for bookworms to promote on Amazon.
- Amazon devices: Amazon affiliates can earn a 4% commission by promoting devices developed by Amazon, including Amazon Fire, Kindle, and Amazon Echo.
What Are the Requirements for Joining the Amazon Affiliate Program?
Although joining Amazon for affiliate/performance marketing is free, there are some standards you need to abide by to be eligible. The most basic Amazon affiliate program requirements include having a promotional channel (website, social media, app) publicly available, a valid Amazon account, and the affiliate links provided by Amazon, Additionally, there are some requirements that affiliates must consider prior to joining Amazon.
Website
Many people use their website for Amazon affiliate marketing because it’s cost-effective, flexible, and offers search engine optimisation benefits and a high ROI. For these people, their website address should be in the name of the applicant and available to the public. It should also have a minimum of 10 blog posts. These blogs should be authentic and recently published, with the last blog post being published in the previous 60 days.
Social Media
Social media has become a mainstream channel for influencers to advertise products and services. To be eligible for Amazon Associates, affiliates must have a public account on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, or Twitch. Creators who use Facebook or Instagram must use a business account. Furthermore, they should have a well-established social media presence with at least 500 organic followers.
Mobile App
App developers can also use Amazon to promote products and earn money. In order for their app to qualify for the Amazon affiliate network, it must be available for free on Google Play, Amazon, or Apple app stores. The application must contain original content. In addition, it’s important for the app to look and operate in a way that is dissimilar to Amazon’s.
Rules of Amazon Associates Program You Need to Know
As with any other affiliate network, the Amazon associate program has its own rules and regulations to help affiliates more efficiently.
- According to the Federal Trade Commission, all affiliates must disclose their partnership with the brand they’re promoting and the possibility of benefiting from their campaigns. This includes Amazon affiliates as well.
- Amazon prohibits its affiliates from advertising with deception and false claims.
- Unsuitable, explicit, or harmful content is strictly prohibited for Amazon affiliates.
- Affiliates cannot tag product prices in their content, as prices might be subject to rapid changes.
- Amazon affiliates are not allowed to use offline promotions such as email, ebooks, or PDFs.
- Creators should also avoid cloaking or shortening their Amazon links.
- All Amazon trademarks must be approved by Amazon before affiliates can share them, as this may cause a misinterpretation of the relationship between the affiliate and Amazon.
- The content of each affiliate should not be aimed at children under the age of 13.
- Amazon affiliates cannot hide their affiliate links or make their relationship with Amazon unclear.
- It’s prohibited to offer rewards for purchases or provide fake reviews or traffic on the affiliate’s site, and doing so might cause instant account restrictions.
Lastly, this is not a rule but something affiliates should be aware of before they create their Amazon Associates account. All creators are responsible for maintaining their website, and any possible site issues do not fall under Amazon’s responsibilities.
How to Create an Affiliate Account on Amazon?
Based on the criteria mentioned earlier, creators who believe they are eligible to become an Amazon affiliate should first apply to Amazon Associates. This application will be reviewed by Amazon, and the applicant will be updated on whether or not it has been approved. Although registering on the Amazon affiliate program might seem a bit more complicated than other affiliate networks, but it’s a pretty straightforward process if you follow the guide provided below.
Create A Social Media Account, Website, or Blog
Before you can create your Amazon affiliate account, you need to have an active website, blog, application, or social media channel. Your promotional channel should already have unique, engaging content prior to your Amazon Associates application. You’ll also be asked to describe the purpose of your website, app, or social media during the application process, so it’s a good idea to know why you’re creating content, who your target audience is, and how you can get traffic on it.
Sign Up for the Amazon Associates Program
You should visit the Amazon Associates homepage to create your affiliate account. There are two options you can choose from on the homepage. You can click “sign in” to log into a pre-existing Amazon account, or you can click on “sign up” to create a new Amazon Associates account. By doing so, you will be guided to a new page where you can insert your information and create your account.
Fill in Your Personal Information
After clicking on “sign up,” you will enter a four-step registration process. The first step is to fill in your personal information. During this step, you can choose to create an Amazon affiliate account for yourself or for another entity. You will be asked to provide information regarding your name, address, and mobile phone number. If you are creating an account for a company, you will be required to provide the company’s contact information.
Enter Your Website Address, Social Media, or Mobile App
After that, you need to enter the channel via which you will be promoting Amazon products. You can add website addresses, mobile apps, or social media accounts in this step. Make sure to use a URL format to address your promotional channels. You should name at least one website or application but you can add up to 50. It’s important to know that Amazon is looking for high-traffic, valuable websites, social media accounts, and mobile apps. Therefore, referring to weaker websites with fewer views can hurt your chances of being approved.
Create Your Profile
The next step you need to take to create your Amazon Associates account is crafting your profile. During this step, you should enter a preferred store ID. The store ID you enter is usually the same as your primary website’s name. After entering your website’s store ID, you should explain what it is about. “What is your website hoping to accomplish?” Select Amazon topics your links will be targeting. Add your website and application skills, which include telling Amazon how you will drive traffic to these channels.
Fill in Traffic and Monetisation Information
This step is where applicants give Amazon’s affiliate program a more in-depth overview of their content. There’s a section where you can choose the methods you use to drive traffic to your content and explain your primary and secondary methods of monetising. In this section, you should elaborate on how many unique visitors your traffic sources get per month and what your reason for joining Amazon’s affiliate program is.
Add Payment Method and Tax Information
The next step is to put in your tax and payment information. However, you can choose if you want to do this now or later. If you choose to enter your payment and tax information now, you’ll be asked to add a payment method, like a credit card, and your tax ID information. After providing these data, you’ll be guided to your dashboard, where you have access to Associates Central 24/7. Keep in mind that you only have 180 days to start generating income, so you should begin creating affiliate links immediately.
Begin Creating Your Amazon Affiliate Links
Once you’re directed to your personal associate’s homepage, you can get started and create affiliate links. On your dashboard, there’s a chart you can use to review your performance. You will also get a monthly summary of the total clicks your affiliate links have gotten and their conversion rate. You can use this dashboard to see how many referrals you’ve gotten and find more relevant promotional materials for your niche website.
How to Create An Amazon Affiliate Link?
After you register for the Amazon affiliates program and get your own account, it’s time to create affiliate links. If you create your Amazon affiliate links correctly, they can help you promote your content on search engines and rank higher in search results. Your affiliate links can also bring trust to your content, improve your credibility, and increase your sales. Therefore, it’s important to know how to create Amazon affiliate links properly.
STEP 1
Go to your Amazon Associates Account
Before anything, you need to log on to your Amazon affiliates account. This ensures that your affiliate links are related to your account, and any revenue generated from them will go to you.
STEP 2
Navigate to the Affiliate Link Creation Section
Your next step is to navigate to the product linking section. In it, you will find various choices to help you create your Amazon affiliate links. Just choose the product linking option in the corner of the top banner and select product links.
STEP 3
Utilise SideStripe to Create Amazon Links
The easiest way to create an Amazon affiliate link is to use SiteStripe, which automatically shows up on product pages when you’re logged into your Amazon Associates panel. Using this tool, you can create long and short product links, which can be text, image, or text and image links.
STEP 4
Employ Other Tools to Create Amazon Affiliate Links
You can also head over to Idea Hub to find the best products for your target audience and use the “Link to Any Page” tool to create links. You can use this tool to create a favourite destination and highlight a product category or to name your affiliate link based on the keywords and queries you’re targeting.
STEP 5
Share Your Affiliate Links with the World
When it comes to sharing affiliate links, it’s important to remember that sharing links on office promotions, ebooks, PDFs, or emails is prohibited. Instead, you should focus on creating quality content and optimising your content marketing strategy for your online marketing channels.
Tips to Make Money As an Amazon Affiliate
While understanding how to become an Amazon affiliate is a fairly simple process, many affiliates struggle with making money. The fact of the matter is that the majority of affiliate marketers struggle with bringing traffic to their content. However, there are simple steps you can take to ensure an increased rate of clicks and impressions on your content.
- Choose a niche for your social media or website
When developing your website or building your social media presence, it’s best to choose a specific niche first. By doing so, you can better cater to your target audience’s needs by recognising trends early and naturally incorporating products into your content without sounding too salesy. Having a specific niche also helps you seem more authoritative and credible.
- Create quality content—reviews, comparison blog posts, social media posts
As an affiliate marketer, one of the best ways to drive traffic to your content is to write reviews and create blog posts comparing products. This is because review readers are usually close to purchasing products. You can also use ecommerce copywriting to engage more readers and direct them to product alternatives to buy.
- Optimise for SEO
SEO optimisation is one of the key principles of any successful digital marketing strategy. You can use SEO best practices to bring organic traffic to any blog site, YouTube channel, or social media account you have. This way, you rank higher on search results, gain credibility, and increase your revenue.
- Utilise Amazon’s tools and storefront
Amazon offers tools such as “SiteStripe” and “Link to Any Page” to help both experienced and new affiliate marketers create any Amazon link they desire. They provide a one-stop shop where customers can see the affiliate’s top picks. They require minimal upkeep and can be used by website owners, YouTube channel creators, or Amazon influencers.
Pros and cons of Becoming an Amazon Affiliate
The Amazon affiliate program has become a well-known name in the affiliate marketing industry because of the great features it offers to affiliates. However, there are some drawbacks you need to consider before creating your first affiliate link on Amazon.
Pros
High credibility and authority
Vast range of products
Extended benefits, bonuses, and affiliate incentives
Robust, 24/7 support
A safe, scam-free platform for all affiliates 
Cons
Low commission rates, averaging around 3-4%
Limited cookie time
Not supporting payments via PayPal Bottom Line: Affiliate Marketing on Amazon Associates
The Amazon affiliate program, or Amazon Associates, is one of the oldest affiliate marketing programs to exist. Like any other affiliate network, the Amazon affiliate network helps affiliates make money by promoting products from different retailers. Many affiliates choose to work with this affiliate network because of the vast range of products it offers and how credible it is.
With one of the highest conversion rates in the market, the Amazon affiliate network allows affiliates to promote products via their website, social media accounts, or applications. To take advantage of this network, affiliates must apply to it first, and after being approved, they can begin building and sharing their Amazon links.
To be a successful affiliate on Amazon Associates, you should build an engaging website or social media page that matches your unique niche, create quality content, and optimise it for SEO. With years of experience in creating the best digital marketing strategies, we encourage you to contact our experts at Revpanda for a free consultation about affiliate marketing on Amazon and how you can benefit from it.
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