The Beginner's Guide to Amazon Affiliate Marketing

The advent of the world wide web about 30 years ago brought about a massive disruption in the eCommerce ecosystem. The growth in subsequent years saw the rise of new occupations such as affiliate marketing. This business model rewards people for generating leads and conversions for a company online.

In other words, people can sell products not originally belonging to them and earn some money. Though affiliate marketing is not new, it has only become more popular and structured over time. By 1998, Amazon had adopted the model, and its program became the first widely available to the public.

Amazon affiliate marketing remains a veritable means to earn passive income, and the possibilities are vast. If you have ever browsed for ways to make money online, the chances are that you have come across affiliate marketing at least once. Well, the good news is that it is a business idea that requires minimal investment with huge returns.

You may wonder, “How much do Amazon associates make?” There is no easy way to answer this question. Some affiliate marketers make over $20,000 monthly. Earnings largely depend on the amount of work you are willing to dedicate to this journey.

Simply, Amazon affiliates make money by successfully completing sales through amazon.com. The process is pretty straightforward; signup at Amazon Associates, promote products with embedded links and drive sales. Now to the big question, “How to use Amazon affiliate marketing to make money?” Here’s what you need to know.

Our Related Services

Sign up for our newsletter to receive SEO tips, discounts and freebies.

What Is Affiliate Marketing?

Launching an affiliate program is a smart way to broaden a business’s reach on the internet. Affiliate marketing, therefore, is an arrangement between a company and marketers to drive sales. Affiliates make money as third parties promoting a company’s goods and services on the internet. An affiliate is otherwise known as an associate, marketer, or publisher.

An affiliate program tracks associates’ performance through links peculiar to each individual. The affiliate uses these links to generate traffic for a company’s goods and services. Some of the ways marketers drive traffic to a website include blogging, email, and social media marketing.

With these strategies in place, viewers who click the accompanying links are redirected to the company’s website. A cookie is stored in the device’s browser to identify link sources for each click, even when a customer does not buy goods immediately. However, cookies have expiration periods – cookie-life for Amazon, for example, lapses after one day.

Upon completing a purchase, a percentage of the checkout price goes to the affiliate. Though some programs may compensate you for generating leads (potential customers), the crux is to convert (make a sale). Generally, commissions fall between 4% to 15%.

Most affiliate programs are free to join; therefore, you do not require significant capital to begin this journey. If you are an influencer or own a website, affiliate marketing is one of the easiest ways to earn extra income. All you have to do is promote a brand to your audience through compelling content with links. On the other end, the company monitors the leads and conversions through the unique links and compensates you accordingly.

Amazon: Company Overview

Amazon was birthed in Seattle, Washington, by Jeff Bezos in 1996 as an online bookstore. Since its inception, the company has taken the online retail space by storm and has caused drastic shifts over the years. In a few years, Amazon expanded its catalog to contain clothing, electronics, toys, etc.

The self-acclaimed most customer-centric company is today arguably the largest e-commerce platform globally. Amazon, a trailblazer in the industry, has also spread through other businesses. The scope is astonishing!

The Amazon Affiliate program was established in 1998, two years after the launch of Amazon as a business. This was an attempt to broaden its reach and customer base. With a constant drive to provide value to people, Amazon Prime was launched in 2005.

Statistics from Statista show that there are currently over 200 million Prime subscribers. 2006 saw the kickstart of Amazon Web Services, one of the first to launch a pay-as-you-go cloud computing business model. Several other services have come to light in subsequent years, including the Kindle e-reader. The company’s acquisitions

With about three decades in operation, there seems to be no stopping for Amazon. Besides launching new services, the e-commerce platform continues to buy off other businesses. Below are some of Amazon’s most priced acquisitions;

Zappos – $1.2 billion (2009)
Kiva Systems – $775 million (2012)
Twitch – $970 million (2014)
Whole Foods – 13.7 billion (2017)
Ring – $970 million (2018)

As it stands, Amazon is a top-five most valuable brands worldwide, with over $1 trillion in market valuation. In fact, the tech conglomerate became the second company to surpass the 13 figure threshold, according to CNN Business in 2018. Sales statistics show that the company generated over $386 billion in net sales as of 2020, accounting for over 40% of online sales in the US.

CWhat Is the Amazon Affiliate Program?

As the term suggests, the Amazon Affiliate program or Amazon Associates is the advertising model set up by the e-commerce unicorn – Amazon. Simply put, it is a system whereby publishers earn money by strictly marketing Amazon products. It is an excellent way to monetize your online presence as it is one of the most beginner-friendly online money-making schemes. Currently, the program is available in 19 countries, including the United States.

Today, the Amazon Affiliate program is one of the longest-standing third-party marketing arrangements globally. Needless to say, it is also one of the largest currently. In fact, Amazon takes a whopping 45% share of the entire affiliate marketing space, according to Datanyze.

Though Amazon pays lower commissions on sales, other factors set it apart. For example, unlike other smaller e-commerce stores, Amazon houses over ten million products. What’s more, you can promote as many products as you can handle simultaneously. By implication, one of the many advantages of Amazon Associates is that your earning potential is pretty extensive.

Marketers’ performance is tracked through cookies that have 24 hours before expiration. This means that if a lead does not convert within one day before the expiration time, you will earn no commission. However, if the referral completes a purchase, you will earn a commission on every other product in the cart at checkout. Note that commissions vary, mostly falling between 1% and 20%, according to product category. (We will discuss commission rates subsequently).

Who Is the Amazon Affiliate Program For?

Without mincing words, anyone can become an Amazon Associate. However, you must be willing to put in the necessary work to get desired results. Therefore, the Amazon Affiliate program is for anyone looking to earn passive income. The program is open to all and sundry and does not attract a cost implication.

In other words, there are no registration or other fees to become a third-party marketer. All you need to begin your journey is a smartphone or laptop and internet access. Belief, gender, or race is no object. You can make money on the go and, in fact, can start right away. One of the major roles you need to assume to be approved as an affiliate is content creation.

A Content Creator is someone who creates content in the form of graphic designs, podcasts, videos, etc., for an audience. In context, an audience refers to online viewers, readers, or listeners. As a content creator, you have to curate appealing content to promote sales. The catch is to drive user engagement which is essential to stroke your conversion rates. A Content Creator could either be a blogger, social media influencer, product reviewer, etc.

Anyone with a considerable online following or presence can become an Amazon Affiliate. Even better if you are already a social media influencer with a large follower base. In fact, there is a separate program called Amazon Influencer Program.

Amazon Affiliate Program: How to Become an Amazon Associate?

Getting started as an Amazon Associate is pretty straightforward. But first, you need to have an active website or blog as it boosts your eligibility and chances of passing the vetting process. Here’s everything you need to know about Amazon’s affiliate program.

Own a Website and Social Media Pages

The first thing you need to start this journey is to have at least one website, blog, or active social media page. Speaking of websites and blogs, you should set them up before applying for the affiliate program if you do not own one.

Once done, begin publishing original and rich content for your readers. Make sure to avoid inappropriate, illegal, and explicit materials. In case you already have a live website, ensuring contents were not posted earlier than 60 days is critical. Amazon suggests you have at least ten posts on your site within the time frame.

On the other hand, you need to own a social media page with at least 500 organic followers. Amazon currently supports only six social networks: YouTube, Twitter, Twitch, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. If you are currently an influencer on any of these platforms, you may enjoy tons of juicy offers. Simply register at Amazon Influencers.

Sign Up at Amazon Associates

Once you have your websites or blogs up and running, with published content and traffic, proceed to sign up at Amazon Associates. Read up and click on the yellow “sign up” icon at the top. Proceed to log in as you usually would if you already have an Amazon account. If you do not have one, tap the “Create Your Amazon Account” button and proceed as directed. Upon completion, return to the sign-in page and input your email and password. Remember not to share your login details with anyone.

Setup Your Profile

After logging in, you will be directed to a “Creating Your Amazon Associates Account” page to input your details. The whole process is in four phases: “Account Information,” “Website and Mobile App list,” “Profile,” and “Start Using Associates Central.” The first stage requires inputting your basic information such as an address, name, phone number, etc.

Next is the “Website and Mobile App list” stage, where you will list the platforms you will use to promote the products. You can list as many as 50 of either. The third phase is where you create your Associates’ ID. It requires information about your website or apps and the categories of products you wish to promote. You will also have to provide details of your website’s monthly traffic and how you intend to profit from it. Lastly, input your payment information in the appropriate boxes. Tap “Finish,” and you are set.

Drive at Least Three Conversions Within 180 Days After Sign Up

Now that you are an affiliate, it is time to get to work. Begin to generate your unique links and implant them strategically in your content to drive traffic for products. Note that Amazon will not review your application until you have produced three successful sales within six months. If not, your application goes straight into the bin. At this point, several factors can result in you being banned from the program. This is perhaps the most delicate phase of your application, and it would be a waste of your time if you do not follow the rules. Below are some of the factors that may result in a ban;

Using link shorteners
Not identifying yourself as an affiliate on your website
Stating false and misleading claims in your promotions
Mentioning product prices in your content

How to Create Amazon Affiliate Links?

After creating your Associates’ account, the next focal point is creating links and having them in your content. Due to the sensitivity of the process, Amazon provides multiple tools to help affiliates generate links the correct way. Following are some of those tools.

Product Linking

Product Linking is an in-house tool to create dedicated links to specific products. To access this, you need to log in to your account and locate the “Product Linking” tab at the top of your screen. Click on the dropdown menu and tap “Product Links.” You will have to find the product(s) you are looking for on the next page using the search bar at the top. If you do not find what you need from the displayed list, simply go to the other tab and copy the product’s ASIN.

Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN) is an alphanumeric code to identify any product on the e-commerce platform. Copying and pasting the product’s ASIN is an excellent way to save time. Click on ‘Go,” then tap the “Get Link” on the far right of the product to copy the link. Proceed to add the link to your content.

Banner Creation Tool

As per Whatagraph, people are likely to interact with articles having images about 90% more than those without. Therefore, the banner creation tool helps you get links to eye-catchy images compelling enough to have your audience click. Navigate the “Product Linking” button, then click on “Banners.” Choose any of the several banners that pop up. Banners are image-based ads that hang on the sidebars and other parts of web pages.

SiteStripe

As an Amazon Associate, you also have access to another easy-to-use tool to generate links. Log in to either the retail or Associates’ web page to find SiteStripe. At the top right of your device screen, you will see “Amazon Associates Sitetrap.” This tool lets you effortlessly create all link types, including text, image, and text+image.

What’s more, you can share links to Facebook or Twitter directly, using the corresponding icons at the top. Interestingly, clicking the share button opens a new page in a different tab. There, you can edit the accompanying message before posting.

Mobile GetLink

Mobile GetLink is a solution that helps you save time such that you can keep your audience engaged while on the go. Drawing an inference from the term, you can create Amazon affiliate links using smartphones. Login through the mobile shopping app using your Associates’ credentials to access this tool. Navigate to the product you require a link and tap “Share.” Click “Copy Associates Link,” then paste the copied URL into your content.

Idea Hub

Besides generating affiliate links, Idea Hub keeps you abreast of promotional offers, discounts, deals of the day, etc. Idea Hub is also an excellent solution to finding content ideas for your website. Therefore, running out of content themes is no longer an issue. You will find this tool on the Associates Central site, but first, you must sign in to your account.

Once logged in, click “Promotions” and select “Idea Hub” from the dropdown options. A long list of promotional materials shows up that you can filter for easy navigation. Pick the one that appeals to you the most, then tap the “Get Link” option.

How to Make Money With the Amazon Associates Program?

Amazon affiliates make money by creating some temporal triangular relationship between the company, buyers, and themselves. They create content for specific products, drawing the attention of potential customers. The customers, if compelled, click on any of the accompanying links to buy on the Amazon site. Publishers earn a commission of 1% to 20% for each verified sale, depending on the product category. (Find the breakdown here). Note that a marketer also earns on every other product added to the cart.

To answer how much an affiliate makes is no easy one; it is a direct function of how much traffic they attract per time. Here, the most important is the conversion rate. Conversion rate represents a percentage of visitors who eventually place an order using your unique links. It is expressed as (conversions x 100/visits).

For instance, if your post attracts 5000 readers, out of which 25 place an order, your conversion rate is 0.5%. According to Supermetics, the average affiliate has a conversion rate falling between 0.5% and 1%. Emphasis on “conversion rate” because with Amazon Associates, you only earn if a customer completes a purchase via your link within 24 hours. Therefore, it is crucial to embed your affiliate links around content strategically.

As it stands, Amazon has three payment methods: check, bank deposit, and amazon gift card. The platform pays associates at the end of each month only if they cross the minimum payment threshold. Minimums vary according to each banking option. Payment through checks only becomes due when an affiliate accumulates $115, where $15 is the processing fee. Meanwhile, the least amount for bank deposits and gift cards is $10 with zero fees.

How to Build a Successful Amazon Affiliate Site Step by Step?

The competition is tough, no doubt. The market is already saturated with a plethora of Amazon affiliate sites, promoting hundreds of products and making a good profit. This leaves you no chance to lag behind. Hence, we have listed down the steps to make money with your own amazon affiliate site.

Identify Your Niche

You should find your strengths rather than promote any product that comes your way. In fact, this decides whether you would be successful as an affiliate marketer. Bear in mind that you compete with millions of other publishers.

Therefore, it would be smart if you carve a niche around topics where your passion lies or you have deep knowledge about. Also, ensure you pick one with medium, low, or even no competition. If you are passionate about domestic animals, optimize your posts around pet products available on Amazon.

Constantly creating original content in that line will earn you loyal viewers and ultimately boost your following. While it is not impossible to be multi-niched, growth potential may be pretty low for a beginner.

Design a Beautiful Website

Having a beautiful blog or website is another factor that sets you apart from your competitors. If you do not know how to get one for yourself, we recommend using WordPress. Signup with a web host and download the WordPress software to get started.

The next task is to design your website in terms of widget spots, layout, font, color, etc. Though free themes are available, you may need to purchase the exclusive ones if you have a high taste. The whole point is to ensure your website is beautiful enough to retain visitors. Don’t forget that the first impression lasts longer.

According to a study, it takes only 0.05 for internet surfers to create an impression about a website. Whatever the impression, good or bad, it is about 90% a function of the design they see. It determines whether or not a viewer stays on your site.

Keyword Research and Search Engine Optimization

Utilizing keywords helps your site rank higher on search engines. For example, when someone googles something, the search engine brings out a list of related results. The top ones are those that have effectively engaged keyword optimization.

What Google did there was to search for the words typed across different web pages. On the other hand, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) involves various strategies to help your website rank among the top search results. Proper use of keywords is a crucial aspect of SEO.

Therefore, you need to infuse the most-searched keywords strategically in your content so as not to miss your audience and vice versa. Find the best keyword research tools here.

Content Marketing and Management

Content management refers to curating and distributing content for a positive customer response. We cannot overemphasize the significance of having a solid marketing and management strategy. Both work hand-in-hand to draw up leads through top-notch content effectively. Adopting a quality and calculated approach puts you ahead of your competitors.

Consistently publishing helpful content can boost your brand awareness and increase your conversion rate. Don’t forget that conversion rates and affiliate earnings depend on the magnitude of your audience. Above all, remember to embed your Amazon affiliate links in the most practical way across your content.

Amazon Affiliate Marketing: How to Earn $1000/Month?

Having a beautiful website is not enough to make money through affiliate marketing. In fact, that’s just one ingredient of the recipe. Others may include thorough research, competitor analysis, strategic content, design, etc. To give you a better insight, here are some ways to earn money with Amazon affiliate marketing.

Generate Traffic

You need to produce content regularly to earn some serious cash through Amazon affiliate marketing. However, besides curating rich and quality content, you must constantly find ways to direct and attract traffic to your website. No one visiting your website is tantamount to no earnings, which is a problem.

A simple way to have a lot of visitors is to invest in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). We recommend signing up at SellerApp to find target keywords and learn how to optimize web pages for search engines to recognize. Also, you can post about your website on your social media page and, in fact, run ad campaigns.

Provide Honest Reviews (Don’t Hype)

Product review is a crucial factor that influences customer decisions. According to research by Pew Research Center, at least two-thirds of shoppers read online reviews before buying a product. Therefore, as an affiliate, you need to take time to do product reviews and deliver as objectively as possible. By all means, refrain from hyping; people can sniff that through their screens. Ensure your content radiates confidence and sounds like you have first-hand experience with the product.

Present the upsides and drawbacks precisely without sugar-coating anything. Your objectivity will enable viewers to make a calculated choice. Including false claims in your review to push sales will always bounce back. First off, the customer never returns to your page and does not recommend your site to friends. Also, Amazon may revoke your Associates’ membership following multiple negative reports about your site.

Consider Widgets and Banner Ads

Banners ads and widgets are excellent provisions to promote available offers and special deals on Amazon. The truth is that people tend to pay more attention to images; therefore, they are likely to click. Luckily, Amazon provides banners to affiliates, so you need not worry about creating one yourself.

Simply log in to your Associates’ account and locate “Product Linking” at the navigation bar. Click “Banners” from the dropdown menu, and copy any image links. Proceed to your website, navigate to your dashboard, and click the following: “Layout,” “Add a Gadget,” “HTML/Javascript,” and “Title.” Add a title, paste the copied link in “Content,” then tap “Save.”

Pay Attention to Festive Periods

You cannot afford to miss celebratory times like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Valentine’s. The truth is that people tend to spend more during festivities, mostly to appreciate their loved ones. So, it is an opportunity to push products that family and friends will appreciate.

During Valentine’s, for example, you should pay attention to red dresses, flowers, etc., if you run a lifestyle or fashion blog. Prices of flowers especially skyrocket due to high demand. Read this piece by CNN Business to find out why. Also, if your niche is interior design, Christmas, New Year, and Thanksgiving are periods people decorate their homes. Act accordingly and see your income soar.

Promote Best-Selling and High-End Products Alongside Alternatives

One simple way to increase your earnings is to do product comparisons or roundups. Product comparison entails comparing two or more related products and recommending one over another. For example, versus articles make it easy for readers to compare products.

On the other hand, roundups involve drawing up a list of items and recommending all based on their strengths. This can be in the form of “Best of” articles. With this, you can promote more than one product in one publication.

Also, it is an opportunity for you to push luxury products alongside cheaper alternatives. For example, when reviewing the best gaming laptops under $1000, ensure you include one or two high-end options above $1000. Don’t forget that the more expensive a product is, the more revenue you generate. 4.5% on $200 and 4.5% on $2000 is a wide gap.

Track Your Promotions

This borders on constantly improving but with a dose of intentionality. Sometimes, you can do everything right and not generate substantial leads, talk less of converts. Here’s why you need to track your promotions.

First off is the need to optimize your content for a higher conversion rate. It is wise to start with identifying where the bulk of your website traffic comes from. Secondly, find out which products in your promotions have the most clicks. Once you identify these variables, you can make data-driven and decisive improvements in your content creation. If you are not a techie, the good news is that Amazon provides the necessary tools for ID generation and tracking. Alternatively, you may opt for Google Analytics plugins.

Also, learn from your competitors by occasionally browsing through their websites. Pay more attention to those with massive results and incorporate their strategies into yours.

Promote Pre-orders, Discounts, and Specials

To be candid, people love discounts. Imagine browsing and seeing a 50% price reduction on a beautiful pair of sneakers. Instinctively, you are compelled to buy. Summarily, discounts attract customers and increase sales. Therefore, to spot the best deals for your viewers, you must regularly browse through the Amazon website. Also, sometimes Amazon lists soon-to-be-released products. Staying ahead of competitors in this regard, you may want to consider creating content in that line.

Sign Up at Pinterest

Someone may ask, “Is this not against Amazon Associates terms?” The answer to this question is “No.” Besides surfing for beautiful pictures, users also look for shopping recommendations and suggestions. According to Statista, Pinterest has about 430 million monthly active users.

All you need to do is build your followers by pinning quality photos capable of stealing attention. As you pin, remember to attach your Amazon affiliate link to each post. Also, make sure whatever you are pinning does not defy the Pinterest Community Guidelines.

Utilize Call-To-Actions and Email Marketing

As soon as your website goes live, start collecting your readers’ email addresses to keep them close. The point is to notify them of new offers that may benefit them constantly. Statistics show that over four billion humans use email every day globally. Going by this figure, it is safe to say that almost everyone who owns an email uses it daily.

A straightforward way to interact with your viewers is to utilize CTAs on your platforms. CTAs are pop-up messages that spur readers to take action. These are mostly in the form of noticeable “Buy Now” and “Sign up” buttons. Place appealing CTAs to encourage your website visitors to subscribe to your newsletter. You can also use CTAs in your emails to further specify their actions.

Mind you, DO NOT SEND AMAZON AFFILIATE LINKS THROUGH EMAIL. You will be banned. Read about the rules here.

Benefits of Amazon Affiliate Marketing

Minimal Requirements and Low Risk

Signing up as an Amazon Associate is free of charge and pretty effortless. The company requests no registration or membership fee; thus, you won’t be losing any money. Interestingly, Amazon welcomes everyone (adult) willing to become its associate, regardless of race, nationality, or gender. However, you must own a live website and be ready to promote Amazon products on it.

Fair Compensation

Depending on each product category, Amazon pays affiliates between 1% and 20% commission on every sale they make. Besides that, you equally earn on every other product added to the cart at checkout. Also, you do not have to withdraw before you receive your earnings. All affiliates that reach the minimum threshold within a 30-day run get paid automatically.

Amazon Is a Well Known E-commerce Platform

Amazon has been around for over two decades and is one of the biggest online retail markets today. The name speaks for itself. In a 2020 report by Statista, over 60% of online shoppers in America chose Amazon as their favorite shopping destination.

Since people trust the company, you do not have to convince anyone that it is not a scam. This goes a long way in alleviating the burden of affiliates in driving sales via their websites as potential customers are comfortable clicking your links.

Extensive Swath of Products

Today there are millions upon millions of products on the e-commerce platform. Amazon has a broad catalog of products covering virtually every niche, from electronics to pharmaceutics, fashion, groceries, etc. What’s more, you can choose to promote any of the product categories. By implication, there is no limit to your scope as an affiliate.

Mouth-Watering Deals and Discounts

Almost all products on Amazon carry some discounts even though the percentages vary. While this is true, Amazon often grants marketers free coupon codes that offer significant price cuts on certain products. Additionally, the company contacts you via email to notify you of upcoming giveaways. The catch is to increase sales. Therefore, create and share content around such topics with your audience.

Our Related Services

Sign up for our newsletter to receive SEO tips, discounts and freebies.

Final Thoughts

If you are passionate about selling, want passive income, and are considering affiliate marketing, we recommend Amazon as a starting point. Get yourself a website, signup at Amazon Associates, get approved, and you can begin. In case you are considering prospects, we tell you without any doubt that becoming an affiliate at Amazon portends a future of enormous possibilities.

Statistics show that about 80% of people shopped online, and the figures in regions like South America and Asia peaked at almost 90%. The exciting part is that Amazon remains the most visited online retail store worldwide. Therefore, if you do your work correctly, you will always have people click your links.

Mind you, success is no fluke, nor does it happen in one night. It is a gradual process that requires hard work intertwined with smart work.