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How to Become an Amazon Affiliate (In 5 Steps)
Amazon flaunts an incredible selection of products, spanning every niche you can imagine. It’s the online shopping haven where you can uncover and introduce your readers to those must-have essentials they can’t live without.
Consider this post a crash course on Amazon Associates. We’re here to give you a quick introduction to Amazon Associates and lay out all the incredible perks that come with joining the world’s most renowned affiliate program.
Then we’ll walk you through the 5 steps on how to become an Amazon affiliate, covering everything from setting up your account to getting your hands on affiliate links for your all-time favorite products.
An Introduction to Amazon Associates
Say hello to Amazon Associates, or as it’s more commonly known, Amazon’s Affiliate Program. As the largest ecommerce company in the world, there’s an awesome opportunity for website owners, bloggers, and all you cool content creators to earn some serious cash.
Here’s how it works: You pick out awesome products you think your audience will go nuts over. Amazon’s got a whopping 12 million options up for grabs, so you’re bound to spot a bunch of cool stuff.
Then, Amazon hooks you up with these personalized referral links that you can slip into your content – whether it’s a blog article, an unboxing video, or a social media post.
Whenever someone clicks on your special link and ends up buying something on Amazon, cha-ching! You pocket a commission based on what they bought.
The Benefits of Being an Amazon Affiliate
Now let’s talk perks that come with being an Amazon Affiliate…
- It’s FREE and EASY to Join. Getting on board as an Amazon Associate is a breeze. There are no upfront costs or membership fees. Anyone can sign up, making it a great opportunity for individuals looking to dip their toes into affiliate marketing without any financial commitment.
- Product Diversity: Amazon is a one-stop shop for just about anything imaginable. As an Associate, you have access to a colossal range of products across various categories – from tech gadgets and fashion to kitchen appliances and books. This means you can align your promotions with your audience’s interests and preferences.
- Earn on Additional Purchases: The magic doesn’t stop with the products you recommend. If a user clicks your referral link to buy one item and ends up loading their cart with other Amazon treasures, you still earn commissions on those additional purchases.
- Reporting Tools for Insights: Amazon provides robust reporting tools that give you insights into how your referrals are performing. You can track clicks, conversions, and earnings, helping you refine your strategies and tailor your promotions to what your audience resonates with the most.
- Customizable Promotion Options: Associates have the flexibility to choose how they promote products. You can generate different types of referral links, including text links, image links, and interactive product widgets.
In a world where clicking “add to cart” has become second nature, teaming up with the big kahuna of ecommerce just makes sense.
What is the Amazon Affiliate program?
The Amazon Affiliate program, or Amazon Associates, is an affiliate marketing program. It’s free for website owners and bloggers to become Amazon Associates. They advertise products from Amazon.com on their sites by creating links. When customers click the links and buy products from Amazon, they earn referral fees.
Still not sure what affiliate marketing is or what it’s all about? Or unsure whether it’s right for you?
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a marketing tactic where an online retailer gives niche website owners the ability to create unique product links (called affiliate links). The website owners must promote the link; in exchange, when someone visits the link and makes a purchase, the website owner automatically receives commission. As an affiliate, you only make money once the link is used in a transaction.
Affiliate marketing is right for you if you already own a website or blog and your content offers opportunities for product mentions. For instance, if you own a recipe blog, you can create links for product ingredients.
It’s not the best fit for you if you sell products directly on your website, although you can use a mixture of product selling and affiliate selling to earn money.
How does the Amazon Affiliate program work?
In the Amazon Affiliate program, associates earn commission by creating unique product links, promoting the links on their website, and driving referral traffic back to Amazon. Here’s how it works:
- Website owners create an Amazon Affiliate account on the platform.
- Amazon gives each website owner a unique Associate ID.
- Once the application has been approved, associates can begin creating affiliate links in their Amazon portal.
- Associates then place the links in blog posts or other parts of their website.
- Once someone clicks the link and makes a purchase, the associate earns commission.
How much does the Amazon Affiliate program pay?
You can earn, on average, from $100 to $20,000 from the Amazon Affiliate program, depending on how many referrals you generate for Amazon. The Amazon Affiliate program operates on a commission basis, meaning you’ll make a percentage per sale.
The commission rate differs depending on the product category. For instance, if you run an automotive blog, you can earn 4.50% from each sale. If you sell three car parts at $1,000 each in one day, you’d make $135 from those three transactions. If you sell the same product 30 times per month, you’d make $1,350 every month.
At the beginning of your Amazon Associate journey, the numbers can skew on the low side, so be sure to have another form of income in addition to being an Amazon Associate.
Before signing up on the platform, it’s important to review the Amazon Affiliate program’s commission rate per product category. That way, you can calculate how much you can potentially earn depending on your website’s niche.
Eligibility Guidelines for the Amazon Associates Program
Although it is free to join the Amazon Associates program, you need to meet certain criteria in order to be eligible. Primarily, you must have a valid Amazon account and be able to promote Amazon products through an active website, mobile app, or social media account.
Let’s dive into the eligibility guidelines for each medium.
Website
Most Amazon Affiliates promote Amazon products through their website or blog. To be eligible, websites must:
- Be owned by the applicant
- Have a minimum of 10 original blog posts, with the most recent one published within the last 60 days
- Be publicly available (no closed groups or paywalls)
Mobile App
App versions of websites are also eligible for the Amazon Associates program. However, your app must:
- Be available for free in the Google Play, Apple, or Amazon app stores
- Provide original content
- Look and function differently from Amazon’s shopping app
Social Media
Influencers are also eligible to participate in the Amazon Associates program.
Influencers aren’t required to have a website to qualify for the program. Instead, they can earn commission by promoting Amazon products through their social media accounts.
To qualify for this part of the program, you must have:
- An active and public Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, or Twitch.tv account (Note: Applicants using Facebook and Instagram are required to use a business account)
- An established following with substantive engagement
- At least 500 organic followers
It‘s important to note that Amazon Associates’ eligibility requirements may vary by country. So, make sure to check the specific requirements for your region.
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3. Use the Amazon Associates SiteStripe to generate Amazon Affiliate links.
A simple way to generate your Amazon Affiliate Links is by using the SiteStripe bar that shows up on product pages when you’re logged in to your Amazon Affiliate Panel.
Just click the Text button in the Get Link selector. You can choose to generate a short link or a full-length link in the popup. Then copy your new Amazon Affiliate link to your clipboard, and you can now use that link in your promotions.
4. Try other product linking options to find and create affiliate links.
Besides linking directly to your favorite products on Amazon, there are a handful of exciting options that can expand your reach and inspire your audience.
Use the Idea Hub to find the best products for your audience.
As an affiliate, you may sometimes find yourself running out of product ideas or you’re not sure which of the latest promotions apply to your niche. The Idea Hub can help. From the Promotions banner, scroll to Idea Hub. Next, click Filter & Sort and use the left-hand menu to narrow your search options.
You can filter by featured content, categories, star rating, and more. For example, if you’re not sure which products in your niche will be available for Prime Early Access, this tool can help you find them.
Link to Favorite Destinations to highlight product lines or categories.
With affiliate content, it’s sometimes more helpful to highlight a product category than individual products. For example, if you’re posting a blog about holiday shipping, you can link to a page full of different packing and shipping supplies. This makes it easier for your audience to find whatever they’re looking for with a single click.
To use this tool, click on Product Linking in the top banner and select Link to Any Page. Then choose the Link to Favorite Destinations tab. From here, you can narrow your search with the drop-down menus on the left. Name your link, then click Get HTML.
A preview link will appear on the right of the tab. You can click this link to see what the page looks like.
Then, click the Highlight HTML button at the bottom to copy your new link.
Link to Search Results to highlight specific keywords within a product line.
Many affiliates succeed with targeted content. You can use this tool to create links for a specific keyword within your product category. For example, if you’re running a spooky lawn decoration promotion for Halloween, you can post a link to that specific search. This lets you highlight many great options for your audience at the same time.
To use this tool, click on Product Linking in the top banner and choose Link to Any Page. Then select the Link to Search Results tab. From here, you can narrow your search with the drop-down menus on the left. Name your link, then click Get HTML.
A preview link will appear on the right of the tab. You can click this link to see what the page looks like.
Then, click the Highlight HTML button at the bottom to copy your new link. You can also click Text in the SiteStripe bar in your preview if you want to create a short link.
Link to Any Page to direct your audience to any Amazon link.
If you want an alternative to the SiteStripe tool, you can also use the Link to Any Page tab to create your affiliate links. To use this tool, click on Product Linking in the top banner and select Link to Any Page.
5. Use the generated link on your site or other promotional materials according to Amazon’s standards.
Just remember that Amazon‘s guidelines prohibit the use of the link in offline promotions, email, and eBooks or PDFs. As with most marketing and sales, quality content is at the heart of success. Ensure you’re attracting your audience with quality content and share relevant affiliate links with them on your site or YouTube channel.
Each link you generate will have a cookie that will then follow your website visitors after they click on the link. This is highly beneficial to you because it increases the likelihood of you receiving a commission for the sale. The only problem is that it only lasts for a limited amount of time
How long does the Amazon Affiliate cookie last?
The Amazon Affiliate cookie lasts for 24 hours after a website visitor clicks on the affiliate link. The cookie stays in their browser for that entire length of time. That way, if they check out at any time in those 24 hours, the purchase will be credited to you.
The Amazon Affiliate cookie is just one of the ways that the Amazon Affiliate program can help you make money. But first, you must get visitors to click on the link — and to do that, you need visitors in the first place.
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