20 minutes 
There are many ways to make money online, but today we bring you one of the main ones. Introducing the Guide to Joining the Amazon Affiliate Partner Program.
A what? Well, it’s not about buying shares of the giant company, but about making sales through your online channels to earn a commission. It doesn’t matter if you have a blog, a YouTube channel, an Instagram account, or any medium through which you harvest a loyal audience; referring customers to Amazon has become one of the most solid ways to earn commissions and generate passive income in recent years.
With benefits that far outweigh the details of the affiliate process, Amazon’s referral program may be exactly what you’ve been looking for as a content creator. That’s why we dedicated ourselves to building this essential guide where you’ll learn everything you need to know to become an Amazon partner and start generating commissions from your own content.
What is the Amazon Partner Program
Imagine you want to remodel your kitchen and you don’t know where to start. You see your cookware and say ‘sure, I need a whole new set, but which one is the best’, and then you go to Google and start your search. You’re going to come up with a bunch of results, including first of all a horizontal list of options by major retailers and chain sellers in your area or region.
But being ads, you’d rather go to the organic results for your search. To the specialized product or multi-topic blogs, or to the top-ranked videos, and there you’ll find what you’re looking for. Lists, tops, and recommendations of the best cookware and cookware sets.
Once you have browsed through all the options, read reviews, and consulted quotes, you click on the one you liked the most. You discover that it takes you directly to Amazon, where you are just one click away from buying and becoming the owner of a brand new cookware set. And if you decide to buy, that blog or YouTube channel comes out earning a commission.
Amazon affiliation is something you’ve probably seen many times before. It involves partnering with Amazon so that every sale they generate through you earns you a commission. These commissions depend on several factors, but what is certain is that working with Amazon can mean a lot of benefits in the medium and long term.
Amazon is the world’s leading online retailer, with impressive figures and huge companies being part of its associate program.
This program is one of the main ways through which content creators from all over the world can generate ongoing commissions. If they integrate it into an entire affiliate marketing strategy, they can generate considerable passive income.
In a nutshell, Amazon’s affiliate program works like this: a customer sees a product on your blog, clicks on that product, goes to Amazon and buys. That’s it, there’s your commission. Just like with pots and pans.
Now, while the principle of the process is quite simple, there is a whole mechanism that must work very well if you want to generate sales on Amazon. This ranges from the niche of the product you are promoting, how you are promoting it, and whether you are talking to the right audience when selling. For example, if you’ve been promoting sporting goods, pans won’t appeal to the audience you’ve built.
How much do Amazon partners earn per sale?
The value of referral commissions depends mainly on the Amazon category the product you sell is in. Here’s a list of some of the top categories on Amazon, and the percentage of commissions left to content creators for generating any sales.
- Furniture, Home, Home Improvement, Gardening, Pet Products, Pantry: 3.00%.
- Headphones, Beauty, Musical Instruments, Industrial and Business Supplies: 3.00%.
- Tools, Outdoor: 1.00
- Sports: 3.00% Sports: 3.00
- Baby Supplies: 3.00%.
These Amazon percentages pertain to the cut in commissions on sales of its products, announced in April 2020. However, these figures continue to mean a considerable income for content creators working with Amazon Affiliates. Don’t worry too much about these changes, as they continue to be a very good option if you decide to become a member of their program.
Benefits of Amazon Affiliates
Amazon has very powerful factors in its favor, which make it a solid and preferred option for many websites around the world. It is a giant, secure and popular system that has earned the trust of most online shoppers. In addition, it offers many benefits for its affiliates.
Some of the main benefits of the Amazon affiliate program are:
Its popularity and good reputation.
As we mentioned, Amazon is the largest buying and selling space on the Internet. In addition, it was the first to institute an affiliate program in which those who direct purchases to the platform keep a cut of the profit.
Amazon is known worldwide for the security of its purchases and the size of its catalog. This makes it the number 1 choice for those looking to generate income through some internet referral program.
There is something for everyone
If you need something and it’s not on Amazon, are you sure it exists? Amazon has one of the most complete web catalogs on the Internet, with tons of categories where you will find products for anything you can think of.
Thanks to its popularity and the security of its shipments, any company is interested in having its products on this platform to offer them to a worldwide audience.
For you as a content creator, this means that you can find any type of product that might interest your audience. From electronic equipment and pet supplies, to beauty products and furniture. If you have your niche well defined, there’s no way Amazon won’t have something to offer.
You generate more than you sell
Another great benefit of belonging to Amazon’s affiliate program is that you continue to generate commissions if a customer buys any other product following your affiliate link, in addition to the one you are already offering.
Let’s say that in addition to buying that cookware set for your kitchen – which you got to through a website that led you to Amazon – you see in the recommended section a dinnerware set at a good price that you really like. If you buy that other product, the website that sent you to the cookware in the first place gets a commission on the cookware, and on everything you buy on Amazon through that link for the next 24 hours.
Why 24 hours? Because that’s how long Amazon’s cookie tracking lasts. When a customer clicks on your product link, you have exactly one day for them to make the purchase and you can earn your commission.
Guaranteed purchases
Or almost. Amazon has been in business for many, many years, so it has perfected both the art and science of selling. Amazon’s platform is perfectly designed to make the buying process as easy as possible; from offering information, to pricing and promotions, to recommended products are all part of their strategy to make you buy.
This means that if a customer visits a product they are interested in, they are likely to buy it. In addition, Amazon has one of the highest conversion rates on the Internet. This means that when you work as an Amazon affiliate, you have a good head start on earning commissions.
In summary, the advantages of being an Amazon affiliate are based on their good reputation, their expertise and the security of their shopping system. When these three factors combine, you get a fairly comprehensive affiliate program that, with the right strategies, can bring you a lot of profit in a matter of months, or even weeks.
Disadvantages of the Amazon Affiliate Program
Now that you know the most important benefits of working as an Amazon partner, it is important for you to know that, despite being a great option, it also has a few disadvantages that you should be aware of before you start being part of their affiliate program.
Some of the most notorious disadvantages of Amazon as an associate are the following:
Low commissions compared to other associate programs.
In April 2020, Amazon announced to its affiliates a significant cut in commissions earned from the purchase of products linked to advertisers’ content. This was a considerable change, as some categories went from offering an 8% commission per purchase to just 3%.
Despite this cut, Amazon still has a very high conversion rate. There is no major risk of loss as purchases on the platform continue to occur.
The way to prevent this reduction in commissions from being a blow to your affiliate income is to make sure that customers take more than one product through your links. You may earn a small percentage, but it will come safely from one of the largest companies on the Internet.
Few payment methods
A major disadvantage of Amazon’s affiliate program is that it has a very limited number of payment methods. This creates difficulties mainly with those who live outside the United States.
Associates on the platform can only receive payments through wire transfers – local or international – to their bank account, or in the form of Amazon Gift Cards. The affiliate program does not support payments to PayPal, which is one of the preferred methods for receiving online payments. In addition, international checks and deposits are usually not immediate.
Fortunately, Amazon does accept payments to Payoneer, another popular virtual wallet option. This allows both U.S. and international associates to receive their commission payments without involving bank accounts and without hassle.
Short tracking period
Compared to other affiliate programs, Amazon’s cookie tracking period is considerably short. With Amazon Associates, you only have a 24-hour period for a customer to purchase the product you link to on your website.
This can be quite short depending on the type of product you offer, as we know that customers may need several days to consider a purchase. However, if the customer decides to add this product to their shopping cart, Amazon will remember their details for 90 days. In other words, if the purchase is completed, you will have your commission without any problems.
The purpose of being aware of the cons of this type of model is not to discourage you, but to prepare you to take this opportunity with the least amount of risk possible and without irrational expectations about what to expect with this platform’s program.
Remember that planning is everything to get the results you plan for, and is a very important factor in growing your online income.
How to get started with Amazon Partner Program Membership
If you’ve made it this far, it’s because you probably already have a website, blog, or YouTube channel up and running and are ready to start generating revenue with Amazon. That’s why we’ll briefly explain the basics, and then cover in detail some promotional techniques that will prepare you to get the most out of an Amazon affiliate program.
Create your website
Whether it’s a blog, a YouTube channel, a website, or any kind of online space, you should make sure in the first instance that you have a place where you can recommend Amazon products.
You can create a website from scratch with platforms like WordPress that, once you have purchased your host and chosen your domain, help you build your site with tools and plugins that will also be very useful when it comes to incorporating your products.
Once you have created your space, focus on creating and publishing content for this new channel. It doesn’t matter if it’s videos, posts, or any other type of publication; it’s important that by the time you submit your affiliate application to Amazon, you have some content published to keep the process moving smoothly.
Choose your niche
You need to narrow down and know your audience very well so you know exactly what you can offer them in terms of products. This will allow you to start earning your commissions as soon as possible, plus it will help you to position yourself organically in search engines.
Knowing where to target your content will make it easier for you to create and publish, and most affiliate programs – including Amazon’s – ask you to fill in information about the content categories you work in.
It’s very important that your audience and their interactions are organic. Amazon is quite strict when it comes to accepting partnership applications, and one of the first things they evaluate is whether the traffic to your website, channel, or social network is real and organic.
Map out how to promote your Amazon products
Once you have your platform and niche defined, it’s time to figure out how you’re going to promote your products in order to earn commissions. There are a number of factors that influence the buys you can generate, and these depend on external factors, such as trends, and internal factors, such as the quality of the content you create.
Some of the essential elements for promoting Amazon products are as follows:
Do a keyword research.
A fundamental task you should undertake before choosing the products you are going to promote is to do a keyword research. Why? Well, to find out how many searches a specific product has on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
This information will allow you to see the demand for that product, which translates into its profitability. Remember that you are going to offer products that your audience needs, and to perform this search you can use tools such as Google Trends or Keywords Everywhere.
Create quality content
Positioning your content goes completely hand in hand with generating purchases in an affiliate program. The best way to achieve this is by creating quality content that positions you as one of the best in your niche.
Good content ensures credibility, and to earn the trust of your audience you must remain transparent when selling and promoting Amazon products.
Yes, you’re selling them something – and you definitely want them to buy – but you also need to offer interesting and well-curated content so that, at the end of the day, they trust that you’re selling something that really benefits them.
Follow trends
We’re always hearing about some new product that overnight is everywhere, from blogs you frequent to social media posts. Trends change quickly, and while they may be more prominent in some niches than others, you can always take advantage of them.
If there’s a new product that catches your eye because of its popularity, check it out and include it in your content. Similarly, you can capitalize on a trend by relating to and creating a need for a product you are already promoting.
Keep an eye on the seasons
Annual seasons are fantastic opportunities to promote any type of product, as they are usually accompanied by shopping. Summer vacations, Mother’s Day, and of course Christmas are just a few times you can’t miss to offer your audience the products they may need.
Special days of the year are usually accompanied by very attractive offers. Be aware of them and be among the first to advertise and promote them.
Use reviews and comparisons
Remember about building trust with your audience? Well, one of the best ways to make them consider one of your products is through reviews and comparisons in your content.
Product reviews allow you to give your personal point of view on the performance of a certain product. Comparisons, on the other hand, allow the customer to decide on a product, in addition to knowing the pros and cons of each one.
Choose the one that best suits your content and keep in mind that your followers expect honest opinions and not that you are just selling them something.
You are ready to apply to be an Amazon partner
Now that you’re aware of some strategies to get the most out of being an Amazon partner, all that’s left is to apply for affiliation. The general consensus is that this is a somewhat strict process, so you should follow the platform’s instructions to the letter.
Go to https://afiliados.amazon.es/ and click on Join for free, then log in with your Amazon account. From here you will be able to start building your partner profile, filling in each of the fields with the information required by the platform.
You will be asked to enter all the online media through which you will be promoting products. This is where the content of your platforms, their positioning, and the response you are getting from your audience come into play.
When you complete all the information and verify your identity, your application and websites are ready for evaluation by Amazon. Once you are accepted and officially part of their affiliate program, you will have access to the control platform where you will be able to add and monitor all the product links you start promoting.
You are now ready to start earning commissions as an Amazon Associate!
In the second part of this article we will explain the best way to promote the products you choose from the entire Amazon catalog, in order to generate the most sales and increase your income considerably.
Do you already have experience with Amazon, what do you think of their partner program, and let us know in the comments!
