Disclosure: Bear in mind that some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.
If you are new at affiliate marketing and looking for ways to hit the ground running, perhaps the best program for you to join first is The Amazon Affiliate Program, also known as “Amazon Associates.”
As if being an eCommerce giant isn’t enough, Amazon also offers one of the largest affiliate networks in the world that helps content creators, publishers, and website owners monetize their traffic.
Compared to other affiliate programs (ClickBank, JVZoo, ShareAsale), Amazon Associates has a low barrier to entry.
In a matter of minutes, you can sign up, get approval, and start slapping your affiliate links across the web (although I don’t recommend you do that.)
In today’s post, I want to share with you how you can make money through affiliate marketing, with Amazon Associates.
We’ll also touch on some of the reasons why Amazon associates is an ideal option for new affiliates and discuss some of the drawbacks it brings as well.
In order to make the most informed decision of whether amazon associates is right for you, I recommend you hang tight till the end.
Once we weigh the pros and cons, if you decide you rather look into another affiliate network, that’s okay too. I think I have some options that you might like.
Without further ado, let’s get into my New Affiliate’s Guide to The Amazon Affiliate Program.
What is Amazon Associates?
Again, Amazon Associates is Amazon’s very own affiliate program that allows website owners, bloggers, YouTubers, Social media influencers, and Developers to promote any amazon product and earn a commission from it.
This works by a customer clicking your affiliate link and buying a product from Amazon, then the purchase is traced back to you and you get a portion of the sale.
That is pretty much the gist of it. If it doesn’t sound complicated it’s because it isn’t. Nearly anyone can get started with Amazon Associates.
Pros of the Amazon Affiliate Program
There are various reasons you might want to get started as an Amazon Affiliate. But, perhaps the best reasons to do so are listed below:
1. The number of products to promote
The amazing part of promoting with Amazon is, of course, it’s size. Amazon is a massive eCommerce giant with millions of products. And guess how many of those products you can promote?
All of them! You have millions of options to choose from; no matter what niche you’re in, there will be a product to offer your audience.
Even if you happen to briefly mention a product in your content, you can share an affiliate link to that said product so your audience can check it out on Amazon.
2. It’s free to join
Now, this isn’t a feature exclusive to Amazon Associates. Matter of fact, most affiliate programs are free to join.
However, with that being said, Amazon is probably the easiest program to join.
You’ll find that some affiliate programs can take days or several attempts to join( I’m talking about you Shopify!)
Like I mentioned earlier, signing up for Amazon associates is a matter of clicking a few buttons and waiting a couple of minutes for your approval.
A Lengthy Side Note: Of Course, when applying to ANY affiliate program, you want to already have an active website, blog, or YouTube channel. It’s also helpful if you’ve pre-populated that platform with content.
Amazon Associates is no exception to this rule. They want to make sure you have the means to promote their stuff.
Creating your own website can seem intimidating but it’s actually really simple. If you aren’t sure what platform and hosting to choose, you can never go wrong with WordPress and Bluehost.
The majority of people recommend those two platforms because they are literally made for each other. Plus, Bluehost also comes with a one-click WordPress set-up, making it very straightforward.
If you don’t the slightest clue where to start, this step by step guide should be more than useful.
3. Amazon is a highly trusted and reputable company.
Something to consider when promoting affiliate products is whether or not the merchants are trustworthy.
You will find with affiliate marketing, not all product pages look legit. The offer pages can sometimes look suspicious, which deters customers from wanting to buy.
If you were a customer, would you rather see a page like the one above or the all-familiar Amazon market page? Don’t worry I’ll wait.
Purchasing a product online, especially from someone you don’t know, can leave people skeptical. And why shouldn’t it? Nobody ever wants to get ripped off.
Amazon has worked hard to create a reputation amongst their customers. No one is going to think twice about the legitimacy of your affiliate offer if they see the Amazon brand behind it.
4. 24 Hour Cookie Duration
The next pro is rather subjective depending on who you talk to. But, let me explain first.
Affiliate cookies determine the duration of time that a sale is attributed to you after someone clicks on your affiliate link.
While other affiliate programs have cookies that last 30, 60 or even 365-days after someone clicks your link, Amazon Associates’ is only valid for 24 hours.
Meaning, if someone clicks on your amazon affiliate link, they have an entire day to make a purchase before it’s no longer attributed to you.
Bummer, right? Not exactly.
We are talking about Amazon here people! When most customers go to Amazon they don’t typically just buy one product.
Sure, they might start with the intent of buying just one thing but, after browsing the marketplace for a few minutes (or hours), they end up with a shopping cart full of different products.
And guess what! You get a commission from every product they purchase, regardless of whether they buy your initial product or not.
Because Amazon is so effective at getting customers to buy, the odds of increasing your overall earnings are high.
5. Amazon’s one-click buy feature
A more subtle advantage you have when promoting with Amazon is the one-click buy feature.
This brings us back to the trust factor that Amazon creates. Most of Amazon’s users already have their credit card info saved in the Amazon system. So, when they do decide to make a purchase, it’s only a matter of clicking a button.
This streamlines the sales process and leads to more sales for you, the affiliate.
Cons Of The Amazon Affiliate Program
I could probably come up with some other advantages to Amazon Associates but instead, I think it’s time we discuss the cons.
1. Low Commission Rates
Compared to other affiliate programs, Amazon’s affiliate program offers some of the lowest commission rates in the game. On average you can expect to make between 6-10% in commission, depending on the product you sell.
Unless your customers are buying big-ticket items (say a treadmill for instance) you really won’t make earth-shattering figures.
With other affiliate programs like ClickBank, affiliates can earn from anywhere between 40-90% in commission on more expensive products.
The reason for Amazon’s low commissions is because the majority of the products they sell are physical products. With physical products there are overhead expenses involved, therefore they cant offer as much in commission.
Digital products, like courses and information products, don’t have as many expenses involved. This is why affiliates can make so much just from one sale.
2. 24 Hour Cookie Duration
Ah, We come back to the cookie duration. Although when customers shop on Amazon they often buy more than one item, what if a referral doesn’t buy within that time frame?
Unfortunately, you as the affiliate won’t get credit for the sale. This is where the 24-hour cookie duration becomes a double-edged sword. The only exception to this is when a product is already added to a customer’s cart, in which case your cookie lasts for 90 days
3. You Aren’t Allowed to send Amazon affiliate links in emails
This is by far the most disappointing part about Amazon’s affiliate program and quite frankly it doesn’t make sense to me.
You can ask anyone. Email marketing is such a vital part of affiliate marketing. Some may say it’s the most important part.
With Email marketing, affiliates can follow up with their leads and try to resell them on products they might be interested in. Once you get someone to opt into your email list, they become way more likely to purchase your offer.
But, with Amazon Associates, if your emails include your Amazon Affiliate links you aren’t allowed to send them. This includes blog posts that get sent as emails.
Hopefully, Amazon will do away with this feature in the future, as it ultimately hurts them. But, for right now, you are going to want to reserve your email marketing for other affiliate products.
4. Overly strict terms of service
As easy as it is to get accepted into Amazon’s Affiliate program, it’s just as easy to get banned.
Amazon Associates is notorious for banning affiliate accounts that have supposedly broken a rule in their Terms of Service.
In order to keep promoting through amazon, you have to follow their extensive list of terms. Yes, the ones that we all skip through.
Worse still, Amazon is very vague about the reasons for banning your account, making it difficult to know what caused the violation and therefore fix it.
So, if you do decide to partner up with Amazon make sure that you at least skim through their terms.
How to get the most benefit from the Amazon affiliate program
Now that we have gone over the advantages and disadvantages of Amazon Associates, I want to give you some tips on how you can be the most successful with this program.
Tip #1: Write articles with Purposeful intent
Even before you sit down to write your blog post or record your video, make sure you have a clear goal in mind. You want to make sure your content, first and foremost, solves an issue or answers a question your audience has.
Thinking about your audience’s intent, the reason why they came to your content in the first place, is how you drive sales.
Also, you want to make sure your content is engaging and focused on a topic they care about. Don’t make the mistake of assuming you know what they want to read.
Do some keyword research in your niche to find what topics are trending. After that, choose a product that addresses that issue.
With that being said, you never want to appear as if you are merely trying to sell your audience on a product. People can often tell this is what you are trying to do, which can hurt your credibility.
Write in such a way that allows your audience to identify with you. If trust is built, sales will naturally follow
Tip #2: Invoke curiosity
Another good practice when creating content is creating curiosity amongst your audience.
We, humans, are naturally curious. We love a good mystery or the opportunity to piece together a problem.
Use this to your advantage when you are blogging or video recording.
Instead of coming straight out the gate, telling your audience what to expect, have them figure it out. In other words, don’t reveal everything!
When mentioning your product, perhaps don’t use its name. Use hints or clue to have them guess what it is, without telling them.
This is a method you want to use sparingly, like for top countdown reveals and the like. Once again this creates engagement with your audience which increases views and ultimately sales.
Tip #3: Review expensive items
When it comes to the type of content to create, review blogs or videos are simply the best way to go. Ideally, you are also going to want to review high ticket items.
I say this because 1) high ticket items increase the income you get as an affiliate and 2) expensive items have greater perceived value, which creates more interest.
Think about it this way. Is someone more likely to be searching for reviews on “the best plastic dog bowl”, or rather, will they be looking for reviews on something a bit more expensive, like “the best back-to-school Laptop?”
As long as your review content is produced well and informative, your reader will feel that much more secure knowing they have all the information they need to make the purchase.
Tip #4: Build Up An Audience
Possibly the best way to increase your Amazon affiliate earnings is by growing your audience.
Of course, this is not something you can achieve overnight. Building a following takes some work in the beginning but, in the long run, it is extremely profitable.
Whether you build out a blog in a specific niche or build up a massive Instagram following, you’ll be better off having an audience you can resell to.
Overlooking this crucial step can make the difference between you making a few sales or building a truly passive business.
Tip #5: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
This last tip will not only help you find success as an amazon affiliate but as an affiliate of any program.
Regardless of whether you have a website, a Facebook page, or Youtube Channel, SEO will result in your biggest wins as an affiliate.
The reason why SEO is so effective is that it brings free organic traffic to your website without the need for paid advertisements. And, as long as you hold your rank within the search engine, you can be guaranteed to get traffic over time.
However, just like building your audience, SEO takes some work initially but, pays for itself in the end.
A good rule of thumb is focusing your content around a few keywords–ones that aren’t too broad or competitive–and trying to place for those keywords. You can do this by incorporating those keywords as much as you can in your content, without overdoing it
If your website is well optimized and your Amazon affiliate link is properly placed, you should have no trouble reaching success.
Concluding Thoughts
As you can see, when deciding on an affiliate program, Amazon Associates is definitely one to consider. Yes, It has it’s advantages and disadvantages, but at the end of the day, all affiliate programs do.
For new affiliate marketers, Amazon associates can be a fantastic way to start monetizing your content quickly, without too much hassle.
As long as you are purposeful with your content, invoke curiosity, review high ticket products, and focus on SEO, you should be able to maximize your potential with Amazon Associates.
Nevertheless, I hope you found this content helpful in steering you in the right direction.
I’m curious to know what you think about Amazon Associates. Do you think it is the ideal fit for you and your business or do you think, perhaps, a different affiliate program will do the trick?
If you are still on the fence, you might want to check out this article.
——>Top 15 Affiliate Marketing Websites & Programs For 2020<——
It was an invaluable resource for me when picking what Affiliate networks to join.
As always, your comments and suggestions for future posts are welcomed.
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