Over the years, Amazon has become the most popular and easy-to-use affiliate platform. By using its affiliate program,
you won’t require much effort to monetize your site or blog. This is why most site owners have turned it into their major source of affiliation. In this Amazon Affiliate Program review, you’ll learn how to make the most of Amazon as an affiliate marketer.
Although you can make money from being an affiliate with Amazon, there are still a lot of policies that most people are unable to deal with. If you fail to comply with any of these policies, you will end up getting a temporary or lifetime ban.
In this review, we’ll be looking at some key areas in Amazon affiliate marketing. This will let you decide if it’s the best option for your site or blog.
Amazon Affiliate Program – A Brief Overview
Being part of the Amazon Affiliate Program provides you with a wonderful opportunity to get more value from the content you create.
Pros
- Support is readily available
- The platform is easy to use
- Competitive commission
- Lots of products to promote
Cons
- The Policies are too strict
- It may not be profitable to specific niches.
Full Review
In this part of the post, I’m going to walk you through everything that has to do with Amazon associates. First, we are going to talk about their commission rates.
Commission Rates
Although some products may have lower commissions, the Amazon affiliate program is profitable to some categories of products.
This is a rundown of how the commission rate is worked out.
- Digital videos, physical music, digital music – 5%
- Amazon Fresh, grocery, video game consoles, health, and personal care – 1%
- DVD and Blu-ray, PC components, PC – 2.5%
- Business and industrial supply, outdoors, sports, home improvement, furniture, lawn, and garden – 3%
- Television, Digital video games – 2%
- Luxury Beauty Products – 10%
- 3% for toys
- 4% Amazon tablets and Kindle devices
- 4.5% for paper books, healthcare, personal care, sports, kitchen, car, and baby products
- 5% for grocery items, handmade items, or musical instruments
- 6% for headphones, beauty products, musical instruments, business, and industrial supplies
- 7% for clothes and accessories, Amazon TVs, Amazon Echo products, and jewelry
- 8% for furniture, lawn, and garden, home improvement, pantry, and pet products
- 10% for Amazon fashion items and Amazon Coins
You also need to be aware that the commissions mentioned above are subject to change, and these changes do occur frequently. It is advisable to check the Amazon affiliate site to confirm before promoting any product.
Apart from the direct affiliate commission mentioned above, there is also another form of affiliate commission that you can benefit from. It is called the Amazon benefit program. This is simply the payment you will receive when someone subscribes to a service that Amazon provides.
You will only get commissions when your link is used.
The price of this bounty normally ranges from a price of $3 to $15 depending on the category.
Ease of Use
It doesn’t take a lot of skills for you to use the program. Getting a link for any product or service you want to promote will not take you much time. It is easy to use, and I’m going to show you some steps to follow in getting a link to a product. The steps are shown below.
- When you get to the homepage after logging in, you will find the search bar at the top of the home screen. It is called the site strip
- Once you have clicked on the search bar, type in the name of the exact product you want to promote
- Once the product you want shows up, select the kind of link you would like to get for it. You can then use this link for promotion
Support
The support staff for Amazon affiliates can be very nice and good to talk to, but they are unhelpful 50% of the time.
They give you the opportunity to call, chat during open hours, and even send emails. But most times they give contradictory answers to issues and complaints.
Terms of Service
The Amazon affiliate terms of use are what most people have issues with. If you happen to go against any of the terms of service, they may not be merciful to you. You can get banned for not complying with any of its terms of service. Here is a list of some things you shouldn’t attempt.
- Specifying the price of an item
- Shortening links outside Amazon
- Mentioning Amazon reviews
- Making your personal purchases with your link
This and more are the things you should never think of doing while you are an Amazon affiliate.
Pros and Cons
In this part of the post, we are going to look at the things that Amazon does really well, and also the things that they are bad at. First, we will look at the pros.
The Pros
When it comes to promoting affiliate products for Amazon, there are lots of advantages that come along with it, they are all listed and explained below.
- Support staff are readily available – Although its support may not be helpful half of the time, support reps always go out of their way to find solutions to your issues
- The platform is easy to use –the Amazon affiliate website has a feature called the site strip. This feature makes it easier for you to add affiliate links to your site. You can create image links, and also text links
- Competitive commission – for products in most niches, the commission can be very competitive
- Lots of products to promote – there are lots of products in amazon’s affiliate program when you are part of it, it provides you with a wide range of products to promote.
Cons
Just like everything that has an advantage; the Amazon affiliate program also has its downsides. A few of them are mentioned below.
- Policies are too strict – the Amazon affiliate terms of service may be too difficult for some site owners to cope with
- May not be profitable to specific niches – Although the Amazon affiliate program provides you with a wide range of products, there are still some products that are not profitable.
What Niche is More Profitable?
The Amazon associate program might grant you access to a wide range of products, but they are still a number of products that will be more profitable to you. These products are within the; physical product niche. These are the kind of products that can be purchased and delivered to your doorstep.
Although other product categories may be profitable, the physical product niche is more profitable.
Guide to Campaigning Products on Social Media
Although you are allowed to place product links on your social media profiles, there are a number of restrictions attached to it. Some are mentioned below.
- If you are using Twitter, it must be a verified account
- You must be the real owner of the profile you are using
- Make it known that you will get commissions for any purchase made using your affiliate links
A Detailed Tutorial
In this part of the post, I am going to take you through a tutorial. This tutorial will help you understand how the Amazon affiliate account operates.
Becoming an Affiliate
When you go to Amazon’s homepage, scroll down to the bottom of the page and search for “Become an Affiliate”. Click on the signup button and fill in the paperwork.
After entering your basic information, you will be asked to select an affiliate ID. Give detailed answers to the other questions you will find.
You will also be asked some basic questions about your site. Be honest while answering those questions because they will most likely be checked. After that, you will be asked to verify your identity and wait for approval.
When you have been approved, that is when your work really begins. You need to make 3 qualifying purchases in sales within 180 days to stay qualified to be an Amazon associate. This will greatly determine how well you can work with the program. So you need to have a plan on how you will present Amazon’s products to promote and sell them.
If your Amazon account is canceled because of the lack of sales after 180 days, you can reapply, so don’t panic.
Steps to Marketing Products
We have already discussed the do’s and don’ts of promoting products on Amazon. But these rules are the ones you are to comply with while trying to reach up to the six months requirements.
- Don’t ask friends and family to buy using your link
- Don’t use your own links to buy any products
Product Linking
One very important option on the Amazon affiliate dashboard is the opportunity to come up with multiple types of links. You can make all the types of links listed below.
- Mobile popups
- Regular links
- Mobile and desktop banners
- Native Shopping Ads
Most of us might not be aware of what these different kinds of links are, so it is good we talk about them a little.
Mobile Popup Ads
This is an improved way of inserting ads into the mobile version of websites. It typically works by embedding an ad across the bottom of a mobile phone screen. These ads are usually made from the Amazon affiliate links you have placed on your site.
Native Shopping Ads
This type of link can serve as regular Ads on your site. They come in a few different forms. There is an option to input products by readers’ browsing history. There is also an option for readers to search for their preferred choice of products.
Banners
Banners are something you shouldn’t be much involved with. They are usually used to promote certain deals that are being given by Amazon. These deals may change at any instant, so it would be advisable to stay away from this option.
The Dashboard
As an Amazon affiliate, the dashboard is where you would find basically everything you’ll need. The basic thing that the dashboard is used for is to check your earnings. Others include the creation of links or checking for deals that are available.
Bounty Program and Promotions
When you get to the Amazon affiliate homepage, you will find the “promotion” tab. This tab will show you the various categories of things that Amazon is currently promoting. These promotions can change at any instant, so it will be your choice to use or not to use them.
The other is the bounty program. This option will be helpful to sites that are struggling to sell physical products. This is basically the subscription to any of Amazon’s online programs. When you get someone to sign up, you will get a good commission for it.
Other Features
Now let’s take a look at some features on the platform that may be very useful to you. We are going to focus on two of these features. You can use most of the features to increase your earnings.
API
API is a tool you will need in dealing with some requirements of the Amazon affiliate program. There are lots of things Amazon prohibits, and this API updates you with information that will help you fully comply.
Onelink
Onelink will be important when directing your visitors to make a purchase. You can use this feature to direct your visitors to the Amazon store of their native country.
Reports
This section is one that should be used by all Amazon affiliates. The section allows you to see how well your affiliate account has performed within the last few months.
You can view your earnings, the products that were successfully purchased and shipped, the number of click-throughs you have gotten, and many other things.
This section is important in knowing the direction your conversions are coming from. It helps you determine the area or product you need to put more effort into promoting. The report section is extremely useful.
FAQ
What is an Easy Way to Get Amazon Affiliate Links?
There are lots of ways you can get product affiliate links on Amazon. The easiest way you can do so is site strip. When you get to the homepage, check the top of the screen for a search bar. The search bar is called site strip. Search for the exact product you want to promote, and you will then be given a text or image link you can use.
How Will I Know if a Product is Out of Stock?
This can be a huge problem for site owners who make lots of revenue from physical products. You may have problems when the products for the links on your site are no longer available. This is something that you need to keep a check on regularly so you can update out-of-stock links.
Wrapping up
At this point, you now fully understand what the Amazon affiliate program is all about. You now know how to navigate the platform and successfully become part of the program.
The decision of becoming part of the program solely depends on you. If the requirements and the commissions are
suitable, you should go ahead and register to become part of the program.
You can have a lot of success in promoting and selling just Amazon products. Make sure that you also have an autoresponder on your website to collect subscribers for further marketing.
I hope this has helped, please leave a comment, like, and share. Thank you.
LILY
This was very helpful and should be read by anyone who wants to become an Amazon affiliate. I agree that the policies they have are restrictive. I don’t agree with them not wanting us to share Amazon reviews, since those reviews would help promote their products, but someone once told me that they don’t want us to share those reviews, because sometimes the reviewers change or delete them? And prices can change.
Support at Amazon is indeed very friendly and they usually reply quickly. Sometimes they provide great help and sometimes their replies didn’t really help much; I’ve had both experiences, but there have been occasions when some of the support staff have gone out of their way to help me. In general they are very nice.
Thanks for the feedback Christine on the staff there. They are very helpful and most of the time when they can’t help they at least make you feel supported. I appreciated your take on the Amazon reviews and see their point but it would be great to be able to add the positive ones to our blogs. I guess people can see them when they go and review the product on Amazon.
Hi Lily! This is a fabulous and thorough post, thank-you. I recently joined Amazon Associates and I had no idea that they could ban you for certain activities. Thanks for the warning! In your opinion, is the Associate’s program a good one for beginning affiliate marketers- provided that they heed the warnings?
I truly think that their program is a good one as long as you have a plan on how you will promote and sell their products right from the start. With so many products available you should be able to get your 3 sales in 180 days if you have lots of content with links to Amazon.
Thank you for this review. I joined the Amazon affiliate program when I first started my website and didnt get any sales for 180 days and was banned. I am happy to learn that I can apply to rejoin again from this review. It really is helpful and the commission structure you outlined also gives one an idea of Amazon and its commission rates.
I know that it can be a bit daunting to lose your Amazon affiliate status when you are just getting started. I did and that is why I wanted to tell everyone that you can apply again and rejoin. By that time you will have a great plan for selling their products. Make sure that you follow all their other rules as I wouldn’t want you to get banned.
As an Amazon affiliate, I would say that this affiliate program is fairly good to work with since it is popular and the store is trusted. And the fact that you get paid for not only the things you are promoting but also for those that the buyer decides to buy alongside what you promote is a good thing.
However, the percentage commissions they offer especially for health products are not quite competitive and an affiliate cannot fully depend on them mostly because of the ever-changing policies of the program.
In my opinion, Amazon is a good place to promote affiliate products but it shouldn’t be fully relied on.
Totally agree with your sentiment Dave. One of the things that I have learned in 2 years of listening to people’s stories is that you need to have about three streams of income so that if one falls over with rule changes you can still earn a living whilst adjusting. Many have gone ahead of us and learned the hard way. Always best to have a plan B and C.
Thank you for an honest review of the Amazon program. I have considered joining the Amazon affiliate program but I have been wary of Amazon’s strict Terms of Service, policy changes, and their ok, not great, commission structure. This you have confirmed in your review. What is attractive is that it is fairly easy to apply for and that there are an extensive product and sub-product range. As a new affiliate marketer myself this might be an option to apply for once I get some blog content on the board as it will allow me the chance to better understand the ramifications around managing a dashboard and other features that Amazon has, which would be somewhat similar to other affiliate programs I plan to apply for later. Thank you for your up close and personal look at the AAP.
You are so correct Hugh. It is a big step and one worth taking as you learn and grow with your websites. Basically, you are leaving money on the table if you are not using the Amazon Affiliate Program to sell products and help people to make good decisions.