If you read that article, then you want to know how to make money with the Amazon Associates affiliate program?
Hey, pay attention! I’ve been earning through the Amazon affiliate program since 2015.”
In that time, I’ve made good money from it.
I entered that field because I saw great number of my friends that have built sites that made money this way, like the one below, which earned $9,380.65 in a single month.
it is a picture of a profit report for amazon affiliate program
There’s a lot of poor advice out there, often from people who haven’t actually earned anything from Amazon Associates
In this blog post, I’ll set the record straight for you and show you how to do it right, it only needs some effort and continuous work.
But first, let me explain something.
Read more:How Does Amazon Associates Work
Amazon Associates is the company’s affiliate program. After signing up, you’ll see a special toolbar at the top of Amazon.com. This toolbar allows you to create affiliate links for nearly any product on Amazon. You can share these links on your website or social media platforms like YouTube, TikTok, or Pinterest. When someone clicks on your affiliate link, cookies are used to track them.”
it is an image of amazon associates
“Cookies are a web tracking technology, and sadly, they aren’t related to the chocolate chip cookies you enjoyed for lunch. You earn a small commission on any purchases made while the cookie is active, which lasts for 24 hours after someone clicks on your Amazon Affiliate Link.”
Read moreHow can I maximize my earnings during the 24-hour cookie period?How can I create engaging content for my affiliate links?
The key to earning a lot of money? Suggest the right products to the right audience. By doing this on a website or blog, you can begin to earn passive income. Keep reading, and I’ll guide you through the exact steps to achieve this.
it is a picture of money coming from blogging
Explore the Amazon Influencer Program! Watch our detailed explanation of how the program works and how you can earn money with Amazon in a unique way. We also offer tips on getting approved for the Amazon Influencer program👇
Read more:Tell me more about the Amazon Influencer Program.What are some common mistakes to avoid with affiliate marketing?
Who will click on your affiliate link?
It’s clear that you enjoy the idea of earning money by recommending products. However, the important question is: Who will you recommend them to? Without clicks, you won’t earn anything. If that happens, you might be tempted to spam your friends and family.
it is a picture of a person chatting through mobile and recommend product to some one
First, avoid being that person — no one will want to chat with you at the next family barbecue.
Plus, if you do resort to spamming, you might get banned from the program. Amazon doesn’t want that either.
Instead, the right approach is to start a blog and create content on a specific topic. Take a cue from Amazon Affiliate Kevin from Epic Gardening, who wrote a blog post about the Best Water Chillers for Hydroponics.
it is a picture of Epic Gardening wesite
Kevin started as a blogger passionate about a topic he loved. He wrote well-targeted content with the right keywords, which helped him rank on Google. Now, his gardening reviews attract hundreds of thousands of readers every month. However, this success didn’t come overnight. In the early days, his blog had fewer than 100 daily readers. Remember, Amazon isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme or a magic money tree. It offers a way to build an online business and earn money, but it requires effort and dedication. I’ll guide you on how to build a business like Kevin’s later in this blog post. But first, let’s address the main issue at hand.
How Much Can You Make With Amazon Affiliate Program
The commission Amazon pays for each sale varies based on the product category. Here are the current rates:
picture of commissions of amazon affiliate program
Although commission rates of just a few percent might seem small, the Amazon affiliate program has several attractive features. One major benefit is that you earn a referral fee for everything people purchase within 24 hours of clicking your product links, even if they buy something completely different.
It’s easy to end up buying extra items on Amazon! For example, I recently went to buy dog food and ended up also purchasing a new dog collar and an umbrella.
In fact, “Amazon addiction” is a real phenomenon. My friend Yosef recently earned a $240 commission after someone bought an $8,000 metal detector through his link, even though his site has nothing to do with metal detectors!
picture of commissions of amazon affiliate program
Amazon is one of the most trusted websites globally, with over 112 million Americans subscribed to Amazon Prime. Additionally, tens of millions more have their card details saved in their Amazon accounts for quick and easy purchases. This high level of trust and convenience means you can expect a significant volume of sales through the Amazon affiliate program.
How Much Does A Website Make From Amazon Associates
When you create a website to earn money through the Amazon Affiliate Program, you can significantly increase your earnings by exploring other monetization methods for your blog.
Also, keep in mind that a website can be sold for approximately 40 times its monthly revenue. For instance, a website that made $1,700 from Amazon in a particular month could be worth over $64,000 as an asset!
One of the biggest acquisitions of an Amazon Associates website was The Wire Cutter, which was sold to The New York Times for $30 million.
it is an image of wirecutter website bought by new york times
Amazon has a track record of reducing the commissions they pay. Many businesses have a love/hate relationship with Amazon, as highlighted by some of the horror stories from the 2020 Antitrust hearings. Affiliates, in particular, have reasons to be unhappy with Amazon, as the company has significantly slashed their commission rates twice.
Not all categories were cut. But a great many were.
This led many to question whether Amazon Associates was still worthwhile.
The question is :Is Amazon Associates Still Profitable In 2024?
The short answer is yes.
Many affiliate marketers continue to profit from the Amazon affiliate program. However, changes made in 2020 have driven numerous websites to look for alternatives. Unfortunately, there isn’t a single replacement, so sites now need to apply to and manage multiple affiliate programs. While this can be quite a hassle, there are some very lucrative affiliate programs available. We’ve leveraged high-paying affiliate programs to grow a new site to $10,000 per month in revenue within just a year and a half.
Think of Amazon Associates as your starting point or your “catch-all” affiliate program.
Amazon offers the widest range of products and enjoys the highest consumer trust. As your site grows, you can begin experimenting with different affiliate programs. There’s no need to test other programs early on; focus on increasing your traffic first and optimizing monetization later.
Eventually, you’ll find a good balance between high-paying individual affiliate programs and the broad coverage provided by Amazon Associates. This strategy will help you maximize your earnings in 2024.
Read more:
Amazon Affiliate vs Influencer Program
Step-By-Step Guide To Making Money With Amazon Affiliate Program
Amazon Associates is not a get-rich-quick scheme. But, if you are willing to put in the time and effort, you can make great money.
The best way to do this is to build an affiliate website around a single niche.
Here’s your how-to:
Step(1) Choose A Niche That Will Work For Amazon Associates
The best advice for picking a niche that works for Amazon Associates is to follow the money. This doesn’t mean you need to start a site reviewing high-end items like Rolex watches. Instead, make sure the niche you choose is commercially viable and that others are already making money in it.
When I first started building websites, I spent a lot of time trying to find a niche that no one else had discovered. Looking back, this was the wrong approach. If there’s money to be made, someone will have already figured it out. You can use this to your advantage by looking for commercial activity in a niche to validate its potential.
So, how do you do that? A great way is to check writer job boards for sites that are hiring. The ProBlogger Jobs Board is an excellent place to start.
ProBlogger website
Generally, businesses only hire people when they are making money, making this a surefire way to tell if a niche is commercially viable.
Just follow the money to be able to make money like them.
You can use this same “follow the money” tactic to scout website for sale listings on sites like Flippa and Empire Flippers.
Flippa websiteEmpire Flippers website
Remember, though, that money isn’t everything.
It’s far better to choose a niche where you have the ability to create high quality content.
Be sure to validate your niche by making sure there are several smaller or newer sites ranking for some of the competitive keywords.
If your niche is full of giant media companies, consider choosing an easier niche instead to e able to ranke higher and easier in smaller time.
Step (2) Build Your Affiliate Site
In 2024, creating an affiliate site is a breeze, even if you have no design or coding skills. All you need is a .com domain and a hosting provider.
We recommend using SiteGround for both. Their hosting plans start at just $6.99 per month.
If you are building an Amazon Associates site, you can better choose the WordPress platform. It’s the best, it’s built into SiteGround, and it’s free! , so you can start easily.
SiteGround website
Setting it up is as easy as clicking two buttons.
GeneratePress and Kadence provide both free and premium WordPress themes that are ideal for Amazon Associates sites.
To create an appealing color scheme, try using Coolors.
Next, choose some modern fonts with Fontjoy, which is also free.
Finally, you can design your own logo using Canva’s free version, even if you have no design experience.
Canva website
Step(3) Sign Up to Amazon Associates:
It’s fast and free to sign up.
Go to the website and click the “Sign up” button to begin your application.
picture of amazon associate program
Next, you’ll need to create an Amazon account. If you already have one, simply sign in to your existing Amazon shopping account here.
picture of amazon associate program
Provide your address details, or choose an existing address from your Amazon account.
Then, input your website URL in the designated box and click the “Add” button.
Due to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), Amazon Associates does not accept sites targeted at children. If your website isn’t aimed at children, select “No.”
Finally, you’ll need to create a unique store ID, which will be included in all your link URLs.
Next, provide a brief description of your website, outlining the type of content you intend to create.
Then, choose the relevant topic for your website and indicate which products you plan to promote.
Decide how you will drive traffic to your website. I typically use SEO (Search Engine Optimization), which I will discuss in Step 6 of this article. Select the suitable options from the remaining drop-down menus.
Once you agree to their terms and conditions, you’re all set! You’ll get an email with your account details.
After signing up, you have 180 days to make three sales. If you don’t, you’ll need to sign up again.
Once you make those three sales, Amazon will manually review your website to ensure it meets their quality standards. They just want to make sure you’re following the program rules and being honest.
One crucial rule is to include the Amazon disclaimer on every page of your website. Simply add the text, “As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.”
READ MORE: How to Become an Amazon Affiliate
Step (4) Publish Commercial Content:
Commercial content is used to review and promote affiliate products.
The focus of your article should be a product, which works great for Amazon Associates since you’ll get people who are already interested in the product coming to your site from Google.
They will most likely be considering making a purchase — the perfect time to show them your Amazon affiliate link.
The thing is, the big players know this too.
They tend to target higher priced products, as they pay higher commissions.
With this in mind, don’t try and compete with them — at least not while you’re just starting out.
Even if you write a great article, you are unlikely to get much organic traffic if you have to compete with the big boys.
Instead, go for more obscure keywords.
The “vs article” is perfect for this. Simply compare one product to another.
For example, take the keyword “Royal Canin Dog Food review.”
Several established sites are already targeting that:
Royal Canin Dog Food review
We can see that some Reddit comments are ranking, indicating lower competition.
By writing a comparison article on the features and benefits of Royal Canin versus Purina One, we have a good chance of ranking for this keyword.
While crafting your article, research each brand thoroughly to create a solid comparison.
Start with a strong introduction that gets straight to the point and avoids repeating information your readers already know.
To make your content more engaging, consider filming a YouTube video on the topic and embedding it in your article.
If you don’t have time for that, you can embed almost any relevant YouTube video from another channel.
In fact, I’ll do that myself right now.
Once you’ve seen some success from writing that type of articles “vs articles,” you can try some other types of commercial content that you can write:
Alternatives Posts — Ranking alternatives to a certain productRoundup Reviews — Comparing the best products for a certain useSingle Product Reviews — A detailed review of a single product.
Step (5) Insert Amazon Associates Links
Once you’ve crafted your commercial content, it’s time to add your Amazon Associates affiliate links. Here’s how:
– Log into Amazon Associates Central and head over to Amazon.com. You’ll notice the SiteStrip bar at the top of the page.
– Find the product page you want to link to and click the “Text” link under “Get Link.” This will generate your Amazon affiliate link.
– Pro Tip: Always use the “Full Link” instead of the shortened version. It makes managing your links easier as your site grows. You can also create product images to link to.
– Insert the Amazon link into your article.
– For images, select the Image link on the SiteStrip bar. Choose a large image size (even large images can be quite small). Copy the link and insert it into your article as an HTML block in WordPress.
And there you have it! Your article is now equipped with Amazon affiliate links, ready to earn you commissions.
It’s generally a good idea to place Amazon links in these spots within your content:
Early on: Include them in the first few paragraphs of your article.With images: Add links whenever you use an image in the article.New mentions: Insert links the first time you mention a new product or alternative.Conclusion: Place a link at the end of the article within a call to action statement.
Step (6) Use Search Engine Optimization To Promote Your Site:
Building links to your content is the next stage once you’ve begun publishing it on your website.
Links pointing to your website from other websites are seen by most search engines as a kind of vote.
It’s better if you have more links. Additionally, the more links you have from reputable, well-established websites, the better.
How then do we obtain these?
Go into HARO.
The acronym for “Help a Reporter Out” is HARO.
picture of HARO website
Journalists utilize it as a tool to find quotes, viewpoints, and subject matter experts for their stories.
You will receive three emails a day with a long list of questions as soon as you sign up.
Just a few daily answers will help you generate a lot of backlinks to your website.
This strategy can be combined with other link-building techniques like skyscraper link building and guest posting.
Building links can be laborious and time-consuming. However, if you’ve accumulated a sizable following, Google and other search engines will begin sending you daily visitors.
This is how you may create a legitimate passive income stream with an Amazon Associates business.
Additionally, keep in mind that SEO is more than just constructing links; check out our SEO affiliate marketing tactics; we’ll publish a comprehensive post about how to optimize effectively.
Step( 7) The Winning Formula:
The truth is that earning money with Amazon Associates is not a mystery.
Using content to add value, SEO to get traffic, and Amazon affiliate links to monetize are the winning formulas.
Next, consider alternative forms of website monetization that operate in tandem with Amazon Associates.
There are no short cuts or magic cures in this situation; be wary of those who claim differently.
Establishing and expanding an Amazon affiliate website is a labor-intensive process. Most won’t even attempt it. Instead of learning digital marketing, many would prefer to just watch Netflix.
However, I would advise you to get going if you are committed to succeeding.
Always, the first step is the most difficult.
As someone who has been in this industry since 2015 and has sold multiple businesses during that time, I can tell you for a fact that it is absolutely worth it.
How to Make Real Money with Amazon Affiliate Program was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.