Along with Google and Facebook, Amazon is one of the most visited websites, especially during the pandemic. As an Amazon prime member, you can order many products and have them delivered to you without having to wait too many days. That's not the only way Amazon can benefit you, though. Another way is to become an Amazon Associate. In this article, I'm going to uncover what it means to become an Amazon Associate, what the requirements are, how much the payout is, how to increase. your affiliate earnings, and more
I'll even talk about how affiliate marketing in general differs from another popular business model, local lead generation.
What does it mean to be an Amazon Associate?
Being an Amazon affiliate or Amazon associate means you can promote any of their products online through a variety of different methods and, if anyone buys a product through your affiliate links, you earn a commission.
What makes Amazon Associates different?
Marketers like promoting Amazon products because they show items related to the ones you are promoting at the bottom of the page.
Why does this matter?
This increases the average purchase amount because it entices many people to buy multiple products along with the one you're promoting.
The best part is that when your referred customer buys any of those suggested products, even if you're not promoting them, you also get commission from them.
What are the requirements to become an Amazon Associate?
To be an Amazon associate, the primary requirement is that you have a website, YouTube channel or even a mobile app like TikTok or Instagram.
These platforms are necessary because they are what you’ll use to promote Amazon products. After all, if you're not doing any promotion, there is no point in becoming an Amazon Associate.
Although it doesn’t need to be perfect, to build a great website you need…
There is also the option to become an Amazon Influencer.
Amazon Affiliate Payout
It's important to know how much money you can make before deciding to become an Amazon associate. The amount of commission you earn is all dependent on which product you choose to promote.
Below is a screenshot of the fixed commission rates per product category:
According to Jungle Scout's 2021 State of the Amazon Seller Report, some of the best products to promote are...
- Home & Kitchen
- Sports & Outdoors
- Toys & Games
These product categories may entice you as a place to start off but, be careful. The saturation level is high when looking to sell the most popular products.
If you have enough capital, going after those popular products and competing for the buy box is worth the shot.
How to increase Amazon Affiliate Earnings
To increase how much you earn in commission, you’ve got to implement different strategies with the goal of driving more traffic to your site.
Here’s what you can do to accomplish that...
Is it worth it to become an Amazon Associate?
Currently, there are over 200 million Amazon Prime subscribers. In 2020 alone, Amazon gained 50 million more Prime subscribers.
This shows that Amazon is still going to be used moving forward, and that bodes well for you if you want to become an affiliate. There is definitely money to be made here.
The real question is, is it the best way to make money online?
Look at the pros and cons of being an affiliate for Amazon and decide for yourself...
Pros & Cons of being an Amazon Associate
Pros
You don't need any money to get started promoting Amazon's products
The process to get started and joining Amazon is easy
Amazon is a brand that is trusted all over the world
Thousands of products to sell (many niches to choose from)
Get paid for additional purchases; if someone buys your product & adds additional items, you also get paid commission on those other items even if you don’t sell them
Cons
24 hour cookie life; other companies have cookies that last 90 days
Low affiliate commissions (between 4-10%, Amazon games: 20%)
High payment threshold; Amazon won’t pay you until your affiliate account maintains the minimum balance.
Amazon doesn’t pay out commission via Paypal
Amazon’s return policy; you only get paid your commission after the 30 day return period has ended
There is good money to be made on Amazon. It's such a reputable company and most people prefer to buy on that platform because of the fast delivery times in most cases.
However, for certain products, there are better affiliate programs out there. It's up to you to do more research and see what other programs can offer you.
How does affiliate marketing compare to local lead generation?
I've had my share of success with many business models and affiliate marketing is one of them. Over the years, I realized that making money online with local lead generation was far more passive than affiliate marketing.
Below is a comparison between affiliate marketing and my favorite online business model.
Affiliate Marketing
Lead Generation
Barrier to Entry
Free to setup; Anyone can sell the same products you’re selling.
This is high, which allows for less competition and saturation
Commission:
How much you earn is reliant on which product or service you promote
You decide how much you’re going to get paid
Payout:
You get paid after the 30 day return period has ended and if your affiliate account maintains the minimum balance
You decide when you get paid (pay per lead, weekly, monthly, etc.)
Control:
Amazon is in control. They can change the commission rates and suspend your account at any time
As owner of your digital properties, you are the one who chooses who you’re going to send leads to. You can stop working with a company if you feel they aren’t providing great customer service to the leads you generate.
Speed:
It can take at least 6 months to build authority to your sites that promote products or services
Ranking your lead gen sites locally is easier, which translates to you getting paid quicker
Niches:
There are plenty of popular niches that are saturated which makes it difficult to earn a passive income
Choose from thousands of niches and sub niches in many cities and towns
Conclusion
Amazon associate income is good because money comes in automatically without having to deal with clients, but these days I don't recommend it to newbies.
The skill level required to produce results is too high & takes too long. As they say, time is money.
Local lead generation is much easier & the results come much faster. Over 7000 students from around the world have been successful with this business model and you can too.
Want to learn more about how you can earn a passive income?
