In 1996, Amazon was a small online book retailer run from Jeff Bezos’ garage. With a limited marketing budget, Amazon decided to tap into readers’ love of books to help spread the word. Instead of having an initial outlay of money to buy advertising, Amazon paid people a commission when they referred buying customers to Amazon. This commission was paid after the customer bought, eliminating upfront marketing costs.
When the Amazon Associates Program launched in 1998, there weren’t many easy, affordable ways for budding Internet entrepreneurs to make money online. Amazon’s affiliate program changed that. The only problem was that making any significant income as an Amazon affiliate required selling a ton of books. Fortunately, as Amazon has expanded its product line, the ability to make income from Amazon has become easier.
Amazon still has a fairly low payout compared to other affiliate programs (1% to 10%, depending on the products), but with a vast product line, huge customer base, and credibility, odds are that you can find something to promote and make money.
Ways to Promote Your Amazon Affiliate Links
The following are many methods for promoting your Amazon links:
Blogging
Blogging is probably the most common way affiliates make money with the Amazon Associates program. Some bloggers have a general topic site and use a variety of affiliate programs and other monetization options. Other bloggers have a niche site, zeroing in on select products that the site covers. Either way, making money with Amazon Associates on a blog can be done by:
- Creating blog posts or website articles about choosing or purchasing an Amazon goods. More than ever, people look into their purchasing alternatives online. If you’re a parent blogger, you may create an article about how to choose a budget vacuum and include a link to your top pick or a few links to your picks. A food blogger may include links to kitchenware. A website dedicated to photography may include links to cameras and other tools.
- Writing reviews of new products. Once more, before spending money on something, people want to learn more about it, especially if it’s new and there isn’t much information about it.
- Writing about best-sellers. You can use the best-sellers listed on Amazon, or if you have an affiliate sales history with Amazon, check your stats to see what has sold best in your blog’s community.
- Promoting special offers on the blog. This works well if you have a daily deal blog. This step requires that you watch Amazon for special promotions on products that fit in your website’s topic area.
Social Media
You can directly share your affiliate links on social media or share your blog material with them. To be open and avoid annoying your followers, you should note that the link is an affiliate link when you share it. Posting affiliate links should be sprinkled between non-affiliate and non-sales posts because people don’t like to constantly be marketed to.
YouTube Videos
You can offer much of the same types of content on video as you do on a blog, such as reviews. The advantage of video for generating income is that you can give tutorials, tours, and other visual content that better help potential buyers decide whether to buy the items or not.
Lead Magnet and Email
Many successful affiliate marketers use an email marketing system and a straightforward two-page website to run their affiliate promotions automatically and generate passive income. One page serves as a landing page that advertises a lead magnet to persuade visitors to sign up for the email. When a visitor subscribes, they are directed to the second page, which frequently contains details on an affiliate product.
The email distributes the lead magnet along with a number of additional emails that offer advice and information that is useful as well as advertisements for affiliate items.
Add Amazon Offers to Your Existing Business
You can promote Amazon products as part of your other business offerings to create an additional income stream. Whether you sell a product or service, chances are there are products and services your customers and clients can benefit from on Amazon. For example, if you’re a business coach that has found increased productivity with a Bullet Journal, you can promote dotted-page notebooks.
