As a content creator, you may find yourself wanting to direct your audience to products on Amazon they might find useful. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could monetize that traffic? Thankfully, Amazon has a solution for that need: the Amazon Associate Program. It takes a bit of legwork to be accepted to the program, but as an Amazon Associate, you can make money off of the product recommendations you’re already making to your audience.
Jump to:
- What is the Amazon Associate Program?
- Amazon Associate requirements
- How to become an Amazon Associate
- Alternative affiliate programs
What is the Amazon Associate Program?
The Amazon Associate Program is Amazon’s affiliate program for content creators. Like other affiliate programs, you make a commission on purchases made through custom URLs that are tied to your affiliate account. Any product listed on Amazon is eligible for commission.
In addition to product links, the Associate Program also offers other revenue-driving channels. These include promotional codes for specific items, site-wide banner ads, native shopping ads, and mobile popover ads. As an Associate, you can also participate in various bounty programs that generate a fixed commission when they sign up for one of Amazon’s services, like Amazon Prime or Kindle Unlimited.
This program helps Amazon generate more traffic and understand what motivates certain customers to certain products. At the same time, the Associate Program helps content creators monetize their traffic and generate revenue from the content they’re already making.
Though they are extremely similar, the Amazon Associate Program should not be confused with the Amazon Influencer Program. The former is intended for content creators who publish content to their own websites or mobile applications, while the latter is meant for creators who primarily engage audiences via social media. Amazon Associates may use social media in addition to website content to promote products, but it is not the primary channel like it is for Amazon Influencers.
Amazon Associate requirements
Anyone can sign up for a free Amazon Associate account with a probationary period of 180 days. Upon signing up, you must provide detailed information about all of your sites—that is, your website, mobile app, and/or social media accounts. Someone from the Associate team will review this information as well as sales data to determine whether you will be accepted to the Associate Program long-term.
Amazon offers general guidance on criteria it looks for when considering an Associate applicant:
- All sites must be publicly available (no private social media profiles)
- All sites must have at least 10 organic posts
- No content is violent, sexually explicit, or otherwise inappropriate
- Website domains must be owned by the applicant
- Website content has been updated within the last 60 days
- Social media accounts have a substantive number of organic followers (at least 500)
In addition, applicants to the Associate Program must demonstrate that they will be able to generate a commission by driving at least 3 qualifying sales within the probationary period. If an applicant does not fit the criteria or cannot generate the minimum number of qualifying sales, their application will be rejected and their access to Associate Central will be revoked. Amazon will not reassess applications that have been rejected.
How to become an Amazon Associate
To become an Amazon Associate, you need an existing Amazon login and at least one website or mobile application. Then follow the steps below to submit your application.
- Visit Amazon Associates page.
- Click “sign up” and log in to your existing Amazon account.
Then, verify your account information.
- Enter your website and/or mobile app URL(s).
- Complete your profile information (Store ID, content category, etc.).
- Enter information about your site’s traffic and monetization.
Then, submit your application.
- Use Associates Central and SiteStripe to generate at least 3 qualified sales within 180 days.
Create unique URLs to product pages that allow Amazon to track conversions. These links may include images from the product listing or may be text-only. Add the URLs to content on your site or app.
- Wait for the Associates team to review your application.
Alternative affiliate programs
If Amazon does not accept your application to become an Associate, all hope is not lost. There are countless affiliate programs out there that might be an even better fit for your type of business and revenue goals.
Many software and hardware vendors offer affiliate or referral programs, so start by looking at the tools you use to run your business. If there are any you’re particularly fond of, you might be a natural fit for one of their affiliate programs. They may be narrower in scope than the Amazon Associates Program, but that may also mean you’re more likely to generate conversions.
Read next: Can You Make Money with Affiliate Marketing?
