How to Increase Amazon Affiliate Earnings

So, you're ready to increase your Amazon affiliate earnings by marketing Amazon products, huh?

It's time to make a little cash on the side or to quit your day job and work for yourself! Either way, you're diving in to learn all the tricks for affiliate marketing on Amazon.

Well, you've come to the right article. By the end, you'll be ready to start your journey with all you need to boost your Amazon affiliate earnings.

Let's dive in!

For an in-depth look at affiliate marketing, please read our guide to affiliate marketing.

What is Amazon Associates?

Amazon Associates is Amazon's affiliate marketing program.

It helps people earn money by promoting the products they love using. It's like being a salesperson, except you're doing all your selling online…and to a global audience.

Here's the breakdown:

1. You join Amazon Associates and get links unique to you called “affiliate links.”
2. You create content around these products — blog posts, Instagram Reels, TikToks, etc.
3. When people click these links and buy products, you make a small percentage!

For example, let's say you love old-style Converse shoes.

You find them on Amazon and get your affiliate links. Next, you create an amazing TikTok about why Converse shoes are making a comeback.

The TikTok goes viral.

And you sit back and watch your affiliate commission grow as people click your link and buy. Sounds pretty great, right?

But it's not all great, nor is it easy.

Let's dive into some of the pros and cons of Amazon affiliate marketing.

Pros and cons of using Amazon affiliate marketing

We showed you some of the benefits above, but let's dive deeper so you can get the full picture.

Amazon Affiliate Pros

• You make money. This is the biggest advantage, right? You make money, which means you have more to pay bills, invest in your business, or save!
• Easy to start. Joining Amazon Associates costs nothing and only requires filling out the application. Then, once approved, start sharing your affiliate links.
• Everyone uses Amazon. If you're in the United States, Amazon packages are more common than pigeons. They have every product you can think of, so it appeals to all your customers.
• Trusted. Amazon is well-known and trusted. So, when people see they can buy from somewhere they trust, they're more likely to buy.

Amazon Affiliate Cons

• Amazon affiliate income varies. How much you make depends on how much people buy. So, you may have a big month followed by one where you don't sell much. Be prepared for changes.
• Low commission rates. Targeting categories with higher commission rates solves this problem. But the commission rates with Amazon are generally low. For higher commission rates, take a look at these alternatives to Amazon’s affiliate program.
• You must follow Amazon's rules. Amazon has specific rules and guidelines for you to follow. For example, they have strict rules around including affiliate links in emails. So you want to know them before you get started.

With all this talk of affiliate commission, we're sure you're wondering how much you can make. So, without further ado, let's get to the money talk 💰

How much can you earn from Amazon’s affiliate program?

Unfortunately, we have to give everyone's most-hated answer: it depends.

But it's a legitimate answer. Here's why.

First, it depends on how much traffic you get to your links.

More clicks mean more chances to buy. More purchases mean more money for you. So if you have a larger audience willing to buy, your chances of making more money increase.

Second, it also depends on the prices of the products you promote.

If you're promoting packing cubes for travel, and they're $20 for three, you're not making much money. However, if you promote purses for $200+, your Amazon affiliate income reports look much better.

Last, different categories have different rates.

For example, Amazon Games have a 20% commission rate. But physical video games and video game consoles only have a 1% commission rate. So you'll make more if Amazon Games are your niche.

Category	Commission Rate
Amazon Games	20%
Luxury Beauty	10%
Music & Digital Video	5%
Physical Books, Kitchen, Automotive	4.5%
Amazon Devices, Jewelry, Handbags, etc.	4%
Toys, Furniture, Lawn & Garden, Headphones, Instruments, etc.	3%
PC, DVD, and Blu-Ray	2.5%
TV and Digital Video Games	2%
Amazon Fresh, Physical Video Games & Consoles, Health & Personal Care	1%
Gift Cards, Digital Kindle Products, etc.	0%
All Other Categories	4%

Remember affiliate marketing isn't something that makes you money overnight.

It takes time (sometimes years) before you see results. But if you consistently create high-quality content, you'll see your conversion rates skyrocket.

And so will your Amazon affiliate marketing earnings.

Average Amazon affiliate earnings

Okay, we know the answer above isn't what you were looking for.

So we thought we'd share something to give you an idea of how much Amazon affiliates make on average:

The average Amazon affiliates salary is around $85,000 annually as of June 2023.

But, most affiliate earners only earn a few hundred dollars per month. So, this is important to consider as you join the Amazon Associates program.

Well, if you're still reading, you're ready to get started. And we like that attitude.

Let's dive into the step-by-step guide for Amazon affiliate marketing.

A step-by-step guide to earn from Amazon affiliate marketing

Step 1: Choose your niche

Choosing your niche is the most important step in Amazon affiliate marketing.

Choose something that matches your interests, knowledge, and ideal audience. Combining these three things means you:

• Stay interested in the topic
• Help the community
• Make some money

So, choose something that also matches these two things:

1. Demand
2. Low competition

With this method, you reach a large audience but don't get drowned out by larger companies.

If you haven't learned Search Engine Optimization (SEO) yet, we recommend starting. You can use a YouTube channel, follow people on social media, or take a course to help fill in your knowledge.

Once you've learned a bit, do keyword research to find popular searches related to your niche. Search for long-tail keywords (very specific and long keywords). These keywords help you reach your target audience with lower competition.

They also help by getting product links in front of customers.

Step 2: Decide how you’ll make money with the Amazon affiliate program

What platform will you use to reach your audience?

Some of the top choices include:

• Blogging
• Social media
• YouTube
• Product comparison sites
• Affiliate website
• A combination of all the above

Your approach to promoting your Amazon links will vary depending on your platform.

For example, if you start a blog, you must learn SEO. You make your faster, write engaging content, and develop a user-friendly experience. You focus on commercial keywords to get products in front of customers.

But, if you choose Instagram, your strategy must change.

You must focus on creating engaging Stories, Reels, and posts. And you have to comment on others' posts to increase your reach.

So, research the best practices for your chosen platform and get ready to dive in!

Step 3: Sign up for Amazon Associates

It's simple.

To become an affiliate, you have to sign up! So, visit the Amazon Associates website and complete the registration process. Provide information about your site/platform, promotional methods, and extra details.

Then, you wait to see if you're accepted. If not, then take their advice and apply in the future!

Step 4: Access your Amazon dashboard

If you're approved, congratulations! 🎉

You can now access your Amazon Associates dashboard to view things like:

• Your store ID
• How many qualifying purchases have been made in the last month
• More affiliate income reports

So please get familiar with this dashboard because you'll be checking it a lot.

Step 5: Find what people are looking to buy

You'll likely have discovered some of this while you were researching your niche.

But continue the process. Keep doing keyword research to find what products or topics people are looking for. Tools like Semrush and Ahrefs show you search volume and competition data.

And this information helps you rank higher in search results, so more people see your content.

Also, pay attention to niche trends.

Is there a hot new product everyone is reviewing? What are people asking about on forums or social media? What's something everyone in your niche could use?

Asking yourself these questions helps you find products to meet people's interests. And that's when they're more likely to buy.

Step 6: Create content & include your links

Now's the time to take action.

Create high-quality content that centers around the products you're promoting. Make blog posts, record product reviews, and post comparisons on social media. Whichever way you choose, include your affiliate links naturally.

While you create the content, optimize it with SEO to make sure people see it on search engines. Otherwise, you're missing out on a huge source of traffic.

Last, make sure to attach an affiliate disclosure for your affiliate relationship. It's the law 👮

If you want an easy way to post affiliate links on WordPress, look no further than Tasty Links.

This plugin makes affiliate link management a breeze. For example, let's imagine you promote sports clothing on Amazon. Inside Tasty Links, you create an auto-linking keyword for “Nike Speed shirt”.

Now, whenever you type this keyword, Tasty Links does the hard work for you and links it.

That way you never miss an affiliate chance and maximize how much money you make.

If you're interested in learning more, head over and check out how to add Amazon affiliate links automatically.

Amazon affiliate tips to help you skyrocket your income

Try these tips to boost your Amazon affiliate earnings.

1. Use in-content links

Links don’t have to be obvious or visual.

They can be simple in-content links to your favorite products and brands. Our Tasty Links plugin for WordPress sites makes this easy.

Add a keyword and product URL in your WordPress dashboard and click Publish.

Any time the keyword appears on your site, it will be automagically ✨ linked to your Amazon affiliate product. This takes the work out of adding affiliate links to your old (and new!) content.

Make sure to add the correct value to your rel attribute so Google knows exactly what kind of link it is!

Don't understand the different links? That's okay! Check out the link below after you're finished here 👇

Did you know? You can also add Amazon affiliate links on Pinterest. Check out our blog to learn more!

2. Compare similar products

Readers love to know what their options are and why your recommendation is the best one.

Help them by creating comparison charts for top products you use and recommend on your blog.

For example, Serious Eats compared brands of electric pressure cookers with affiliate links. They linked to all the competing pressure cookers.

Readers are in the market for the product, and you’ve done the research for them. So, they’re more likely to click on one of the links.

And if they buy any item after clicking on one of your links, you get the commission for the sale.

3. Dedicate posts to the best uses of a particular product

Pinch of Yum has done an excellent job of showcasing products in a way that feels natural, helpful, and engaging.

Lindsay uses posts like “16 Magical Ways to Use Your Instant Pot” to share affiliate links while sharing actionable tips.

After seeing how useful a certain tool or product can be, people are more likely to check it out on Amazon!

And remember — your affiliate cookie works for any product on Amazon. So even if they don’t buy the product they clicked on, you earn a commission on anything they buy during that time.

Getting clicks is still worth it!

4. Link images to Amazon

Seeing a product is enough to pique the curiosity of site visitors.

If you’ve got an image of a product that earns you affiliate fees, link it to the product page on Amazon.

This makes profitable use of a link that might otherwise go nowhere. If you look back at Pinch Of Yum’s post, you’ll notice that Lindsay uses her photograph of the Instant Pot to link to the product’s Amazon page.

That being said, Tasty Links also makes it easy to add Amazon product images to your links!

And be sure to check out our blog post on the best WordPress affiliate plugins and the best WordPress Amazon affiliate plugins!

And, if you're ready to start maximizing your Amazon affiliate earnings, head to our pricing page and grab Tasty Links now!

What about you? How do you make money as an Amazon affiliate? Share your favorite Amazon affiliate tip in the comments.