Amazon Affiliate Program

5 Things You Didn't Know About the Amazon Affiliate Program

As you’re probably aware, the Amazon Affiliate Program pays you when customers click through your affiliate link to buy products on Amazon and end up buying something within 24 hours of clicking your link. However, as many experienced affiliates know, there are a number of other things that the program doesn’t tell you about, which can result in lost sales and confusion among new users. Here are five things that the official documentation will not tell you about the Amazon Affiliate Program.

1) Under $25K in sales

Most new affiliates only consider signing up for an Amazon affiliate program if they expect to make a significant amount of money. That’s why most associates are surprised to learn that you can still earn up to 10% even if your sales fall under $25,000 per year. It may seem insignificant, but it works out to be about $250 per month – not bad for a little bit of writing every month! Over half of all online shoppers in America start their product searches on Amazon, which means there’s a huge opportunity for affiliates. So get started today by signing up for your own affiliate account.

2) Products with less than 20 reviews

This one is by far my favorite tip. The products with fewer than 20 reviews are likely only getting sales because of their low price point. They don’t have a proven track record or any kind of online following. So, in other words, if there’s no demand for them at all, why would you want to sell them? Think about it that way and you’ll find yourself avoiding certain products in favor of others. Once you identify which ones aren’t very popular, go through and hide those reviews from your shop using bulk actions (the button is located on your Reviews tab). On average I save 5-10 hours per week by doing this! If nothing else, it will help you make more money by focusing on your top sellers.

3) Products under $20

The most common products on Amazon's best-selling list are consumer goods and items that cost $20 or less. However, there is a large assortment of products available for purchase on Amazon, including electronics, clothing and jewelry. If you are familiar with a specific product category, consider writing about it as your niche. For example, if you sell pet supplies online, then target that category by providing advice on what food to buy for your puppy or how to clean up after your cat.

4) Items included in Prime Day Lightning Deals

If you find a niche that's underserved—meaning it doesn't have many offers available and there isn't much info on Google—then it's an attractive opportunity to start your own affiliate program. This is a great way to get exposure for your business and earn passive income, especially if you're just getting started with blogging. Once you establish yourself as an expert in your niche, search engines will be more willing to send traffic and related searches your way. Before choosing a niche, make sure there are enough people who could become customers of your website once they click through on affiliate links. For example, you might select health-conscious consumers as a market if you're creating an online health site where people can go to learn about vitamins or weight loss plans.

5) Underserved niches

If you already run a successful online business, it’s likely that you’re familiar with marketing and advertising. At any given time, there are probably a number of niches that are hot in your industry, which means there is money to be made. If you’re looking for an additional stream of income, try identifying some niche markets within your industry (within 10 miles of your home) that have yet to be tapped by existing affiliate marketers and start targeting them with Facebook ads and Google AdWords. If you can win over an underserved niche with targeted traffic, then it’s possible to make even more from an affiliate campaign than from one marketed toward a more general demographic.