It’s been about 3 months since I started this new online money-making adventure. Let me tell you, I’ve been obsessed!
No money to start? Perfect.
Take short videos without showing my face? Yep!
This was one of the easiest ways I’ve seen to make money quick (loosely used here depending on your definition of quick).
I was a frequent visitor to YouTube and learned about ways to create passive income or multiple income streams, and this one started appearing more and more everywhere I was online. So, I decided to give it a go since I literally had nothing to lose to start.
To my surprise, I started making commissions within DAYS…..Within my first 30 days I made $64.64…And by the 3-month mark, I was making $150 a month……
Now, that isn’t that much, to be honest here, but, I was astonished and delighted to say the least.
And, from others that are in forums and groups I have joined, there have been people that make anywhere from $500 to $5000 or more a month (the more videos they have, the better commissions of course).
There are no gimmicks or scamming either. I only needed my phone (camera) and the products I owned. That’s what made this so incredible. I was making money from the things I already owned in my own home already.
Ok, so you want to know how to do it, right? I’m going to go through exactly what I did and explain how the Amazon Influencer Program works so you can make money online too and hopefully do even better than me down the road!
Let’s look at how you can get started with the program.
First, you’ll want to know the difference between the Amazon Associates and Amazon Influencer Program.
What is the Difference Between Amazon Associates and Amazon Influencer Program?
Amazon Associates Program, also known as the Amazon Affiliate Program, allows content creators, publishers and bloggers to monetize their own traffic using product affiliate links.
Commission rates are usually between 1%-20% and higher than the AIP.
Amazon Influencer Program (AIP) is a two-part program best for those who have a social media presence and can make content in efforts to help shoppers purchase products on Amazon while getting a commission. No website needed for this program.
This program gives you access to your own storefront on Amazon.com, which you can customize and curate with your favorite Amazon products and services. As a member of the Amazon Influencer Program, you can create content (shoppable images and videos) that inspire shoppers to purchase products on Amazon.
Commission rates are lower than the affiliate links, usually around 1%-4%.
You can sign up for the Amazon Associates program first if you have a blog or social media and want to drive traffic from those sources. You will need to then sign up for the AIP after that.
If you sign up for the Amazon Influencer Program first, you will automatically get an Amazon Associates account as well.
As a further step (see below), to earn commissions on Amazon through creating shoppable videos, you must submit 3 videos to be approved for something called Amazon On-Site Commissions.
If this sounds confusing, no worries, think of it this way:
- ON-SITE: on Amazon shoppable videos & storefront = Influencer program
- OFF-SITE: you drive traffic from your blog or social with affiliate links = Associates program
As a note, you must have an Influencer account first to earn off-site commissions.
How To Get Started On The Amazon Influencer Program
In order to get approved to create on-site videos, you will have to go through a two-step approval below. The first one allows you to get into the Influencer Program as a whole and the second gives you the ability to upload on-site videos onto your Amazon storefront.
Step 1 – Sign Up For Amazon Associates Account (Affiliate)
Go to this page to Sign up for an Amazon Associates Account where you will create an account.
There will be a review of your current website and/or your social media account that you use to signup. Whichever you chose, be sure that it is one that has some traffic to it. I used my website that only had about 200 visitors a month and a few comments here and there at the time and I was approved.
Once you are appoved, you will then be able to access SiteStripe, which is an addon to Amazon as a top bar that you can grab your own unique affiliate link for products. I won’t be getting into that in this article, but feel free to read your acceptance email from Amazon and it will tell you more about that and walk you through your backend reporting area.
Step 2 – Sign Up For The Influencer Program
Once approved for your Amazon Associates account, go to this page to Sign up for the Amazon Influencer Program.
There you will choose to “Use an Existing Customer Account” (if you have an associate’s account already) or to “Create a New Account”.
This step will need an approval process which should only take a few days.
If you get denied, don’t worry, you can keep reapplying as many times as needed.
You will want to use your MOST ACTIVE social media account. If you do not have a social media presence when signing up, be sure to get one on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or the quickest one I found of TikTok. The number of followers required can vary, but having a minimum follower count of 1,000 people can increase your chances of approval.
- Facebook – business account with at least 1000 followers + recent posts and engagement
- Instagram – business account with at least 1000 followers + recent posts and engagement
- YouTube – at least 1000 followers and engagement on videos
- TikTok – at least 1000 followers + recent posts and engagement
- Twitter/X – unknown following, but I would imagine at least 1000 followers with engagement
I used my TikTok account that I had about 3000 followers – which I got by doing something called “grow lives” by “grow hosts”. I was able to get 1000 followers within the first week. You can search either term in TikTok to see what I’m referring to.
👉 And, as a side note, remember that these new followers are NOT your primary target market but just to get you started and build up your account. You will want to build up your own target audience with videos and engaging with those that engage with you. Over time, you will start to see who is active and learn to make content with those in mind to grow your account organically.
The basic premise is that you go into these lives, follow others, tag them in the comments and they will follow you back. There’s a bit of strategy to it because if you follow too many people too quickly you will get frozen.
My TikTok Grow Live strategy is to:
- follow
- comment
- tap the screen for awhile (to give likes in the form of hearts)
- then possibly give donations of roses (they cost money, but you can get 130 of them for $4.99).
I do this slowly over an hour time. And yes, you will want to devote a good hour. You can easily do this while watching tv, just have the volume turned all the way down and you can do these things randomly over watching a movie.
Once you get to 1000 followers on TikTok, or at least 1000 on any given social media platform, be sure you are getting SOME type of engagement from followers, such as comments, likes or even shares.
Once you get approved for the Influencer Program, you can create your own Amazon Storefront.
I won’t go into the storefront setup in this post, so for now, let’s move onto step 3 for earning commissions on Amazon.
Step 3 – Submit 3 Videos for On-Site Commissions
This is the trickiest part of them all. I’m part of a Facebook group that a lot of newbies join and say how many problems they have getting denied with these videos.
👉 IMPORTANT NOTE! You only get 3 tries to submit your 3 videos for approval.
That’s it.
After that, you are denied indefinitely. For that account at least.
You could try signing up again, but you would need to start all over with a new account, new influencer approval, etc.
You can check out our Amazon Video Content Guidelines to get a full understanding of what Amazon requires.
Tips To Get Your 3 On-Site Shoppable Review Videos Approved
Since you only get 3 chances to submit your first 3 on-site shoppable videos for approval into the Influencer program, it is important to follow these tips to get approved.
This is what I did and got approved MY FIRST TIME:
- make a simple, one-shot video – not fancy editing
- horizontal format – I did overhead showing only my hands and product, not my face
- 30 sec – 1 minute in length
- demonstrate the product, show how to use
- use good lighting
- clear audio
- review familiar products (easy, I did a battery tester, stapler and a baggy holder)
- read and follow “Amazon Influencer Video Content Guidelines & Suggestions“
How the Amazon Influencer Program Can Be Profitable
The Amazon Influencer Program can be a valuable income source for influencers looking to monetize their content and capitalize on their influence to drive sales on the Amazon platform by:
- Passive Income: Once influencers have set up their storefront and promoted their curated products, they can earn passive income from qualifying purchases made by their followers. This means they can continue to earn revenue even when they’re not actively promoting products.
- Diversification: The Amazon Influencer Program offers influencers an additional revenue stream, diversifying their income sources beyond brand sponsorships, advertising, and other partnerships.
- Scalability: As influencers grow their audience and increase their reach, their earning potential with the Amazon Influencer Program also grows. They can scale their income by expanding their product recommendations and optimizing their promotional efforts.
- Flexibility: Influencers have flexibility in choosing the products they want to promote and how they want to showcase them to their audience. This allows them to align their promotional content with their personal brand and audience preferences.
- Access to a Wide Range of Products: Amazon offers a vast selection of products across various categories, giving influencers the opportunity to promote products that resonate with their audience and cater to their interests.
Overall, the Amazon Influencer Program is a way for bloggers and social influencers to earn an additional side income, but the results can vary greatly, is not consistent or controllable.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I’ve had a great time and quick success with the Amazon influencer program. I believe it is a great way to make some extra money online, emphasis on EXTRA. I don’t see replacing a full-time income within the first year.
Biggest PRO – You can do it with $0 money to start
Biggest CON – It may only bring in $150-$300 extra a month after a few months and creating over 100 video reviews, depending on your luck.
View my Amazon storefront on my Amazon storefront with ALL MY FAVORITE THINGS! >
~~ And as always friends, take care, be kind to yourself and others and always keep learning to be better and do better.
I’ve made $600 from Amazon onsite commissions in just two …
