Building a niche site to make money through affiliate marketing with Amazon is one of the most effective and sustainable ways to make money online, and it is also very popular.
If you are new to affiliate marketing, don’t worry. We have compiled a guide to help you get started on Amazon, so you can take advantage of one of the world’s most popular online shopping portals!
Contents
- 1 What is Affiliate Marketing?
- 2 Amazon Associate Affiliate Program
- 3 How to Create an Amazon Affiliate Store in 2020
- 4 How to get an Affiliate Amazon link
- 5 Broadening Your Niche Site’s Impact
- 6 Growing Your Audience
- 7 How to Choose Your Niche
- 8 Creating Quality Content
- 9 The Amazon Affiliate Program Could Make Sense for You!
What is Affiliate Marketing?
The concept of affiliate marketing is simple. You refer visitors to a lot of products and get a cut from them once a customer/reader buys products.
Researchers have shown that Affiliate Marketing is one of the effective marketing methods in sales and to make money online as it also increases the conversion rate of potential customers to customers who agree to use the products and services provided.
It also allows you to create content you are passionate about as the format can vary depending on what you feel comfortable with by resembling a standard virtual shop, a blog, or a reviews site.
Amazon Associate Affiliate Program
The Amazon Affiliate program, known as Amazon Associates, is an easy method to make money from your website or blog just by registering, getting approved, and placing the Amazon affiliate links on your website.
The process is quite similar to the Amazon Associate Affiliate Program. You will create articles focusing on niche topics, recommending specific items that your readers can buy online, and providing them with a link to the item.
Each time a reader takes your advice clicks on that link and goes through with the purchase on Amazon, you’ll get a small cut of the final value of that item.
Doesn’t that sound simple?
The fact is that all people get the same opportunity to make money but not everyone succeeds – approach is everything when it comes to affiliate marketing.
If you’re still asking yourself “How do I start?”, this article will help you by giving you a step-by-step guide to earn more money online by becoming an Amazon Affiliate.
Keep in mind that while Amazon Affiliate can help you make money, you will need to have a blog or other online platform (even a YouTube channel) to get people into your program.
Understanding The Pros and Cons
Although running an Amazon affiliate store can be a perfect idea to make money online, you need to be prepared for the pros and the cons that come with the e-commerce market.
Pros
- Credibility: If you are new to affiliate marketing then Amazon Affiliate programs are the best option as the brand is widely known for selling high-quality products across the world. Plus, Amazon has been a form of online business for decades, so it is a reputable place to do business.
- A wide range of products: Amazon is home to a wide variety of products, making it easy for you to find your favorite products and make money from them.
- Keep up with the trend: Amazon always tries to update new products that meet customers’ needs. People can find all the latest equipment, machines, clothes, and toys in the market.
- Ease of use and high support: Amazon Affiliate is known for its simplicity and user-friendly features. You can reach out to many buyers on your social media accounts and websites to make more money.
- Commission Rates: The more items you offer, the higher the commission rate you will receive. In addition to this, you will be paid commission continuously through many different channels, so being able to receive cash is not a problem at all.
Cons
- Product quality is not up to you: When you find a potential product, you enter the sample of testing and manage negotiations. However, the goods that arrive at the Amazon warehouse may be completely different.
- Copyright: Products with features and shapes that have been registered for a trademark that has not been checked carefully. Your account can be banned.
- Law of supply and demand: Trendy or seasonal products, might seem lucrative when doing product research but it’s important to consider your target market’s demand before taking on risk.
- Competitiveness: Currently, competition on Amazon is huge with millions of sellers around the world. It is inevitable that bad opponents in the same niche will play you badly.
- Change in Policy: Earlier this year, when the coronavirus pandemic was at its peak, Amazon announced a change to its Affiliate marketing payout. The categories paying higher commissions ranging from 4.5% to 8% were trimmed down in half which resulted in people losing a lot of their earnings. If you choose to build an income on someone else’s platform, you are always at the mercy of their policies and any resulting changes they decide to make.
How to Create an Amazon Affiliate Store in 2020
The first step to building a niche site and making money from the Amazon affiliate marketing program is to choose the products that you want to develop and build a niche site around, as specializing will help your site grow and differentiate your presence from the competition.
You should consider the following criteria when selecting products as it will increase your earnings by getting a higher commission and traffic:
- Diverse and popular items which belong to the bestseller category
- Products priced from $10 to $100 USD
- Products having as many reviews as possible with a rate of at least 4 stars and high search volume in the U.S.
Selecting products depends mostly on whether you find the right keyword or not, as up to 90% of niche site failures are caused by poor keyword research. To avoid this, keyword research is one of the most important parts in this step.
To improve your research when looking for the right keywords, you can use some proven and effective tools like Longtail Pro, Google Adwords Keyword Planner, and other platforms that will give you a good feel for the market.
Create Your Website
To become an Amazon Associate, you must have an active website, blog, app, or YouTube channel. It will be beneficial if your site already has a fair amount of content but is not required as long as you already have a plan for your new site.
You will need to describe the purpose of your site during the registration process, so it is recommended that you have a good idea of the motives behind your website creation, the segment you will be targeting, and the ways you will drive traffic.
Registering Your Domain and Setting up the Hosting
The domain name you choose should identify what your niche site is about, so make sure to choose a domain name that helps to create a brand and you will be good to go.
The main keyword in the domain name gives you a great opportunity to rank for the keyword as well as helping your customers to acknowledge your niche site.
You can register a domain name at Bluehost, GoDaddy, Namecheap, or other company you like. You will also need to choose a hosting company if the domain provider doesn’t offer a hosting service.
If possible, you can go with a .com domain name because it’s the easiest type to remember and you don’t have a different one in mind.
We recommend Bluehost for purchasing your domain and hosting, they are a large reliable company and make it super easy to get going with a WordPress website.
WordPress Setup
For the Amazon niche site, WordPress is the best option. This content management system works actively with many themes, plugins, and add-ons available for a successful Website.
Some hosting companies will offer you their services with WordPress ready to start while in some services you will need to “deploy” it. If you are not a technically inclined person who feels comfortable following tutorials or guides, make sure to choose one of such hosting services.
Once the WordPress site is created. You should add some plugins from the extensive library of options built for WordPress, with some being free and other ones requiring a payment.
Don’t forget to create the pages required by amazon before your niche site goes live such as About, Contact, Privacy Policy, and Affiliate Disclosure as well as adding “Amazon Affiliate Disclaimer” in the footer of the site with a link to the page.
You should also learn a few more things to avoid getting banned from your Amazon account.
How to Avoid Getting Banned
Some common mistakes could get you banned from the program and as so, you should try to avoid them at all costs. Some of the most important things you should avoid are these:
- Using link shortening or masking such as tiny.url.
- Offering rebates
- Sending Amazon Affiliate links in emails.
- Buying items using your own Amazon Affiliate links.
- Forgetting to disclaim that you are an Amazon Affiliate.
- Mentioning prices manually as they might change
- Copying content from other sites
Create your Amazon Associates Account and Profile
Visit the Amazon Associates home page and click “Join Now for Free”
You can log in with your existing Amazon account or create a new account.
Once you have logged into your Amazon account, click on “New Customer” and start creating your Associate account.
Enter your account information making sure all of it is correct. The following details are required:
- Payee Name: Your full name.
- Address Line 1: Your home or office address.
- City: The city where the address is located.
- State: State where the city is located.
- ZIP or Postal Code: Enter the zip code of the city you live in.
- Country: The country where the address is located, not where you were born.
- Phone Number: Your phone number as will be required for you to verify the account by phone over the next step.
- Who is the main contact for this account: Select “The payee listed above”
Fill in your website address, app name, YouTube channel, etc. In this section, you need to enter the URL to your website. You will be able to enter more than one domain by clicking on “Add”.
Fill in your preferred store ID, explain what your site hopes to achieve, and choose the Amazon theme your links will target.
- Your preferred Associates Store ID: You enter an arbitrary character string, this will be the tracking ID code of the affiliate link later.
- Your website list: Enter the same website address as in the previous step
- The best category for your website or the mobile app: You choose the category for your niche site (for example health/sleep…)
- Type of Amazon items you intend to list on your website or the mobile app: What categories of Amazon products are you selling on your site?
- Type of site is your website: What is your site? Is it a “Blog”, “Virtual store”, “Niche Website”, etc.?
Now that all of the above information is sorted out, there are two more things to consider:
1. Traffic and Monetization: Explain how will you be driving traffic to your website, how the website or app will be used to generate revenue, how often will you be creating new links and traffic each month.
2. Verify your phone number: Enter your phone number, press “Call Me Now” and wait for an instant call from Amazon. You will then be asked to fill in a four-digit code and your account registration will be completed.
At this point, your Amazon Associates account registration has been completed and will be in a “pending” status, waiting for approval.
To get your Amazon account approved, you will need to get at least 1 sale within the next 90 days from the date of the account registration. After having a sale, Amazon will review and evaluate your site.
Amazon will also check whether or not you are in violation of the Amazon Associates program’s policies and if your site-building looks good enough.
Setting up the Payment Method
Amazon will redirect you to the settings page for commissions after completing the registration process,
At this time, Amazon offers 3 different ways for you to receive your well-earned commissions:
- Gift card: This is the fastest form of payment with Amazon sending you a monthly email containing the code for your gift card, which you will be able to use as you wish. This code will be equivalent to the commissions for the month you received and can only be used to buy goods on Amazon.
- Direct Deposit: Direct Deposit is a service that will transfer the money directly to your bank account. However, this method only applies to US banks at this time and as so, cannot be used without going through an intermediary if you don’t have a US bank account. A free Payoneer account can solve this issue, enabling you to receive the money in your Payoneer account.
- Check: This method is probably the least popular of the three as it Amazon quite some time to send the check to your home just for you to take it back to a bank and exchange it, which can take from a few days up to a week. The minimum amount required for Amazon to pay via check is $100 USD.
How to get an Affiliate Amazon link
Once you have selected a product on Amazon, you will need to get its affiliate link so you can put it on your website. When a user clicks on that link, they will be redirected to the product page on Amazon, and you will receive a commission if they buy.
There are two ways to get affiliate links with both of them requiring you to find the ASIN code of the product you want the link for.
Doing so is pretty simple: you just need to go to the Amazon website, find the product you want to promote, scroll down to the Product Information section, and look for the line containing the ASIN code.
You can also see the ASIN code through the link of the browser.
Now that you have the ASIN code, you can move to follow these steps to get the Affiliate Amazon link:
- Start by logging into your Amazon Associates account and then selecting the “Link & Banner” menu, followed by “Add Product Link” after doing so.
- Next, you will simply need to paste the ASIN code for the product you want to get the link for, clicking the GO button afterward.
- Click on “Get Link” once the desired product shows up.
- You will now need to choose the type of ad you want to obtain. There are 3 types of code to choose from text, images, or text, and images.
- After selecting the type of ad you want, you will see the code right below. You can copy this code and paste it on your site, where it will display the desired ad.
Insert Links with a Plugin
An easier way to insert Amazon affiliate links into your site is to use a WordPress plugin, we have reviewed some of the best options here on Circlo – AAWP, AzonPress and Lasso.
Broadening Your Niche Site’s Impact
Once your niche site is running smoothly and according to your standards, you will need to embark on an advertising strategy to draw traffic like focusing on Affiliate Marketing strategies on special days of the year such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or Boxing Day.
Suppliers often give product discounts to boost demand, so customers will pay attention and make more purchases on these products during these events.
Be Social
Create social accounts for your niche site and share your article’s links on them, making sure to interact with your followers.
Driving traffic to your site via social networking platforms will help improve search rankings and improve your branding on the Internet.
You will also need to create an email list by placing an email form on your site. You can use some free tools to grow your email list or simply suggest your readers subscribe in return to getting a gift or important information.
Creating an Amazon Affiliate store and making money with it is not new. That said, the level of competition and difficulty gets higher each year, it requires employees to focus on putting efforts, being patient, and instantly taking lessons.
Growing Your Audience
You will need to increase the number of successful purchases to earn money as an Amazon Affiliate and as so, the main aspect to keep in mind is by increasing the number of people who use your store.
The bigger your audience is the more traffic you will generate, increasing the chance of completed orders using your links to gain referral fees.
The best way to ensure your audience grows is to keep these 5 key elements in mind:
- Know your niche: You need to show expertise in the niche you selected, trying to be a jack of all trades will reflect in your content and could result in dissatisfaction for your audience.
- Networking: Connect with sites or blogs with content similar to yours and collaborate. By creating counting organically promoting each other, both will reach a bigger audience without sacrificing quality or getting out of your niche.
- Connect: By limiting yourself to creating content without trying to connect with your audience, you will miss valuable feedback and options for growth. By connecting and creating a sense of community, your content quality and audience size are sure to improve.
- Be consistent: By offering consistent quality content to your audience, you will be able to keep your readers interested as well as attract new ones. Choose a frequency and standard and stick to it. If you lack consistency in the time required for the contents publication or quality it posses, readers will realize it and lost interest in what you have to say. Why should they mind if you don’t seem to, after all?
- Optimize your content: Don’t let the fact of being at a niche stop you from capitalizing on new and popular content. Be mindful of not getting out of your way or making the connection seem forced but you can make a connection between your passion for gardening and that new TikTok video, go for it!
How to Choose Your Niche
The first step to select the best niche for your website is to ask yourself what topics are you passionate about. Do you like technology, fashion, woodworking, gaming, or some other activity? Writing a list of these topics is a good place to start.
Your current knowledge on the topic is not as important as your passion for it. You can always learn about it as you go if you like the topic, which will allow you to enjoy learning about it and sharing it with others.
Now, It is important for you to enjoy the niche and for it to be specialized to a certain degree but not so much.
Not Every Niche is a Winner
While talking about retro videogames or woodworking tools, you might have issues finding an audience interested in the best text-based science fiction games of the ’70s or best saws to cut Mahogany wood while making chairs.
A niche can be too specific, which might work for an affiliate site store.
Once you have an idea about the niche you enjoy and would like to create a site about, you can use sites like Google Trends to look at which topics are trending now.
Let’s say you enjoy camping and would like your site to be about camping products, more specifically tents: Would camping be a trending topic with the world in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic?
You might think this is not a good time but in fact, Google Trends shows an increasing interest in the terms “camping tents” in the last month and as so, your interest in camping tents might be a good niche for you to choose at this time.
Once you have checked the status of the topics on your list, you will need to research your competition.
Is that niche currently dominated by other websites, influencers, or brands?
If so, can you bring something new to the table that could set you apart from them? You need to consider this as it is not only a matter of demand on the niche topic but also on the current supply.
You should now have some realistic ideas on what niche market could be the best for you, but there is still one more thing you should look for.
What is the average price for the items associated with your current options?
What is the rate of commissions that Amazon offers for the category?
It isn’t the same to make 2% in commissions from an average price of $100 to 4% of a $30 item after all!
Be smart about which topic will provide you with bigger earnings.
This research might look overwhelming at first, but it is way easier than you might think at first. Even if your options make it tedious or time-consuming, you will be rewarded for taking It seriously.
Creating Quality Content
We have discussed many aspects of how to be a part of the Amazon Affiliate program.
Now you know how to create your site, select your niche, and grow your audience, but there is a topic of uttermost importance to your site’s success: How to create content that attracts users, you enjoy writing about, and capitalizes on traffic.
Creating quality content is a topic that would require a series of books to be explained and even then, someone would disagree.
However, there are some aspects you need to keep in mind to create successful content for your site. Some of these aspects are:
- Relevance: Make sure the content you are creating is relevant to your niche and what your community expects from your site. While you might have heard about a wonderful new grill you want to promote, it might not be relevant for a site talking about camping if the grill can’t be transported easily. Both the content and the products you are promoting should be relevant and suitable for each other.
- Quality: While being consistent is fundamental to growing your audience, quality is important when it comes to capitalizing on it. If your content is not engaging, informational, or fulfill the expectations you have set, it doesn’t matter how big your audience is as they might not acquire or even check the product out.
- Originality: By creating a niche site you are trying to set yourself apart from other pages, even if they share the same niche you selected. Making your content unique by giving it your personal touch, researching the topics, and avoiding copying someone else’s content will help you to grow your brand.
- Linking: Being able to link to external and eternal sites will boost your site. Internal linking will allow users to find other content you have created and might be of interest to them, while external content will help your site to show up more in search engines. Why sell a tent when you could sell a tent and a stove?
Paying attention to the content in your site will be fundamental to your success as an Amazon Affiliate. If you are not used to researching and creating content, don’t worry! It will get easier as you go.
Softening the Impact of Rate Changes
While creating an Amazon Affiliate store is something anyone can do, being successful on it is a different matter. You will need to be able to adapt your content to both your audience and changes in the program.
Amazon changed the rate for commissions on different categories back on April 21 of 2020, which resulted in some of these categories receiving a decrease of up to 5% in the commission rate.
For this reason, it is recommended to look at the Associate’s Program Standard Fees Schedule when deciding which items you are going to promote on your site, keeping in mind potential changes and the tradeoff that could come with selling from a category with a higher commission.
As changes in the rates is a scenario that could occur at any point, widening the categories you can associate to your content is important as it will allow you to soften potential losses and increase gains in case of future changes. Just remember to be consistent with your website’s identity!
The Amazon Affiliate Program Could Make Sense for You!
Congratulations If you made it this far, you are closer to being a successful Amazon Affiliate!
While this guide should have provided with plenty of information to start, there is no definitive guide on how to do it “correctly”.
This site will be yours and yours only, as long as you follow the rules and enjoy the process while keeping these tips in mind, you are sure to be successful.
You might find some bumps in the road but remember to be consistent and follow-through, the reward will be worth it.
This is the reason why you read the word “passion” so much in this guide: If you like what you are talking about, you will enjoy creating content about and sharing it with others!