How to Get Started with the Amazon Affiliate Program?

The Amazon affiliate program launched in 1996 let’s you play a role in advertising Amazon’s products and earning a commission for the same.

Everyone who shops online is sure to have visited Amazon’s website! One of the best in its field, Amazon has a large customer base that is continuously expanding.

So if you are a website owner or a blogger you can join the Amazon affiliate program today.

All you need to do is share links to some of the thousands of products available on Amazon’s website on your website/blog and when visitors of your website click on them and finally make a purchase from Amazon, you earn referral points.

All this for free! That’s right you don’t need to pay to become an affiliate. Below are a few steps to help you get started with the Amazon affiliate program.

Sign Up

First of all, sign up for the Amazon affiliate program depending on your geographical location.

If you are a resident of India, you naturally sign up for Amazon India program and not U.S.

Search for products

You now need to login to the Associates Central home page.

This is where you browse or search for specific products that you would like to advertise on your website.

This will take most of your time and quite naturally so since you will have thousands of products each with its different types and price ranges to choose from.

Copy the link

Once satisfied with the products, you need to copy their link onto your website/blog.

You can choose from either a link or an image widget to copy.

That’s it! Three simple steps and you are a part of the Amazon affiliate program. Why go for this program?

Popularity and trust

There is no doubt regarding the fact that Amazon is an extremely popular and trusted portal for online shopping.

This offers you an advantage as it increases the chances of your website visitors to click on links that direct them to Amazon’s website.

Increasing commission rates

Though commission rates on most products start at 4%, it increases with the number of sales you make and you can hope to earn up to 10-14% in commission.

Commission on everything

You earn a commission on everything that the visitor you directed purchases and not just the product you advertised for.

Multiple Choices

The more products to choose from, greater the satisfaction one derives. Amazon will never let you run out of choices!

You can visit your dashboard to keep a track of your earnings.

You know you can make money with Amazon affiliate program, which is why you joined it in the first place, but the question is how can you maximize your earnings?

Advertise smartly

Remember you are now very much a part of the marketing business so be ready to use some of its tricks.

Pick out articles that are read or shared with the highest frequency if you are a blogger and if you own a website mark pages that are visited the most.

This is where you should advertise Amazon links and widgets to catch the attention of your viewers. You can also advertise products in your article.

Say, you write a post about mobile phones, include links to models available on Amazon within your article to increase chances of the reader visiting it.

Choose wisely

One of the most difficult choices that you will be faced with is which product to opt for.

This will be a crucial determinant of the number of referrals you make. Study the market to know which product is high in demand.

You can also make use of Google analytics to know which is the most searched product on web but remember to filter for location. These are the products you must advertise.

Don’t get too greedy. If you choose to advertise only highly priced products it is unlikely you’ll earn any commission at all.

Basic law of economics, demand falls with an increase in price. It is advisable to go for products at the lower end of the price range to get more clicks.

Understand your readers

It is imperative that you gauge the thoughts of your readers. This will enable you to pick out products that they are likely to go for.

You have an advantage here since you can closely study the mind of all your readers/visitors that are a relatively small group of people.

Use ‘buy now’ buttons

Make sure that your advertisements are clearly visible and attractive. One very effective way to do this is by making use of ‘buy now’ buttons.

They have proved to have an effective turnover rate.

Make sure that these buttons are of bright colours that are bound to catch the eyes of your website visitors.

Look out for offers

Keep an eye out for offers and discounts available on Amazon. Whenever you come across any such offer do make it a point to include it in your website.

The number of customers greatly increases during sales and discounts.

After all a major constraint on the consumer’s wallet i.e. the budget is relieved and as we all know unconstrained maximization is greater than constrained maximization.

Don’t let such opportunities slip out of your hand.

New tab

One feature that irritates most people is when clicking on a link directs them elsewhere from the original page. It is a bummer whenever this happens.

So ensure that when viewers click on the link or widget they open on a new tab or window without forcing them to exit your website.

This is better for both you and your visitor.

As you can see the Amazon affiliate program is a great way to earn extra income and it is so easy to become an associate.

It does not need you to make any investment in terms of money but only that requires a tiny fraction of your time.

The Amazon affiliate program is gaining popularity as you read this article.

So don’t waste a minute more and become a part of it to create your own niche.

The earlier you start, the more your chances are of earning loads. So get going!