If you yield any type of online influencer or are already dabbling in affiliate marketing, you’ll want to learn how to become an Amazon influencer and cash in on arguably the largest online marketplace in the world which has only gotten bigger since the coronavirus pandemic.
Not so long ago, you might recall when Amazon used to be a relatively modest book company. These days, you can’t sneeze without potentially hitting something that Amazon sells. A total of 386 billion (up from 280 billion) is evidence of their success.
To maintain this position, Amazon has taken an active stance by pursuing social media influencers. Influencers on Amazon’s platform can earn up to 10% on commission rates. If you want some of those commission rates, check out this guide on becoming an Amazon Influencer.
Who Can Become an Amazon Influencer?
Amazon’s Influencer site is pretty vague when it comes to finding out exact specifications. However, people who want to qualify for the program need to hit these criteria:
- You need to have a YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook account
- You need to have a decent number of followers (some speculate 20 thousand)
- You need to engage with your audience
Amazon once had Twitter on this list, but they removed it recently.
The program is also reasonably challenging to get into, limiting themselves to experts or influencers who work with designer products. They are more likely to work with influencers who already sell to their audience.
How to Become an Amazon Influencer (Step-by-Step)
If you want to become an Amazon influencer, be aware of those limitations set above. If you think you fit the bill, let’s dig into the details:
Step One: Registration
Start by going to the Amazon Influencer page, clicking on the yellow “Sign Up” button located in the center of the header image.
Once you click that button, it’s going to ask you to create a new Amazon account or choose an existing customer account. Amazon will require standard information to create a customer account. Have these ready for the registration process:
- Name
- Password
- Address
Amazon’s customer accounts act as a base for applying to the Influencer program. After filling out customer data, most of it transfers to filling in the influencer program.
- The registration process involves you filling out the following information:
- Access to or information about your most prominent social account
- A minimum 250 by 250 px profile picture
- An optional header image (1810 by 402 px)
- Your name
- A 350 character bio
- Usernames or URLs to all of your relevant social media accounts (among YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter)
- The address you would like all reports to be sent to
All of this information will be requested, assuming you can qualify for the influencer program.
Step Two: Applying to the Influencer Program
The first area you will see will direct you to choose between three different social media platforms: YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook. At the time of writing this, Twitter is not on the list.
Choosing YouTube or Facebook will require you to link your account to Amazon. Choosing Instagram will require you to input your followers, the number of posts you have made, and your Instagram handle.
It’s recommended that you choose the area where your social media presence is greatest. The more followers you have, the higher chance you have to succeed in your application. However, micro-influencers are more likely to succeed if they engage with their fans.
Step Three: Create Your Storefront
Members of the Amazon Brand Registry can create storefronts to increase interest in their brand. Influencers on Amazon also have access to a special Amazon Storefront. This store is what makes things different from your standard Amazon Associates account.
Ideally, it would be best if you were promoting the products you use. The most successful members of the Amazon Influencer Program show themselves using the product.
The storefront doesn’t have much in the way of customization. Design is limited to seeing a series of different lists that display your chosen products.
If you want to make your storefront unique, make sure you place both a profile image and header image.
How to Fill Out Your Storefront
When filling out your storefront, there are a couple of things worth keeping in mind. If you are famous enough, you’ll find that brands reach out to you. Popular influencers have their choice among preferred brands that sell merchandise on Amazon.
However, what you promote will likely depend on these factors:
- The type of content you produce
- The social networks you are part of
- The products you enjoy
- How appropriate it is for your influencer brand
We will dig into each area below:
Type of Content
Not all content creators create the same things. There are blogs, YouTube videos, short-form content, and photographic content. While there is typically some crossover, your content focus might determine what products would be most effective to produce.
For example, if you are a beauty blogger, you’ll likely take pictures of yourself wearing clothing and makeup.
Your Chosen Social Networks
While Amazon only wants people from particular platforms, they don’t discourage you from having other platforms. You can have a Tumblr, Reddit, LinkedIn, or WordPress blog. Amazon doesn’t discriminate against accounts, but it does require you to have one of their preferred accounts.
The social networks you choose to frequent will impact the kind of products you use. Someone who has a strong LinkedIn presence is likely to promote recommended reading on marketing.
The Products You Enjoy
Being a member of any Amazon affiliate program allows you to share yourself with others. You aren’t likely to share products you don’t enjoy. Forcing it for a high commission typically makes you look less genuine.
You need to find products that have interesting subject matter. If you can’t see yourself making a video, blog, or photo on the featured product, it might not be a good fit for your blog.
What Kind of Influencer Brand Are You Establishing?
All of the products should add value to your influencer brand in some capacity. If the product you want to look at doesn’t make sense with your brand, it might not be a good fit.
For example, if you happen to run a mom blog, it makes sense to promote baby toys. However, people might be confused if you promote baby toys alongside tactical flashlights.
Please find a way to relate it to your target audience. If you can’t, it might be best for you to pass on including the product on your Amazon storefront.
Promoting Your Storefront on Your Social Media, Blog, or Website
Once you’ve established your influencer marketing Amazon storefront, you can move onto its promotion. The storefront has the added advantage over the standard Amazon affiliate program of being a complete resource.
Even if they click the link and find themselves not liking the product mentioned in your blog or video, they might find something else. Below are some quick tips you can use to promote your storefront:
Include the Link in Your Bio
Every social media page has a short biography you can change into anything. If you want your Amazon storefront to be central to your earnings, you need to display it prominently on your social bio or near the top of your link in bio.
Include the Link on Your Landing Page
If you want your social media accounts to go back to your website, make sure you have a link available on your home page. The link can be alongside your navigation bar, acting as though this is an extension of your website.
Try not to bury it in your “about” section if you have one.
Build Content Around Products in Your Storefront
Regardless of how you create content, it’s crucial to create blogs, videos, or pictures displaying you with these products. The best kind of influencer content typically isn’t too “salesy.” Instead, it focuses on aligned topics to your blog, often promoting these products as a central point to your story.
Some creators promote these products as an afterthought. Others will write entire reviews on the item and provide an affiliate link. Be careful not to detract from the value your content offers to promote a product.
Have Multiple Platforms
Amazon might only require a single social media platform, but you shouldn’t need that. Having multiple platforms allows you to cover a broad audience.
If you want to delve into a new social platform, promote that via your other media. Tweet about your Facebook page or create a YouTube video where you mention your new Tumblr. Cross-promotional efforts can help new pages get off the ground, so they have more significant affiliate potential.
Once your promotional efforts come through, you will find yourself earning a pretty decent chunk. If you find that this chunk isn’t enough, you might want to pursue some Amazon Bounties.
What is the Amazon Bounty Program?
Bounties are an additional source of income that comes from Amazon. A bounty typically comes up because Amazon seeks to promote one of its services. Instead of earning a variable commission rate, you make flat fees, providing a consistent payout.
- To earn bounties, follow these steps:
- Login to your Associate’s or Influencer account
- Go to the Bounty Program page
- Look through available bounties and select one based on your influencer brand
- Click the “get link” or “get banner” button to post on your social media platforms or websites
The Amazon bounty program is not exclusive to influencers. As a result, you won’t be able to paste these links as products on your Influencer storefront.
Instead, these links and banners are better for social media posts or websites. Be careful when using the banners, as too many of them can detract from your website’s user experience.
Below are some examples of Amazon products you see on Bounties:
- Kindle Unlimited
- Amazon Music
- Amazon Prime
- Audible
- Amazon Prime Video
- Amazon Pantry
- Amazon Business
Much like with standard product types, it’s vital to choose Amazon products that make sense for you to promote. For example, promoting Amazon Music when you have a marketing blog isn’t a good fit.
Tracking Your Success and Getting Paid
If you are familiar with Amazon Associates, you already know they have a tracking system in place for the number of conversions. That tracking exists on the Amazon Associate’s dashboard, which will provide you data on the following items:
- Total items shipped
- Total earnings
- Total ordered items
- Number of clicks
- Conversion rate
This data is the summary of data that you will see in a combination bar/line graph. Different colored lines and bars will dictate a visual representation of the breakdown. Click on the “reporting” tab for details.
Determining success truly depends on your priorities. If you are new to the platform, making that first sale is an incredible feeling. So if you are new as an influencer or new to the platform, that’s your first success.
After this first sale, you can set further goals to determine your minimum threshold for the following months. Your measure of success needs to be specific, attainable, and constantly growing. Always be thinking of the next step.
When Will I Get Paid?
If you are wondering about Amazon’s payment schedule, those payments are received 60 days after the end of the month that the items are purchased. For example, your January earnings will be paid at the end of March.
If you believe that you are underpaid, check the data in the reporting tab to see the status of those orders. Orders do not pay out in the following circ*mstances:
- The customer canceled the order
- Amazon or the third party has not shipped the order yet
- The system determined your item isn’t eligible for commission.
Amazon does not allow you to earn commission from people you already have a pre-existing relationship with. That means if your Aunt Sue wants to buy a product from your page to support you, Amazon won’t pay that out due to their Terms of Service.
Conclusion on How to Become an Amazon Influencer
To become an Amazon Influencer, you first need to be accepted into the program. Provided you have ample engagement on one of three social accounts Amazon prefers, you’ve got a solid shot. Still, getting into the program can be tricky, given that Amazon likes to be vague about its requirements.
If you’ve been part of the Influencer experience, we would love to hear from you. Leave behind some comments to tell us about your experience. Thanks for reading.
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This is a post contributed by one of my marketing partners.
Photo by Wicked Monday on Unsplash
How to Become An Amazon Influencer FAQs
What are the qualifications to be an Amazon influencer?
The criteria of being an Amazon influencer are:
1. You should have an active and growing YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook account.
2. Have a decent number of followers, however, Amazon didn’t specify an exact number
3. Content type you are posting and engagement with your audience
How much does an Amazon influencer make?
Most Amazon influencers say they do not earn that much for being an influencer for Amazon. Typically, their earnings run from a few dollars up to $1,000 monthly. This makes sense since the only way Amazon influencers earn money is through affiliate programs. In fact, the commission structure given to them is the same as what the Associate’s program has. Amazon influencers need to create unique product links, promote the links on their website, or drive referral traffic to Amazon.
How many followers do you need to qualify for Amazon influencer?
Amazon does not specify how many followers are required to become an Amazon Influencer. But what’s certain is that they are looking for someone with a “substantial” following on social media. Those who are actively engaging with their audience and are consistently growing their account.
We can conclude that Amazon is most likely to consider YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram influencers through these requirements.
How many followers do you need to be an influencer?
To be an influencerdoes not necessarily require a certain or huge number of followers. What’s most important in being an influencer is that you love what you do and you are passionate about creating high-quality content for your audience. Moreover, you should consistently engage with them so you can build trust and relationships with your followers. If you have established your credibility, the followers will follow.
Do Amazon influencers get free?
Yes, Amazon influencers get free products and Amazon asks them to review or promote the products. It can be in a form of blogs, YouTube videos, Facebook posts, and Instagram posts or stories — depending on the agreement between the influencer and the brand.
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