The Definitive Guide Amazon Influencer Program

Joining the Amazon Influencer Program is exciting, and it’s not hard to see why.

For starters, being an influencer on Amazon allows you to promote products from other companies in exchange for a commission. Since Amazon is responsible for half of all e-commerce sales, influencers have more chances of earning sales on Amazon compared to other platforms.

With more sales, Amazon influencers gain an additional and reliable source of passive income. So, where do you begin?

Today, I’ll cover everything you need to know about the Amazon Influencer Program, including how it works and what you need to do to qualify.

Let’s get started.

What Is the Amazon Influencer Program?

The Amazon Influencer Program is a service Amazon offers to influencers that lets them earn a commission from Amazon purchases. On the other hand, it allows Amazon to acquire customers from the influencer’s follower base.

The Amazon Influencer Program shouldn’t be confused with the Amazon Affiliate Program, one of my favorite ways to make passive income from Amazon. The Amazon Affiliates Program, which started in 1996, is already an established Amazon program.

The influencer program, created in 2017, is an extension of the Amazon Affiliates Program.

Amazon Influencer Program vs. Amazon Associates Program

Knowing the nature of the influencer program starts with understanding how it differs from the Amazon Affiliates Program.

The main difference between the two programs is how each will recommend the items to their respective Amazon customers.

Members of the Amazon’s Affiliate Program can create content and share affiliate links for specific items on their social media posts, personal blogs, youtube videos (in the video descriptions), bio website, or any other platform they own.

On the other hand, Amazon influencers need to create their own custom storefronts on Amazon, which serves as their online store.

Once you’ve successfully set up an Amazon influencer account, you’ll be given a link to your custom storefront. You can then send this link to your followers, allowing them to view your offerings.

Being an influencer or affiliate on Amazon involves linking the products you’re advertising in your blog or other social media platform. That’s why Amazon influencers and affiliates must be adept at making sales.

Additionally, they need to be trustworthy to successfully recommend products to their audience. This way, loyal audiences can easily view, analyze, and purchase the item the influencer or affiliate recommended.

It’s also important to note that there is another program called the amazon bounty program, which is very similar to the affiliate program but for digital products such as memberships and subscriptions, with commissions earned on sign ups rather than purchases.

How Does the Amazon Influencer Program Work?

The Amazon Influencer Program uses influencer marketing to sell items, but with a twist. When a customer purchases a product using the influencer’s link, the influencer will receive a commission from the sale.

Here is how the Amazon Influencer Program works:

1. The influencer builds a solid viewer base on popular social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube and then applies for the Amazon Influencer Program.
2. They register through the Amazon Influencer field in the Amazon Associates Program menu.
3. Once accepted, the influencer can now create an Amazon Store and then add partnered products or brands to their own custom Amazon storefront.
4. They can now share links on their social media accounts that lead to their shop.
5. People from the social audience who buy recommended items become customers.
6. Amazon influencers receive a commission from Amazon — not the brand or company they’re partnering with — for every customer that purchases a product through their link.

While all this sounds exciting, you must first assess if you can join the Amazon Influencer Program.

Who Can Join the Amazon Influencer Program?

Having a strong and loyal social media following is a must to join the program. You must also be able to constantly deliver high-quality content to your audience.

Potential influencers must have experience in driving sales through social media. This means social media influencers have a good chance of being accepted into the program.

Amazon will also require specific permissions to access your linked social media accounts, which is one of the reasons why some people are hesitant to become Amazon influencers.

That’s why plenty of people consider the Amazon Influencer Program an exclusive opportunity.

This isn’t surprising, however, as Amazon has around 310 million users globally and hosts thousands of brands.

Amazon Influencer Requirements

Amazon influencers can be any brand or person with a substantial social media following.

This means they should have a strong social media presence on any Amazon-accepted social media platform and:

• Have an active profile on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, or other social media platforms.
• Have an Amazon account. An existing customer account will suffice.
• Have around 20,000 followers on their social media platforms. Amazon doesn’t specify the minimum follower count.
• Have strong engagement metrics for micro and nano influencers with 1,000 to 10,000 followers.
• Reside or conduct business operations in the U.S., U.K., Canada, India, France, Italy, Spain, or Germany.

In other words, your total social media followers and engagement levels are the two major factors in becoming an Amazon influencer.

If your initial application gets rejected, you can reapply to the Amazon Influencer Program, especially if your audience and engagement have grown.

How to Become An Amazon Influencer

Influencer marketing delivers 11x more ROI (Return On Investment) than other forms of digital marketing.

That’s why more sellers are partnering with influencers to promote their products.

Follow these steps if you want to start earning money based on influencer recommendations.

Step 1: Registration

Head to the Amazon Influencer page, and then click on Sign Up, a yellow button found in the center of the header image.

After clicking the button, there will be a prompt to create a new account or choose an existing one. If you create a new customer account, prepare the following information:

• Name
• Password
• Address
• Email

After filling out customer data, Amazon will request the following information if you’re qualified for the influencer program:

• Your name and a 350-character bio
• URLs or usernames to every social media account you want Amazon to gain access to
• A 250 x 250px profile picture
• The address you want reports to be sent

Step 2: Applying for the Influencer Program

This step involves identifying your social media account with the highest follower count. When applying for the influencer program, I recommend using Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram. You must link your account to Amazon if you choose Facebook or YouTube.

If your Instagram account has the highest engagement, indicate your exact follower count, the number of posts you have on the platform, and your handle.

Step 3: Create Your Storefront

The design of every storefront involves various lists that display the products or brands the influencer is partnering with.

To make your storefront unique, find a profile image and a header that resonates with you.

Successful Amazon influencers only promote products they personally use. Endorsing products that you truly enjoy will make your influencer campaigns more enjoyable.

Step 4: Create Your Account

Once you’ve filled out your account information and finished setting up your storefront, click Save and Finish.

After saving, you’ll be redirected to the Amazon Associates dashboard. In the dashboard, make sure you follow the Amazon Influencer Program on Instagram. You won’t be approved as an influencer if you don’t follow the page.

Continue building your storefront while waiting for approval. Now you also have a storefront url that you can share with anyone.

Influencer Marketing: Promoting Your Amazon Influencer Storefront

To be a successful influencer on Amazon, your storefront must showcase products that your followers want or need. Promoting your Amazon storefront shouldn’t be too difficult if you have experience in influencer marketing.

Follow these tips when promoting your storefront to followers on the following social media platforms.

Instagram

• Insert your influencer link in your social media bio.
• When posting captions, redirect your followers to your link to show them where to find your product recommendations.
• Create relevant content to motivate your audience to purchase your items.
• Use Instagram Stories to showcase your products’ benefits, show followers how you incorporate a product into your routine, and extend your reach.

Facebook

• Add your influencer link in your About field in your YouTube channel.
• Post Facebook stories to showcase the products you recommend to your audience.
• Your Facebook profile should have a Shop Now button, redirecting those who click on it to your Amazon influencer page.
• When generating a product-related post on Facebook, add a link to your storefront and the corresponding product detail page.

YouTube

• Add your influencer link in your About section.
• Add the link to the YouTube description box of every relevant video.
• When creating a dedicated video about a specific product, remind your viewers that they can purchase the product by clicking on the link in your About section or the video’s description box.

Twitter

• Place your influencer link in your Twitter bio.
• Regularly post tweets about your product recommendations.
• Insert your influencer link on relevant tweets.

Blog

• Determine what product your audience will be most interested in buying, and then write blog posts about it.
• Keep your readers engaged by consistently writing new content. These will become your direct followers.
• Add your influencer link to a relevant post, such as a social media post.

Amazon Live

Amazon Live is a real-time streaming platform that Amazon influencers can use to promote brands and items. It is extremely potent as most viewers already have a buyer’s mindset.

Here’s how Amazon Live works:

• Through Instagram, Facebook, or any other platform, viewers will have an idea about ongoing or upcoming live streams hosted by their favorite influencer.
• Interested viewers will go to Amazon Live to watch the influencer and the product they’re promoting.
• During the live stream, the Amazon influencer gets to talk about some benefits and their favorite things about the product they’re currently endorsing.
• Viewers can conveniently purchase the product as the links are under the live stream.
• Amazon Live also has a chat room next to the live stream, allowing viewers to chat on the platform.

Amazon Influencer Commission Rate

Before using the best Amazon influencer marketing strategies, it’s important to know the Amazon influencer rate.

The Amazon Influencer Program has the same payment structure as the Amazon Associates Program.

Before identifying which product category or niche to promote, double-check Amazon’s Commission Income Statement.

Every category on Amazon has a fixed commission rate. For instance, luxury beauty items will grant influencers a 10% commission. Health and personal care, grocery, and video game consoles will only reward a 1% commission.

While some categories have a low commission rate, remember that payments will accumulate over time. Besides, adding your link to your social media pages costs nothing.

How Can Brands Work With Amazon Influencers

To generate money, Amazon influencers must sell, endorse, and recommend many products to their audience.

Since influencers don’t make these products, working with the right Amazon influencer is key for brands to optimize Amazon influencer marketing. There are three ways for a brand to partner with the right Amazon influencer.

Use Influencer Marketplaces

This marketplace type gives brands an idea of how many followers a particular influencer has, their niche or specialty, influencer campaigns being used, and other important metrics. Brands will also have access to get in touch with any influencer for a fee.

The fee will vary for every influencer, which is why brands should reach out to prospects before deciding.

Ask Existing Customers

Loyal customers can be Amazon influencers. Once a brand confirms that an existing customer is an Amazon influencer, the negotiation process begins.

Since influencer marketing is broad, there’s a chance that a fan may also be an influencer on other platforms. Sometimes, an influencer may even promote the products for free.

This is why companies that don’t have an affiliate marketing program can still leverage influencer marketing.

Encourage an Influencer

If you’ve found the right influencer — whether through an influencer marketplace or other means — encourage them to make a sponsored post. The post should be centered around the brand’s products.

If the influencer focuses on creating video content, they can mention the brand’s store and recommend that viewers purchase the relevant product there.

Influencers who love a brand’s product will gladly recommend them to their viewers, especially since they’ll receive a commission and get an idea about their next content.

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

Although the points above have answered the important questions about becoming an Amazon influencer, potential influencers may still have some questions about the program.

Here are some FAQs about the Amazon Influencer Program.

Is the Amazon Influencer Program available outside of the U.S.?

Yes! The Amazon Influencer Program is available in:

• North and South America: U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Brazil
• Europe: U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands
• Asia: UAE, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore
• Australia

It’s important to know that every country has its own influencer program. This means you must apply every time you want to join another country. There are tools that allow global influencers to track and operate all of their markets in a single place.

What is the best type of Amazon influencer?

In order to be the best Amazon influencer you can be, you must develop your social media skills. This involves leveraging your social media accounts, which can be done in the following ways:

• Selecting a niche: The right niche will determine how much you’ll earn. That’s why it’s advisable to opt for a niche that you’re knowledgeable about. For example, if you love talking and writing about baby products, promote baby products to your followers. Confidence and mastery of the topic make better influencer recommendations.
• Choosing the most active platform: If you have more than five accounts with huge followings, focus on the platform with the best engagement and most followers.
• Creating evergreen content: Evergreen content refers to content that’s always relevant. Make use of superior editing tools to create evergreen influencer content. Attention-grabbing content assures you that it will continue generating customers years after posting it on your social media accounts.
• Frequently promoting a product: The frequency with which you promote a product is equally important to delivering quality content.

When do Amazon influencers get paid?

Payments or commissions are received a month after the end of the month during which the product is purchased. For instance, your earnings in January will be paid at the end of February.

If you think you’re underpaid, review the data in the Reporting tab and check the status of every order.

Orders won’t be paid for the following reasons:

• Customer cancellation
• Amazon or the third party hasn’t shipped the order
• Amazon’s system identifies your product as eligible for commission.

Amazon doesn’t pay you commissions from people you are related to. For example, if your aunt purchases a product through your link, Amazon will consider the transaction ineligible.

Final Thoughts

Being a part of the Amazon Influencer Program means you can make money by promoting products through your Amazon storefront. Setting it up is also free, so it’s definitely worth looking into.

If you have social media accounts with a strong presence and a loyal follower base, it’s time to use them to your advantage. You can always come back to this guide if there’s anything you’re unsure about.

If you’re still not convinced about the benefits of becoming an Amazon influencer, read my post about some Amazon statistics that’ll blow your mind. Be sure to check out our blog for posts on Amazon selling.