Amazon Influencer Review: How to Become an Amazon Influencer & Make Money

In today’s post, I’ll give you a full Amazon Influencer Program review that covers everything you need to know about the program, from what the requirements are to join to how you can make money with it.

So let’s get started…

What is the Amazon Influencer Program?

It’s a program that gives you a commission each time you refer sales to Amazon using your affiliate links.

It’s actually an extension of the Amazon Associates program. If you don’t know what that is, it’s basically Amazon’s affiliate program.

You sign up and can get affiliate links for tons of different products on Amazon, from cameras to furniture. Each time a customer buys something through your link, you earn a commission.

Now, the program for influencers offers more features than the Associates program does and is designed for influencers who’re looking to recommend products to their followers and make some money in the process.

If you’re a social media influencer, then the program may be for you.

What are the requirements to be an Amazon influencer?

Like with any program aimed at Influencers, you’ll need to hit certain metrics in order to qualify for the Amazon Influencer program.

Amazon is pretty vague about who qualifies for the program.

All it says is that, “We look at the number of followers and other engagement metrics of your social media presence.”

Like, I said, pretty vague. So there is no way to know exactly how many followers do you need to have to be an Amazon influencer.

What we do know though is that Influencers across any category can participate in the program. That’s good because some influencer programs just focus on one specific industry like beauty or fitness.

The main requirement for joining the program is that you must currently have an account on:

• YouTube
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook

That’s all really. In terms of the number of followers you need, Amazon is pretty tight-lipped. And it’s not just how many followers you have that Amazon looks at. Amazon will also look at engagement metrics, so likes and comments, for example.

How to join

Here’s how you can join the program:

1. Visit this page to get started.
2. Click on the yellow, “Get Started,” button.
3. You will be taken to another page where you can choose to use an existing Amazon account or to create a new account to manage your brand. So choose the option that best suits you.
4. Choose one social media account where you have the largest influence on your followers to connect.
5. YouTube and Twitter accounts get real-time approval. However, it may take up to 5 days for Facebook and Instagram accounts to be approved.

It’s important to note that Amazon says that if you don’t qualify for the program right now, you should come back in the future as the eligibility requirements may change.

How Does the Amazon Influencer Program Work?

If you are approved for the program, then you’ll get access to all of the tools and features that it has to offer.

Here’s how it works.

1. Create your own storefront

You get your own page on Amazon with an exclusive vanity URL.

This URL will read “www.amazon.com/shop/YourHandle.”

On that page, you can showcase the products you recommend to your followers.

Best of all though is that you can promote this URL to your followers. This makes it easier for them to shop the products you recommend. You basically get your own storefront on Amazon.

Let’s say you’re an influencer in the beauty industry. You could create a page where you list all of the foundations, eyeshadow palettes, lipsticks, and other Amazon products that you promote to your followers, all in one place.

You can even categorize your page with idea lists.

Now, your vanity URL is auto-generated based on the handle of your social media account that qualifies you for the program.

You can’t change this URL, unless:

• Your YouTube channel name changes
• Or you have an account on another social media platform, like Instagram for example, where you have a higher following than on YouTube and you want to change your handle to match the name of that account.

You can submit a request to change your vanity URL if you want to.

2. Promote your links

You can promote your URL to your followers. It’s much easier because you’re not having to share a bunch of different links to products. Instead, you can share one link and guide your followers to your storefront where they can view all of your recommended products in one place.

3. Earn commission

If one of your followers makes a purchase through your storefront, you earn a commission on the sale. You’ll earn money on qualifying purchases.

You earn commission after the order has shipped.

How much commission you earn depends on the product category:

10.00% on the following categories:

• Luxury Beauty
• Amazon Coins

5.00% on the following categories:

• Digital Music
• Physical Music
• Handmade
• Digital Videos

4.50% on the following categories:

• Physical Books
• Kitchen
• Automotive

4.00% on the following categories:

• Amazon Fire Tablet Devices
• Amazon Kindle Devices
• Amazon Fashion Women’s
• Men’s & Kids Private Label
• Apparel
• Amazon Cloud Cam Devices
• Fire TV Edition Smart TVs
• Amazon Fire TV Devices
• Amazon Echo Devices
• Ring Devices
• Watches
• Jewelry
• Luggage
• Shoes
• Handbags & Accessories

3.00% on the following categories:

• Toys
• Furniture
• Home
• Home Improvement
• Lawn & Garden
• Pets Products
• Pantry
• Headphones
• Beauty
• Musical Instruments
• Business & Industrial Supplies
• Outdoors
• Tools
• Sports
• Baby Products

2.50% on the following categories:

• PC
• PC Components
• DVD
• Blu-Ray

2.00% on the following categories:

• Televisions
• Digital Video Games

1.00% on the following categories:

• Amazon Fresh
• Physical Video Games & Video Game Consoles
• Grocery
• Health & Personal Care

4.00% on all other categories

You do not earn commission on the following categories:

• Gift Cards
• Wireless Service Plans
• Alcoholic Beverages
• Digital Kindle Products purchased as a subscription
• Food prepared and delivered from a restaurant
• Amazon Appstore
• Prime Now
• Amazon Pay Places
• Prime Wardrobe Purchases

There are also special program fees available. These are a dollar amount, rather than a percentage.

Here are some examples:

• Prime Video Channels Free Trial: Successful registration for a third-party video subscription: $2.50
• Amazon Baby Registry: Successful creation of, and addition of at least 1 item to, an Amazon Baby Registry: $3.00
• Kindle Unlimited 12- month Paid Membership: Purchase of a 12-month Kindle Unlimited membership: $5.00

You can view all of the commission rates Amazon has to offer here.

4. Get paid

Amazon will pay you monthly if your balance meets the minimum threshold. It’s important to note that Amazon must have your tax information on file before it can pay you.

Advertising fees are paid by:

• Direct deposit
• Amazon.com gift certificate
• Check

You’re paid approximately, 60 days after the end of the month for which you’re being paid.

Here’s the payment schedule:

• Payment for January is made in late March.
• Payment for February is made in late April.
• Payment for March is made in late May.
• Payment for April is made in late June.
• Payment for May is made in late July.
• Payment for June is made in late August.
• Payment for July is made in late September.
• Payment for August is made in late October.
• Payment for September is made in late November.
• Payment for October is made in late December.
• Payment for November is made in late January of the following year (approximately 60 days after November 30^th).
• Payment for December is made in late February of the following year (approximately 60 days after December 31^st).

How Much Money Do Social Influencers Make?

The amount of money you’ll earn will depend on factors, like:

• The commission rate you get. As you can see above, the commission rate varies from category to category.
• How many sales you make. The more items you sell, the more money you’ll make.
• The price of each item you sell. If you’re selling higher priced items like cameras, TVs, or tech items, you will make more money per sale than you would if you were selling lower priced items like makeup products, for example.

One user on Reddit says of their earnings:

• “I’ve had an influencer account now for 2 months. I have 7k on Insta and I’ve made £35 ($45) from people making purchases after clicking my profile/affiliate links. It’s not a lot of money but it’s something, and it’s easy to set up!”

There’s no reason you couldn’t make a few $100 extra a month or even more than that if you have a large following and make a lot of sales.

Is the Amazon Influencer Program Worth It?

If you’re an influencer who’s looking for another income stream, I would give the Amazon Influencer Program a try.

Here’s why:

• It makes promoting products convenient. You aren’t having to share a bunch of different links. Instead, you have one link you can direct your followers to and there they can find all of the products you promote in one place.
• Amazon gets millions of shoppers, meaning it’s a trustworthy site that people are willing to purchase from.
• You get your own page on Amazon to showcase the products you want to recommend, which looks good for your brand.
• You get paid monthly, which is great.
• There are lots of payment options available, including direct deposit, which is always handy.
• It gives you another revenue stream.

Overall, if you’re an influencer who’s looking for another way to make money from their following, then the Amazon Influencer Program is a good choice. It makes promoting products and making money from the products and services that you recommend a whole lot easier.

Hopefully, this Amazon Influencer Program Review helped you to decide whether or not the program is for you. If you’re an influencer, let us know about your experience with the program and with any other influencer programs you’ve used.