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Amazon’s Commissions are Horrible, But So What! (Earning Strategies)

Filed Under: Affiliate Marketing, Make Money 116 Comments

A lot of people don’t bother with Amazon’s affiliate program because the commissions are so low (4-8% on average with the potential to earn a more if you refer large volumes of products).

So if you’re in a niche that averages 30-50% per commission on most products, Amazon’s program may seem like a waste of time.

Just look at my earnings snapshot from the current quarter that ends September 30th.

amazon earnings report

So basically, I’ve made nearly $3,000 for Amazon.com this quarter, and only have $170 to show for it.

In the Internet marketing niche, most programs would award me at least 1/3rd of those earnings, but here’s why I am OK with that.

Amazon is a Great Catchall Program

A lot of companies don’t have affiliate programs for their products.  So if I can’t find a program that corresponds with the product, I go to Amazon.  Sure, the commissions are low but it’s better than earning nothing at all.

Lots of Earnings From Products I Don’t Promote

What you have to love about Amazon is that they are exceptional at upselling.  And if you shop there, you’ve already witnessed this and probably become a victim of their strategy.

As soon as you add an item to your cart, Amazon lets you know what other products people purchased along with the item you are planning to buy.  Or they’ll show you items that are frequently bought together.

So you may refer someone to a Keurig brewer, but end up earning commissions on K-cups, the carousel and more related products in addition to the brewer.

frequently bought

Trust & Loyalty Matters

Since Amazon is a trusted brand, people are often more comfortable shopping there.

My conversions are usually higher at Amazon than many programs I promote, and I believe trust and familiarity is a big reason.  So that’s a nice bonus if you are an Amazon affiliate.

Most of my earnings come from my fitness and hair site, however over 65% of my commissions come from products I never even promoted.

Some of that comes from the “Frequently Bought Together” strategy that Amazon brilliantly employs, but the rest is from the can’t-buy-just-one-item philosophy that people have when they shop at places they like and trust.

Everyone has that store in their life where they end up purchasing way more than they intended to buy.  For me, that’s Target (or Tar-jay as some affectionately call it) and for many, that’s also Amazon.com.

You know how it goes.  You start off ordering what you came to purchase and suddenly remember you also need X, Y and Z.  And apparently that’s what my visitors are doing.

How crazy is it that my highest earning commission so far this quarter is for 4 BFGoodRich tires?

goodrich

Gotta luv it!

Other random items on my commission list include romance novels, Platex bras (Seriously!), pillow cases (the soft and silky kind, no less), a dog potty (Thanks, Fido) Crayola Crayons (Yep, school’s back in session), and I could go on with more random goodness.

These are all products that have absolutely nothing to do with any website I own.

So What’s My Strategy?

I hate to be overly simple, but it’s the same strategy I always talk about here…

I promote what I use.

For example, last year I discovered that camera-related searches were a fairly hot term on 2 Create a Website.  This was no surprise given the amount of questions I receive about what camera and software I use for my YouTube videos.

So I created a page to satisfy the curiosity of these searchers.

Because of that, I often see commissions from the Sony Camera I mention in that article.

sony

Easy Azon

I also make use of Chris Guthrie’s handy WordPress plugin called Easy Azon.

I was fortunate enough to get a free, review copy last year (thanks Chris) and you can see my review of the plugin in the video below.

If you promote a lot of Amazon products on your WordPress site, the plugin will save you loads of time because Amazon’s link retrieval system could really use some streamlining.

With Easy Azon, you never have to leave the WordPress admin area to obtain your affiliate links.

Amazon Widgets

I’m finding that a lot of affiliates don’t even know this feature exists.  Nevertheless, it comes in handy when you want to create a nice visual of items you are promoting.

Your visitors can scroll through the carousel of products and click any of them to purchase. Each product link is automatically tied to your affiliate link.

Amazon Widgets

The only downside is it’s coded in Flash which means Apple products won’t display it.  So if someone is viewing your site on an iPad, they’ll see a big white space where the widget is supposed to appear. 🙁

This is one reason I use this feature sparingly — especially with so many people using Apple products these days.

To create a Widget, login to your affiliate account here and select the Widgets tab.  Follow the instructions to build your own.

Multiple Linking Options

Another bonus is Amazon provides a plethora of ways to link to their products.  You can use widgets as described above, rotating banners of products you select, individual links, product category links, banners and more.

The method you choose will depend on your situation and you should experiment until you find what works best.

Let’s say you own a site on car electronics and have a generic article that talks about where to buy products in your niche.

You could link to the generic Car Electronics category that will take your visitors to the homepage of that category so they can begin their search.

This comes in handy if you want to provide a link to Amazon, but don’t really want to link to any specific product.  I do this all the time.

Need a visual?  Here’s a video showing how I promote Amazon products.

The Wrap-Up

So yes, Amazon’s commissions or terribly low, but if you have no other option for certain products you may be promoting, why not use them? No doubt you’ll end up earning commissions from products you aren’t even recommending.

And while you may be tempted to throw up a bunch of Amazon banners, I’ve always found that contextual mentions work best — meaning I recommend products in relevant articles instead of just floating a random banner in a sidebar and hoping people will click and buy.

I’ll never get rich from Amazon’s affiliate program, but it’s a great bill-paying program. 🙂

So what about you?  What has your experience with Amazon’s affiliate program been like?  Do share!

Comments

  1. 4 in 1 tricycle says

    January 16, 2017 at 5:20 pm

    Yep! I love those little nice surprises. ?

    Reply
  2. Fletcher says

    November 21, 2016 at 9:02 am

    Thanks Lisa!

    After reading that thread on the a-stores, I’ve decided to hold off on that at this point.

    It doesn’t seem like the conversion rates are very good.

    I think the ease and quickness of setting it up appealed to me. However, designing my own “Basketball Store” with hand-selected products will probably serve me better in the long run.

    Thanks again and best of luck!

    Reply
  3. Kenneth Baker says

    March 9, 2016 at 4:49 pm

    Lisa hi, i’m amazon affiliate also and will be making some changes from your great tips. Thanks…

    Reply
  4. Ksenia says

    August 26, 2014 at 11:05 pm

    Hi Lisa! Do you know why some items appear in orders, but then you don’t get commission on them? I know for a fact that the order was placed within 24 hours. Thank you so much!

    Reply
    • Lisa Irby says

      August 26, 2014 at 11:55 pm

      Hmmm… Did you buy from your own link or did someone else buy? I know they don’t credit commissions from your own purchases.

      Reply
      • Ksenia says

        August 27, 2014 at 9:01 am

        I did make the purchase, but from a different account (not my affiliate one). Do you know by chance if they track IPs? Thanks Lisa!

        Reply
        • Lisa Irby says

          August 27, 2014 at 2:40 pm

          That could be it. To my knowledge they just track the email account associated with your affiliate account but I wouldn’t be surprised if they check IPs too.

          Reply
  5. Jensee says

    June 29, 2014 at 12:18 am

    You didn’t make nearly $3000. You sold nearly $3000. You earned $170. You could be making SO much more than that, by the way. There are people making 6-digit figures with Amazon.

    Reply
    • Lisa Irby says

      June 29, 2014 at 1:21 am

      Indeed. I said “I made $3,000 FOR Amazon” meaning that is what I earned for them. Perhaps my wording was bsd. Notice I said “I only have $170 to show for it” so yes that is my commission. Yes, there are lots of people making more with Amazon no doubt. Fortunately I have diversified and do much better with different programs.

      Reply
  6. Johny says

    April 26, 2014 at 10:34 am

    Hello Lisa,

    Really its Nice Post for us.

    I am Amazon Affiliate and also have store in the Amazon platform to sell things. I am having many questions to be answered, as I am the Amazon affiliate agent can I promote my amazon run products on my affiliate websites. Will there be any apis that will help me to do so. My moto is to get earned from the affiliates and would like to increase awareness about the product. I have my website too, please check the url http://www.onlinerakhiindia.com/fancy-rakhi and suggest me ways to promote this in the right sense on amazon.

    Thanks

    Reply
  7. wilfred weihe says

    February 11, 2014 at 3:09 am

    Hi Lisa. Nice post.
    I’ve been amazon affiliate for two years now too and have created a ton of affiliate links. How do you manage this links? I mean what do you do with products that are not available (or out of stock) at amazon? Do you remove them? How you find out that product is not available or even worse 404 on amazon site?

    I’m searching for some solution to this problem of mine… haven’t found one yet 🙂

    Reply
  8. channarith says

    November 9, 2013 at 7:36 am

    Amazon is an alternative earning beside Adsense. I just started put Amazon link into my new site and i got some order from that link . I am really happy with positive result on Amazon . Really love it now .

    Reply
  9. dan says

    August 6, 2013 at 7:36 am

    Hi Lisa there is an important question lingering around the web that no one seems capable of answering, maybe you might know?

    With an amazon store do you earn a commission every time even returning customers make a purchase through your store regardless of any cookie time limit?

    Reply
    • Lisa Irby says

      August 6, 2013 at 12:50 pm

      That’s a good question. I just assumed it was a 24 hour cookie just like the regular affiliate links. Is this not listed in their Terms or FAQs?

      Reply
  10. Dylan says

    July 27, 2013 at 1:36 pm

    Thanks Lisa you have pretty much reaffirmed the why I use Amazon too. With adsense as an example you can’t truly control what content is shown to your visitors, but exactly like what you demonstrate with the Sony Camera you can show people what you are talking about.

    I see Amazon links as a recommendation, so if we have written an article about a particular house plant or something to do with a plant related topic, you can link to the specific Amazon product within your article quite nicely without it looking out of place. Obviously your website needs to be trusted by the visitor for the recommendation to be worth anything, but that’s another story!

    Reply
  11. Anthony Ewurum says

    July 12, 2013 at 6:52 am

    Lisa,
    I appreciate your honest and professional tips you give out, either in your youtube channel and website.I watch your youtube videos always.

    I signed up with Amazon affiliate for a year now. I’m in the weight loss niche. I have recorded no sales yet. In your candid opinion what could be the cause of this. And how can i make sales?

    Reply
    • Lisa Irby says

      July 12, 2013 at 8:43 pm

      Do you recommend the books within relevant articles? That’s what I do. How are you promoting them?

      Reply
  12. Jenn says

    June 30, 2013 at 8:42 pm

    This is great, thanks! I didn’t realize once you direct someone to Amazon, you earn from any product they buy, not just the one you sent them over for! Does this only work for the recommended products, or if you send them say to a set of paintbrushes, but something else catches their eye and they go back to the original paintbrushes and they buy it? Do you still earn a commission for that?

    Reply
    • Lisa Irby says

      June 30, 2013 at 9:25 pm

      Yep! As long as their browser is still wearing your affiliate cookie (which lasts up to 24 hours) it works for any purchase.

      Reply
  13. Mike the Gardener says

    June 11, 2013 at 10:49 am

    I hear what you are saying with the tires example … I sell mostly gardening items and last month someone bought a drill press. Interesting to say the least.

    Reply
  14. Jaswinder says

    May 24, 2013 at 6:08 pm

    Hi Lisa
    I like your website and learned something from it. I signed for Amazon Affiliate Program and Made this blog recently: http://www.bedsleepyellowcomfortersets.tk/
    Got 10 orders, which are from date 5th May and 11th May, still Today it’s May 24th and I don’t see any shippings or commission. Can you please explain how it works. I am new for this program, so I don’t know whether it’s OK or Not.

    Reply
    • Lisa Irby says

      May 24, 2013 at 6:14 pm

      As long as you didn’t place the orders from the same email as your affiliate account then they should show up in your Earnings report.

      Reply
  15. Sonny says

    May 8, 2013 at 4:14 pm

    Amazon affiliate program is indeed terrible but it’s better than never. It should not be the main monetizing scheme but only be an addition to a more profitable affiliate programs.

    Reply
  16. Kathy Davison says

    April 12, 2013 at 8:40 am

    II have emailed three Amazon gurus to ask a question and not one has come back to me Maybe you will maybe you won,t .
    I have a tracking ID that got 13,000 clicks today and not one sale .
    For the past 2 weeks i have been getting 4000 clicks a day to products on Amazon through my tracking ID and not one sale .

    If someone could tell me what is going on I would be eternally grateful!

    Reply
    • lisa says

      April 13, 2013 at 12:03 pm

      Hi Kathy

      Is the traffic targeted? Meaning are they relevant visitors? I’m assuming you have a link in an article? Tell us more about how you are sending people to Amazon.

      Reply
  17. Sudarto says

    April 9, 2013 at 10:03 am

    You are very correct. The advantage of joining Amazon is we can get a commission from the purchase of products that we do not promote. Although I only promote seat, for example, but I can get a commission from the sale of cameras, sports equipment, books, etc. This one I like the Amazon affiliate. Thank you.

    Reply
  18. Whitney says

    February 28, 2013 at 7:28 pm

    Hi Lisa, I just found you on YouTube, I’ve been blogging for a little over a year and I’m just now starting affiliate marketing on my blog. I have set up Amazon, but was a little nervous about Google because of people having their accounts cancelled. I’m going for it anyway and see what happens. You have a new follower, thanks!

    Reply
  19. Onita says

    February 1, 2013 at 12:33 pm

    Hey! Would you mind if I share your blog with my myspace group?
    There’s a lot of folks that I think would really appreciate your content. Please let me know. Cheers

    Reply
    • lisa says

      February 1, 2013 at 5:27 pm

      Sure!

      Reply
  20. Ron says

    January 29, 2013 at 3:28 am

    Thanks for an interesting post.
    one question that i couldn’t find and answer to so far – does Amazon pays affiliate commissions also if the user the affiliate brought already had an account with Amazon?
    i guess they do pay commissions for existing users, but i’m interested to know it for sure.
    cheers!

    Reply
  21. Mellow says

    January 11, 2013 at 2:18 pm

    People who say Amazon affiliate commissions are horrible, what percentage do you expect them to be? You are just referring people to Amazon. They’re the ones who have to provide the product, ship it, deal with customer inquiries, etc…

    What do other physical affiliate programs pay in comparison?

    Reply
    • lisa says

      January 11, 2013 at 4:37 pm

      Hi Mellow,

      I belong to Commission Junction, and some retailers do offer up to 25 or even 30%. 10-20% is usually the norm. That can make a big difference in earnings. But I understand why Amazon does it from a business perspective. With 3rd party merchants, shipping, etc. and so many low price products they have to leave something for themselves. That’s why I prefer digital affiliate programs. They can afford to pay more.

      Reply
  22. sagar nandwani says

    January 6, 2013 at 5:09 am

    thanxxx your article hepled me to earn from by blog
    🙂 🙂

    Reply
  23. Lowell says

    December 1, 2012 at 2:22 pm

    Hi Lisa. I have been following your material for years and you never cease to deliver. Thanks. I think one reason why new online marketers (and old) have forgotten about Amazon is that it takes work to build a business. Most people don’t want to commit to the process.

    Online shopping is only growing (especially internationally), so there is still money to be made from any shopping site. With Amazon there are so many different product angles to choose from and it that if you focus on big ticket items within a niche, those smaller commissions really add up. Amazon also ads great value to your existing niche site for your visitors as well .

    Keep those great articles coming 🙂

    Reply
  24. Alison Moore Smith says

    November 28, 2012 at 10:18 pm

    I’ve been an Amazon affiliate for…ever. And it’s one of my favorite programs — in spite of the low commissions and short cookie. If I’m writing a post and refer to something I’ve used or like, it’s almost always on Amazon. I can pull the link in just a second and be done with it.

    Over the years (on multiple sites) I have opened up so many different windows to Amazon through myriad posts. I’m always surprised at what people have purchased after clicking through my links. So many products I didn’t even know existed end up in my account.

    Reply
    • lisa says

      November 28, 2012 at 10:20 pm

      Yep! I love those little nice surprises. 🙂

      Reply
  25. jagat kumar says

    November 21, 2012 at 7:14 pm

    really good information about affiliate marketing, before this m think affiliate marketing is too difficult to earn. but after read your post right now m create an affiliates account.

    Reply
  26. rich says

    November 19, 2012 at 3:32 pm

    I’ve been experimenting with Amazon Associates and Bingads. Trying to get a balance where the Amazon profits are greater than the Bingads expense isn’t easy, but it is (just about) possible.

    Reply
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