How do you do affiliate marketing with Amazon?

Believe it or not, this is one of the most frequently asked affiliate marketing questions of all time. With Amazon running a highly successful affiliate program, it’s hardly surprising; and I’ve decided to tackle this question in my today’s post (and the corresponding video).

 

To answer the question of how one can “do affiliate marketing marketing” with Amazon, it is important to understand who is asking: a seller utilizing Amazon’s marketplace to trade their products or someone who wants to make money by marketing whatever’s sold on Amazon? The latter would be called an affiliate.

With the two possible groups of inquirers in mind, let me split my answer into two parts: one for affiliates, and another one for sellers.

If You’re an Affiliate…

You will what to become one of Amazon’s “associates”. If you Google the phrase Amazon Associates, you’ll find out that this is how Amazon calls their affiliate program.

Join Free of Charge

Joining Amazon Associates program is 100% free, as is joining of any legit affiliate program.

Use Amazon’s Account

To apply into Amazon’s affiliate program you will need to have an Amazon account (with a login and a password). You’ll use this very same account to submit your application to become their affiliate (or associate).

Select the Geography

Keep in mind that Amazon runs separate affiliate programs for different geographies. So if you want to monetize the traffic you send to Amazon.co.uk, make sure you apply into he Amazon UK Associates Program (and not into the US one). Same goes for Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, and other geographies where Amazon is active.

Review the Rules & Policies

As you go through the application process, make sure to carefully review the affiliate program’s policies. You want to be 100% clear on what’s allowed and what’s not — to avoid having any commissions cancelled (due to your noncompliance with their rules).

Expect a Swift Reply

Once you have applied into Amazon’s affiliate program, the approval process is, actually, pretty swift — one of the quickest in the industry. After all, you’re dealing with one of the world’s most prominent and well-managed affiliate programs.

Access Tools and More

As soon as you are approved, you’ll get access to your very own Amazon Associates Central where you’ll be able to grab links, run reports, and have access to a wide array of tools to aid in your marketing.

If You’re a Seller…

If, on the other hand, you are a seller using Amazon’s marketplace, the answer for you will be very different from the above-outlined steps.

Since, as it is obvious from everything I have described to this point, Amazon runs their own affiliate program, they own the relationship with their affiliates.

Lately, I see more and more sellers starting their own affiliate programs. The two chief reasons behind this tendency are (i) the desire to develop direct relationships with their affiliates (sending traffic to their own website), and (ii) the wish to break free of the dependency on Amazon. If you are interested in doing the same, see my post entitled How to Start an Affiliate Program.