\r\n Getting Started - Amazon Associates Program\r\n
\r\n\r\n My personal trek to earning affiliate revenue with Amazon’s Associate Program. Learn how to sign up, create affiliate links, embed them on your website or application, and get started selling advertising products as an Associate.\r\n
\r\n\r\n What is Amazon Associates?\r\n
\r\n\r\n Amazon Associates is an affiliate marketing program that lets you earn commissions by sharing product links. When users click on your link and purchase a product, you earn a referral fee.\r\n
\r\n\r\n The program provides tools like SiteStripe for generating links easily, and the Product Advertising API for advanced users. Best of all, it’s free to join, and getting started is simple.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Commissions and Bounties\r\n
\r\n\r\n Amazon Associates offers two main types of earnings: commissions and bounties. Here’s how each works:\r\n
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- Commissions: You earn a percentage of each sale made through your affiliate links. Commission rates vary depending on the product category. For instance, luxury beauty products offer higher commissions compared to electronics. \r\n
- Bounties: Bounties are fixed payments for promoting Amazon’s services, like Amazon Prime or Audible. When a user signs up through your link, you earn a bounty, often ranging from $3 to $10 depending on the service. \r\n
\r\n This structure enables you to earn from both direct product sales and subscriptions, giving you more ways to increase revenue. Below is the commision rate provided by Amazon:\r\n
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\r\n There are quite a bit more bounties, so if you want to learn more about how Amazon incentivises its associates, then checkout \r\n Associates Program Standard Commission Income Statement\r\n .\r\n
\r\n\r\n If you are interested in these numbers then follow along for how to get a piece of the pie. In the next section we'll discuss getting signed up to be an Amazon Associate.\r\n
\r\n\r\n How to Sign Up\r\n
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\r\n If you're ready to give it a shot then go to the Amazon Associates website and click on the \"Sign Up\" button.\r\n
\r\n\r\n You'll be prompted for some simple information like name, address, and phone number, and then a couple screens asking you about your site, audience demographics, intended products to advertise, and information on traffic and affiliate revenue.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Once you jump through all the hoops and the interrogation light clicks off, you can stop being dramatic and verify who you are.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Joking aside, applying for the Amazon Associates Program is pretty simple and after you're verified. You're in the program but there is one more hoop to jump, you need to make 3 sales within your first 180 days in the Amazon Associates Program.\r\n
\r\n\r\n If I'm being completely honest I thought I was a full member when the application was complete. It wasn't until I was exploring the possible tools like the Product Advertising API, that I noticed that I was missing a couple steps. Here's the screen I encountered from the Amazon Associates Program Dashboard and navigating to Tools >> Product Advertising API.\r\n
\r\n\r\n I ran into this message when I was exploring this neat tool to help enhance my advertisements:\r\n
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\r\n I suppose its only fair that Amazon expects you to make a couple sales within the first couple month of entering the program. I guess we have to get started generating some links and trying to make it in this world. And you thought it would be so easy.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Next steps will cover the leg work we'll need to do to get to our First 3 sales!!!\r\n
\r\n\r\n Generate an Affiliate Link\r\n
\r\n\r\n Although right away you won't be able to start using the exciting Product Advertising API, Amazon does provide the SiteStripe tool so that you can hit your sales mark.\r\n
\r\n\r\n If you log into your Amazon Associates Program account and navigate to Tools >> SiteStripe, you'll be brought to a screen with a very breif description of the tool. It is pretty simple to use, you just need to log into Amazon with the account attached to your store and you should see this tool bar at the top of your screen:\r\n
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\r\n From there you just need to find a swanky product that you know everyone will love and use the SiteStripe tool to generate a link. Here's an example below:\r\n
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\r\n We're really close now and the next step is to take this handy link and get it out there so that we can reach our 3 sales mark.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Embedding Amazon Links in Your Application\r\n
\r\nTo add an Amazon product link, you can use the following code:
\r\n\r\n It is really that simple. That link will have nested information about your store so when your users like a review or want to dabble in spontaneity you can get a commission or bounty from the assistance.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Now I'd personally try my hand at sprucing this up a little bit. You can checkout how I styled my Associate Link by checking out my reading list:\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n More Resources\r\n
\r\n\r\n So this is an ongoing journey and I still need to required sales numbers before I am a full Amazon Associate. When I do finally meet the sales requirements and become a full Amazon Associate, I will provide my experience working with some of the other tools available for associates. After just a couple days of hosting my site with the advertisement and I already have some traffic. Its not much but it is a start to software monetization.\r\n
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\r\n I've blurred all the details, but here's a graph of my advertisement's traffic over the last 30 days. I will provide follow up articles with more details about my experience, and hopefully some success, but its exciting to see some action so early on.\r\n
\r\n\r\n This program does have a few more policies and terms of conditions. Check these out and make sure that your site or application is right for this program:\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n Associates Program Operating Agreement\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n Associates Program Policies\r\n \r\n
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