How to Earn More Than $1,000 Per Month With the Amazon Associates Program

If you create content or have a strong social media following, this program could help you earn $1,000 per month in passive income.

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Image source: Getty Images

Let’s face it: if you’re a blogger or an influencer or someone who wants to earn substantial money off affiliate links, you’re not just a small fish in a big pond. You’re a small fish in an ocean. The sheer volume of people earning money on affiliates is massive. And these affiliates, well, they don’t exactly have thousands of dollars to give to you.

That’s why, to really capitalize on affiliate links, you need not just one or two but a slew of them. And if you’re having trouble finding affiliates on your own, one program could give you millions to choose from: the Amazon Associates Program.

What is Amazon Associates Program?

The Amazon Associates Program (formerly known as the Amazon Affiliates Program) helps creators make money by promoting Amazon products through their content and websites. It’s the largest affiliate marketing program online and one of the largest in the world.

Oh, the best part — it’s free to sign up. Yes, as long as you meet certain requirements, you can become an Amazon Associate for free.

Who’s eligible?

Basically, to be eligible, you need a working website or app that contains original content. Your content can’t be obscene, nor can it violate any of Amazon’s principles (it can’t be racist, sexist, or violent, for instance). You also can’t be in direct competition with Amazon’s trademark and brand, meaning you can’t bid on Amazon’s SEO keywords through paid ads or attempt to make money off fake product reviews. You can look at more specific criteria here.

In short, as long as you make original content and you have strong personal integrity, you’re likely eligible for Amazon’s Associate program.

How do you make money?

When you sign up, Amazon will give you links to promote. Every time one of your followers, fans, or customers click these links and buy the promoted product from Amazon, you get a slice of the pie.

Commission on Amazon links are hefty, too. You can get up to 10% of the final purchase price just by promoting a link. Of course, commission rates vary by product sold. For instance, you can get 10% commission on the sale of a shoe you promoted, or you could get 3.50% commission on the sale of music. The breadwinner of the bunch is Amazon Games, which gives you a whopping 20%.

Can you earn $1,000 per month on Amazon Associates Program?

The more followers you have, the higher the likelihood you can earn $1,000 per month. But even those with a meagre following can earn a substantial amount.

In fact, Glassdoor.ca puts the national average for an Amazon Associate at $36,959 per year, with those on the lower end earnings $22,000 and those on the upper end raking in a whopping $61,000. Whether on the high end or the low, you can still earn $1,000 per month.

How to get started

To get started, you need to be an original creator with a blog, app, or strong social media following, If that sounds like you, simply navigate over to the Amazon Associates page to sign up. Once you’re accepted, you’ll receive your links. Start promoting those links, and you might bring in at least $1,000 per month.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the “official” recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium service or advisor. We’re Motley! Questioning an investing thesis — even one of our own — helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer, so we sometimes publish articles that may not be in line with recommendations, rankings or other content.

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool recommends Amazon. Fool contributor Steven Porrello has no position in the companies mentioned. 

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