Learning how to start an Amazon affiliate website can be a stellar way to navigate the ropes of Internet marketing. Building an awesome site is not as difficult as you might expect. And, there are definitely benefits to piggybacking off of Amazon’s authority.
A WordPress website and the Amazon Associates program is a winning combination for many rank beginners. And, it’s a strategy that anyone interested in working from home to supplement their income should consider.
Why?
Great question and we’re going to answer it by delving into this topic in more detail. But here are the highlights:
- Creating the foundation for a website is something anyone can accomplish quickly
- The Amazon Associates program is free, quick, and easy to join
- Amazon has product offerings suitable for just about any niche site, and
- An affiliate website is a business venture with substantial earnings potential over time,
Because any business venture (whether online or off-line) will take time to evolve into a successful operation, there are distinct advantages to laying the basic foundation as quickly and efficiently as possible. From there, you can grow and scale your affiliate marketing business.
Let’s explore this idea further, shall we?
What is an Amazon Affiliate Website?
In simplest terms, an Amazon affiliate website is any website or blog that earns most of its income by referring readers and potential customers to Amazon. As a member of Amazon’s affiliate program, site owners have access to banners and other affiliate links that are displayed or embedded in website content.
When readers click on affiliate links, they are taken directly to Amazon. The links contain an embedded code that identifies the affiliate and the source of traffic. If the referred customer subsequently purchases an Amazon product offering, the affiliate earns a commission.
The strategy is simple yet powerful
A Roadmap for How to Start an Amazon Affiliate Website
So, in keeping with my promise, let’s lay out a specific blueprint for getting your site live on the Web in record-setting fashion. Know that I speak from experience because I chose this path myself some 2.5 years ago and my business continues to grow and thrive.
I’m walking the talk, and you can do that also!
Here’s a quick visual and then we’ll dive into the underlying details:
Choose An Interest
Perhaps you already have a compelling hobby or interest that you’re eager to share with fellow enthusiasts. But if you’re struggling with your topic choice, why not head over to the Amazon Best Seller list to view an extensive list of products in demand?
The breadth and comprehensiveness of topics and products are amazing and definitely thought-provoking. As a result, something is bound to leap out, grab your attention, and get the wheels churning. For me, it’s Smart Home products. When I peruse the “Most Wished For” items in the Smart Home category, I see both recent purchases I’m ecstatic about and exciting options I’m anxious to try.
Will you share your impressions in the comment section below? Which categories fascinate you? Can you envision creating a website to share product reviews and related information?
Build Your Website
I’m well aware that this step is a little scary for complete newbies. I admit I approached this task with some trepidation myself. And, why wouldn’t I? It was a completely new and foreign experience.
But so intriguing, right?
What tipped the scale for me was the chance to try it out for free. I didn’t have to provide a credit card or make any commitment whatsoever. The thing is, I worked hard for my money, and I don’t part with it lightly. Can I assume we agree on that one?
So today, I want to introduce you to the same opportunity I was given back in April 2016. For me, it was life-changing, and you may well have the same reaction. No one who has harbored a dream of working online and making money from home should turn their back on this chance to explore the possibilities and gather useful information.
The platform I use myself, and can’t recommend highly enough, is Wealthy Affiliate. I just renewed my annual premium membership for the third time. Why have I chosen to stay with WA when there are other options? Very simply, because they offer absolutely everything I need at a budget-friendly price.
One thing that really sets Wealthy Affiliate apart from the pack is their free Starter Membership. It’s an awesome introduction to the world of affiliate marketing, and I guarantee you won’t find a deal elsewhere that even begins to compare.
I’m not exaggerating at all when I state that you can have your first website live in minutes. And, it’s a thrilling experience that you don’t want to miss.
Here’s What a Free Starter Membership Includes:
- First ten lessons of the Online Entrepreneurship Certification course (50 lessons total).
- First ten lessons of the Affiliate Bootcamp classes (70 lessons total).
- Two Free websites and web hosting
- SiteBuilder
- SiteContent
- Keyword Research Tool (Jaaxy)
- Templates
- Tons of Tutorials
For the first seven days, you also have complete access to the Community and the Live Chat feature where you can rub elbows with many successful marketers including the owners of WA, Kyle, and Carson. While this access ends, your Starter Membership is not a trial, and you can remain at the free level indefinitely.
Everyone should start his or her online journey with a free membership. You want to make absolutely certain that both affiliate marketing and WA are a good fit for you. I will warn you that it’s addictive and gets in your blood.
When you’re ready to take things to the next level, you can follow my lead and unlock the full potential of this online community by becoming a premium member. You’ll be offered a bonus of $19 for your first premium month if you take action in 7 days. After the first month, a premium membership is $49/month or $359/year.
Here’s how it works. You bring the motivation, determination to succeed, and passion for your subject matter. WA supplies everything else including all the training, resources, and support you need to soar.
Attract Visitors
This step is where both the fun and the work begins. It will take time to attract visitors to your website. Your efforts to increase traffic on an Amazon affiliate site will revolve around writing product reviews and other helpful articles that appeal to your target market.
Your posts should incorporate relevant keywords that prospective readers are searching for in Google, Quality content along with search engine optimization techniques (SEO), will eventually result in free organic traffic. And, you can also promote your site on social media platforms like Facebook and Pinterest.
Earn Revenue
Once you publish a few articles on your website, it’s time to join the Amazon Associates program. As mentioned above, this is typically quick and painless. In fact, this post will walk you step-by-step through the process of becoming an Amazon affiliate.
As an affiliate, you have immediate access to banners and links for any of the half a million products that Amazon sells. You’re now well-positioned to refer customers and earn affiliate commissions.
Here’s the most recent Amazon Standard Fees Schedule:
The Pros and Cons of an Amazon Affiliate Website
The role that Amazon plays as a driving force in the eCommerce arena creates numerous opportunities and advantages relative to alternative affiliate options. But, naturally, there are also drawbacks to choosing the Amazon affiliate path.
In my opinion, the pros far outweigh the cons especially for newbies who are just getting started. But let’s lay out all the factors for consideration so you can make your own decision.
Pros
Super Easy to Sign Up
Amazon administers its own affiliate program. It took me only a few minutes to complete the sign-up process, and I was accepted into the program almost immediately. There’s a link above to a previous post that walks you through the necessary steps.
The Trust Factor
Amazon is the largest and best known online retailer. The bottom line is that your readers know and trust Amazon.
Massive Product Array
With more than 500 thousand products, Amazon has something for everyone.
The World’s Best Sales Funnel
Amazon is incredibly good at selling their products. As an affiliate, all you have to do is get customers to Amazon’s site, and they will do their best to clinch the transaction.
Extensive Tools
Affiliates have access to a wide variety of banners, product images, Native Ads, and text links for use on their sites. The available reporting tools are also excellent.
24-Hr Referral Cookie
When an affiliate refers a customer to Amazon’s website, a cookie is set that identifies the source of the customer and that cookie remains in force for 24 hours. If your referral buys anything from Amazon within those 24 hours (it doesn’t have to be the product you promoted), you earn a commission for that sale.
Cons
Modest Commission Rates
You’ll read many complaints suggesting that Amazon’s commission rates are too low, hence making it difficult to earn a decent income. It’s true that other companies may offer you much higher commission rates. But I think it’s important to keep in mind that commission rates are not the only relevant factor.
Both the dollar value of the products you promote and the volume of your sales referrals play a significant role in your earnings. Furthermore, you can also choose to focus on product categories with a higher fee schedule.
Bear in mind also that even if Amazon is your primary affiliation, there is nothing to preclude you from affiliating with other vendors as well. You may decide to start with Amazon because of the numerous pros identified above and then subsequently branch out.
24-Hr Referral Cookie
I see the 24-Hr referral cookie as both a pro and a con. Many vendors offer a much longer referral window,
Final Thoughts
I sincerely hope this provocative tutorial on how to start an Amazon affiliate website was precisely what you needed to drive you into taking action. As I write today’s post, the 2018 holiday season is upon us, and record numbers of online shoppers are seeking exactly the type of information that YOU could provide on YOUR website.
One fascinating aspect of affiliate marketing is the win-win-win environment that benefits shoppers, bloggers and vendors alike. If you do nothing else, I urge you to take full advantage of the risk-free opportunity to “get your hands dirty” and build a free website as a Wealthy Affiliate Starter Member.
The Starter Membership is truly an outstanding opportunity to acquire more knowledge about the intriguing world of affiliate marketing without the need to make an on-going commitment. The hands-on experience is priceless!
You can read more here about the many features and benefits of Wealthy Affiliate membership. Or, you can click the button below to jump right into the fray by joining thousands of other members and me today,
Who knows? You could be embarking on a life-changing journey!
Over to You
Do you still have specific questions I can answer on how to start an Amazon affiliate website? If so, please ask away in the comment section below. I’m here to help!
Like It? Please Share It!
Hi Linda, thanks for making such an easy to understand action plan. You take the fear out of taking the leap! Your website is FILLED with useful information, I particularly am enjoying your blogging tips and resources. I’m going to be here for a while soaking up your wisdom and courage.
Hi Lisa,
When it comes to starting an online affiliate marketing business, there’s definitely nothing to fear. The steps leading to online success are straightforward. It does require persistence but the individual tasks are not complex and can be accomplished by nearly anyone who has the proper motivation.
I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying my blogging tips. Please let me know if I can answer any questions.
Awesome website! I love the twist you put on it. You are advertising wealthy affiliate but your niche is retired and earning income. I just think that that is so clever! The actual design of your site is also very good and professional so keep up the good work!
The main thing that caught my attention was the layout. It is easy to follow which is ideal and perfect for the audience. It is good to see that you engage well with your audience. Wish you the very best.
Hi Marcus,
I love connecting and engaging with my audience. It’s one of the most satisfying aspects of blogging. My niche consists of individuals, particularly retirees like myself, who are interested in making money online. Wealthy Affiliate is my number one recommendation for creating an online business and generating recurring income.
Thanks for the well wishes!
Creating a website to sell Amazon affiliate products sure will help with your online marketing efforts. Good advice regarding Wealthy Affiliate, it’s a great system for entrepreneurs. One thing I would mention, build your website traffic first well before you sign-up as an Amazon affiliate. Make sure you have steady traffic, a minimum of 30 new subscribers per day. The reason being that Amazon has strict limits. I believe it’s three sales within 90 days, afterwards, Amazon will then qualify your website before permitting you to continue promoting their products. A big “no, no” is to place Amazon affiliate links directly in Facebook. It’s the fastest way to kill your efforts.
Hi Annette,
Success as an affiliate marketer requires a website that functions as your medium of communication with customers. Facebook and other social media platforms frown on affiliate links. You can promote on social media by linking to articles on your website. The website is where affiliate links should be placed.
I agree that you will want to have quality, keyword-rich content on your site that is generating traffic before you join Amazon Associates. Amazon will review your site prior to accepting your application and they want to assess the nature of your content. Exactly how many daily visitors you have before applying is a matter of judgement. It’s true that Amazon can close your account if you don’t have sales within a 90 day period. But conversion rates vary greatly and It’s also possible to re-apply when your traffic picks up.
Thanks for your comments!
There’s no better way to earn income online than with your own Amazon affiliate website.
The way to do this is through Wealthy Affiliate and when I found it I was excited!It’s just as you say Linda, a 4 step process of choosing a niche, building your website, getting traffic, and creating income.
It requires hard work but Wealthy Affiliate trains you and gives the best support for you to succeed in affiliate marketing with Amazon.Thanks for some excellent information Linda!
Hi Rob,
Yes, I was very excited myself when I discovered the blueprint for making money online. Wealthy Affiliate lays out the process very clearly.
Good luck to you in your online efforts and thanks for reading!
Although, I’m not a retiree I hope to be one sooner rather than later! Some of the best advice I’ve ever been given is from my retired friends. Linda, I think you have your finger on a pulse here with this article. Amazon is a powerhouse and the methods you are sharing for starting your own Amazon Affiliate Website is also Powerhouse status!
My retired friends need to check out your good work but, anyone of any age can benefit from your wisdom and hard work as well. We all have an interest that we can expand upon, right?
In your cons you listed the 24hr cookie referral for Amazon. Is it still true with them that even though it’s 24hrs that you receive commissions (during that 24hrs) on all purchases made by your customers clicking your link and not just the original product they sought from your page?
Hi Fyre,
I’m going to suggest that starting a side hustle as an Amazon affiliate marketer is an activity that could potentially result in greater retirement savings and the ability to leave the workforce sooner. It’s true that we all have passions that we can share with readers and leverage into an online business.
Yes, it is true that you receive commissions on any purchases made by your referrals during the 24-hr period that your referral cookie is in force. That’s why I’ve listed the cookie as both a pro and a con. Amazon is such an incredibly popular eCommerce site with a wide variety of products that it’s not unusual for a referral to pop back during that 24-hr window and buy something. My Amazon reports indicate sales of many items that I don’t promote and I view that as a distinct advantage. But in fairness I also had to point out that many vendors offer a much longer referral cookie. 30 days is not unusual.
It sounds like you’ve done some research. So I hope you’re considering building a site. Please let me know if I can help. Good luck!
Hi Linda:
Thank you for the valuable information you provide on how to be a success in online business.
Your information regarding how to start an Amazon Affiliate Website is a clear and concise guide.
Your tips on how to do content writing for websites provided me with some great ideas on some content that I could do for my own website.
Sandi
Thank you, Sandy.
My goal is to be as clear as possible and it’s always rewarding to get feedback that I’ve succeeded. It’s always energizing to get content inspiration, isn’t it? I hope your ideas work out well and I appreciate you chiming in!
I like to work as an Amazon affiliate. The reasons are the ones you mentioned here.
What I don’t like about the simple way of working as an Amazon vendor though is that we very easily lose our customers. As you say, there’s only a 24 hour cookie if someone clicks your link.
It’s a known fact that most people don’t buy the first time they see a product and after having the idea of what they want to buy they might use another link in the next few days when they decide to actually buy.
You can solve this problem though by not sending the potential customer directly to the sales page but make him first sign up to your mailing list.
This can get very work intensive if you have a lot of different products though 🙂
Another thing to acknowledge, I think that the percentage you get in commission is also calculated by how many clicks you get to Amazon and how many of those order something.
If you now, like me have many clicks but no one buys something it can happen like it did to me, that I sold a product for about $400 and only got 0.15% because of this calculation. That was disappointing 🙁
Hi Stefan,
I admit I’m confused by your comment on commissions. I’m unaware of conversion rates having any impact on the commission calculation for a specific sale. You may want to request clarification. I’m wondering if it might have been a Bounty sale vs. a standard fee.
Personally, I would be very cautious about trying to force readers to subscribe. Many folks, including me, will be turned off by that approach.
One possibility for improving your conversion rates is to select keywords with buyer intent, Very specific, long-tail keywords tend to target folks who are ready to buy rather than just browsing or gathering information.
Good luck with your Amazon affiliate website!
It was a very informative article. Thanks for showing me the opportunity to build my own business online and earn some cash. The best part for me is that I can write about what I love and promote stuff that I like. That’s pretty cool! However, I have a question
How long would it take an average online person to make a good profit every month? For example 5000 dollars
Hi Fredery,
As you might imagine, your question is a very popular one that I receive all the time. I wish I could give you the very specific answer that you’re looking for but that’s just not possible. The level of success you ultimately achieve depends on you and how much effort you’re willing to invest.
If you take another look at the road-map I’ve included in my post you’ll see that Step 3 is Attract Visitors. Logically, you can’t refer customers to Amazon unless people are reading your posts. Attracting interested readers is a challenging process that takes some hard work, persistence and patience. You need quality, relevant content. You also have to learn proper search engine optimization techniques.
This is not a business model that will start earning a profit overnight. It takes time to build trust with both readers and Google. That said, most people who create quality content on a regular basis will start to see initial results between 6 to 12 months. The more you post and the more keywords you rank for the faster your readership will grow. All of the successful bloggers I know who are earning $5K per month (and even more) have been blogging consistently for years.
Fortunately, as you point out it is pretty cool to write about things and products that you love. Working from home as your own boss is also a huge benefit and something that drives people to stick it out.
Good luck in your online venture!
Hello,
Your article has breathed new life in me! My research over the years on Affiliate Marketing created an interest for me that I could not ignore. I understood the financial possibilities, but after getting involved with a few of those so-called Affiliate programs, all I got was difficulties and empty pockets. I became gun-shy and just didn’t want to get got anymore, if you know what I mean! I have heard good and bad stories about Amazon’s Affiliate program, outside of hearsay how can you know for sure? Both stories can be true, but we have to find things out for ourselves. I believe Wealthy Affiliate can be a gateway to Amazon’s Affiliate program. I mean I would need a website to promote products and Wealthy Affiliate offers a chance to create one for FREE. I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I almost gave up on my goal of becoming an Affiliate Marketer, I just thought maybe it wasn’t for me. Your article has reaffirmed for me that maybe I should keep moving forward toward my goal of becoming Affiliate Marketer.
Thank you for your insightful advice and how to!
Diane
Hi Diane,
If you have an interest in affiliate marketing, you really owe it to yourself to invest the time in a Starter membership at WA. It will give you a real taste for exactly what’s involved and afford you the opportunity of trying things out for yourself. Like me, you may love it. Or, maybe not. I don’t think you can know for sure until you’ve performed some of the tasks yourself. Since the Starter membership is free, why not give it a whirl instead of continuing to wonder about whether it’s right for you?
Please let me know if I can answer any further questions and I wish you all the best!
Hi Linda,
Thank you for the tutorial on setting up the Amazon affiliate website.
I’m new to all this online marketing stuff. I always want to learn how to earn money online. You have explained it clearly and it is easy to follow.
How do you decide what website to create? I’m not sure what information to put on my website.
Hi Christine,
You will have to select a topic and a specific niche that your website will target. Look to your hobbies and your favorite pastimes because you want this to be fun. I really would check out the Amazon Best Seller list to see what’s trending and what folks are currently interested in. If you can match up a best selling product category with something you have a passion for, I think that’s a winner.
Good luck!
I would consider following your advice but I am not sure which products to promote on Amazon? I think it is great that you’re earning money on-line. I really think you have an informative website.
How big are the Amazon commissions? I wonder if a person could make a full time income from just being an Amazon Affiliate marketer?
Hi Alisha,
Yes, I can assure you it is great to earn money online 🙂 And, I can understand your confusion regarding which products to promote on Amazon because the choices are endless. That’s why I recommend you start with the Best Seller List and fine tune your search based on products that speak strongly to your personal interests and passions.
Amazon commissions vary by product category. They average about 4% but can be as high as 10%. Many people earn a full-time income promoting Amazon products. They may have more than one website allowing them to target multiple niches. It’s also important to note that you are not limited and may eventually choose to affiliate with other vendors as well.
I hope you continue to pursue your options. Best of luck!
Hello Linda and thank you for this amazing and informative article. I really enjoyed reading it. You really did a great job explaining how money is made online by becoming an Amazon affiliate and creating an Amazon affiliate website. Today, it does seem to be an easy process. It seems unbelievable that can create a website in less than 30 seconds.
How you advertise and the content you create seem to be the harder parts of this equation. I am going to make sure I check your recommendation and see what this Wealthy Affiliate platform is all about.
Thank you so much.
Strahinja.
Hi Strahinja,
You’re absolutely right. Getting started online as an Amazon affiliate is a very straightforward process that anyone can accomplish pretty quickly. Creating content and attracting the right people to read your content are more challenging and time-consuming,
If you’re driven to try affiliate marketing you will not regret checking out Wealthy Affiliate. Their training is second to none and they offer all the resources you could possibly need at an exceptional price. You bring what I like to think of as the 3 Ps: Passion, Persistence, and Patience. Wealthy Affiliate supplies everything else.
I hope you’ll pop back and let me know your impressions of WA. Either that, or drop me a line on my profile page once you’re inside the platform. I would love to help you get started online.
Good luck and thanks for commenting!
You’re right, Amazon is still the most popular program for affiliates -.especially because of trust reasons. But there’s one downside I found about it (besides the one you mentioned). If you don’t sell anything in 180 days (I hope I’m not wrong) they will kick you out.
Now, I like Amazon because every customer likes to buy from them. So you can make lots of sales. But I don’t like their commission rates, they are super low now for most categories.
I stopped using it as an affiliate program for a while. Instead, I found a program with higher commission (about 40%) and lifetime cookies. Obviously, it’s harder to make a sale – you have to convince people for real. But in my case, it’s worth it. Thanks for this article
Hi Ashley,
You raise several interesting points here and I appreciate your comments based on your personal experiences. It’s true that most programs have pluses and minuses. I joined the Amazon Associates program about 2,5 years ago and I continue to find the affiliation very advantageous which is why I remain an advocate.
You are correct that if you don’t have any sales in the first 180 days Amazon may terminate your affiliate status. For that reason, it’s a good idea to wait until you have some content on your site and you’re attracting readers before you join. You’ll also want to promote your site on social media which may attract visitors even before your content starts to rank in Google. If you join a little too early and your account is terminated, you can re-apply when traffic picks up. I’ve know several people that followed this path and are now successful.
Income is a function of several factors including the price of the items you promote, the commission rate, and the volume of sales. Lower commission rates all by themselves don’t necessarily spell lower earnings overall. And, you’re not necessarily restricted to Amazon. You can start out with an Amazon site and add additional affiliations if that makes sense for your niche. But I maintain that the Amazon trust factor and the plethora of products available makes Amazon an excellent choice particularly for beginners.
I wish you every success with your website and appreciate your comments!