5 Monster Tips for Making More Money with Amazon

Becoming an Amazon affiliate has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me.

That might sound over the top, but as I hit US$10,000 a month just from Amazon.com (with money coming in from Canada, UK and Germany as well), I am so thankful that I took the path of building niche sites and used what I learned on my travel blog as well.

Want to earn more money from your blog? Click here to download my FREE 7 Steps For Affiliate Marketing Success Checklist.

Why I love Amazon

The best thing about making money from Amazon is it’s not that hard if you have an existing site. I have heard many bloggers write off Amazon as having commissions that are too low and cookie durations that are too short.

The commission levels are not that bad.

In fact, they are awesome compared to what many companies offer – especially here in Australia. Now that Amazon US has switched over to basing the commission rate on what category the product belongs to it does also depend on what you are promoting.

A longer cookie duration would be fantastic, but the fact is that…

Amazon converts very well.

They also have so many different items for sale, that I don’t find it an issue. It converts much better than anything else I have used because there are so many options for someone who lands on Amazon.

My only complaint is that there isn’t a full Amazon AU yet. I will be having a big party the day that happens!

If you have not set up Amazon yet, read my tutorial here before continuing.

You can also read my full guide to making money with Amazon affiliates here.

5 Monster Tips for Making More Money with Amazon

If you are not having much luck with Amazon then it may be that you are just not using your Amazon links effectively to maximise your revenue.

I too often hear other bloggers complaining because affiliate links are not working when all they have done is added random links to their articles and just expected them to start making money.

Here’s my best tips!

1. Add Amazon links wherever possible

OK so above I said that adding random links to articles is not a good way to go about making money from Amazon. And this is true. However, just because it is not the best or most effective way does not mean that it is a bad idea.

I once heard the advice when it comes to making money from Amazon that failing all else, just get the person on Amazon.

I think that is good advice. Amazon has spent a lot of money ensuring that they convert as many people that visit their site as possible and there is a good chance that if you can get traffic to Amazon that you will start making at least some money.

2. Consider what types of articles are likely to convert best – and write them!

Like I said above, putting random links to Amazon is not the best way to make money.

A better way is to look at reader intent when they read your articles.

If someone is reading your article about the time you ate an awesome meal in Kathmandu or how you are struggling with a new baby, then they are probably not even thinking about buying some new plates or a crib.

However, if you have a review article about an awesome new crib you just bought or a guide to essential items when cooking Nepalese food, then people reading these articles are much more likely to be in a buying mindset – meaning they are more likely to click on your Amazon links and buy whatever you are recommending.

If you want to make more money from Amazon, or any other affiliate, consider what types of articles are most likely to have readers that will use your links.

Of course, it’s not just as simple as writing the articles, you need to ensure that you actually get the right readers to those articles. I have written about how important it is to have a marketing plan for every article here.

The most important part of all of this is to always provide value – write useful content which will help your readers solve a problem – just ideally sometimes that solution will involve a product on Amazon 😉

Click here to download my FREE 7 Steps For Affiliate Marketing Success Checklist.

3. Think about the value of the items you are recommending

Although anything people buy through your links on Amazon is a good thing, I’d recommend considering the value of the items you are going to review before writing special articles like in tip 2.

I have a few articles that work very well for me in that they rank well in Google, get a good sized audience and convert well in Amazon. HOWEVER, each sale is only worth $1 or so and even though I sell the items most days, I probably could have put my time to better use by writing about different items.

Also keep in mind that some types of items, like electronics, have a lower commission level. You can see Amazon US commission levels here.

4. Ensure you are sending your readers to the RIGHT Amazon

There is not just one Amazon – there are many spread out all over the world. Unfortunately, signing up to one Amazon program does not make you an affiliate of all of them.

I recommend you sign up to all the ones where you have some audience and ensure you are presenting the right links to the right readers.  There are two ways of doing this effectively, using the Amazon provided Onelink script or using a plugin, like EasyAzon (< my favourite).

In mid-2018 Amazon changed their affiliate partner program and does not give access to their API until you become an approved affiliate (i.e. you have made your 3 sales in the time period and got your confirmation).

You will need access to the API if you wish to use a plugin to create your Amazon affiliate links with a plugin like EasyAzon.  Use of the API is granted in each individual country based on you becoming an approved affiliate in each.

This means EasyAzon will not work until this point. You will need to add links directly.  When you are approved and verified in the countries in which you want be an affiliate then you can use plugins like EasyAzon.  

New rules in January 2019 from Amazon require that you must generate at least one sale in each country and in each 30 day period to retain access to it for those countries.  If you lose access to the API and want to get it back, then you will need to replace links with the Onelink script until you generate sales and regain access to the API.

Until that point you can use a service called Onelink.  It is free and is provided by Amazon.

Note that you must start the process of using Onelink from the Amazon Affiliates US site – and create all other links from that starting point.  You cannot, for instance, create links to Amazon UK, use the Onelink script and then expect them to localise.  This does not work.  Your links must be created from Amazon US.   Onelink does not support Amazon Australia at this time.

You can read more about it here (you will need to be logged in to your associate’s account).

In my view the best way to send reader to the RIGHT Amazon is to use EasyAzon.

This is a simple plugin that is quite powerful. You can add your different Amazon accounts to the plugin and it will display the right country Amazon links depending on where the reader is coming from. This is called localisation.

I have found this a very effective way to earn extra money from Amazon without doing much at all. I made back the small amount the plugin costs immediately and now make over $1000 a month from this.

EasyAzon is also handy because it makes it super easy to add Amazon links to your posts. You can do it all within WordPress and you don’t need to go to Amazon at all. It also will do things like set all Amazon links to be nofollow or sponsored (read the importance of doing this here) and set the links to open in a new tab/window.

You can also add product images, buy now buttons and small advertisements directly to your articles using the plugin. I love it!

Here’s a quick video I made about how to set up EasyAzon

Click here for more information on EasyAzon and to see the latest price.

However, when you are first getting started, OneLink is the way to go until you are getting at least one sale per month in the regions where you want to promote Amazon products.

Amazon’s OneLink will localise links for you, but, this only works for text links and they only do automatic redirecting. EasyAzon allows you to do it automatically OR to set up exactly which products you want to redirect to when they don’t exist in another Amazon. It’s also far easier to set up links with EasyAzon so I still use and recommend it.

Please forgive my breathlessness in the video – pregnancy is doing this to me!!

5. Experiment with how you present your Amazon links

This is one of my most important tips – don’t just add Amazon links to product names but try out different ways to present your links.

For example, I had close to zero success with my affiliate links when I only had them on the product names within posts. However, as soon as I started adding a line, like “click here to see the latest prices”, suddenly more people were clicking on the links! I find putting text in bold can also help.

Also try other approaches – like linking on images, having buttons and having small advertisements. In this video, I will show you how easy it is to do this with EasyAzon.

The other thing that I find highly effective is having a comparison chart in product reviews. Why is the product you are recommending the best? A comparison chart is an easy way to show this and they are quick and easy to make.

I used to use a free plugin called Tablepress to make my tables. However, now it is so easy to use wordpress built in tables, that’s what I do. Here is an example comparison chart:

Food Processor Comparison Chart

Name	Image	Capacity	Motor (W)	Rating
Cuisinart DFP-14BCWNY Food Processor		14 cup	720	4.4
Hamilton Beach 10 Cup Food Processor with Compact Storage		10 cup	450	4.5
Hamilton Beach 70730 Bowl Scraper Food Processor		10 cup	500	4.4

Final thoughts

The Amazon affiliate program can be a great way to earn affiliate commissions and the best part is that they sell so many different items that many niches can work well with Amazon.

However, if you want to maximise the money you make from Amazon you do have to put some work in – what all of these tips comes down to is essentially to experiment with how to best make money from Amazon from your site.

Try out new article styles, try out new ways to present your links, ensure you are earning money from across the different Amazon programs with EasyAzon and, failing all else, just GET PEOPLE TO AMAZON!

As a side note, if you are wondering how to receive your lovely Amazon money when you live outside the country where the Amazon site is located, consider Transferwise.

2019 has seen Amazon US trialling paying directly into bank accounts outside of the USA and this may roll out to other territories.  However, it’s unlikely the exchange rates will ever be as good as what Transferwise offers.

Transferwise allows you to obtain your Amazon earnings in its original currency and then transfer it to your home account at a cut rate price. They also have mastercards for many countries which you can also use to access your money. It’s how I receive my payments and I highly recommend it. Click here for more details.

Want to learn more about mastering affiliate marketing for more profits? Read my guide to affiliate marketing here.

Read more ways to make more money from your blog here.

I’d love to hear your best tips for optimising Amazon revenue…

You can also find more posts on making money from blogging here.

Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links to EasyAzon and Transferwise. I used and recommend both of these highly. EasyAzon makes me over $1000 a month and Transferwise allows me to access all my foreign payments immediately.