Amazon requires no introduction. It is one of the largest companies in the world in terms of market capitalization. The owner of Amazon, Mr. Jeff Bezos, is currently the second richest person globally. Any and every consumer product is available on Amazon. Amazon operates in over 13 countries worldwide and offers an option for worldwide delivery to specific locations. Amazon’s consolidated global revenue in 2021 was 469.82 billion US dollars. As of May 17, 2022, Amazon’s market capitalization was 1.174 trillion US dollars. Amazon sells products through various Amazon websites in several countries. Amazon has an affiliate program for publishers to promote Amazon products on the Internet.
Amazon Affiliate Program
The Amazon affiliate marketing program is called Amazon Associates. It allows content creators, publishers, and bloggers to market Amazon products to millions of customers worldwide. It will enable publishers to use easy link-building tools to direct their traffic to Amazon products and earn from qualifying purchases and programs.
As a first step to participating in the Amazon Associates program, publishers must sign up for the program on the Amazon Associates website. The second step is to recommend Amazon products to their audience. Amazon offers customized linking tools for large publishers, individual bloggers, and social media influencers. Amazon offers up to 10 percent in associate commissions from qualifying purchases and programs.
Amazon Associates Program Policies
For publishers to generate a commission through the Amazon Associates program, the following conditions are to be met:
- The Customer clicks through a unique link on your website, and within 24 hours, the Customer places an order for a product other than a Digital Product. Digital Products are products like Amazon Music, Amazon Shorts, eDocs, Amazon Prime Video, Game Downloads, Amazon Coin, Kindle Books, Kindle Newspapers, Kindle Blogs, Kindle Newsfeeds, or Kindle Magazines. Or,
- The Customer clicks through a unique link to an Amazon site that is not your special link. The Customer purchases a product through Amazon’s one-click feature or adds products to their shopping cart and makes a purchase within 89 days of adding them to the shopping cart concerning Digital Products. The customer purchases such a product by streaming or downloading from an Amazon site or is shipped to the Customer.
Amazon has stringent rules concerning Qualified and Disqualified purchases, and affiliates must refer to Amazon Associates’ policies to stay informed about them from time to time. Amazon reserves the right to change or modify the rules about qualified and disqualified purchases at their discretion. Affiliates are not eligible for any commission for products returned by the Customer or canceled orders. Amazon has a very long list of terms and conditions regarding the Payments to affiliates crafted in legal language, and affiliates must read them thoroughly on the Amazon Associates website before enrolling for the Amazon Associates program.
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Payment of Commission
Amazon pays the accumulated commissions after approximately 60 days from the end of the month in which they were earned in the default currency of the Amazon site on which they were earned. There are three options available to receive the commission:
- Payment by Direct Deposit.
- Payment by Amazon Gift Card.
- Payment by Check.
The minimum accumulated commission eligible for payment is 10 USD for the first two payment options and 100 USD for the third option. Amazon charges 15 USD as the cost of processing the check.
Amazon Associates Program Enrollment Criteria
While applying for the Amazon Associates program, the applications are subject to Amazon’s criteria concerning the content on your website. Amazon reserves the right to reject any application which does not meet its criteria in terms of quality of content, nature of the content, traffic on your website or blog, etc. In the event of rejection, applicants can reapply for association after they have complied with Amazon’s requirements. If Amazon rejects your application for reasons that are not routine, you require advance authorization from Amazon before you can reapply for affiliation. The link to apply for advance authorization is available on the Amazon Associates website. Amazon Associates requires publishers to update their current contact details with Amazon Associates so that the latest information sent by Amazon Associates is available to the affiliate. Amazon can not be held responsible for the non-receipt of information because of incorrect contact details provided by the affiliate.
Amazon Associate Links
After the application has been approved, Amazon permits affiliates to display special links on the publisher’s website. Special links must use the Associate’s ID provided by Amazon Associates to enable tracking of the customers referred by the affiliate. Amazon has detailed criteria about the unique links that can and cannot be posted on your site. There are also multiple case scenarios about how and when special links can be displayed on your site. You are responsible for the development, operation, and maintenance of your site. You are also responsible for the content you show on your website. Amazon Associates cannot be held liable for any content displayed on your website. You are not allowed to promote products that are beyond the scope of your agreement with Amazon Associates.
Amazon Influencer Program Policies
The Amazon Influencer Program is available in select countries. The Social Media Influencer has to meet Amazon Associates’ requirements to qualify for becoming an Associate. The Influencer has to apply to Amazon Associates to become an Associate and grant access to Amazon to scrutinize his content. The Amazon Influencer program may include an Amazon Site influencer page registered through Amazon and assigned to the Influencer. The Influencer can contain unique links to his Influencer Page in his emails subject to Amazon Associates’ conditions. Amazon reserves the right to reject, remove, suspend or restore the content on the Influencer page. Amazon reserves all rights, title, and interest in and to the Influencer page. Amazon and the Influencer reserve the right to suspend or terminate their association by giving notice as mentioned in their agreement. The precise terms and conditions of the Amazon Influencer program are available on the Amazon Associates website.
Final Words
Publishers, Bloggers, and Social Media Influencers can benefit by associating with Amazon and marketing their products. Amazon has the broadest range of consumer products available anywhere on the planet. It is an excellent opportunity for such people to leverage their blogs, websites, and social media presence and earn good commissions. Before signing up with Amazon Associates, they must also browse through the other affiliate programs available in the market. Amazon is a powerful brand and has a reputation for being professional in its dealings. Publishers and Influencers must consider the importance of the Affiliate Marketer before associating with them.