You Can Make Way More Money as an Amazon Affiliate Than as an Influencer

Here is something that surprises a lot of newer Amazon Influencer Program members: you can make way more money as an Amazon affiliate than you can as an Amazon influencer. That is not a knock on the influencer program. It is just math, and it comes down to what Amazon is really trying to accomplish.

I have been around this space for years, and in the video below I break down exactly why I think off-site is where the bigger upside lives. Here is the full breakdown.

Why Off-Site Affiliate Income Can Beat the Influencer Program
What Amazon Actually Wants From You
The Commission Gap Between On-Site and Off-Site
The Hard Part: Building an Audience That Clicks
Why You Should Not Rely on Product Videos Alone
Where to Start Building Off-Site

Why Off-Site Affiliate Income Can Beat the Influencer Program

You can absolutely make good money inside the influencer program. But compared to what you could do off-site, it is not even close. I have seen people with big groups and audiences post numbers that would shock you, and I am still shocked, even after being around a lot of this stuff.

There are a few reasons for that gap, and they all point in the same direction.

What Amazon Actually Wants From You

Amazon’s whole goal with these programs is for you to create an off-site presence and send traffic over to Amazon. That is what they want. Even with the influencer program, the fact that you are only making product videos is not really what they intended. They just left the door open for it to happen.

My side note: do not be surprised if sooner rather than later Amazon comes in and makes adjustments to that. Programs drift back toward their original purpose, and this one is no different.

The Commission Gap Between On-Site and Off-Site

Amazon pays better for off-site traffic because it is what they actually want and it increases their bottom line. On top of that, the commission rates for off-site links that drive sales are higher than on-site sales, sometimes significantly higher.

Why? Because on-site there are no real barriers. The video is literally sitting on the product page. Amazon is not paying a premium for a shopper who was already standing in the store.

The Hard Part: Building an Audience That Clicks

Amazon also recognizes that it is much harder to build an off-site audience that will actually click your link. That is exactly why so many people are drawn to the influencer program. You may not make as much, but it is easier:

You make a video, Amazon places it, and you can start earning almost right away.
Off-site, you have to figure out how to get anybody to care that you exist.
Then you have to get them to follow you, build rapport, and eventually click your link.

It is a taller mountain to climb. But for the people willing to put the work in, the results are well worth it.

Why You Should Not Rely on Product Videos Alone

Most of the changes Amazon is making to the program right now are geared toward giving you and me more opportunity to do off-site work. I would not ignore that. If you can get good at off-site, you can make a lot of money. And if your attitude is “I just want to make product videos and that is all I want to do,” I do not think that is a smart position to take.

Even Amazon’s own Creator University documentation talks about posting shoppable video links and sharing them with your audience. Nothing in there says just make product videos and that is the end of the story. It is how the system works today, but I do not think it works like that forever.

Where to Start Building Off-Site

Start working on your off-site presence now: a Facebook page, a blog, a website, something. Figure out who you are. What is your voice? Who can you connect with? The mountain is steeper, no doubt, but that is also why it pays more.

And while you build, use the right tools for the on-site side. Oink for Influencers helps you find products worth making content about, so every video you make, on-site or off, is working harder for you.