Amazon affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to earn passively and the growth of this concept is increasing day by day because of this pandemic situation. Everyone is preferring “work from home” and getting used to this new normal. There is a huge collection of products in Amazon and with an affiliate website it’s possible to earn money through a secured system. But is there everything best in Amazon Affiliate marketing? There are huge advantages to it, but some of the drawbacks are also there.
Here are some of the pros of the Amazon affiliate marketing program:
- Trustworthy Across the world
Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer. Trusted by millions across the globe, it has tremendous brand equity in the market. By associating yourself with Amazon, you give yourself a chance of high conversion rates, riding on the brand promise of Amazon.
- Secured Payment Transaction
Amazon is famous for its unwavering, best-in-industry customer-centric brand image. The security provided in their program is top-notch. You can always rest assured about receiving your payment on time.
- Universal Cookie.
Amazon leverages universal cookies.
For example, your website link may lead visitors to the latest soccer shoes. However, it’s a universal cookie, which means that if the visitor clicks on the link and goes on to buy something different, like a TV set, you’ll still get paid.
However, a major downside is that the purchase must happen within 24 hours of clicking on your link. While many affiliate programs offer cookie durations of 30, 60, or 90 days, this is strict and can lead to fewer sales.
- Wide Range of Affiliate Products.
Even if you write about something rare, you can rest assured it sells on Amazon. In case you’re unsure about what to sell, you can always visit the Amazon website and find a variety of products to promote.
Amazon sells more than 12 million products, and that’s without counting items like books and wine. Clearly, there’s something for everyone.
- Scalability
Amazon routinely conducts a thorough audit of all its products. It removes products that don’t sell and restock their virtual shelves regularly. Therefore, if your product is on Amazon, the reason must be because it sells.
You just need to focus on attracting prospective leads to your website and reach out to the target audience and get them on the Amazon website.
With its superb selling skills, Amazon takes care of the rest.
- Leverage the Amazon Sales Potential
The Amazon website is optimized to provide customers the best online purchasing experience possible. It offers features like the ‘One-Click Buy’ option, which makes it easy for customers to checkout.
- Free Sign-up Process.
The sign-up process is straightforward and free. Since it doesn’t require you to make an initial investment, joining the program to check out their offerings is a no-risk opportunity.
- Holiday Season Advantage.
Ecommerce sales are strongest during retail holidays like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Both Google searches for products and sales on Amazon are up substantially during this time.
So if you’re at the right place and at the right time with Amazon, you can make more based on your product’s promotional cycle and seasonality.
Cons of the Amazon Affiliate Program.
- The 24-hour Cookie.
Amazon’s universal cookie is valid only for 24 hours from the time the customer first clicks the link. Twenty-four hours isn’t a lot of time, considering there are many other companies that pay you for up to 90 days after first-click.
- Low Payouts.
The commission that Amazon pays can vary from 2% to 10%. Although the market penetration of Amazon is unparalleled, their commission rates are paltry and it’s hard to make money unless you’re pumping out a huge sales volume.
Many self-hosted programs offer product commissions of up to 30%, strong recurring commissions, or high one-time payouts.
To make matters worse, on April 14, 2020, Amazon announced they are slashing affiliate payouts in major categories – some to as low as 1%. This is officially in effect as of April 21, 2020.
For example, home improvement and furniture products were cut from 8% to 3%. Groceries were slashed from 5% to 1%.
And if you were promoting headphones, beauty products, business supplies, or musical instruments, commissions dropped from 6% to 3%.
- Payment Thresholds.
You only get monthly payments if your account maintains the minimum threshold balance. And you won’t receive the payment unless you fill out your complete tax information.
- No PayPal Integration.
Amazon doesn’t pay commission on PayPal, which is one of the most popular modes of payment.
- Long Payout Schedule.
Amazon pays advertising fees via checks, direct deposit, or Amazon gift certificates. However, payouts are made 60 days after the month you earned credit for your sale.
- Their Affiliate Agreement Gets Updated Frequently.
The operating agreement between the affiliate marketers and Amazon can be a bit challenging to understand and they don’t give notice when changes are made.
For example, Amazon did not give their affiliates any notice about the upcoming commission cuts mentioned above.
