No doubt affiliate marketing is all the rage now with bloggers jumping on the bandwagon to generate more revenue from their websites. As affiliate marketing has become a very competitive domain, the internet offers free and paid tools to boost earning potential. One of the best affiliate marketing tools available online is the Amazon affiliate marketing program.

Listed below are some ways startups can increase their affiliate income with the Amazon affiliate program, also known as Amazon Associates. Before you scroll further, read a brief background about Amazon Associates.

Read iTMunch's latest blog about Amazon's Affiliate Marketing Program

What is the Amazon Affiliate Marketing Program?

Launched in 1996, Amazon Associates aka Amazon affiliate marketing program was one of the pioneers of affiliate marketing programs. It boasts a great track record of helping startups successfully make money through the advertising of used and new products on Amazon’s website as well as its subsidiaries. Free and easy-to-use, Amazon Associates can earn referral fees of up to 15% and hefty commissions on promoting gadgets. Depending on the location of their startup, affiliates can sign up for the Amazon Associates program in their country and target the relevant market.

Here are ten ways in which startups can get an edge over their competitors by joining the Amazon affiliate marketing program:

  1. Choose and register a domain name

The first and most important step is choosing an apt domain name that is closely aligned with your startup. Your domain name will reflect your brand and loyal customers will always associate it with you, so be careful before choosing a name. Pick a name rich in key words from an SEO perspective so that customers can easily find your website on search engine result pages. After you’ve decided your domain name, visit web hosting sites like GoDaddy that provide useful domain management tools for less than $10/ year.

  1. Learn basic HTML before setting up web hosting

Even if you have hired web developers to create and design your start-up’s website, it is important to have some basic knowledge about what goes on behind the scenes. You can pick up basic HTML skills using a helpful guide or an online tutorial to understand how to create hyperlinks, insert images as well as simple text formatting. Gone are the days when hosting a website used to burn a hole in your pocket. Startups can choose from a variety of options for as low as $4/ month, with the added benefit of availing multiple domains.

  1. Install WordPress

Hands down the best blogging software available online, WordPress is a godsend for bloggers. Easy to install and set-up, it can provide much-needed structure to your website besides making it simple to post new content as frequently as you want.  Use the beautifully designed templates to give a unique feel to your startup’s website. Next, set up categories and sub-categories to organize all your affiliate marketing posts in one place. It also makes it easier for your website visitors to find and read content that has been narrowed down according to their interests. Learn more about WordPress themes for affiliate marketing here.

  1. Sign up as an Amazon Associate

Now that your startup’s website is up and running, go to Amazon.com to start raking in affiliate income. Simply click on the ‘Join Associates’ tab and wait for Amazon to review your site and approve your start up as an affiliate marketer.

  1. Create and bookmark the blog posting link

Completing these two tasks are essential to make your start-up’s website a super affiliate. Click on the ‘bookmarklet’ button at the bottom of the page of your blog software’s posting page. Hold and drag the link to your browser toolbar or Favourites menu, which will enable you to easily access your site and blog about latest products with a single click.

  1. Create and bookmark the Amazon Build-A-Link

Startups can easily create a link with a built-in affiliate ID by logging into Associates Central. On the left navigation sidebar, click on Build-A-Link below Static Links to find individual items. Simply drag and drop the link onto your Favourites menu or links toolbar and you’re ready to build your first link!

  1. Build a link

Congratulations, you can now start blogging reviews about Amazon products! Visit Amazon.com and log into your Associates account to search for the product you wish to review. Affiliate marketers can create personalized links to products on Amazon using the grey-coloured Site Stripe feature at the top of the page. Besides this, startups can also create stylish graphical banners and customized product links like text and image links.

  1. Blog a review

After you finish creating a review about your product of choice, you can post it on your website. If you have chosen WordPress for your blog, two link codes will appear in your posting form.  After deleting the first one, proceed to the next code that has your Amazon Associate ID built in. Before publishing your review, paste your content and make sure to select the appropriate category for the relevant product.

  1. Building an Amazon Affiliate Website

Newbie affiliate marketers must ensure that they have posted enough content and reviews on their website before promoting it. Startups can write 3-4 reviews under each category to showcase substantial content for readers and search engines. It is always better to display more content on your site and add new categories for news articles, so that visitors can leave comments.

  1. Amazon Associates Site Promotion

In order to become a super affiliate, startups can utilize free affiliate marketing tools online and participate in discussion forums and communities.  Make sure to connect with fellow bloggers who write on similar topics to increase your network and exchange new ideas and updates on products.

SEE ALSO: Top 15 Tools Used for Affiliate Marketing Today

Startups Can Boost Sales with These Simple Marketing Strategies for Amazon Affiliates

  • Use your creativity to come up with new ways of posting unique content and reviews to attract visitors to your website. Startups can improve their credibility score by sharing expert reviews and interesting recommendations to drive more traffic and add links to earn commissions.
  • Startups should note that the affiliate links for Amazon Associates expire 24 hours after being clicked. Building links for a variety of products can increase affiliate income because Amazon pays advertising fees for the entire purchase made by the customer and not just the aforementioned product.
  • Adding Amazon’s widgets to your site and sharing recommendation lists help increase engagement with potential customers and increases the chances of a purchase.
  • Promoting higher-end products that cost above $100 will raise your affiliate income. Make sure you share the product links with family, friends and other connections to increase your commissions.
  • Affiliate marketing is at its peak during the holiday season, so try to cash in during Christmas when seasonal shoppers are looking out for gifting recommendations and promotional offers.

Undoubtedly, Amazon’s affiliate marketing program Amazon Associates is a boon for bloggers to earn money from their websites. With the plethora of free affiliating marketing tools available online, startups can make the most of this golden opportunity.