Amazon Influencer Program: How to become a creator and how much it pays

• Amazon's influencer program offers a suite of tools that let creators earn money on the platform.
• Amazon has several influencer programs including Amazon Associates, Storefront, and Amazon Live.

Amazon's influencer program offers a suite of tools and programs used by creators across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram as a way to earn money through promoting products to their followers.

To become an Amazon influencer, creators can sign up directly on Amazon's site, and must link to their YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok account. If a creator is signing up with an Instagram or Facebook account, they must use a business account.

"We are looking to [influencers] to tell us what they want and what they need," Katie Scott, director of the Amazon Influencer Program, said of the program. "It's really important that we hear them and see what's working for them. A lot of these features and benefits that we have are born out of those conversations."

Check out the full interview with Scott about Amazon's plans for its influencer program

Amazon's Influencer Program operates as an extension of its online Associates Program, the company's affiliate-marketing program for creators, publishers, and bloggers.

Aside from the Associates Program, the e-commerce giant has several main programs that Amazon influencers can use:

• The Drop: Brands partner with fashion influencers to create a limited-edition clothing collection. Most deals are typically available for around 30 hours.
• Inspire: A TikTok-like feature where creators can post shoppable vertical videos.
• Amazon Live: A livestreaming platform that offers commission from every sale.
• Storefront: A page on Amazon where influencers can list products and earn a commission from those sales.
• Creator Connections: A marketplace that matches brands and influencers for paid partnerships.

Some influencers also make money on Amazon by reviewing products and uploading unboxing videos that appear on a product page.

One influencer told Business Insider that he was earning $16,000 a month by reviewing products. (Read more about his Amazon strategy.)

Amazon also offers several incentives during Prime Day to motivate influencers to promote the event.

In July, leading up to Prime Day, Amazon influencers shared shopping guides and deals with their followers.

This Prime Day, Amazon influencers earned 21.6 times more on average per day than on other days in 2023. (Read more about how Amazon leverages influencers for Prime Day.)

What is an Amazon influencer and who can become one?

Amazon works with a variety of influencers across different platforms and also content categories, like fashion, home, beauty, and tech.

"We don't look for just one particular influencer," Scott said. "Similar to how we attract customers of all different backgrounds, we think about it the same way for influencers."

Sal Farzin, for instance, is a full-time tech creator with almost 3 million TikTok followers. He told Business Insider that about 80% of his six-figure influencer income comes from promoting products on Amazon. He recommends using products before recommending them because making false claims about their features can damage trust and credibility with your audience.

Read more about how Farzin uses Amazon to boost his influencer business

During Amazon's July Prime Day sales event, the company employed social-media stars, like fashion and beauty creator Alix Earle and comedy creator Leenda Dong, to livestream on TikTok, post about deals, and share buying guides on YouTube and Instagram. The top-selling products promoted by Amazon influencers during Prime Day included Crest 3D Whitestrips, professional effects, and a Yeti Rambler 12 oz. Colster for slim hard seltzer cans.

The influencer-marketing firm Captiv8 studied the top Amazon Live creators, by analyzing total follower count across all platforms, average daily engagement rate, audience on Amazon, and brand affinity. The top 10 influencers on Amazon Live included brands, celebrities, and creators like Tastemade, Porsha Williams, and Naomi Watts.

Read more about becoming an Amazon influencer:

• The top Amazon Live influencers selling products, according to new data analysis
• Amazon is promoting live video to convince brands that its platform can be used for more than driving sales
• Amazon is building new tools for influencers to make money and recruiting YouTube and Instagram stars to livestream
• Top strategies from an influencer who earns a six-figure income by posting Amazon links that drive product sales

How much does it pay to become an Amazon influencer?

These programs pay based on a commission model. Creators earn a commission every time someone purchases a product with their link.

Farzin said he makes a commission of between about 1% and 20% on each sale, depending on the product.

The company has also directly recruited influencers through paid programs, like paying them to join its livestreaming platform.

When recruiting influencers, the company has offered additional payments in addition to standard commission rates. At one point, the rates ranged from $2,000 to $9,000 per month, according to emails viewed by BI.

Making money through Amazon Live as an influencer

Fashion influencer Tiana Young Morris previously told Insider that the money Amazon had offered her to post monthly streams — on top of the regular commission — was well worth it.

Read leaked emails that reveal what Amazon has offered to pay influencers to post shoppable livestreams, and its requirements

"A large portion of my income does come from Amazon," said Morris, who streamed for about an hour a week on Amazon.

Check out how an influencer built a six-figure income on Amazon by livestreaming

But despite the experience of Morris and some others, the program has struggled to gain traction among many traditional influencers. Some said that while Amazon Live as a product was easy to use when they did put in the time, they didn't find success in viewership or sales.

Read more about making money from Amazon Live:

• Influencers are using Amazon Live to make money from shopping livestreams
• Why Amazon's live-shopping program has struggled to win over influencers

How Amazon influencers make money from review videos

YouTuber Jeremy Sciarappa earned over $60,000 in a year from making review videos.

"When I was first starting out, I already had a ton of Amazon products, so I didn't have to buy anything," he told BI. "I went around my apartment, and thought, 'What do I have that I can review?'"

Read the details of how an influencer built his income from Amazon product reviews to over $16,000 a month

How Amazon is taking on TikTok and how influencers can get paid

Amazon rolled out a TikTok competitor, called Inspire, in its app to capitalize on social shopping. Ahead of the launch, it paid influencers to make content for the new feature. The Amazon Influencer Program will occasionally run limited-time incentives around new projects, the company previously told Business Insider.

One incentive Amazon was running offered $250 for every vertical video uploaded that was less than 30 seconds (up to 10 videos), according to a screenshot of the offer viewed by BI.

Check out how Amazon is paying influencers to test its TikTok competitor Inspire