5 Ways to Earn Money as an Amazon Affiliate

Here is my no-nonsense guide on how to really make money as an Amazon affiliate on Hubpages, or on any website, for that matter.

Not yet a member of Hubpages? Better sign up here, I'm currently making around $400 a month between Amazon and Adsense - don't miss out!

1.) Write about specific products.

Want to sell flip flops? There are millions of searches for flip flops, you won't rank in Google.

How about size 8 flip flops? Getting closer, but still not specific enough.

How about size 8 flip flops for women? Almost there.

Size 8 metallic flip flops for women should be specific enough to get some targeted traffic, albeit it very small traffic as that isn't a terribly popular search term. However, if you do keyword research and your phrase does get some traffic, the low competition can really be beneficial over time. 100 hubs that offer low competition products can be more effective then writing 5 hubs on unspecific, high competition products.

Why is being specific important?

• It eliminates massive competition. Instead of competing with millions of results, you're competing with a fraction.

• It ensures targeted buyers. If you write a hub about size 8 flip flops, how do you know if your buyer is looking for size 8 men's, women's or even kid's styles? Exactly - you don't know.

2.) Find quality products.

Before you begin writing, make sure Amazon carries enough variety and enough highly rated products for you to write about. Some keywords that I think will do well end up getting thrown out as Amazon only carries a few products, or none at all.

3.) Look at prices, including shipping costs.

How do you shop online? Do you aim to save on shipping? I sure do. That is why I try to handpick products that offer free "Super Saver" shipping from Amazon.

Also, you want to give your readers a variety of price options. Writing about briefcases? Don't just try to sell $500 ones, include some $100 in there, too.

I sell products all the time that aren't featured in my hubs and aren't even related to my hubs. How does this happen? People click on links for products and I get commission for whatever they purchase during that browser session. Even if you can't think of a product to include in your hub, think outside the box. There must be a book related to the topic. On my recipes, I always include 5 relevant cookbooks at the end of my hubs. Do I sell a lot of cookbooks? Not really, but it gets people "in the door".

5.) Don't set your sights too high.

Be realistic. If you only write hubs that try to sell $500 briefcases, you probably won't sell many, if at all.

1. I find that the competition can be higher for these high commission items. You want low competition.
2. How many people purchase $500 briefcases (online) on an impulse? Very few.
3. Selling a few $5 or $10 items here and there for $.50 cent commissions may not seem like a lot, but they can add up. A great majority of my commissions are under $2, however Amazon's commission structure rewards you based upon the number of items sold, not the price. So, if I sell 50 small items and bump up my commission percentage from 4% to 6.5%, I'll make more on the bigger ticket items that I occasionally sell.

The most important tip - think like an online shopper! I think that being a frequent online shopper has given me an advantage in earning money via Amazon. If you don't shop online, start doing it. How else will you get inside the mind of a shopper and be able to target products?

One last tip - don't overwhelm your reader with Amazon products. Just because you have more options, doesn't mean you'll get more readers viewing products. So, you probably don't want to "get people in the door" like I orchestrated on this hub. For an example of how to efficiently link to amazon products, check out: Hanging Travel Organizers or Pink Shower Curtains

Hopefully this short and to-the-point guide on how to really make money as an Amazon affiliate will assist you! Make sure to take the poll and post comments if you should have them.