David Katz8/17/2024
The internet is filled with influencers. Still, only the best ones can make their endorsements feel like friendly recommendations instead of sales pitches and profoundly impact their audiences’ behaviors.
If you’re an Amazon seller, the best influencers can be your most valuable partners. Read this guide on the Amazon Influencer Program for sellers to discover how social media stars can showcase your products genuinely to thousands of potential customers.
And if you’re an action taker and want to enjoy such exposure without delay, join Archer Affiliates. Our network brings together thousands of affiliates and influencers who can quickly start driving external traffic and more sales to your Amazon listings.
Just like Amazon Associates, Amazon Influencer is an affiliate program where people who generate sales earn a commission.
As its name suggests, it’s designed for influencers, who are people with a significant online following. So, joining requirements are stricter, and the promotion instruments are different and more diverse.
An Amazon affiliate influencer gets to create an Amazon page where they recommend products. This page is similar to a seller’s store, but this influencer store shows products from multiple sellers that they’ve tried and recommended.
An Amazon influencer is someone with a meaningful following on either YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, or Instagram. A business account is mandatory for the last two because it offers additional promotion features and more advanced analytics.
Amazon is vague about the exact number of followers it requires. They evaluate applications on a case-by-case basis, considering both the following and engagement metrics - likes, comments, and shares. So, they might accept someone with fewer followers but high engagement or a niche audience.
While both promote Amazon products for a commission and have complete control over the content they create, influencers are more privileged. They get more tools and support from Amazon to create and promote content. Affiliates, in contrast, mainly rely on their own platforms to drive traffic and sales.
Feature | Amazon Influencers | Amazon Affiliates |
---|---|---|
Application requirements | Significant social media following and engagement metrics | Basic online presence and traffic via a website, blog, or social media |
Storefront | Custom Amazon storefront | No storefront |
Content types | Videos, photos, live streams | Written reviews and articles with links |
Visibility | Amazon may feature its content | No additional promotion by Amazon |
Commissions | Earn from sales through storefront and affiliate links | Earns exclusively from sales through affiliate links |
Unlike celebrities who endorse products, influencers have a closer relationship with their audiences and can easily sway them.
Here are five key advantages of collaborating with influencers as a seller:
The problem with spotting influencers on Amazon is that the platform offers no official list or search option to find Amazon influencers.
However, you can start your research in one of these two places:
Outside of Amazon, you can try to use:
Wasting your time and money with unfit Amazon influencers is the slightest harm. When you ignore whom you partner with, you risk damaging your brand’s reputation, which is much harder to fix in the long run.
So, let’s say you’ve found a couple of Amazon Influencers who seem like a good fit.
Here’s how to evaluate Amazon influencers to decide if they align with your brand and if they can effectively reach your ideal audience:
1. Check the number of followers and their growth rate over time.
2. Calculate the average likes, comments, and shares per post to see how actively their audience interacts with their content.
3. Look at the quality of their posts, including visuals and captions.
4. Analyze their audience demographics (age, gender, location).
5. Look for signs of genuine engagement (high-quality comments, profile quality of commenters, etc.) versus fake followers or bots.
6. Check their profiles, websites, or online press releases to review their previous collaborations and campaigns.
7. Examine brand fit in terms of values, ethics, and style by reviewing their content and direct interactions.
8. Read through comments on their posts to gauge their audience’s trust and perception of the influencer.
You’ve researched and now have a shortlist of the best Amazon influencers for your brand. It’s time to approach them strategically to get a Yes and access to their valuable audience:
Introduce yourself and your brand concisely, and explain why you’re reaching out. Tell them about the mutual benefits of working together and why you chose them.
Equally important, say exactly what you’d like them to do next - try out your product, set up a meeting, discuss further details, etc.
TIP: Take some time to write an enticing but clear subject line so they won’t skip your message. Something like “Exciting Collaboration Opportunity with [Your Brand]” should do it.
Write down or collect all the necessary information for when they show interest in working with you.
You want handy details about your product, your brand’s story, campaign goals, and any specific requirements or guidelines for the collaboration - deliverables, timelines, and compensation.
With your message crafted and all the essential info at hand, it’s time to hit send. What options do you have?
DID YOU KNOW? At Archer Affiliates, we were once Amazon sellers who couldn’t connect with the right affiliates. Since then, we’ve built this network of 2,500+ vetted affiliates, so you don’t have to waste time searching. Join us today and quickly connect with the influencers who make the best fit for your brand and products.
To maximize your partnership with an influencer, you must clarify and agree on expectations, deliverables, and compensation.
Here are the steps on how to negotiate with Amazon influencers effectively:
1. Understand the influencer’s value and market rates
2. Define clear objectives, goals, deliverables, and scope of work
3. Start with a fair offer
4. Be open to counteroffers
5. Highlight mutual benefits
6. Discuss exclusivity and content rights
7. Agree on performance metrics and reporting
8. Formalize the agreement in writing
From our extensive experience in connecting Amazon sellers with affiliates and influencers, we expect you to wonder about the following aspects:
Payment can vary based on the influencer’s follower count and the agreed pricing models. Some want you to pay them a flat fee for a specific number of posts or a campaign, whereas others are more flexible and would even accept a lower commission paired with free products.
Our affiliates get an average commission of 18% per qualified sale, but sellers can get back 10% per sale through the Amazon Brand Referral bonus.
Again, it depends on where you two connect. If they’re on social media or publicly share contact details on their website, it’s easy to reach out to them.
At Archer Affiliates, just as with other programs like Amazon Creator Connections, sellers can create an offer for influencers to choose to work with them. This setup actually benefits you because it means that when an affiliate reaches out, they’re already genuinely interested in your brand.
At Archer Affiliates, we use the Amazon Advertising API to create attribution links automatically. This way, you know which sale comes from which promoter without any manual process. For every influencer campaign performance, you get accurate and efficient tracking.
Yes, you can offer exclusive discounts through influencers. If you provide unique promo codes or special offers, your affiliates and influencers can share them with their followers, driving more traffic and sales to your products.
Through the Amazon Influencer affiliate program, you can take the trust an influencer has built with their followers and associate it with your products. You’re getting in front of an audience that genuinely needs your offer, so you start selling more, fast.
Now that you know how to evaluate the influencers you’ll work with, you can choose to search for these influencers and waste precious time in a social media black hole. Or you can go to the one place where thousands of affiliates and influencers are waiting to partner with brands like yours - at Archer Affiliates.
Schedule a call with our experts to learn how we can connect you with the right influencers. We’ll also tell you more about our unique, innovative system, which few Amazon sellers are currently using.