Amazon Screwing Over Affiliates Is A Good Thing!

Yeah I said it!

But hear me out before you start throwing shade my way. As all of you may know by now, Amazon slashed the commissions they pay affiliates (aka associates) by up to 80%. You can see the crappy announcement here.

Why Did Amazon Associates Slash Affiliate Commissions?

We all know that Amazon.com has had to prioritize shipping essential products because of the "Rona" out break. So a lot of product categories that they would normally sell, aren't leaving the warehouse. I suspect that because of this they're not really making money on that stuff so they cut the rates.

But we've also heard that they are hitting record numbers of sales because of the "Rona". So maybe that theory doesn't pan out. Honestly I don't really know why. At the end of the day it doesn't matter.

The Truth About Amazon Associates

The reality is that the Amazon Associates program has always been anti affiliates. The fact that you can only earn on sales made within 24 hours of someone clicking on your amazon affiliate link is shady. Most decent affiliate programs will allow you to earn within 30 days to 90 days. And some have lifetime cookies where you'll earn any time after someone has clicked on your affiliate link. But Noooo Amazon decided that a day is enough time for you to hopefully earn a commission.

I don't know about you. But sometimes it takes me several days to make a decision. And Amazon knows this. And their affiliate cookie policy accounts for this and designed to screw you over. They know that most sales will happen after that 24 hour period and they don't have to pay you. So being shady to affiliates isn't a new thing for Amazon. No one should be shocked by this. Okay Eddy, fine we knew there were shady but how is their recent actions a good thing for us? I'm glad you asked my friend.

The Silver Lining

Amazon screwing you over will now force you to look into including other affiliate programs. And guess what? Many other programs tend to pay better than Amazon where you would only make anywhere from 4-10% if you were lucky.

Whereas other affiliate programs can pay you significantly higher than that depending on what you're promoting.

Another thing for you to realize is that you were leaving money on the table if you just built made for Amazon sites. If you're whole monetization strategy was just sales from Amazon, you've literally missed out on hundreds if not thousands of dollars from your existing traffic.

As some of you know, I'm a big proponent of multiple streams of income on your blog. I've written an article:

Back At 5 Figures: I Earned $10,640,56

in this article I discuss how I use several ways to monetize my site and most of it isn't even dependent on sales. It will help you make the adjustment to your own blog and combat what Amazon has done to you. So you'll want to read that ASAP.

My strategy to combat shady affiliate program changes is to utilize a healthy mixture of Display Advertising, CPA and some sales based affiliate marketing to monetize my sites. I don't have all my eggs in one basket. My sites are all set up to make money even if someone never clicks on a link and buys something.

So even right now where one of my sites has Amazon links, it's not my only source of income. I will still make money with it because I don't limit my blog income to Amazon. And you have the same opportunity. So read that article to understand how.

Are You Going To Fold or Adapt?

Right now I am reading a lot of people bitching and moaning about Amazon. And its all justified. I have the same feelings about Google and their constant algorithm updates. But what are you going to do about all this stuff?

You can come online and whine about how unfair this is. Or you can take the situations by the horns and adapt. As someone that has been in the industry for over a decade, I've experienced crap like this before.

I've had affiliate companies change their rates, dropped me or stiffed me out of money. I've had Google wipe out my site traffic. And like all of you, I complained, got angry, swore away this business, etc.

It's a natural reaction. But guess what? It's not going to change the circumstances. You have to make changes like:

• Add more ways to monetize your site.
• Consider creating your own product.
• Diversify your traffic.

In this business you have to accept and expect that things will always change in your business and plan accordingly.

I'm speaking from experience. My organic traffic has started to take a hit yet again for some of my sites. You know what I did? I started a YouTube channel. And now that's making me money and giving me additional traffic. Sure I still bitch that Google sucks. LOL But I didn't wait around for them to love me again. I adapted. And that's what it takes to be a successful business owner.

You're going to face challenges and it's not fair. But life isn't fair and we all get up every day and push through it. You have to take the same approach with Amazon.

What's Next?

So what are you guys planning to do? Sink or swim off to better calmer waters? Let me know your thoughts about this Amazon situation and how you plan to adjust down below. I think whole situation is timely. Even right now with the Rona taking over our lives, there are people and businesses thriving. There is always an opportunity in the darkest of times. You just need to see the light in the situation to make it work for you. And this Amazon situation is a perfect example of this.