Amazon Affiliate? Trying To Make Your First 3 Sales? Read This.
Important Info for Amazon Affiliates: When you sign up to become an Amazon affiliate, you have 180 days to make at least 3 sales. Once you make those 3 sales, what happens?
You're all good, right? You're approved, right?
Wrong.
That's when the real "approval" process happens.
The Amazon Affiliate Approval Process
In a nutshell, this how it works..
1 - You sign up to be an affiliate for Amazon.
99% of those original applications are instantly accepted and you can now make affiliate links to Amazon products and put them on your site.
Note: I said the application is "accepted" and I did not say "approved".
2 - You now have 180 days to make at least 3 sales
If you do not make at least 3 sales in those 180 days, you are kicked out of the program, BUT you can always go apply again and start the 180 days over again.
3 - Once you make 3 sales, THEN Amazon comes and reviews your site
Many new Amazon affiliates think that they are 'good to go' once they make those 3 sales, but that is NOT the case.
Amazon WILL come officially review your site once you make those first 3 sales and make an official decision if you are APPROVED or removed.
Your site NEEDS to be ready for that manual review!
Just tonight, on a private Facebook Group I am a member of, I saw yet another new Amazon affiliate removed from the program.
She made her sales, too!
I went and looked at her site and it's GORGEOUS!
It has lots of posts with her own recipes and her own pictures of the food she makes.
It's truly stunning!
Let's Talk About WHY Her Site Was Rejected from Amazon
In the email from the Amazon Affiliate program, they stated that her application was rejected because:
1 - Lack of Content that is Original To Her Site and Beneficial To Her Visitors, and
(what that means in "Amazon Speak" - using unchanged PLR content or content that is found elsewhere on the web... Neither of which that blogger is doing. It's all her own very original content)
2 - Pages That Are Mainly Empty When Advertisement Content is Removed
(what that means in "Amazon Speak" - if you remove and ads and affiliate links from her posts, the content does not stand on it's own. Amazon has this "fantasy" that their affiliate links should only be added to posts as an 'after thought' to complement the content. Again, her posts were very useful without her Amazon affiliate links and she DID add them in to complement her content)
Now let me tell you a little something...
Amazon "lies" ...lol!
When they choose to reject an Amazon application after those first 3 sales are made, they send out a generic "canned" email, like the one this girl received.
Here's WHY Her Site Was Really Rejected (most likely):
As I said, her site is gorgeous - lots of original content and her own unique images. She even has some posts that are not "commercial" (about trips she's taken, etc)
So what is WRONG with her site?
Simple:
Amazon requires every affiliate to have THEIR official affiliate disclosure on their site.
And this girl does NOT have it anywhere on her blog.
Heck, she didn't even KNOW about it.
But it's most likely too late for her now - she will have to start the process to become an approved Amazon affiliate all over again with a new account, and new links, and make those 3 sales again in the next 180 days.
I don't want that to happen to YOU.
Make sure you have that disclosure!
What IS The Amazon Affiliate Disclosure?
For years, the official Amazon Affiliate disclosure has been this (from my blog):
PotPieGirl.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Now, it appears that they recently updated that statement to also accept:
“As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”
From our Amazon Affiliate Operating Agreement (#5)
Where Do You PUT That Disclosure?
This is where it gets fun: Amazon has never said WHERE they require that disclosure statement to BE on your site.
(or at least I have never seen a clear and official answer from Amazon in the 11+ years I've been an Amazon affiliate)
On my PotPieGirl.com site, I have that disclosure in my Privacy Policy/Disclaimers page.
I rarely link to Amazon on that blog so I'm comfortable with it there.
Now, on my other "Amazon heavy" blogs, I will have it in the footer of every page or at LEAST at the top of every post I have a "this post may contain affiliate links" FTC disclaimer followed by a link to my full policy page where the full Amazon disclosure is prominent.
This is up to you to do your due diligence and do what is comfortable for YOU.
BUT....
If you are waiting on those first 3 sales to get your official approval as an Amazon Affiliate, be obvious with it.
Don't make the Amazon reviewer LOOK for it.
Other Tips For Official Amazon Approval
- Make sure you have a lot of content (posts) on your site.
- Have some obvious posts that are NOT commercial with NO Amazon affiliate links (or ANY affiliate links)
- Make sure your posts are helpful and stand on their own WITHOUT any affiliate links
- ONLY use your Amazon affiliate links on the blog you used in your application until you are officially approved
- NEVER put an Amazon affiliate link in an email or a pdf or anywhere Amazon can not SEE the page the link is on
- Do NOT ask family and friends to buy through your links. Amazon KNOWS stuff - and they do not credit for family and friends sales.
- Never EVER mention Amazon product prices - that is a "No No" ALL the time (with the exception of approved tools via the Amazon advertising API, but that's a story for another day)
- Never claim your link to Amazon is "the cheapest" or is "the best" or any generic claims like that.
Summing Up
This "waiting for 3 sales and official approval" time is CRUCIAL for your long-term ability to be an Amazon affiliate.
Play it super SAFE until you at least receive your first payment from Amazon.
Those "Other Tips" above apply to ALL Amazon affiliates tho - so always play it safe with those rules.
Questions?
Ask away in the comments below and I'll answer the best I can!
Recent Comments
148
Hey Jennifer! Thank you SO MUCH for this information!! I was wondering about the intricacies of being an Amazon Affiliate. I've already been kicked out once (low sales) but this time I hope it will be different. Part of the journey, I guess...hopefully, your post will be read by everyone in the community, but especially newbies. I know this information would have been very useful back when I got started to spare me confusion and disappointment. Tks again!!
Wow did not know that! Thanks for sharing. I have kind of been really half hearted with Amazon because it seems like you have to jump through so many hoops. Other programs I am part of are just not like that at all. I don't see why Amazon has to be-given that they probably earn more money than any other affiliate program out there....
I hear ya, Liz! But here's the thing - Amazon is THE retailer online. Every OTHER e-commerce platform wants to BE Amazon...and wants Amazon's affiliates =) When it comes to physical products, I have tried multiple other platforms and affiliate programs, and nothing converts like Amazon does.
Amazon has also earned the right to be picky of who they pay to send them customers. And, truth be told, Amazon doesn't really NEED affiliates anymore - they can afford to be picky when many other programs will take anyone... no hoops required.
Thanks for this information. I actually had this same thing happen to me several months ago. But I called and actually spoke with an associate there and they checked my site and reinstated me again. I haven't had problems since then. It's all so very confusing with this stuff. Glad you explained a lot of things.
Once again, thank you.
Yvette
Wow, Yvette - that's awesome! Actually getting someone on the phone that can truly help is pretty much a miracle...lol!
I think someone else asked this, but is it 3 sales first 180 days or 3 sales every 180 days? Also, I have an affiliate acct and it seems to be working fine although I haven't made a sale in a long time due to taking a break from marketing. How do you know if you are active or not?
You have to make at least 3 sales in the first 180 days since you signed up.
After that, there are no sales requirements.
As for your other question...
"I haven't made a sale in a long time"
HOW long? And had you made sales AND been sent payments previously?
I had made sales and had been sent payments previously. However, I am using links now on a different site.
As a general rule, if you've already made your first sales, had your site reviewed AND received payments, you're good to go.
Now, I will say this: Amazon does want us to list the sites/social media accounts etc that we put our links on within our affiliate dashboard area.
That's a relatively newer rule that I am not 100% clear on, so I'm not going to share advice other than... you might want to list that other site inside your account (or at least look into that - and make sure your site is good to go for a manual review)
Thanks so much for the information on this. I think I'm probably ok because I can log into my dashboard and everything looks normal.
Thanks for this information, Jennifer. I have been looking for a notice from Amazon because I think they kicked me out, but I can't locate any notice from them. What I did notice was that my Amazon banner is no longer showing on my website. I thought I was covered with my sales because I have family members who buy from my link, but their delivery comes to my house and not theirs because they live in apartments and people steal their packages. I never gave the delivery address another thought.
I don't see why Amazon can't accept family members as valid orders. Many people order from Amazon and a sale is a sale. So now I have to tell family and friends that can't put their orders from me is really ridiculous.
So, you have to make at least 3 sales EVERY 180 days?
Hiya Verna =)
Sorry for the confusion:
You have to make at least 3 sales in the first 180 days since you signed up.
After that, there are no sales requirements.
I think I had at least 3 sales within the first 180 days. Maybe I should contact Amazon to see what is really going on. Would Amazon remove your banner if they kicked you out?
Have you logged in to your Amazon affiliate area recently? If not, I would try and see what happens.
As for "removing your banner".... uh, depends on how that banner code was generated (if it's a script type of code, then yes, I guess they might do that. I'm really not sure how all that works)
As a follow up answer to one of your comments about orders placed by family members...
Amazon sees that as a "violation" because it appears as if the affiliate is using their affiliate links to save on their own purchases - like using it as a coupon or something, ya know? (especially when said product is SHIPPED to the affiliates house).
Bottom line is this: Whether it makes sense to us, or not... it's their site, their rules - so we either play by them or choose another program =)
Jennifer, it looks like I resolved the Amazon issue. Apparently, the original Amazon banner that I used isn't being used by them anymore because I didn't see it in the banner section at all. So, I deleted the old banner and added a new banner using the coding provided by Amazon. The link is now showing back up in the sidebar of my website.
I haven't been paying much attention to the Amazon stuff. But, I see now that I didn't get paid for any of the products purchased by my son, but his orders were sent to my house. I never thought about the delivery address being mine. I just knew he had his own account and ordered from his own account. He shops on Amazon all the time!
I don't think I've been kicked out, but some things that I should have done because some areas were updated by Amazon. If the Amazon banner disappears again I will call Amazon to confirm they didn't kick me out.
Thank You, Jennifer, for this article. I just started over with Amazon Affiliate Program because of falling short of the 3 approved sales in 180 days. I appreciate the insight on this.
DW
Great information Jennifer. I also got kicked off even though I know about six sales. However, they were from Amazon Uk, Italy and Canada. I signed up in .com .ca .uk .it and .in but somehow only one UK and one Canada sale showed up - 2 sales. For some reason the other 4 sales did not. And yes I did access one link. So as you say - start all over again.
Oh, that stinks! Amazon looks at each Country as a separate program... perhaps just focus on .com to start? (and yes, the One Link is slightly helpful for additional sales, but when getting started, focus on the .com program)
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You've read my mind.
Exactly today I was checking here for trainings on joining Amazon. Now I'm getting a feeling it's too early for my site with 5 posts in it..
I knew about the 180 rule, but I thought I can ask family to buy from my link and be done... Probably I shouldn't do it :-)
Is there any rule of thumb about how many organic visitors you should have daily to justify joining Amazon?
I'm not sure what to do. Should I join and just see what happens in those 180 days? My site is not highly oriented to physical products or books, though I can think of some connection ideas.
What is the risk if I'm kicked out? Just starting the count again?
Thank you so much for this post!
Hiya Mary =)
Based on the "3 sales 180 days" thing - if that doesn't happen, you have to start over. Reapply, change out your links and start the 180 day process again.
As for how much traffic... that's a tough because it's not a "one size fits all" type of answer.
Amazon tends to convert really well when the links are relevant to the post content and to the query intent (ie, WHY the reader is there on your post to begin with)
You'll know when it's time - you'll be blogging and find yourself thinking "sheesh, I wish I was an Amazon affiliate because I could link to x, y z in this post"