Treat Yourself to the Best New Influencer Program-- Seriously
Calling all content creators.
Amazon may be the spot where you order all your last minute holiday gifts, but it’s also the hub where influencers are taking their content this Winter. That’s right.
Earlier this year when fashion blogger Cynthia Andrew of Simply Cyn joined us on panel at Create & Cultivate NYC, she talked about jumping at the opp to be a part of Amazon Associates— the online retailer’s affiliate program that helps influencers get a share of the revenue. As Amazon has grown its fashion footprint to become one of the largest online apparel retailers, its Associates program is also adding new opportunities to help fashion influencers monetize their blog, including special financial incentives and premium content for qualified influencers. Every piece of content that you create is shoppable and has the ability to be linked to affiliate links.
Now Amazon Associates is taking it even further, with the launch of The Amazon Influencer Program. A natural extension of the Amazon Associates Program, the Amazon Influencer Program provides content creators and social media influencers the ability to create a curated shopping experience on Amazon and share that shop through an Amazon URL customized to their social media handle.
Curious as to how it works? Here’s a simple breakdown:
Apply for the program here.
You’ll need to verify your YouTube, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram account.
As people visit your shop on Amazon, you will have the ability to earn affiliate fees for all qualifying purchases.
Products are added to the shop through the “Add to List” function on a product detail page and the shop product list is managed through the “Your Lists” section of the influencer’s Amazon account.
Through the shop product list, items can be removed, moved to a different order on the page and comments can be added to specific products.
There are plenty of ladies who have already tested it out. From Instagram’s Director of Fashion Partnerships Eva Chen, who describes herself on the platform as “Mom, Fashion Enthusiast, Bookworm.” Her children’s book recommendations are on point.
To Lauryn Evarts, known as the Skinny Confidential to her followers, who has already started using the Influencer Program. Use her page to get her skincare recommendations or nab a Cube Timer— which the influencer carries around in her purse to help her time block.
Evarts also encourages future bloggers to not simply think about monetization. “My Instagram can go away tomorrow,” she told the crowd at Create & Cultivate NYC this year. Which is why she continually works on growing her audience on channels that aren’t beholden to someone else’s platform. “I didn’t go into blogging solely to monetize,” the outspoken blogger explained. “I went in to provide value. That’s one of the most important things. You need to establish value and trust with your readership before you think about money.”
“I didn’t go into blogging solely to monetize. I went in to provide value."
Tweet this.
The Amazon Influencer Program helps you do just that— provide value and community. If you get a little affiliate dough in the meantime— pay it forward this Christmas and buy grandma that sewing machine she’s always wanted.
Once you sign-up there are a couple of helpful tips to make the most of your page.
Be sure to use your vanity URL wherever pertinent.
For example: Use it in a Facebook or Twitter post to drive traffic to the page or in your YouTube video description. *Pro tip: you can even go back through old videos and add the vanity URL to drive new viewers to the page.*On Facebook use the Shop Now button to link to your vanity URL.
Monetizing content on your platform with affiliate links and programs like Amazon Influencer are vital to the longevity and success of your business. And creating community is what it’s really all about— especially this holiday season. So. Why wouldn’t you sign up for the Amazon Influencer Program? It’s a Holiday Gift from you to you. And (like the best gifts do) it costs nothing.
For questions on the program, email influencerprogram@amazon.com and use the subject line “Create & Cultivate Influencer Question.”
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ITK: How to Use Affiliate Links the Right Way
The money is out there. Do you know how to get it?
Where do content and commerce collide? “In a beautiful space,” said Amazon Fashion Director Kate Dimmock to a crowd of hundreds of women at Create & Cultivate NYC at the Knockdown Center in Brooklyn. “What’s important for you to know is that every piece of content that you create is shoppable and able to be linked to affiliate links,” she added.
And then the influencers took to Amazon Fashion’s "Content Meets Commerce" panel to share their tips on affiliate linking, how to navigate the content world, and what it means to be a successful blogger.
First they broke down some myths. The blogging world is “overcrowded.”
Or is it?
This is something we hear time and again, and what many members of our audience ask-- how do they break into an overcrowded market? How do they stand out from the pack?
Mary Orton, creator of Memorandum and co-founder and CEO of Trove, took a moment to break down the “so crowded” myth of the blogger world. “There are a lot of bloggers and content creators,” she shared, but then mentioned how many new restaurants open up in Manhattan. “Every time a restaurant opens on your block, you don’t say, oh no annoooother new restaurant. If you are being yourself. If you are presenting a unique POV, people will find it compelling. There is room for everybody. That’s important to keep in mind and don’t be discouraged by.”
Cynthia Andrew of SimplyCyn added, “Content is king. It’s really about what you bring to the conversation. “Every day I’m finding someone new and I’m following them and adding them. I wouldn’t say that it’s too saturated. But you have to understand that there is competition and it is harder to get eyes. Which is why you have to be consistent. You have to care about quality, more than quantity. There are people who post four times a day who aren’t adding anything to the conversation.”
Courtney of Color Me Courtney got her MBA young, at 21, but says she looked like “a numbers nerd on paper.” So she started her blog to break into the fashion industry in a less nerdy way. She told the audience, “Have true intent. The blogging game has changed in the last two years-- it has become a major monetization opportunity. But you shouldn’t start out to hit a bottom line. You should start to create content and to create community.”
"Have true intent. The blogging game has changed in the last two years-- but you shouldn’t start out to hit a bottom line."
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Lauryn Evarts of The Skinny Confidential advised the audience to “Think of a niche. I see a lot of girls get into blogging and they’ll email me and say, ‘I wanna be a lifestyle blogger.’ But that’s not where I would start. It’s so broad. Lifestyle blogger is the long-term play. Start niche. Like farming sea-monkey niche. And expand from there. You need to think about your niche as an upside-down triangle. The tip is your niche and the wide-part that you grow to is ‘lifestyle blogger.’ I think that is the trick to being a successful blogger.”
Content meets commerce-- it’s a relationship that goes hand-in-hand, but how do you do it?
This was the main question of the day: How do platforms work together to drive sales and earnings?
Mary Orton took on the big picture. “A lot of social platforms started out as a place that allowed quality content to thrive and content creators to be discovered. We’re seeing a lot of people struggling with that because these social platforms follow a similar life cycle. So ownership of your content is critically important,” she shared. “Be smart about where your content lives and that your business is diversified. You don’t want to become too dependent on a social media platform whose algorithm can change on a dime.”
So while you can make $ on sponsored IG posts, monetizing content on your platform with affiliate links and programs like Amazon Fashion’s are vital to the longevity and success of your business.
“My Instagram can go away tomorrow,” Evarts noted. Which is why she continually works on growing her audience on channels that aren’t beholden to someone else’s platform. “I didn’t go into blogging solely to monetize,” the outspoken blogger explained. “I went in to provide value. That’s one of the most important things. You need to establish value and trust with your readership before you think about money.” Orton echoed this sentiment saying, “Monetization opportunities will come. Any time you focus on monetization opportunities only, that’s when it comes across as commercial. It’s not only important to know this in the beginning, but throughout your journey.””
It was three years into blogging for Cynthia Andrew, who is attorney by day, blogger by night, when someone mentioned to her, “You should be using affiliate linking.” Andrew said it sounded like a “headache,” but then realized how much earning potential there is. Today she tries “not to overlink. I link to things I like. But I use it as an additional tool because brands want to see the information.”
“No one knows if you’re actually able to drive sales,” said Courtney, “but with affiliate linking you can show proof of concept to brands who want to see those numbers.” The colorful blogger also shared, “Now if I wear anything over a hundred dollars, I also link to something similar that is under a hundred dollars.”
"With affiliate linking you can show proof of concept to brands who want to see those numbers.”
Tweet this.
It all ties back to providing the most value and creating community among your followers. It’s not about selling out. “No one wants to be sold to,” said Lauryn. “Talking about something organically on your platform is so powerful.” Don’t forget it.
To learn more and sign up for the Amazon Fashion Influencer Program, please email fashion-influencer-program@amazon.com.
photo credit: Becki Smith/ Smith House Photography
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The One Way You Still Aren’t Using Amazon
And it's guaranteed to bring money back into your pocket.
Photo by Kelley Raye, collection by Rachel Zoe
Chances are, you use Amazon for just about everything. From ordering tech and books to getting last minute deliveries on Prime. You stream movies and order dog food in a pinch. But Amazon is also a fashion treasure trove, and they are delivering up the goods this holiday season. You may not yet know that you can also buy your holiday party wardrobe and NYE outfit from your favorite brands on Amazon! Including all accessories.
Better yet, if you’re a fashion blogger, you probably did not know that you can earn advertising fees for linking to Amazon Fashion products through their affiliate marketing program, Amazon Associates.
Amazon Associates helps influencers get a share of the revenue. As Amazon has grown its fashion footprint to become one of the largest online apparel retailers, its Associates program is also adding new opportunities to help fashion influencers monetize their blog, including special financial incentives and premium content for qualified influencers. This is great news for you if you have a fashion blog and especially if your readers are Prime members!
At Create & Cultivate Atlanta many influencers who stopped by the Amazon Fashion booth were excited by the program, especially after being able to browse their great brands at the booth. Many signed up to learn more on the spot, spirited by the possibility of leveraging Amazon in a supplementary way.
With millions of products to choose from and thousands of fashion brands beloved by bloggers—from Rachel Zoe to Vince to BB Dakota—there are a thousand ways to monetize your outfit blog posts.
Photo by Kelley Raye
It’s an earnings opportunity that offers special incentives for qualified fashion influencers, who get access to premium content like curated newsletters and Amazon experiences, such as working with Style Code Live, Amazon’s daily, 30-minute live show where style enthusiasts can connect, chat, shop, and get the inside scoop on the latest fashion and beauty trends.
One of our favorite perks about Amazon Associates is that you still get paid even if a user buys a product different from the one you linked to on Amazon. The way the affiliate program is structured actually ensures that you get paid for “halo” items bought within a 24-hour period of arriving on Amazon via your affiliate link (with a few exceptions for certain items). And you know how easy it is to buy multiple products on Amazon when you’re Prime!
To make the most out of this program, get started today! Holiday gifting season is one of the biggest online shopping times of the year and it's already here. Which means you might make a little extra to shop for friends and family this year.
To create an Amazon Associates account, create your Store ID here. To apply to be a fashion influencer with Amazon Associates, email fashion-associates@amazon.com with 1) Subject: Amazon Fashion Associates Application, 2) Your blog URL, 3) Your Instagram Handle and followers, 4) Your Store ID (see above).
Amazon Fashion was a sponsor at Create & Cultivate Atlanta.
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