Make money from Amazon FBA

You probably already know that Amazon is growing like crazy. Today we're going to breakdown how to make money on Amazon by diving into 6 different opportunities that you can use to get in on the phenomenon that is Amazon.com. 

Why Amazon? 

Amazon is the future of retail, and it is unfolding right before our very eyes. 

What started as an online bookstore has now turned into a one-stop shop for consumers.  In addition, people are starting to learn how to make money on Amazon as it turns to 3rd party sellers in various ways.

In 2015, Amazon surpassed retail giant Walmart in size and value.

Amazon even broke its own record on Cyber Monday 2017, selling more products (hundreds of millions of them) than they ever had before in a single day.  

The trend of online shopping has also affected other traditional retail stores. According to this NASDAQ article, while the war between online versus traditional retail enters a new round, the latter no longer hires as many employees. Also, malls nowadays are much emptier.

The reason for the shift of consumer behavior comes from the power bestowed upon the customers. Back then, they were at the mercy of retail stores as they drive from one store to another, hoping to get the best value. Nowadays, consumers can sit back at their homes while flipping through different online stores.

The convenience of online shopping is evident in this Wall Street Journal article, as sales continue to grow annually since 2014.

More importantly, a 2,000-person survey conducted by BloomReach reveals that 55% of users search on Amazon first for their online shopping needs, 27% more than Google.

Now, you may be asking yourself, “what do these all mean to me?“

The statistics above only prove that there is serious money to be made on Amazon!

As the trend of online shopping continues to become more of a fixture, you need to ride the Amazon wave now before it's too late.

Today, I'm going to share how you can make money on Amazon…in 6 different ways. In fact, a lot of people have earned thousands of dollars, some of which will be featured below.

1. As an Amazon affiliate

Amazon Associates is its affiliate program (AKA “associates program”) that lets you earn up to 10% per commission for every product that you sell.  Now, I've shared many examples of Amazon affiliate websites; including all the niche site projects.

Because of its ease of use and the fact that Amazon sells almost everything, it's an excellent way to break into the affiliate marketing world. 

Once you sign up for free, you can begin choosing which products to sell. To earn commissions, you need to place your affiliate link to the product using a unique tracking ID when selling it. This way, the sale will be credited to your account.

Selling an Amazon product can be as simple as sharing the link on social media and your blog.

However, becoming a profitable Amazon affiliate takes time, effort, and lots of planning.

In fact, I have covered a lot of articles that prove the possibility of making big bucks with Amazon Associates.

One of those articles covers how I was able to make $3,000 a month a year after launching my Amazon niche site.

Let's talk about a couple of simple strategies you can use to start earning more Amazon affiliate commissions: 

Focus On Higher Commission Categories

The amount of commission you make from sales on Amazon has always varied.

In the past, it was based on volume.

So if I sent 10 sales to Amazon in a month, I might make a 4.5% commission. But if I sent 2,000 sales to Amazon – I might make 8%+ commission on all of those sales. 

In February of 2017 Amazon changed their commission structure significantly, so the variable rate was based on the product category – not the volume of sales you referred. 

Here's a look at the commission breakdown as of January, 2018: 

As we've highlighted – you might have a niche website or blog about toys which sends people to Amazon to buy the latest and greatest toys for kids. When someone buys that new Disney action figure, you're only going to make a 3% commission. 

However, if you're promoting something like luggage or shoes – you'll receive 7% of the sale. 

That's a huge difference in the amount of money you can earn. 

So if you're still at the starting point and determining which niche to go into, look for one where you can take advantage of the higher commission tiers. 

Use Amazon One Link

Have you ever taken a look at your Google Analytics reports to see where your website's visitors are located? 

You may assume (like I did for a long time) that since you're in the US, targeting keywords based on Google US numbers, and writing in “American English”, virtually all of your visitors are also in the US. 

You might be surprised. 

In Google Analytics, click on your “Audience” and then look at the “Geo” report to see something like this: 

Notice on my site that under 70% of visitors during this time period came from the USA. 

What I've found is that if your site is in English, you'll likely have a good bit of traffic from the UK and Canada – since they share the same language. 

The problem is if your visitor from Canada clicks on your Amazon affiliate links to an Amazon US product, they have to leave and go to Amazon Canada to buy it – which means you no longer get a commission. 

Amazon One Link to the rescue! 

In 2017 Amazon released their own free solution to this problem, called One Link. It is simply a piece of code that you copy/paste into the footer of your website or blog, and then Amazon will detect the country your visitor is from and direct them to the appropriate place. 

The best part is – you can still get a commission. 

There are some initial steps to take to get this going, like signing up for the Amazon affiliate program in Canada and the UK – but it's a very straightforward process that might take you 30 minutes. 

If you're getting 10 – 15% of your traffic from these countries, doing this one-time setup will be well worth it. 

Click here to learn more about installing One Link. 

Target Buyer Keywords

It's one thing to get people to click on your Amazon affiliate links, but it's another thing to get them to convert into a buyer. 

A click earns you nothing. 

You only get paid when people buy something on Amazon. 

Since the entire transaction is out of your control, you should worry about what you can control. 

One of the easiest things to control is the keywords you're focusing on with your content. 

Specifically, writing articles on topics that suggest buyer intent – AKA “buyer keywords.” 

An example might be – “best samsung LED smart tv under $500.” 

This is much more specific, and shows more buyer intent than a search like “best smart tvs.” 

Why is it better? 

The main reason is because this searcher already knows what they want. The want a Samsung. They want an LED Smart TV. They want to pay less than $500. 

Now when you write an article comparing just the models that fit their criteria, you can show only the most relevant results. 

When the search is more generic like “best smart tvs” you really don't even know if they have a brand in mind, if they need to stay within a certain price range, etc. – so your job of matching them up with a TV that they'll actually go straight to Amazon and buy is much more difficult. 

So if you want to turn the dial up on your conversion rate, then focus in on more specific keywords. 

Key takeaways

• Research your niche – To maximize your Amazon earnings, you need to build a site where you can sell the products. More importantly, you need to determine the niche your site will be about. Some niches will be much more profitable than others. On the other hand, the high-earning niches may not be in line with your hobbies or interests. Therefore, you need to find the perfect balance between profit and passion so you can sustain the site until it makes money.
• Find the right keywords – If you want to rank your website on search results, you should be aware that not all search queries are the same. There are those that will be difficult to rank for but will potentially give you the most sales. In this case, I always use Long Tail Pro to help me find profitable keywords that have the least competition.
• Develop a link building strategy – To boost your search rankings to the top, you must devise a link building plan using different tactics. Guest posting and influencer marketing are some of the better tactics you can use since both piggyback on the success of others. By guest posting on sites will lots of followers, you can tap into its readership and get them to visit your site in the hopes of converting them. Also, getting positive feedback from influencers in your industry lets you rub some of their authority onto your site.

Want more? Click here to read our full guide to maximizing your Amazon affiliate commissions.

2. Selling Private Label Products via Amazon FBA

I've now been selling private label products via Amazon for a couple of years now.  The potential to make money with the Amazon FBA program is huge (millions of dollars a year potential).

In a nutshell, you actually need to create a product, find a manufacturer, and start selling that product on Amazon.  It's actually not as complicated as it sounds.

This method is different from “retail arbitrage” in which you purchase cheap products and selling them at a higher price. By selling private label products, you get more control on how your products are sold. If you choose your products correctly, there is also less competition, thus giving you greater profit in the long run.

Once you have the product on hand, you can upload the details on Amazon so users can buy it from there.

Aside from being the biggest online retailer in the world, Amazon will take care of packaging and shipping your products to customers. Fulfillments by Amazon (FBA) lets you worry about growing your business as it does the rest for your clients while also scaling your performance.

By selling private label products and Amazon FBA, I sold over $4,400 worth of product within 30 days.  As things grew, I sold over $750,000 in the first 2 years of selling my own products on Amazon. Ultimately, I was able to sell the business for a $425,000 pay day after only being in business for 2 and a half years. 

I actually interviewed Chris Guthrie, another successful seller, about his process which you can listen to here. We've also written a very in-depth guide to selling on Amazon here, if you'd like to take a deep dive.