If you are a member of the Amazon Associates affiliate program, then you may have recently heard that Amazon is cutting commission rates for its affiliate program in a number of product categories.
Starting next week and in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic, some Amazon affiliates will see a massive load of cuts to commission rates on categories such as home, garden, beauty, sports, health care, etc. Many categories are cut from 8%, down to 3% and others even down to 1%.
This is a major blow for lots of affiliates who exclusively relied on income from Amazon and unfortunately, the timing with CoronaVirus already affecting businesses couldn’t be worse.
Amazon operates the Amazon Associates affiliate program, which allows members to advertise and link to ecommerce products in exchange for a percentage of the sales. The program has been in place for years and it’s a significant source of revenue for affiliates. Bloggers and others who have built businesses around product recommendations will also take a hit forcing them to explore new revenue-generating tactics.
To address the changes, affiliates should think the alternatives they may be able to use instead:
- Use different affiliate networks. ShareASale, Awin, Commission Junction, Αffiliatly, Clickbank are some of the options out there. Join these networks and then you can apply to each brand from there.
- Find custom affiliate programs running from small shops. Especially these days, small businesses need more support than ever. Check out here to view the shops that are already in our Shops list.
- Publish more niche posts on products available in manufacturer’s websites and niche supplier. Promote the best products that are relevant to your audience’s needs and seem the most credible.
Whether or not it is a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s clear that it’s only a matter of time before Amazon gets a reason to cut them again. Affiliates should take this chance to look at alternatives and always have diversified plans for income sources.