The Amazon Influencer Program in 2026 is still one of the most accessible ways for creators to build income online—even if you’re just starting out with a small social media following.
While the platform has changed and some systems have shifted over the years, the core opportunity is still strong: you can earn commissions from shoppable video content, product reviews, and affiliate campaigns both on Amazon and off Amazon.
I was able to make over $70k just last year, 2025, so money can still be made with the Amazon Influencer program.
If nothing else, update your wardrobe with free, cute clothing and get a few new things without having to purchase them!
In this post, you’ll learn how the program works today, how to apply and the most effective ways to monetize once you’re inside.
Plus, if you want scale fast, I’ve included softwares and programs that will help. As a side note, I’ve joined and used more than what I’m sharing below. I’m only sharing the ones that I feel will work right now.
A quick note before we go deeper—this is not a “get rich quick” system, but it is a real income stream that rewards consistency and smart strategy. Many beginners underestimate how quickly small wins can compound once they understand the structure.
At the bottom of this post, I’ve shared a shortened recommendation list to make the most money as quickly as possible if you have cash to invest now, so scroll down if you only have a couple of minutes. 🙂
How the Amazon Influencer Program Works in 2026
The Amazon Influencer Program allows creators to earn commissions by promoting Amazon products through personalized Amazon storefronts with shoppable content and with Amazon associate links when promoting off of Amazon.
You can apply directly here:
Amazon Influencer Program Application
1. Applying (Even With a Small Following)
One of the biggest misconceptions is that you need a large audience to get approved.
In reality, creators have reported getting accepted with very small followings—even under 10 followers on platforms like TikTok. What matters more is:
- Engagement rate (comments, saves, shares)
- Consistency of posting
- Ability to create content
Amazon is primarily evaluating whether you can create content that influences purchasing behavior—not how “famous” you are. And even then, you don’t have to be a stellar creator.
I would recommend applying with your social media account that has the most engagement. It doesn’t matter what you are posting about. Amazon only cares that you have some engagement on social media already.
2. The Approval Process (What It Looks Like)
Once you apply and are accepted, the onboarding process includes:
- Creating and submitting a 3 sample videos
- Important notes for these videos to help them get approved:
- Pick a simple product (i.e. hair brush, spatula, water bottle, earrings). NOT supplements, massager, etc. Amazon does not want you to make any medical claims. You can do these products later, but get approved with something simple first.
- If it sells on Amazon, you can create a video for it. It doesn’t matter where you bought it.
- Pick a simple, clean backdrop (i.e. hallway, corner of a room, close up on spatula in pan). Do not have any UPCs, license plates, house numbers, etc showing in the background.
- It doesn’t matter if you show your face or not in these videos. I recommend showing your face in the majority of your videos if you want to grow quickly, but for these videos, just get them done.
- Make sure the video is well lit. It doesn’t need to be a powerful light, but let’s use common sense. Can you see the product well? If so, great.
- Keep them short, 30 to 60 seconds is great.
- Tell why you like the product, like you are talking to a friend.
- i.e. I love this Tangle Teezer brush because I can use it when my hair is dry or wet, it gets all the tangles out very quickly and doesn’t pull my hair. Plus, my hair sheds less since using it.
- Make sure they can hear you clearly. I love using a mic for my videos, but you don’t have to.
- Important notes for these videos to help them get approved:
- Waiting for approval of those videos
- Once approved and onboarded, gaining full access to your storefront tools
After approval, you can upload as many product videos as you want to your Amazon storefront and begin earning commissions. I have almost 3,000 videos on my storefront and am still going. I started about 2 1/2 years ago.
3. Where the Money Comes From (On-Site vs Off-Site)
There are two primary income streams inside the program:
On-site earnings (Amazon storefront)
You upload shoppable videos directly to Amazon. When shoppers watch your video and purchase the product, you earn a commission. Amazon has their Influencer commission rates listed by category (average is probably 3%).
These are the video shown directly on the Amazon product page, sometimes at the top after the seller’s video or toward the middle of the listing.
This is often the most passive income stream because Amazon handles traffic.
Off-site earnings (social media promotion)
You can also post your Amazon videos and or affiliate links on platforms like:
- YouTube
- TikTok
When someone clicks your link and purchases, you earn a commission.
There is also a “sponsored product link” style tracking layer in the backend where Amazon can attribute additional earnings from off-site traffic activity. We will discuss that in a moment.
How Advanced Amazon Influencers Maximize Income
Once you’re inside the program, your backend dashboard becomes your control center for scaling income.
1. Affiliate Campaigns (High Commission Opportunities)
Inside the backend, there is a section referred to as affiliate campaigns (previously known as Creator Connections).
You can manually select which campaigns you want to be in (or have this automated with a software, which we will discuss later). Any product you have a video on, you want to be in these campaigns to get the higher commission rate.
These campaigns allow you to:
- Apply to work with brands directly (a software helps with this as well)
- Earn higher commissions (anywhere from 10% to 50%)
- Get products sent to you free
- Get paid for content creation as well, if you ask
This is where many creators shift from “small commissions” to real income.
What I like to do whenever I want to purchase a product is go here first. I see if the product I want is in the affiliate campaign list, message the seller (directly through Amazon) and ask if they will send me the product in exchange for a video.
Sometimes I will do one video free then if they would like another video, I tell them there will be a charge.
This is where you should be focusing a lot of your effort – focusing on creating content for these items is going to pay you a lot more than if you were to stick to products not in here – because, duh, it’s higher commissions. 🙂
This total amount has been higher than my regular Amazon commission amount so it’s very important.
Sponsored Product Links
This is fairly new to the Amazon Influencer program. You can now look at products that will earn you a commission when someone clicks your link. They don’t actually have to make a purchase for you to earn. How cool is that?
These products are great for posting the links offsite because even if someone doesn’t buy you still get paid just for them clicking your link!
You’ll need to accept each of these products on the backend, but luckily, Amazon lets you accept these in bulk.
If offsite is your jam, accept these campaigns and post these links!
2. Two Paths to Earning (You Can Do Both)
Pick whichever one works best for you or do a combo.
Path A: Product research & affiliate linking
- Find trending or high-converting products and those in the affiliate campaigns
- Purchase the products & create review videos
- Post consistently on Amazon + social platforms
- Tools I have listed below will show you how many items have sold and how many influencer videos there are, to help you determine if you’ll be able to make your money back and more
Path B: Brand/seller collaborations
- Work directly with sellers
- Receive free products
- Get paid per video (often $10–$20 per video for volume creators)
The second path is often underestimated because it seems low per video—but volume changes everything.
This is where I focused my efforts in 2025 and made over $26K from brand deals alone. I was able to dial in my filming strategy.
I created videos as quickly as possible so I could create lots of videos in a short amount of time making it worth it to get paid $10-$30 per video.
Very little editing, if any on each video. I would film in batches as well.
If you want to work with brands, you can also set up a Fiverr account and have brands reach out through Fiverr. That also means you get paid for each of the gigs you do.
I set up a Fiverr account and made about $3,000 from it last year without promoting it at all. Click here if you’d like to set up a free Fiverr account.
Another way to get brands to reach out to you is to join Facebook groups where brands will post their products they would like videos for.
I did quite a few different searches on Facebook to find these groups. I would search for things like, “Amazon Influencer Brands,”Amazon Influencers Sellers,” etc.
I would look at the postings and direct message the seller with my storefront. I did quite a few free deals in the beginning to build up my storefront and then starting charging.
I even joined just Amazon Influencer Facebook groups. Sometimes people will post that the sellers they work with need more influencers.
The more videos you have up, that look good, the more sellers will start to reach out to you.
Also, starting social media channels for you your reviews gives sellers another way to reach out to you even if you don’t have that many followers or videos, at least they have a place to message you.
3. Selling Items
Don’t forget about selling the items.
People will sit on the items for long periods of time. It’s just leaving money on the table.
I sell larger items online, KSL. You can also use Facebook Marketplace, Craig’s List, Ebay, WhatNot or whatever your preferred selling platform is.
I sell the rest of the items at a yard sale (and large items I received recently). I did one this year, 2026, and made over $3,300. That included a few items I already had, but 95% were Amazon items. Totally worth it.
I had tons of brand new clothes to sell, which sell really well. I sold them at $5 for tops/bottoms and $10 for dresses/coats. Toward the end of the yard sale, if you bought 9 items, you got one free. Price them at whatever you think they will sell at.
4. Storefronts in Other Countries
Once you are in the Amazon Influencer program in the United States, you can apply to the influencer program in other countries. I’ve gotten approved for Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Singapore and UAE, basically other countries that speak English.
You can see if the products you’ve created videos for are sold in other countries. If so, you can upload the same video to those countries.
The income won’t be anywhere near as much as you’ll make with your US storefront, so I wouldn’t focus your efforts here in the beginning. UNLESS you are using a software. There is one that will automate it for you, ChaChing (use code: TIFFANY for 10% off). I will talk about this later on.
5. Off-Site Income Expansion (YouTube + Pinterest + Social Media)
Most creators focus only on Amazon and miss major income streams outside the platform.
YouTube (ad revenue + affiliate income)
Many Amazon influencers repurpose their product review videos on YouTube and earn ad revenue on top of commissions. Even small channels can generate consistent monthly income once videos start accumulating.
This is exactly what I do. I started a review YouTube channel and post the exact same Amazon video to YouTube. I was able to get monetized and now bring in about $100 per month in ad revenue alone.
Not only does it help my offsite commissions grow, but I can ask the seller if they would like me to publish their video to YouTube for an extra charge AND it helps brands find me.
Pinterest (high-traffic evergreen traffic source)
Pinterest could be one of the most underrated traffic sources for Amazon influencers.
Pinterest content can continue driving clicks and sales long after you post it, making it a strong “evergreen traffic engine” for Amazon links and storefronts.
I am just getting started with Pinterest, but I have been doing it for my blog and it works really well for that.
I purchased Andreea’s course, Pinterest for Influencers, which walks through:
- Setting up your Pinterest account properly
- Creating optimized boards for monetization
- Designing pins that drive traffic
- Structuring Pinterest content for affiliate income
This is another off-site strategy where creators can consistently earn by combining Amazon links with Pinterest traffic.
Other social platforms
You can also post your Amazon links on:
- TikTok
I use a scheduling software, OnlySocial, that helps me create one post that I can schedule to all my social media channels.
Each platform adds another layer of visibility, potential conversions and another way to get paid by brands.
Why This Multi-Platform Strategy Works
I personally like to have multiple sources of income. Earlier in 2026 Amazon made some changes to the program and lots of influencers, including me, saw our income drop. You just never know what can happen so diversifying is a good thing.
Stacking income streams:
- Amazon storefront commissions
- Affiliate campaign payouts
- Seller-paid content
- Selling items
- YouTube ad revenue
- Pinterest evergreen traffic
- Social media affiliate clicks
This creates a compounding effect where one piece of content can earn in multiple places over time.
Tools That Help You Scale Faster
The biggest difference between casual creators and high earners in 2026 is systems and automation.
Oink
Oink is my favorite software. You can automate accepting the campaigns that pay higher commissions. This software will pay for itself with this one feature alone.
Before Oink existed, I was manually going through campaigns and accepting them. It took FOREVER. The time I save with this software for just this one piece of it is so worth it.
You can also set up a message template and QUICKLY message sellers inside of Amazon, again so worth it.
Oink includes a WHOLE BUNCH of other helpful stuff too.
If you’re interest in Oink, Click Here & use code: TIFFANY for 10% off.
This is one software I would purchase shortly after getting accepted into the program, it will seriously help you earn so much more.
ViralVue
If you want to take the product research route in the Amazon Influencer program, this tool takes the cake.
ViralVue is an excellent product research tool that helps identify high-performing products faster than manual searching or other softwares.
ViralVue also does a lot of the other things that Oink does, but is on the pricier side. But a serious game changer for product research.
If you’re interested in checking ViralVue out, Click Here and enter code: TIFFANY for 10% off.
ChaChing
If you decide to set up a YouTube channel, you’re going to love this software.
ChaChing completely automates uploading your Amazon videos to YouTube AND that’s not all – it completely automates uploading your videos to other countries’ storefronts.
It helps automate YouTube video uploads, scheduling, and descriptions so you can repurpose your Amazon content into ad revenue streams.
Many creators use YouTube alongside Amazon to build a second income layer through ad revenue.
PostTap
If you’re going to post your Amazon affiliate links offsite, you’ll definitely want to deep link them and PostTap does that for you.
PostTap is a deep linking tool that helps turn standard Amazon links into app-opening links. This matters because users logged into the Amazon app are more likely to purchase than browser-only traffic.
PostTap is free and approved by Amazon – you actually use your Amazon login to login to PostTap.
I definitely recommend using PostTap.
Strategy Breakdown: What Actually Works in 2026
1. Speed matters more than perfection
Creators making consistent income are not obsessing over perfect production—they are focusing on:
- Fast filming
- High output
- Simple, repeatable formats
Here’s how I film quickly (and if you want to know the exact products I use, here’s my Amazon List):
- Stack of products ready to film
- Plug in mic
- Use eCamm to record with my camera as the front view and my iPhone mounted overhead and use my Elgato Foot Pedal to switch from camera to iPhone while recording and I don’t have to use my hands
- Batch film, no editing
- If a video needs B-roll, ideally I create the B-roll footage with my iPhone first, AirDrop the video to my MacMini and insert that video into eCamm so as I am recording the product at my desk, I can add in the the B-roll footage as I am recording and I don’t have to edit the B roll in afterward
- Upload all videos to Amazon
2. Volume beats virality
You don’t need viral videos. You need consistent product exposure across multiple listings.
Those shopping on Amazon aren’t looking for a professional perfectly edited video, they are looking for relatable videos that showcase the product.
Get used to filming in one shot. The less editing you do, the more you can create and the more you can earn.
The more videos you have on your storefront, the more brands will want to work with you and pay you for your work.
3. Campaign selection is where the money is
The highest earners are not randomly posting videos for any product—they are targeting:
- Higher commission campaigns – Focus on the Affiliate Campaigns
- Products with active seller incentives – Look at Sponsored Links
- Recurring demand products – What will continue to sell over time or look at seasons (make sure you film youf Christmas tree before Thanksgiving)
Realistic Income Potential
Income varies widely, but here’s a realistic breakdown based on creator reports:
- Beginners: small commissions while building their content library – $100 a month
- Intermediate creators: consistent monthly side income – $1-$2k per month
- Advanced creators: layered income from Amazon + brand deals + YouTube – I made over $70k last year working part-time on this, but other creators make over $100k per year
These are just some estimates. It really does vary on how many videos you’re posting each month, what types of products you’re posting, types of videos you’re making and how much effort you’re willing to put in.
Learning Resources Worth Considering
If you’re serious about scaling:
- Getting started on the right foot: Your First $100: Amazon Influencer Beginner Course by Claire
- For product research strategy & scaling quickly past $1k per month: Build Past $1K by Claire
- For filming videos quickly & working with brands: Billy Thorpe’s DealMakers free Facebook group is great – Billy knows what he’s talking about
These are not required, but if you want to scale quickly, they are great resources.
FAQ: Amazon Influencer Program 2026
Do I need a large following to get accepted?
No. Engagement and content quality matter more than follower count. Some creators report getting accepted with very small audiences.
How long does approval take?
You should know within 24 hours after applying then about 2 weeks after submitting your 3 videos.
Can I make money without going viral?
Yes. Most income comes from consistent posting, not viral content.
Do I need to show my face in videos?
No, but face-on content often performs better for trust and conversions.
Is this still worth it in 2026?
Yes—especially for creators willing to combine Amazon storefront content, affiliate links, and social media.
SHORTENED LIST TO MAKE MONEY FAST:
- Get approved & fully understand program, join: Your First $100: Amazon Influencer Beginner Course by Claire
- Get Oink (code TIFFANY for 10% off) and start running the software in the background to auto accept campaigns
- Quickly film 50 Amazon items you already have in your house – no editing (seriously, just get them up and get used to filming quickly)
- Set up YouTube channel and automate with ChaChing (code TIFFANY for 10% off)
- Set up other English speaking country storefronts and automate posting with ChaChing (code TIFFANY for 10% off)
- Level up with product research and time management, join: Build Past $1K by Claire
- Get your Pinterest account set up and build offsite traffic with Pinterest for Influencers by Andreea
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