How Does Amazon Influencer Marketing Work? [GUIDE]

Logging into Amazon Seller Central or Vendor Central and not seeing the sales you want is frustrating.

Trust me, as a top-rated and award-winning Amazon Consultant, this is typically the first thing I need to address when working with new clients.

Creating your Amazon listing and running some ads isn’t enough to drive sales.

Luckily, there is a tactic that’s been working for over 20 years that can offer a ROI of 23 to 1.

Amazon Influencers drive sales, boost SEO and can significantly decrease your average cost of sale in Amazon ads.

You will get a comprehensive understanding of how Amazon Influencer Marketing works so you can use it to grow your sales and profitability on Amazon.

How Amazon Influencer Marketing Works

Amazon Influencer Marketing has been around for over 20 years because it works and it is simple.

Imagine running the most persuasive ad possible to your target customers that doesn’t go away when you turn off your campaign and also earns a recommendation from the advertising network itself.

This is how Amazon Influencer Marketing works.

Amazon Influencer Marketing works by favorably positioning products on content known to sell by sources that consumers know, like and trust.

Here is the Amazon Influencer Marketing process:

The Amazon Influencer Marketing Process:

1. Brand & Retailers build relationships with Blogs, YouTube Channels, Media Outlets, Publications & Social Media that have large audiences of their target customers.
2. Brands & Retailers get their products included on Blogs, Videos & Social Media Posts
3. Customers see these recommendations from sources that they know, like and trust and purchase the products.
4. Amazon pays the Amazon Influencer a small commission for referring the sale.

Here is how much Amazon Influencers are paid by Amazon for a sale.

Amazon rewards brands for sending customers from OFF of Amazon to Amazon to buy from them.

Here are the benefits of doing this:

Benefits of Amazon Influencer Marketing:

• Increase Sales
• Prominent Visibility in Product Searches
• Reduce ACoS in Amazon Ads

The reason why this works so well is because consumers are skeptics and timing. Consumers are skeptical and may not trust an ad but if you are recommended by someone they already follow or that shows up prominently in Google or YouTube, they trust them.

The other critical factor is timing. Amazon Influencers earn a commission every time they refer a sale. That means, they focus on making content that achieves 2 things:

1. Shows up prominently when customers are looking for ideas, recommendations or researching products to buy.
2. Does a great job at selling the products they recommend.

It has been working since 1996 when Amazon launched the Amazon Associates Program.

Back then, referrals were mostly coming from forums, blog posts and chat rooms. Now, the scope is much bigger at over a million Amazon Influencers and growing.

Referrals come from:

• Blogs
• YouTube
• Twitch
• Social Media
• Medium
• Media Outlets
• Publications
• & more

As print media sinks, large publications and media outlets like Today turn to being Amazon Influencers themselves.

Today earns a commission from Amazon any time anyone purchases one of the products linked from this blog post.

Amazon Influencer Examples come in all shapes and sizes though.

Here is a YouTube Amazon Influencer example TBone’s Tech.

This YouTube creator earns a commission from Amazon any time anyone clicks on one of the links in the videos description and buys a product. What’s more, Amazon Influencers earn a commission for anything the customer buys over the next 24 hours after they’ve been referred to Amazon.

Unless a social media post that is only relevant for a few hours or an ad stops producing traffic when you turn it off, this content is evergreen. Blog articles and YouTube videos are discovered 24/7 year round.

For every dollar you spend on Influencer Marketing, statistics show that you’ll average a $23 ROI. Most ROI shoots for a 5:1 ratio, so you can see just how wild these statistics really are. – Neil Patel

Amazon Influencers also discuss and demonstrate your products on live streams.

Amazon Live Influencers leverage their followings on Blogs, YouTube, Social Media & more by letting them know when they are live streaming on Amazon Live.

There, Amazon Influencers recommend products and chat with customers in real time, just like QVC, only far more personal.

How Amazon Influencer Marketing Drives Sales

The process of how Amazon Influencer Marketing works to drive sales for brands & retailers is simple.

How Amazon Influencer Marketing Works To Drive Sales:

1. Seek out popular content from Amazon Influencers that your customers read or watch when they want to buy things. (EXAMPLES: Gift for Runners, Gifts for Coffee Lovers, Mothers Day Gifts, Best Learning Toys for Toddlers, Top 10 Survival Gear, Highest Rated Makeup on Amazon & more.)
2. Follow those blogs or YouTube channels on social media and engage with their content. Like, share and comment. Build a relationship with them so they will want to promote you.
3. Then, after you’ve done this for a few days, reach out and ask to be included on the piece of content you found or a new piece of similar content.
4. Keep the relationship going and regularly reach out to them with a coupon code or deal just for their audience.

Think about how you buy products: Put yourself in your customers’ shoes, what types of things do you search for when you want to get ideas or recommendations for things to buy?

You head to the #1 and #2 search engines in the world: Google and YouTube.

This Is the Type of Content that Drives Sales:

Holidays & Gifts For…

Your product would make a great gift for someone. Who would it be? Find the recommendations driving sales.

• Gift for Runners
• Gifts for Coffee Lovers
• Mothers Day Gifts

Best, Top & Highest Rated on Amazon Lists

Your customers want to know what the best or top product is that will solve their problem or make their life easier.

• Best Learning Toys for Toddlers
• Top 10 Survival Gear
• Highest Rated Makeup on Amazon

Guides, Checklists & How To’s

Products recommended on guides, how to’s & checklists sell well because they immediately gain the trust of the consumer.

• Archery Beginners Guide
• Camping Checklist
• How To Set Up A Tent

Hacks, Tips and Tricks

People love quicker & easier. Products that show up on these lists sell very well because people feel like they “win”.

• Camping Tips and Tricks
• Cleaning Hacks
• Hiking Tips and Tricks

Discover Competitor Sales Sources

Find the content driving sales to the top ranking & selling products in your niche so they can drive sales to you instead.

• Lifestraw Review
• Hydro Cell On Amazon
• Blavor Solar Chargers

Buying Guides & Gift Guides

Shopping guides drive sales in droves because they make the decision making process quicker & easier.

• Camping Gear Buying Guide
• Hiking Gift Guide
• Holiday Gift Guide

How Amazon Influencer Marketing Drives Brand Awareness

The best Amazon Influencer Marketing Campaigns reach customers at the various stages of awareness: Unaware, Problem Aware, Solution Aware, Product Aware, and Decision Aware.

The easiest way to think about it is that since potential customers aren’t always in the market to buy something, you want to make customers aware that you solve their problem or fulfill their desire so when they are ready to buy, they favor you because they are familiar with you.

How Amazon Influencer Marketing Works To Build Awareness:

1. Seek out popular Amazon Influencers on the social media networks that matter most to your target customers. (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, TikTok & more)
2. Follow them and engage with their content. Like, share and comment. The goal is to build a meaningful relationship.
3. Then, after you’ve done this for a few days, reach out to them to ask for them to include you in their posts. This makes their audience aware of the problem your products solve or the desire they fulfill.
4. Keep the relationship going and reach out to them with a coupon code or deal just for their audience.

If you need help determining if an Amazon Influencer is right for your brand, we wrote this guide: How To Evaluate an Amazon Influencer.

How To Find Amazon Influencers

Brands and retailers selling on Amazon can find Amazon Influencers by going where their customers live online.

That said, the Amazon Influencer Program is over 1 million strong and growing every day. Amazon Influencers are responsible for over 37% of Amazons traffic.

What To Look For:

• Content from Blogs, YouTube videos & social media with audiences of your target customers that shows up when customers are looking to make a purchase
• Links to products on Amazon within the content

Here’s how to find them:

1. Go to Google and YouTube
2. Type in the examples I gave earlier in this article, except for your subject matter like: Gift for Runners, Mothers Day Gifts, Highest rated makeup, etc.
3. Go through the results, you want to make sure they are linking out to Amazon products, so click on the products in the Videos or Articles. If they aren’t linking to products on Amazon, rather maybe Walmart or Target or another retailer, then that means they are not Amazon Influencers and you need to move to the next piece of content.

If sifting through Google and YouTube seems like a large time investment, then Referazon may be helpful to you as it makes the process instant.

Referazon drive sales & save time by quickly finding popular content from experienced amazon influencers to get referrals from & easily manages your campaigns.

Getting started is easy, you can sign up for a free trial, no credit card required here.

Need more help finding Amazon Influencers? Check out the complete guide: How To Find Amazon Influencers.

How To Work With Amazon Influencers

After you’ve checked out the Average Amazon Influencer Rates and negotiated content with your Amazon Influencer, you’re ready to give them what they need to promote you effectively.

If you need help negotiating with Amazon Influencers, check out our comprehensive guide: How To Negotiate With Amazon Influencers.

Amazon Influencer Marketing works by showcasing your products favorably to your target customers at the times when they are looking to buy products. To do this, you need to give your Amazon Influencers your brand influencer kit.

Brand Influencer Kit:

• A Branded PDF of Selling & Talking Points
• Logos (High-Resolution PNG’s Compressed For Web)
• Certifications, Awards, or other useful Trust Badges
• Videos (Explainer Videos, Video Sales Letters, Commercials, Testimonials or other)
• Images (Lifestyle Photos & Product Photos)
• A Branded PDF containing notable Testimonials & Endorsements

In my experience, the easiest way to think about it is just a folder with everything they’ll need to do a good job selling your product for you.

Frequently Asked Questions