Amazon Influencer Program for Beginners: What I Wish I Knew Before Starting

What I thought would be an easy way to make money reviewing things I already owned turned into a whole new side of content creation—and I learned A LOT along the way.

**Affiliate Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you purchase or sign up through one of my links at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I only share products and tools I personally use or genuinely recommend.

Back in 2024, I kept seeing random Facebook Reels about something called the Amazon Influencer Program.

The concept sounded amazing.

Wait…so I can review things I already buy from Amazon and GET PAID for it?!

Sign. Me. Up.

Well…

Holy crap, was I wrong about how simple this was going to be. 😂

Yes, you can make money creating content about products. And yes, some of those products can absolutely be things you already own.

But the Amazon Influencer Program for beginners can be confusing because there are multiple approvals, onsite and offsite commissions, storefronts, shoppable videos, product research, content guidelines and approximately 4,782 opinions on the internet about what you have to do to get accepted.

I’ve now been doing this for almost two years. I have around 150 videos on my Amazon storefront—and if I didn’t have two little girls running around creating chaos all day, I would probably have a whole lot more. 😂 But that’s also the reality of building this as a stay-at-home mom. I’m fitting filming, editing and uploading into the pockets of time I actually have.

Want to see what my storefront looks like today? You can check out my Amazon Storefront here.

My earnings typically range from about $100 to $600 per month, depending on the month.

I’m also starting to put more focus on offsite commissions, so I’m excited to see how much I can grow that side of my Amazon income.

But I definitely didn’t start here.

I started with a brand-new TikTok account, absolutely no idea what I was doing and some very random, very unedited videos. 😂

So if you’re trying to figure out the Amazon Influencer Program as a beginner, here’s what the process actually looked like for me—and everything I wish I’d understood when I started.

A quick note before we get into it: Amazon changes its program, features and eligibility requirements over time. I’m sharing my personal experience along with the lessons I’ve learned, but always check Amazon’s current program policies and your Creator Hub for the requirements that apply to your account.

Amazon Influencer Program for Beginners: How Does It Work?

The Amazon Influencer Program is an extension of Amazon Associates created for qualifying social-media influencers. Influencers receive their own Amazon page/storefront where they can curate and recommend products to their audience.

But one of the biggest things I didn’t understand in the beginning was that there are essentially two different ways I could earn: offsite and onsite.

Offsite Commissions

Offsite is when I send the shopper to Amazon.

For example, if I share one of my Amazon affiliate links on my blog or another approved platform and someone clicks it and makes a qualifying purchase, that traffic came from me.

Amazon tracks this separately from onsite earnings.

Onsite Commissions

Onsite works differently.

In this case, the customer is already shopping on Amazon. Amazon can select eligible content you’ve uploaded to your storefront and display it to shoppers elsewhere on Amazon. If a shopper engages with that content and makes a qualifying purchase, you may earn an onsite commission.

That was the part of the program I REALLY wanted to unlock.

And first…

I had to get into the Influencer Program.

How I Tried to Get Accepted Into the Amazon Influencer Program

When I started researching the program, I kept finding people saying things like:

You need 500 followers.

No, you need 1,000.

Actually, you need 2,000.

So naturally, I assumed there must be some magic number I needed to reach.

Here’s what’s interesting: Amazon’s current application guidance now says social accounts should have a substantive number of organic followers or likes—in most cases, at least 500. But that still isn’t a magic approval number. Amazon’s Influencer Program policy says influencers have to meet Amazon’s qualitative and quantitative thresholds.

And my experience is a perfect example of why follower count isn’t the whole story.

I reached 1,000 followers and Amazon still denied me. 😂

Anyways….at the time, I didn’t even have TikTok.

But I’d read that other creators had success applying through TikTok, so I figured…

Why not start one?

That decision opened an entirely different can of worms. 😂

Because once I actually downloaded TikTok and started figuring it out, I was OBSESSED.

Suddenly I understood why the whole world loved TikTok.

Unfortunately, understanding how to watch TikTok and understanding how to create content for TikTok were two VERY different things.

My First TikTok Content Was…All Over the Place 😂

I had no idea what I was doing.

I’d make a random video.

No editing—because I didn’t know how.

No real niche.

No content strategy.

And I was probably posting twice a week…

if that.

Basically, I was spinning my wheels without any actual plan.

Then while scrolling TikTok one day, I came across a stay-at-home mom doing a Live. She was talking about a course she’d joined to help her make money through TikTok Shop.

And then she mentioned that the course ALSO taught Amazon reviews.

Well…

I joined that day. 😂
→ see my Digital Marketing Resources

It helped me realize that instead of just throwing random videos onto TikTok and hoping something happened, I needed to start creating better content that attracted people like me—and gave those people a reason to actually engage with it.

So that’s what I started doing.

I Hit 1,000 TikTok Followers…And Amazon Still Said No

Once I started putting what I was learning into practice, things began changing fairly quickly.

My content got better.

My engagement improved.

My audience started growing.

And within about two months of starting completely from scratch, posting roughly three times per week, I hit 1,000 TikTok followers.

I was even invited into TikTok Shop’s affiliate program.

Surely now Amazon would accept me, right?

Nope. 😂

I was still getting denied.

And this is exactly why I don’t want someone reading this article to think:

“I just need to get to 1,000 followers and Amazon will accept me.”

That wasn’t true for me.

I decided to give my account another really strong push. For a couple of weeks, I focused on creating content much more consistently and posted almost every day.

And at the beginning of that second week…

I FINALLY GOT APPROVED.

I can’t tell you that posting every day is what caused Amazon to accept me.

I can’t tell you that I crossed some secret engagement threshold.

Getting Accepted Was Only the First Hurdle

This was one of the biggest surprises for me as a beginner.

I thought:

I’m an Amazon Influencer now! Let’s make some review videos and start earning onsite commissions!

Not quite.

At the time I joined, my account required me to submit three videos for review before I could unlock onsite commissions.

And I cannot adequately explain to you how much I stressed over those three videos. 😂

I watched an OBSCENE number of YouTube videos.

What should I say?

What shouldn’t I say?

How long should they be?

Should I show my face?

What products should I choose?

How much editing should I do?

I researched this to death.

Eventually, I decided I just needed to choose three products and DO IT.

The 3 Products I Chose for My First Amazon Videos

I intentionally picked products I had owned and used for a while.

That meant I already knew what I liked about them, how they worked and what I could genuinely say about them.

I also wanted products that were visually appealing and that I could actually demonstrate instead of just holding something in front of the camera and talking about it.

I chose:

1. A multi-tiered vanity organizer
2. My Ninja personal blender → see my Mom-Life Must Haves Article to see why I LOVE this item!
3. Glass food-storage containers

I filmed them.

I edited them.

I uploaded them.

And then…

I waited.

About a week later, I found out that all three had been approved on my first try.

I was SO relieved.

Important Note About the 3-Video Approval Process

And because Amazon can change these requirements, always check the instructions inside your own account before submitting your videos.

When I joined the Amazon Influencer Program, getting accepted into the program was only the first step toward earning onsite commissions.

I then had to submit three videos for Amazon to review and approve for onsite commissions. Those were the three videos I stressed over, researched like crazy and thankfully had approved on my first try.

You’ll still see the three-video onsite approval process discussed throughout the Amazon Influencer community today. However, Amazon’s current public help documentation doesn’t clearly spell out that three-video requirement the way I’d like it to, so I always recommend following the instructions shown inside your own Creator Hub/account when you apply.

There’s also a separate current requirement involving 10 videos that can be confusing. Amazon currently says that once you’ve uploaded 10 videos approved by moderation and completed signup for onsite commissions, your videos may also be discovered on relevant Amazon product-detail pages.

In other words, I would not treat “3 videos” and “10 videos” as the same milestone. The three-video process is the onsite approval process I personally went through; Amazon’s current 10-video language relates to when approved videos may become discoverable on relevant product-detail pages.

What Happened After I Got Approved for Onsite Commissions?

This is where the fun part started.

I could start building my library of shoppable Amazon videos.

Fast-forward almost two years, and I now have approximately 150 videos on my storefront.

My Amazon income varies quite a bit, but right now I generally average somewhere around $100–$600 per month.

Some months are better.

Some months are SLOW.

That’s another thing I wish more people talked about.

This isn’t necessarily:

Upload videos → make the same amount every month forever.

My earnings fluctuate, and I’ve learned not to panic every time I have a slower month.

I’m also putting more focus now on the offsite side of Amazon, so I’m excited to see how combining both strategies changes my income over time.

And no, I’m not going to tell you I’m making $10,000 a month from Amazon so you’ll buy something from me.

I’m telling you what I’m actually making.

Because when I was starting, that’s the kind of information I wanted to find.

More Amazon Videos Can Mean More Opportunities—But There Is NO Magic Number

This might be one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned.

It’s easy to think:

If 50 videos make me $X, then 100 videos will make me twice that!

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that neatly.

Yes, creating more useful videos can give you more opportunities to earn.

But there isn’t a magical number of videos where you’re suddenly guaranteed a certain monthly income.

Because what you’re reviewing matters too.

Think about it.

You could spend hours filming a gorgeous video, editing it, uploading it and making everything perfect…

But what happens if hardly anyone is buying that product?

Or if you’re trying to create content for a product with a TON of competing influencer content already?

You just spent a lot of time creating something that may have very little opportunity.

Do that over and over and over again and eventually you’re going to wonder:

Why am I putting this much work into this?!

That’s a recipe for frustration and burnout.

Product Research Matters More Than I Realized

Today, I don’t think the goal should simply be:

FILM EVERYTHING.

Instead, I want to find the products I could review and then figure out which ones make sense to prioritize.

But product research helps me make a smarter decision about where I spend my time.

Because my time has value too.

If I have two hours available to work on Amazon videos, I’d rather use those two hours creating content for products that appear to have opportunity than spend them filming random products and hoping for the best.

One of My Favorite Tricks: Shop Your Own House

Here’s something I wish I had started doing immediately.

Walk around your house.

Seriously. 😂

Open the Amazon app and use its visual/photo-search feature to look up things you already own.

You may be shocked by how many things you already own that are also sold on Amazon.

If you find them, add them to a running list of potential products to review.

I still haven’t worked through my entire list.

But here’s the part I’d add now that I understand product research better:

Don’t automatically film every single thing you find.

Find the products first.

Research them second.

Then decide which ones you want to prioritize.

That simple change can save you a LOT of time.

The Amazon Influencer Tool I Actually Recommend: OINK

There are approximately nine billion courses, tools, extensions, groups and people promising to teach you how to make money with the Amazon Influencer Program.

I’ve seen a lot of them.

But once you’re accepted and you’ve completed Amazon’s current onsite requirements, there is one tool I personally feel comfortable recommending:

Use code LINDSEYCARUS for 10% off.

OINK is a browser extension I use to make Amazon product research significantly faster.

Could you learn how to research products yourself?

Absolutely.

And I actually think it’s valuable to understand why you’re researching them in the first place.

But once you’re trying to evaluate product after product after product…

time matters.

That’s where OINK has been valuable for me.

Instead of spending hours manually digging through products trying to decide what I should film next, I can use the information OINK provides to help prioritize my video list much faster.

And when you’re a mom trying to fit Amazon videos around everything else in life?

I’ll take the time savings. 😂

Important: OINK cannot guarantee that Amazon will place your video or that you’ll make a certain amount of money. I use it as a research tool to help me make more informed decisions about where I spend my content-creation time.

Disclosure: I’m an OINK affiliate, which means I may earn a commission if you sign up through my link at no additional cost to you. My recommendation is based on my personal experience using the tool.

What I Would Do Differently If I Started the Amazon Influencer Program Today

If I could go back to 2024 and talk to the version of me posting random unedited TikToks twice a week and wondering why Amazon kept saying no…😂

Here’s what I’d tell her.

First, stop obsessing over a magic follower number. Build an actual social-media presence with original content and an audience that engages with you. Amazon’s published Influencer policy says participants must meet qualitative and quantitative thresholds; it doesn’t give us one universal follower count that guarantees approval.

Second, learn how to create content before worrying about making everything perfect. My first TikToks weren’t good. That’s okay. I got better because I kept making them.

Third, if you’re denied, don’t assume the answer is simply “get more followers.” Look at your overall account. Are you posting consistently? Is your content original? Are people engaging with it? Does it look like an active creator account?

Fourth, take Amazon’s content requirements seriously. Don’t base your strategy entirely on what someone said in a two-year-old YouTube video. Read the current requirements in your own account.

Fifth, start with products you KNOW. Talking about my Ninja blender was much easier because I’d actually used it. I wasn’t trying to manufacture an opinion about something I barely knew.

Sixth, shop your house before you start buying things just to review them. You probably already own way more potential content than you realize.

Seventh, research before you film. More videos can create more opportunities, but your time is limited. Don’t spend hours producing content simply for the sake of increasing your video count.

And eighth, don’t ignore offsite commissions. Onsite is what originally attracted me to this program, but I’m now putting more effort into sending my own audience to Amazon too.

Is the Amazon Influencer Program Worth It?

For me?

Yes.

But not for the reason I originally thought.

I went into this thinking I could make a few quick videos reviewing things I’d already bought on Amazon and magically start making money.

Almost two years later, I can tell you…

There is a LOT more to it than that. 😂

But I’ve also built a library of around 150 videos that gives me opportunities to earn commissions, learned an entirely new way to create content and started building another income stream that I can continue growing.

And I’m still learning.

I’m still testing.

I’m still researching.

And yes, I’m still walking around my house taking pictures of random things to see if they’re sold on Amazon. 😂

If you’re researching the Amazon Influencer Program for beginners, the biggest thing I want you to know is that you don’t have to figure everything out before you start.

I certainly didn’t.

Start where you are. Learn how the program works. Create genuinely helpful content. Pay attention to what’s working. Research before you spend hours creating. And keep learning as Amazon changes the program.

Because if there’s one thing I know after almost two years…

Amazon will keep you on your toes. 😂

Want More of My Amazon Influencer Journey? 💗

I’m sharing what I’m learning as I continue growing my Amazon income—from review-video strategies and product research to offsite commissions and the tools I’m actually using.

Plus, I share beauty, home, mom-life and everyday favorites along the way.

No spam. Just the good stuff.