If you’ve been researching ways to earn money through Amazon, you’ve probably come across both the Amazon Influencer Program and the Amazon Associates (Affiliate) Program. They sound similar. They’re both free to join. They both pay commissions.
But they work very differently — and for the right type of person, one pays significantly more than the other.
This post breaks down exactly how each program works, who each one is suited for, and why I personally chose the Influencer Program as my primary income stream.
What Is the Amazon Associates Program?
Amazon Associates is Amazon’s standard affiliate programme. You sign up, get approved (it’s easy), and receive unique tracking links for any product on Amazon. When someone clicks your link and buys that product — or almost anything else on Amazon within 24 hours — you earn a commission.
Commission rates range from 1% to 10% depending on the product category. Most categories sit between 3% and 4%.
To earn consistently with Associates, you need a platform that drives consistent traffic — a blog, a website, a YouTube channel, or a high-traffic social media account. The more content you produce that ranks on Google or gets views, the more clicks you generate, and the more you earn.
Who it’s best for:
- Bloggers and content creators with established websites
- YouTubers who can add links in video descriptions
- Anyone with a large, engaged email list
- People willing to invest in long-term SEO content
What Is the Amazon Influencer Program?
The Amazon Influencer Program is an extension of Associates — but with one key difference. Instead of sending people off-site to buy through a link, you build a storefront directly on Amazon. Visitors browse your product recommendations, watch your video reviews, and buy — all without leaving Amazon.
The game-changer is on-site video commissions. When you upload a short video review of a product, Amazon can display it in the product carousel on that product’s listing page. Every time a shopper watches your video and buys — whether they found your video or not — you earn a commission.
You’re not driving traffic. Amazon drives it for you. Your videos sit inside the world’s largest online store and earn while you sleep.
Who it’s best for:
- People who are comfortable on camera (or willing to learn)
- Anyone who wants passive income without building a blog or website
- Creators who can produce short, simple product videos at home
- People who want to build an income stream that scales without proportionally more work
Amazon Influencer vs Amazon Affiliate: Side-by-Side
| Amazon Associates | Amazon Influencer | |
|---|---|---|
| Traffic required | Yes — you drive it | No — Amazon drives it |
| Content type | Blog posts, links, banners | Short video reviews |
| Where buyers see you | External sites | Directly on Amazon product pages |
| Earning potential | Scales with your traffic | Scales with your video library |
| Time to first commission | Weeks to months | Days to weeks (after approval) |
| Approval difficulty | Easy | Moderate (social following required) |
| Commission rates | 1–10% | 1–10% (same structure) |
Which One Pays More?
Commission rates are identical — that’s not where the difference is.
The difference is in volume and leverage.
With Amazon Associates, your earnings are directly tied to how much traffic you send. Stop publishing content, traffic drops, earnings drop.
With the Influencer Program, once your video is on a product page, it earns from every sale on that listing — and a popular product can sell hundreds of units per day. You filmed one video once. It keeps earning.
I went from earning a few dollars a month to over four figures monthly within 18 months — without a large following, without a blog, and without paid ads. That was entirely through building a library of Influencer videos on high-traffic Amazon listings.
Can You Do Both?
Yes — and many creators do. Your Amazon Influencer storefront link can also be shared externally, just like an affiliate link. If you have a blog or social media following, you can combine both strategies.
But if you’re starting from zero and want to build passive income as efficiently as possible, the Influencer Program gives you a much faster path to consistent earnings.
The Bottom Line
Amazon Associates is a solid programme — but it rewards people who already have an audience. The Amazon Influencer Program rewards people who are willing to create video content and be strategic about which products they target.
If you’re willing to film simple product videos at home, the Influencer Program is one of the most underrated passive income opportunities available right now.
Ready to get started? The first step is getting approved for the Amazon Influencer Program. Read the approval guide here →