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How can affiliates earn recurring income on Amazon?
Affiliates can earn recurring income on Amazon primarily by promoting subscription-based services and products that require ongoing payments. While Amazon doesn’t have traditional recurring commissions for physical products, there are a few strategies and products that allow affiliates to earn money on a recurring basis.
Here are some of the main ways Amazon affiliates can earn recurring income:
1. Amazon Prime Membership
- How it works: Amazon offers Amazon Prime as a subscription-based service that provides benefits like free shipping, streaming of movies and TV shows, music streaming, and more.
- Recurring income opportunity: Affiliates can earn a commission when they refer customers who sign up for Amazon Prime. Although the commission is a one-time payment for the first successful referral, affiliates may receive an extra commission if the user continues their membership for the next year.
- Commission structure: Affiliates earn a flat fee for each new customer who signs up for Amazon Prime, which can range from $3 to $5 per successful referral.
- How to maximize recurring income: Once a person becomes a Prime member, they typically continue their subscription for an extended period, providing ongoing opportunities for affiliates to earn bounties if they refer multiple new members over time.
2. Audible (Amazon’s audiobook subscription service)
- How it works: Audible offers a subscription service for audiobooks and podcasts. Affiliates can promote Audible memberships and audiobooks to earn commissions.
- Recurring income opportunity: Affiliates earn a flat bounty for every new Audible membership they refer. After the initial signup, members continue paying for their subscription, leading to long-term customer retention and ongoing affiliate earnings, especially if affiliates continue referring new members.
- Commission structure: Affiliates earn $5 per Audible membership signup. If the person remains a subscriber for months or years, affiliates can continue to benefit from their original referral.
3. Kindle Unlimited
- How it works: Kindle Unlimited is another Amazon subscription service that gives users access to a vast library of eBooks, audiobooks, and magazines for a monthly fee.
- Recurring income opportunity: Affiliates can earn bounties when new users sign up for Kindle Unlimited. Though the affiliate earns a flat fee for each signup, users typically stay subscribed for months, generating recurring income over time if affiliates keep referring new subscribers.
- Commission structure: Affiliates earn a $5 bounty for each Kindle Unlimited subscription signup. The more people they refer, the more likely they are to earn additional commissions as subscribers renew their memberships.
4. Amazon Music Unlimited
- How it works: Amazon Music Unlimited offers music streaming for a monthly subscription fee. Affiliates can promote this service as an alternative to platforms like Spotify or Apple Music.
- Recurring income opportunity: Affiliates can earn a flat fee for each new subscriber who joins Amazon Music Unlimited. While this is a one-time fee per customer, users often remain subscribed for months or even years, leading to ongoing affiliate income.
- Commission structure: Affiliates earn $3 – $5 per new signup, depending on the promotion. Subscriptions to Amazon Music are typically recurring, so even though the commission is one-time, the affiliate can benefit from long-term customer retention.
5. Amazon Subscribe & Save
- How it works: Subscribe & Save is a program on Amazon that allows customers to subscribe to regular shipments of products, like groceries, cleaning supplies, vitamins, etc.
- Recurring income opportunity: Although Subscribe & Save products are not typically linked to affiliate commissions, affiliates can earn commissions on the initial subscription purchase. The recurring nature of the product orders means affiliates may be able to earn money over time as customers continue their subscriptions.
- Commission structure: Affiliates earn a commission on the first order of a subscription, but they don’t earn money on subsequent recurring orders.
6. Amazon Business (for Business Accounts)
- How it works: Amazon Business allows customers to make purchases for business purposes and offers bulk buying, business pricing, and other benefits.
- Recurring income opportunity: Businesses that sign up for Amazon Business accounts may make regular purchases over time, which affiliates can earn commissions on when they refer new users.
- Commission structure: While not a traditional subscription service, the recurring purchasing habits of business customers can offer affiliates a continuous source of income if they refer customers who maintain their accounts and continue to make purchases.
How to Maximize Recurring Income on Amazon as an Affiliate:
- Focus on Subscription-Based Services: Promote services like Amazon Prime, Audible, Kindle Unlimited, and Amazon Music that offer recurring revenue from subscribers.
- Encourage Long-Term Signups: Focus on promoting services where users are likely to remain subscribers for an extended period (e.g., Audible and Kindle Unlimited).
- Target the Right Audience: Tailor your content and promotions to individuals who are likely to use subscription services regularly, such as readers, audiobook lovers, music enthusiasts, or frequent Amazon shoppers.
- Use Retargeting: You can implement retargeting strategies through ads or email marketing to encourage previous visitors to subscribe to the services you promote.
- Leverage Holiday and Seasonal Campaigns: Amazon often runs special promotions during major shopping events like Prime Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. Promote these events to encourage new sign-ups, which can result in long-term recurring commissions.
Summary
While Amazon Affiliates don’t typically earn recurring commissions from physical product sales, they can still generate recurring income by promoting subscription services like Amazon Prime, Audible, Kindle Unlimited, and Amazon Music. These services offer opportunities to earn commissions on the initial sign-up and potentially benefit from long-term customer retention. By focusing on these types of recurring services, affiliates can build a source of stable income over time.
