If you want to make money by promoting Amazon products as an affiliate, creating an Amazon storefront can be a great way to do it. An Amazon storefront allows you to showcase and link to all the Amazon products you want to promote in one place. Customers can then browse your storefront and click your affiliate links to make purchases on Amazon. Here’s how to create your own Amazon affiliate storefront in just a few steps.
Sign up for Amazon Associates
The first step is to sign up for the Amazon Associates program, which is Amazon’s affiliate program. Just go to Amazon Associates and click the “Join Now for Free” button. You’ll need to provide some basic personal information and agree to Amazon’s operating agreement. Once your account is created, you can access a variety of tools and features to help you earn money by linking to Amazon products.
Choose an affiliate store builder
Next, you’ll need to choose a platform or tool to actually build and host your Amazon affiliate storefront. There are a few different options:
- WordPress + WooCommerce – You can build an Amazon affiliate store using WordPress and the WooCommerce plugin. This gives you total design flexibility.
- Shopify – Shopify also lets you create affiliate stores and has some great themes and customization options.
- Amazon store builder tools – There are various tools like Simplicate that are specifically designed to help Amazon affiliates build stores.
- Static site generators – For developers, tools like GatsbyJS allow you to build a static affiliate storefront.
Take some time to review the options and choose the one that fits your budget, technical abilities, and design needs. WordPress with WooCommerce is a very popular choice for beginners since it’s free and has tons of themes and customization options.
Choose a domain name
Once you’ve decided on your affiliate store platform, it’s time to choose a domain name. Your domain will be part of your brand, so pick something memorable that relates to the niche you’ll be promoting. Some tips:
- Keep it short and simple, like electronicsgear.com
- Use keywords, like headphoneszone.com
- Get a .com if available, it’s the most professional
- Avoid hyphens and numbers
You’ll need to purchase hosting along with your domain name to have a place to host your affiliate store files online. Popular hosting providers include Bluehost, HostGator, and SiteGround. The platform you chose in step two usually integrates with domains and hosting too.
Design your store layout
Now for the fun part – it’s time to design your Amazon affiliate store! Use your platform’s templates, themes, and customization options to style your storefront. Some best practices include:
- Create an eye-catching homepage banner with your brand name and slogan.
- Use large product images and detailed descriptions on product pages.
- Make sure navigation and important links are visible.
- Use white space and visual hierarchy for clean layouts.
- Optimize images for fast load times.
Focus on creating a professional, trustworthy brand image. You want visitors to your store to feel like they can rely on your recommendations when making purchases through your affiliate links.
Add products
Now it’s time to start adding products! Here are some tips for choosing which Amazon products to include in your affiliate store:
- Stick to a niche or product category, don’t add random items.
- Include best sellers and new releases that will generate interest.
- Research keywords and add products that rank for those terms.
- Choose products with high affiliate commission rates.
- Create comparison tables for related product variants.
Take time to research products within your niche that are popular and align with your brand. Use Amazon’s database to look up product info like price, images, commission rates, reviews and more.
Insert affiliate links
The key step is to insert your Amazon Associates affiliate links into each product page or description. This way you’ll earn commissions when site visitors click through and buy products on Amazon.
For WordPress, the Amazon Associates WordPress plugin lets you easily insert cleaned Amazon affiliate links. Other platforms have their own affiliate link insertion tools as well. Just generate your links in your Associates account and paste them into your product pages.
Write compelling product copy
Don’t just take Amazon’s product descriptions – write your own compelling product copy to publish on your site. Include keywords, answer questions, and explain why visitors should buy that particular product. The better your descriptions, the more clicks and conversions you’ll get.
Some tips for writing great product copy:
- Highlight important features and specifications.
- Focus on benefits, not just physical attributes.
- Use persuasive language to nudge visitors towards purchase.
- Include calls-to-action like “Buy Now” and “Add to Cart.”
- Mention product flaws and downsides for balanced reviews.
- Optimize copy for SEO by including keywords.
The goal is to provide just enough info to convince the visitor that the product meets their needs. Don’t overdo it, though – Amazon’s product pages have additional specs and details if needed.
Promote your store
You’ve built your storefront and added products – now it’s go-time! To drive traffic to your Amazon affiliate storefront, you’ll need to actively promote it. Some top store promotion tactics include:
- SEO – Optimize pages for search engines by doing keyword research and including those terms on relevant pages.
- Social media – Share your store on social networks and run contests and giveaways.
- Email marketing – Send newsletters and promos to engage current and past customers.
- PPC ads – Run pay-per-click ads on Google, Facebook, Instagram, etc. to reach new viewers.
- Influencer marketing – Reach out to relevant bloggers, YouTubers, etc. and ask them to review products from your store.
The more visibility you can get, the better. Promote your best products aggressively using email sequences, retargeting ads, social posts, and any other tactics at your disposal. It takes consistent, ongoing effort to continually get traffic to your store.
Track performance
As the final step, be sure to closely track your Amazon affiliate store’s performance. Look at metrics like:
- Total affiliate sales and commissions
- Conversion rates
- Top referral sources
- Top converting products
Based on this data, you can refine your promotional strategies and optimize your store’s design and product selection. By continuously monitoring performance and tweaking your approach, you’ll increase your Amazon earnings over time.
Conclusion
Creating an Amazon affiliate storefront takes some upfront work, but it allows you to earn ongoing commissions by promoting products you love. Choose a hosting platform, design your store, add affiliate-linked products, and promote your brand across channels. With proper tracking and optimization, your store can become a passive revenue stream as an Amazon Associate.
