OK, so as you might have heard by now Amazon has decided to hit their affiliates with yet another commission cut. And to be honest, this time they have made it very clear that they don’t care about their affiliates anymore. The Amazon Affiliate program has been a favorite of many, for a long time.

This is because Amazon is a one stop shop, so affiliates found it easy to work with Amazon Affiliate program. Because they could just build different kinds of websites targeting different niches, and promote products within Amazon.

As you will see shortly in the screenshot of the notification I just received from Amazon, the category of products that was giving you 8% now you will receive just 3% so if you sell a product that costs $100 your commission will be just $3.

Can You Imagine Commission Rates Going All The Way Down To 1%?

Other categories like grocery, health, and personal care have gone down to 1% I mean seriously, why would you spend hours composing a product review just to receive 1% commission? It’s close to 0% and actually given the fact that Amazon gives you just 24 hours window to make the sale, you are going to do all that work for nothing.

First of all, composing an Amazon product review can take anywhere from ten hours to 2 days especially if you are composing best of type of review. Where you will review 10 to 20 products, that can take you even up to 3 days because first of all you have to make sure you follow the rules, you can not use the description used on amazon, you can not use amazon images.

You can not mention prices, you cannot mention amazon at all, Amazon product reviews are not easy to write. Now imagine doing all that for a 1% commission rate, which is not guaranteed because if your audience doesn’t make the purchase within the 24 hour window, then you get nothing.

The 24 Hour Cookie Does Not Give You A Big Chance Of Earning A commission

I mean let’s be honest when you are buying a product on Amazon especially an expensive product, it could take you up to a couple of days to make the decision. I know it takes me time to actually go ahead and make the purchase, so what does this mean for an affiliate? It means you are sending lots of traffic to Amazon for free.

Because if someone clicks on your Amazon Link, and they take time to make the purchase, after 24 hours you are not going to make a commission on that sale. Now, I have been recommending Amazon to beginners because it’s easy to start with Amazon Associates if you follow their rules of course. And also there are so many products to promote no matter what niche you choose.

You just need to sign up, make sure you have an affiliate disclosure on your website. And make sure the wording on the disclosure pleases the Amazon gods. Don’t use words like I will get a commission with no extra cost to you ( my account was closed for using this phrase) Don’t say things like, by clicking the links you are helping me run this blog( that will get your Amazon Associate account suspended)

The truth is, working with Amazon as an affiliate was hard enough, but now with the commission reductions, it makes you wonder if it’s worth going through the trouble.

Being An Amazon Associate Was Hard Enough Already

When you are an Amazon associate member, you are always walking on pins and needles because your account can be deactivated at any time. I feel sorry for the affiliates who built websites soully targeting Amazon, because they have to put up with whatever Amazon decides to throw their way.

But all is not lost, you will still be able to make some money with Amazon, it’s just that it’s going to be far less than what you used to make. Amazon has reached where it is today thanks to the affiliates who built websites promoting Amazon products and driving tons of traffic to the market place, but for some reason, Amazon seems to have forgotten how they got where they are and who carried them to the top.

The Silver Lining, There Are Other Affiliate Programs And Networks

I think this will encourage affiliates to research some more and join better affiliate programs, and there are many of them out there, these days almost every brand has an affiliate program. All you have to do is go to Google and type your niche, for example, CBD Oil and then type affiliate program, and you will find many to join.

Another way is to join Affiliate networks like ShareASale, Flexoffers, or Cjaffiliates, and then search for your niche within the network. And of course, if your niche revolves around digital products, then get on ClickBank and create an account. It’s free to join any affiliate network so you should definitely do it now.

Luckily for me, I really don’t have to research that much because I am a member of Wealthy Affiliate and we have affiliate program menu, which makes it so easy for me to find affiliate programs to join.

Plus as you know my main product on this website is Wealthy affiliate, That is what I mainly promote on this site, because it’s a product that I am using every day, and I am very familiar with it, plus I think it’s very beneficial to people who are looking for ways to learn how to make money online. And they are super friendly to their affiliates.

If you decide to promote Wealthy affiliate you are given a lifetime cookie, what this means is that if someone clicks on your affiliate link, even if they don’t join Wealthy Affiliate at that time, as long as they don’t clear cookies from their computer, they could come back 6 months later or even a year later and join Wealthy Affiliate and you will still earn a commission. Now, that is cool.

Many Affiliates Are Voicing Their Frustrations

There have been many articles within Wealthy Affiliate about Amazon, just members expressing their frustrations. because many members of Wealthy affiliate are members of the Amazon Associates program. One article that I think put things into perspective is this one written by Kyle, the Co Founder of Wealthy affiliate.

In this article Kyle goes in detail, explaining how Amazon has been treating it’s affiliates in recent years, and he gives us the solution to the problem which is to diversify. Putting all your eggs in the Amazon basket could spell the death of your online business. I mean who knows what they will come up with next?

To be honest I think they should just shut down that whole Associate program because as it is now, it’s just enslaving affiliates for almost zero commission. I am saying this yet I am a member but I am so frustrated by the fact that they keep changing the rules, you always feel like you are standing on shaky ground.

Conclusion

The Amazon affiliate program has made people lots of money, but in recent years things have been going from bad to worse, and the recent actions by Amazon has demonstrated their total disregard for their affiliates. It’s really up to you as an affiliate marketer to make decisions about your affiliate marketing business.

Are you going to keep working for people who keep changing rules on you? are you going to keep sending free traffic to people who seem to not give you anything in return, and actually they keep making your job so complicated?

When I am writing an Amazon review, I always feel like I am walking on eggshells, because I am not sure if I might use the wrong wording and then my work will go down the drain.

Anyway, I will leave it there for now, but I would like to ask you a question. Are you a member of the Amazon affiliate program? if yes, how are you going to handle this recent action by Amazon, are you still going to keep promoting them? Please leave your comments below.

Thank you for your time.

Rose.