Influencers can then direct their followers to purchase the products via posts on their social channels, and in turn earn commission from every purchase generated by Amazon links.
The terms of Amazon’s Influencer Program and which categories Amazon wants influencers to focus on selling were revealed in a leaked document obtained by Business Insider. The influencers get paid a percentage of what they sell as the commission is based on a fixed model, and Business Insider found that commissions are as high as 10% for Amazon’s private fashion line compared to that for video games and consoles, which is 1%. Business Insider noted that the commission it pays for its own fashion label is not dissimilar to that offered by RewardStyle, where it is rumoured brands like Levi’s offer commission rates of around 10%.The program has also reportedly targeted a number of micro-influencers with loyal audiences to sign up and posted adverts on Instagram targeted at influencers as it ramps up its effort in the influencer marketing space. Amazon wants influencers to recommend products, write reviews and set up curated groups to leverage their audience and drive traffic. According to the document, they will hand more of the creation over to the influencers, who will be responsible for all aspects of development, operation, and maintenance.
“It’s almost like the old affiliate model of advertising. Before, it was publishers and websites that were driving traffic to these different stores. Now, these retailers are so big that they need these individuals to drive traffic,” Krishna Subramanian, co-founder of Captiv8, told Business Insider.
Amazon is only paying influencers when they bring in paying customers, as opposed to simply delivering a message or product. We have seen many times influencers buying fake followers and charging higher rates for promoting a product.
What are your thoughts on Amazon’s Influencer Program? Leave your comment below or reach us on Twitter at @talkinfluence.
