Updated May 2021
Selling merch is one of the best ways to earn extra cash from your blog. Merchandise not only helps a blog establish a brand but provides additional revenues for websites. However, selling merch simply by advertising them on a blog may not be enough to give it exposure. One of the best ways to sell these products is through Amazon.
Amazon has skyrocketed in popularity, and it is now a fixture in our lives. It is a great place to buy and sell items at very affordable prices. Recently, people have increased their preferences towards online shopping versus in-store shopping. This has increased the popularity of Amazon stores further.
Bloggers can get so much benefit in setting up an Amazon store. There are tools to provide ease in linking a blog to Amazon. Aside from that Amazon has also provided ways to help bloggers manage their products through their pages with ease.
Here are some ways bloggers can sell more products with an Amazon store.
The Amazon Associates Program
Amazon has a program called Amazon Associates that lets you link Amazon directly to your blog. It’s primarily set up as an advertising affiliate platform in which Amazon will advertise on your site. You’ll receive a commission based on the performance of their ads.
You can also use this program to create a store on the affiliate’s homepage. From there, you can sell your products easily from your blog to your store. It’s not integrated in the same way that WooCommerce would plug into your WordPress site, but it creates a link that makes it easier to organize, monitor, and advertise your merchandise.
An even better thing about the Amazon Associates program is that there are no costs to joining. Bloggers who are living outside of the US are also welcome to join the program, opening up the market to a much larger, global community.
There’s a catch to this addition, however. Amazon doesn’t let just anyone join their Amazon Associate’s program. You’ll need to have a decent amount of followers and a quality blogging platform to become a part of this. Once you join, it will take a few days for Amazon to decide if your blog meets the criteria necessary to be part of this elite group. If you pass the test, you can start selling through this method.
Master Amazon SEO skills
Just like in creating content online, a product’s presence on Amazon is highly linked to keyword search. Make sure that your products are tagged with the right keywords. Make your Amazon store’s ads appear on your content to also increase traffic on both. There are many tips and tutorials online that could help bloggers use SEO to make their Amazon products rank in the same way their online content does on SERP.
Branding is the name of the game
One of the key points of having a blog that is connected to an Amazon store is brand creation. Users need to see the worth of your blog (and products) in their lives. For a product to be worth buying, it has to either be trending or make a great impact on buyers.
A good example of this would be healthy and clean eating. Many influencers and bloggers have created names for themselves in this industry. People are so influenced to eat what is taught to them as ‘clean food’. However, this clean food isn’t always available in your local grocery store or supermarket, so there is an opportunity there to create a brand of ‘clean food’. People prefer buying their needs and wants on Amazon. Not only could you reap benefits from helping people live healthily through your blog, but you can also give them an extra push by providing them with the tools.
Having a brand to represent your Amazon store is a win-win situation. Once the brand is established and has a consistent following, users will surely try whatever product is released. Either they love it, or they hate it, the initial sale is surely enough to reap profits.
Add an Amazon Store to Your Social Media
You can also use social media platforms to improve your Amazon store’s online presence, which makes social selling really easy. With one click, your followers can be taken to your collection of merchandise. They’re much more likely to make impulse purchases via this route. For instance, bloggers can use Instagram to drive up traffic. It is considered as one of the best platforms to establish branding and online visibility. In recent updates, Instagram has made it easier to link Amazon pages through their new shopping features.
Image Source: Openbridge
Make Your Store Successful
Setting up your store is only a very small step in the long journey. A successful store requires a well-thought-out platform and some marketing techniques that will get the word out about your merchandise. Making money from your Amazon store is possible with a few tips:
- Use appropriate selling tactics. You have a unique opportunity to market to a global audience with your Amazon store, and that takes professional superior product displays. Use quality imagery, detailed descriptions, and a confident seller profile to draw a crowd.
- Focus on customer acquisition. As a blogger, you have a unique talent for making connections with consumers. Use that talent to acquire customers who will tell their friends and continually come back for more merchandise.
- Use search engine optimization for your Amazon store. You’ll primarily rely on keyword usage for this. The Amazon Keywords tool is an excellent place to start, as it can help draw organic search terms to your blog and merchandise.
Now that you have an Amazon store integrated into your blog, your selling possibilities will grow exponentially. You’ll find yourself removed from the small shop scene and entering a much larger marketplace where your blog can expand to its full potential.
