Amazon Associates is one of the best affiliate programs out there, especially for beginners. But you may be wondering, how long does Amazon Associates take to pay you?
At first, it can take quite a few months to receive your first paycheck. However, once you start earning a decent amount consistently, you can get paid monthly.
Before we get into the details, this post contains affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy to learn more.
How to Get Paid From Amazon Associates
If you want to get paid from Amazon Associates, you have to meet a few requirements. Here’s what you need to know when joining this affiliate program.
Make 3 Sales in 180 Days
Before you can make any money through Amazon, you have to make at least three sales within the first 180 days of you joining. It may not sound hard, but it can be more difficult than you expect.
This is particularly true if you don’t have an audience when you join. You’ll need to spend time promoting your content to get people to click on your links.
If you don’t get three sales within the first six months, you’ll get kicked out of Amazon Associates. Now, you can reapply, but you have to meet this requirement to stay an affiliate.
Earn $10 in Commissions
Whether it takes three sales or another number, you need to acquire at least $10 in total commissions. This can happen all within one month, or it can happen across a few months.
However, Amazon won’t pay you until your commission balance is $10 or above. As you grow your blog, this gets easier, and I’ve slowly started to get paid from Amazon each month.
But it took eight months from when I earned my first Amazon commission to earn $10 overall. And within that, I only earned commissions in three out of those eight months.
You may have better or worse results, so don’t expect to copy the timeline I had. If you want to speed things up, you’ll need to publish great content and promote it.
Set Up a Payment Method
In your account settings, you’ll have to set up a payment method. I chose to have my money sent to my bank account via direct deposit.
You can also be paid in the form of Amazon gift cards. If you’re just looking to make extra cash to cover groceries, you could go with that method, but it’s the most restrictive.
Another option is to have Amazon send you a check. Unfortunately, that payment method requires that you earn at least $100 before they pay you.
Wait Two Months
You’ve done everything, and you’re still wondering how long it will take for Amazon Associates to pay you. After you set up your payment method and reach the payout threshold, it will take about two months to get paid.
So if you reach $10 in commissions in February, you’ll get the money through direct deposit at the end of April.
How to Get Paid Faster From Amazon Associates
You already know how long it takes Amazon Associates to pay you, and you can’t change that. However, you can do a few things to reach the payout threshold sooner so that you don’t have to wait as long for your first paycheck.
Promote Your Affiliate Links
If you want to get more commissions, you can’t just place your affiliate link somewhere and expect traffic. You need to promote either the links themselves or content that contains affiliate links.
Be sure not to include your links in emails, private messages, or other restricted places. Amazon can kick you out of their affiliate program, and you’ll never get paid.
However, you can link to blog posts with your affiliate links. You can promote your blog posts to your email list and social media followers to drive more traffic.
Link to Higher-Ticket Items
When choosing the products to promote, find ones that cost at least $500 or more. Amazon commission rates are some of the lowest in the industry.
But if you generate sales of more expensive items, the low percentage won’t matter as much. Some great options to promote include computers, kitchen gear, and musical instruments.
You can also include links to lower-cost products, which tend to convert better. However, only linking to cheap items means you’ll need more sales to earn $10.
Publish More Content
If your affiliate strategy include running an affiliate website, you should beef it up with content. Write and publish as many blog posts as you can and link to relevant products in all of your posts.
Don’t just write about anything though. Try to focus on buyer intent keywords and other topics near the end of the sales funnel, such as reviews or product roundups.
That way, you’ll attract readers who are closer to actually buying the product you promote. And if you publish a ton of different reviews, you’ll have an even better chance of getting website visitors that will make a purchase through your link.
Don’t Wait to Set Up Payments
At first, it can seem like you won’t get paid for months, so there’s no rush to set up payments. However, I was lazy, so I didn’t get paid until 10 months after I first reached the $10 threshold.
If you have a good marketing strategy, you might hit that minimum faster than you expect. As soon as you can, take the time to connect your bank account to avoid delaying your payments.
How Many Followers Do You Need to Make Money on Amazon?
You don’t technically need any followers to make money with Amazon Associates. However, you will need traffic to your affiliate links, which can come from followers or organic search traffic.
Also, a larger audience will generally result in larger, more consistent paychecks from Amazon. There’s no set number of followers that you need to start earning money, but it never hurts to grow your audience.
Can You Make a Living Off Amazon?
It’s possible to make a living off Amazon as an affiliate, but it’s not easy. I’ve been in the program since 2016, and I have yet to fully replace my income.
However, I know there are other affiliates that make thousands of dollars per month. To do that, you’re going to need a lot of good content and a loyal audience.
Final Thoughts
How long does Amazon Associates take to pay you? Once you’re all set up, you’ll have to wait roughly 60 days before they’ll send you a paycheck.
That applies anytime you accumulate $10 if you get paid by direct deposit or $100 if you get paid by a paper check.
Do you want to learn more about affiliate marketing? Enroll in the Affiliate Marketing Superstars course!