Make Money on Amazon Without Selling Physical Products
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Disclaimer: This page includes affiliate links. If you click and purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I have personally vetted. Also, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
In this post, I’ll show you eight different methods to make money on Amazon without selling a physical product.
There are many people (mothers, SAHM, teenagers, single parents) who are looking for ways to bring home some extra cash.
And, because Amazon has such a broad presence, there’s a lot of potential for anyone who wants to start a side business or launch an entire Amazon company.
But, what if you don’t want to sell physical products? You may be thinking that you can’t make any money on Amazon without selling products, but that’s not true.
There are several ways to generate money on Amazon without having to sell any tangible items.
So, let’s have a look at some of the many methods to generate money on Amazon.
Make Money on Amazon
1) Amazon Associates Affiliate Program
Amazon runs one of the largest affiliate programs in the world called Amazon Associates. By joining the Amazon Associates program, you can earn money for every sale that you refer to Amazon.
How it works – Once you sign up for the Amazon affiliate program,Amazon provides you with special links for every product that you want to promote. If anyone clicks on your link and makes a purchase on Amazon, you will earn a small percentage of the entire sale. You don’t have to worry about keeping track of inventory. You don’t have to deal with customer service. All you have to do is direct people to Amazon.
While the payouts for the Amazon Associates program are low, you make money for every single product that a customer buys within 24 hours of clicking on your affiliate link.
I’ve been a member of the Amazon Associate Program for about three years. The main way I have made money is through adding Amazon product links in my most popular posts and adding the links to seasonal gift guides.
The gift guides are actually pretty fun to make. I like to list items that I’ve bought and that I think my readers will like and appreciate. Give it a try and see how your monthly income grows.
Amazon Influencers is an affiliate program that is distinctly different than Amazon Associates. Amazon Influencers promote products on social media. If you have a strong social following, rather than a blog, website, or forum, the Amazon influencer program may be right for you.
How it works – Approved influencers get a unique URL on their own Amazon page to show off the products that you recommend to your followers. Whenever your followers on your blog, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or Twitter buy one of those products, you’ll earn a commission. The key is to figure out which products each audience member might be interested in and promote them effectively.
As above, while the payouts for the Amazon Associates program are low, you make money for every product that a customer buys within 24 hours of clicking on your affiliate link.
So, take a look at the photo right above “Amazon Influencers Program.” This is what my Amazon Influencers Storefront looks like.
I like to post Idea Lists, Photos, and Videos, all showing exclusive products that were purchased on Amazon.com. If a person likes and buys the product that I have recommended, I’ll get a small commission of that sale, plus a commission on all the products they buy in their cart – providing that it is within 24 hours.
BELOW: This is a screenshot of my published videos on my Amazon Influencer Page. So, a customer may view the video of the item I purchased. If they decide to buy the item after watching my video, I will get a small commission. As you can see, I keep my videos short and specific.
3) The Amazon Bounty Program
The Amazon Bounty Program is an additional way to earn affiliate income by suggesting and driving actions on Amazon services and programs your readers may be interested in.
You can earn fixed commissions (a “bounty”) when your visitors sign up for valuable services and programs.
How it works – An Amazon bounty is triggered when your visitors complete an action that is part of the program. For example, if you direct your user to the Prime Video link and they sign up for a free trial, you will receive the bounty.
There are a number of Amazon Bounties that you can promote on your blog:
Amazon Business Account
Amazon Prime
Audible Plus
Baby Registry
Kindle Unlimited
Prime Music
Prime Personal Shopper
Prime Try Before You Buy
Prime Wardrobe
Prime Discounted Monthly Offering
Wedding Registry
The Amazon Bounty Program is an excellent way to promote Amazon‘s services and programs and for you to make money.
4) Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)
Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is a program that allows you to publish and sell your digital books on Amazon. The popular notion is that books offered on Amazon must be a certain length or professionally edited. However, you can publish short, targeted books for specific topics and make a living doing so without an agent or a publisher!
How it works – Basically, there are only a few requirements to sell using Amazon KDP. You must format your book properly using tools provided by Amazon, you need a book cover, and you need to write the book itself. Once you hit publish, your book will be listed in the Amazon marketplace.
I haven’t sold yet on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, but I plan to this year. I’d like to make a small ebook and see how it performs. And, the great thing about Amazon KDP is that you can list an ebook and it can make sales for many years to come!
Most virtual tasks from Amazon Turk can be performed from the comforts of your home. So, you can make money on Amazon in your spare time!
Here are a few examples of how it works:
Give your opinion on a website.
Perform a Google search and provide the result.
Take a survey.
Enter data from receipts into a spreadsheet.
Comment on a blog post.
Write a title or description for an image.
Write a short review.
Provide your opinion.
Most tasks on Amazon Turk will only take a few minutes of your time and do not require your full attention. Because of this, Amazon Turk jobs do not pay much, roughly about $8 – $9 per hour.
This is another program that I haven’t yet tried. However, it seems like it would be easy to sign-up and perform at least a few small tasks each day. If you’ve tried Amazon Mechanical Turk let us know what you think about the program in the comments below.
And, every little dollar helps!
6) Amazon Merch on Demand
Merch on Demand By Amazon is a place where you can sell branded products designed by you which are produced, sold, and shipped by Amazon.
Merch on Demand is essentially a print-on-demand (POD) company which is a form of dropshipping.
How to Get Approved for Merch – Before anything, you have to apply to Merch on Demand by Amazonand get approved. This can be a long process for some.
When I applied, several years ago, I had to wait about a week to get my invitation to join.
You’ll be asked to fill out the following 3 sections:
Industry Type – select from the drop-down menu.
Organization Name – add your business name or your first and last names.
Additional Information – This is your space to provide them with any information that might help you get accepted.
If you want to increase your odds of getting accepted into Amazon Merch on Demand, you can include any of these details in the Additional Information section:
Demonstrated print-on-demand experience and links to your work.
Link to your personal website.
Promotion strategy.
Sample designs.
Include any trademarks or licenses you may own.
How it works – First, you design a product (like a t-shirt), and Amazon ships it for you. You don’t have to carry any inventory or worry about shipping and you get to keep the difference between your selling price and Amazon’s wholesale price for your product.
The best part is that your designs will be listed on the Amazon marketplace which attracts millions of buyers!
I have sold t-shirts on Amazon Merch on Demand, and I’m still a part of it! This is another fun way to sell for Amazon. I like to make seasonal t-shirts (Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas) and for various hobbies or sports (fishing, camping, survival skills, etc).
These are some of my t-shirts that are still selling on Amazon Merch on Demand.
I haven’t sold a ton, but it’s nice to get an email every month showing that I’m still getting a few sales here and there from people still buying my designs!
7) Amazon Flex
This job is a little different in that you are selling your services. Amazon Flex is a way to make money by using your vehicle to deliver packages for Amazon.
How it works – You reserve a block of your time upfront with Amazon. So, you pick up packages from an Amazon warehouse in your area and deliver them to the customer. Similarly, you can also make money selling your professional services through the Amazon Home Services program.
To qualify for Amazon Home Services, you must apply with your personal information, pass a background check, and get approved.
As should be expected, Amazon is fairly strict with its approval process to maintain a high level of quality for its service program.
8) Fulfillment by Amazon
An Amazon FBA business isn’t as well-known an option when it comes to making money on Amazon. However, it’s an excellent way to make money without worrying about shipping, returns, or customer support.
How it works – Your products will be stored in an Amazon warehouse, where they can make you money on the Amazon marketplace without you having to do anything once the products are shipped. Next, you send your items to an Amazon Center and let them take care of delivery.
As the Amazon FBA seller, you will be charged by units, depending on weight and size. Also, you pay a storage fee monthly if your inventory does not sell.
This is another method for making money on Amazon that I have tried. For Amazon FBA, I used the process of buying used books and textbooks and selling them on Amazon for a higher price than I paid. Additionally, using Amazon FBA, you can pay a monthly fee and have all of your books stored at Amazon. Once you make a sale, you do your paperwork, and then Amazon takes care of shipping the product to your customer and any customer service-related issues.
If you have the time, this can be a very profitable way to make money through Amazon.
Summary of Ways to Make Money on Amazon without Selling Products
Make Money on Amazon Without Selling Physical Products – Which Method Should You Choose?
Choosing from the above Amazon methods will depend on your talents, consistent internet connection, logistics, and the amount of time you have to devote to your side hustle.
Whichever one you pick, the general guideline is that the more money and time you are prepared to invest in your side business, the greater revenue you will earn.
Concluding Thoughts on How to Make Money on Amazon
As you have seen, there are a number of ways to make money on Amazon without selling physical products. You can choose from any of the methods we’ve listed, or explore other options on your own. The important thing is that you get started and begin generating passive income today! What method will you choose?
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