Leveraging Amazon Creator Connections for Your Business: A comprehensive guide

The affiliate marketing industry is worth $17B and is expected to reach $40B by 2030. It’s no wonder that large corporations, from Shopify to Amazon and TikTok, invest in this channel. With the increased options for affiliate marketing platforms, deciding where to put your efforts can be challenging, especially as a smaller business with limited resources. In this blog post, we'll explore one of the newer options since Amazon opened its affiliate doors to sellers—the Amazon Creator Connections. This guide will help you determine if the platform is right for your business, walk you through the steps to launch and manage a successful campaign, and break down reporting capabilities.

What is Amazon Creator Connections?

Amazon Creator Connections is a platform that connects Amazon sellers with influencers from various niches and industries. Unlike third-party Amazon tools like Levanta, which act as traditional affiliate platforms, Amazon Creator Connections offers brands a way to passively recruit creators by launching campaigns that are distributed to its network of influencers for consideration. 

Amazon refers to its affiliates as Creators. Their Creators build dedicated followings on social media platforms, sites, Amazon Lives, and Amazon Storefronts. These partners can then help sellers promote their products on a commission basis. Through this program, sellers work with Creators for honest Amazon reviews (including video reviews within Amazon), endorsements, and/or exposure to a broader audience.

Is Amazon Creator Connections Right for Your Business?

Before diving into the details of Amazon Creator Connections, it's crucial to determine whether the platform’s strengths align with your business goals and products. Below are a few questions to consider prior to launching a campaign. Consider running a campaign if your business objectives include one or more of the following.

Product reviews 

If you recently launched a new product and/or have limited reviews on your Amazon product page, Amazon Creator Connections is a great addition to your marketing strategy. Keep in mind that you will need to have the Creator purchase the product on Amazon vs. sending the product directly to the creator to have a product review. The platform originally allowed for gifting but has since been removed following seller complaints. There’s a good chance this feature will return, but for now, you need to provide a coupon code or reimburse the Creator. 

Note: If the coupon code is 50% or more, the Creator’s contribution will not get the “verified review” status. In addition, the Creator will need to state the product was gifted. 

Brand awareness

Due to the inability to decline Creators once the campaign is launched, your campaign will have a significant amount of micro-influencers. These smaller influencers often do a good job generating views and exposure, but often deliver less in revenue. However, there is power in numbers—you can get great exposure through the sheer number of Creators you attract through the platform.

Amazon Lives

Amazon Creator Connections is the only way to work directly with Amazon Live influencers with a cost-for-performance compensation. 

Is Your Business Ready for an Amazon Creator Connections Campaign?

Even if the platform aligns with your business goals, there are additional considerations to take into account that could prevent you from finding success with Amazon Creator Connections.

Product appeal for creators

Does your product appeal to a wider audience? While Amazon Creator Connections has the ability to search its network of Creators, there is no method to recruit within the network. Instead, the campaign is sent out to creators in the network who identify with the interests you select in your campaign. You will have limited applicants if your products do not appeal broadly. 

Popular categories in Amazon Creator Connections closely mirror Amazon’s popular categories, which include:

• Travel accessories
• Fashion
• Toys
• Electronics
• Crafts
• Personal care products

Strict regulations for your products

You won’t have the ability to review content prior to going live, therefore we do not recommend this platform if you work in an industry with heavy compliance requirements, such as supplements.

Inventory concerns for sales and samples

Ensure you have enough products to send to influencers while still meeting customer demand. It's important to strike a balance between promotional samples and sales inventory. Since the campaigns are pay-for-performance only, an out-of-stock product results in a negative experience for both the Creator and the customer.

Resources for management

To successfully launch an Amazon Creator Connections campaign, you need to have someone dedicated to managing incoming messages, product samples, and follow-up. All communication is handled through a Messenger-type tool, which makes it challenging to track and requires extra  time for management.

Product margins

Evaluate your product margins to ensure that providing samples and commission to influencers won't adversely affect your profitability. 

Steps for Launching Your Campaign

If you’ve decided that this platform is right for you, let's dive into the steps required to launch your influencer marketing campaign on Amazon Creator Connections. Contact your Amazon representative for a beta invitation if you cannot access the platform.

Once you’re on the platform, click the blue ‘Create a Campaign’ button in the right top corner. The more detailed your campaign is, the better your results will be. Below are tips for creating a campaign that appeals to Creators and yields the results you are looking for.

Determine campaign requirements

Share your expectations and goals with Creators based on your business goals. Be sure to avoid internal or industry jargon. Examples of campaign requirements include: A TikTok video, Amazon product review, Amazon video reviews, Amazon Live, revenue and traffic to the product page, or a combination of these. Decide on the platforms required for the campaign (e.g., Amazon, Instagram, YouTube).

Select product(s)

Choose the product(s) you want to promote through the campaign carefully. It should resonate with your target audience, and creators, as well as have unique selling points.

Determine requirements to receive product

Clearly communicate your expectations to Creators who receive products regarding content creation, posting schedules, and compliance with Amazon's policies. If your goals are revenue-focused, set clear guidelines for social reach, such as followers and engagement. This step will reduce the number of unqualified creators you need to sift through.

Be descriptive

The more information you can provide about your product and brand, the higher the quality of your Creators (and their content) will be. Include key talking points to help creators convert, resulting in a successful campaign for you both. 

Determine length and timing

Detail the timing of your campaign launch and the length of the campaign. When deciding on the launch date, consider the following:

• Amazon Prime Day. If you are launching a campaign for Prime Day, allow plenty of time for creators to receive and use products as well as create content. Also, remember that you will have higher competition for Creators during this time. Consider whether your product would fit well in an Amazon Prime Day Round-Up, which is a common content piece for Prime Day. If it isn’t a seamless fit, we recommend launching during a less busy time
• Seasonality. If your product performs better in specific seasons, you can maximize your efforts by running campaigns in that timeframe.
• Product Timing. If you have a product that takes time to determine effectiveness, factor in additional time. An example is a supplement that takes 30 days to see results. 

Budget

Don’t be scared by the $5,000 minimum budget requirement. Remember, you only pay when a sale is complete. If you prepare by evaluating your product margins in advance, hitting your budget is a positive result. 

Managing the Campaign

Now that your campaign is launched, management of the campaign takes top priority.

Organization

As mentioned earlier, the Messenger-type tool is the only way to communicate with your Creators. The tool is essentially texting through the app. This can make organization a challenge. We recommend setting up a spreadsheet to track communication, product send-outs, and deliverables. Below are sample columns you should consider including in your sheet.

• Last Communication Date
• Status (Joined, Sent product, Received product, Pending submission, and Posted)
• Creator Name
• Address
• Content Links
• Notes

Communication

Maintain open communication with Creators throughout the campaign to promptly address issues, answer questions, provide assets, and ensure commitments are met. Once a Creator joins your campaign, welcome them to the campaign, request a mailing address, and provide additional information on your product and brand. Include additional Creator-specific information inside your product package, such as product details and topic ideas, if possible. Let your Creators know you are available to answer any questions or concerns.

Note: There is no way to send out bulk communication to Creators on this platform. All communication is done individually through the Messenger-type tool. 

Follow-up

As with all campaigns, follow up with your Creators after product receipt to answer any questions and get an estimated time for posting. You may need to follow up more than once. The Creators typically run multiple campaigns and have the same communication tool as the brands. As such, messages can easily get lost.

Reporting and Final Analysis

Once your campaign is complete, it’s time to celebrate, review the content, and evaluate results against your business objective. Document the lessons learned so you can make adjustments on your next campaign.

Reporting

The Amazon Creator Connections’ reporting is relatively simple compared to other affiliate and influencer platforms. You can track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as click-through rates, sales, and revenue. Reporting is available on the campaign dashboard when you click on the hyperlink of the campaign. 

Reviews and deliverables appear under the Creator’s name. You will need to manage that manually to keep track of these KPIs through your spreadsheet. 

Final analysis

After the campaign concludes, conduct a thorough analysis of its outcomes, including ROI, to determine what worked well and what can be improved for future campaigns. In your analysis, include time management as well as tangible costs such as product and shipping costs. 

Conclusion

Amazon Creator Connections can be a valuable addition to your Amazon marketing strategy. By following the steps outlined in this post and staying committed to continued measured improvement, you can leverage Amazon Creators to drive brand awareness, gather reviews, and boost revenue. Remember that each campaign is a learning experience, so adapt and refine your approach as you go, and you'll be well on your way to success.

Do you want to level-up your Amazon marketing strategy? The experts at Right Side Up can help. Drop us a line at growth@rightsideup.co to get started.