Trappe Digital LLC may earn commission from product clicks and purchases. Rest assured, opinions are mine or of the article’s author.
In addition to Amazon Live and the more traditional affiliate link process, there’s another avenue for influencers on Amazon to use video content to talk about products and earn commissions. And that is through Amazon product videos. You can earn Amazon video review commissions on these videos. Review and talk about a product; when a shopper views it and purchases the product, you get paid. Video reviews for Amazon and get paid – sounds like a good deal!
What are Amazon product videos?
Amazon product videos are short clips where somebody talks about the product. The videos are displayed fairly prominently on product pages. Here’s an example for the “Content Inc.” book video I produced. I also use these videos on social media platforms. This is the example from Instagram.
View this post on Instagram
Once I upload the video it shows prominently on the book landing page.
How to get started with Amazon product videos
To get started, apply for the Amazon influencer program here. You must have a certain following on other social media channels to be accepted into the program. Once in, you will likely have to publish a certain number of videos before Amazon considers giving you full access and offers commissions.
Read next: What is an influencer commission?
How to produce Amazon product videos
For the most part, I record my Amazon product videos in my regular studio, which you can see a setup of here. Sometimes, I do a handheld video if the product is suited for that. For example, when I talked about the phone holder in my car.
Unfortunately, when recording with my iPhone, I can’t upload to Amazon directly from my iPhone. I now get this screen to let me know I have to go to my desktop to upload. The upload from Safari on iPad, however, does work.
I record with a 1080p camera and use Restream as the production platform. Restream is mostly used for live streaming, but you can also record a video production.
From there, I upload them to my storefront on Amazon. I copy and paste the actual title from the product page to tag the right product. Sometimes, you still have to scroll a little bit to find it.
Edit or do one take
Many of my videos are just one-take. Here’s the product. This is what I think about it. Let me show you.
You can also consider editing a video together using video editors like FlexClips.
Know the rules
Amazon has some rules to follow to make sure your video is approved.
- Only tag products that are shown in the video.
- Be authentic and have something to say about the product.
- Don’t have unrelated calls to action. For example, I had my Twitter handle on the screen once and the video was rejected because people can’t click to follow me on Twitter. Plus that’s not the point of the video. The point of the video is to give them info to help them decide whether or not they want to buy the product.
Each video has a thumbnail, and the auto-generated ones are usually fine.
If you want a different look, you can create a thumbnail in Visme and then upload it to the Amazon product video.
How to earn money from Amazon reviews
Sometimes, people might wonder how they can make money from Amazon reviews. And the written ones should never make you money. It’s against the rules to make money off those. So when somebody reaches out to offer you $3 to do a written Amazon review, don’t. You can get in trouble for it with Amazon. If somebody pays you for an Amazon product video, simply share that it’s sponsored, or they sent you a free product, or whatever the true arrangement is.
Which products to use in Amazon product videos
Obviously, you should review anything you buy on Amazon. And we have made that a practice in my house. Anytime somebody buys anything from Amazon, they will do a quick video.
But we also check other products that we buy elsewhere. For example, we’ve had a bidet installed in the bathroom, and part of that bidet can also be bought on Amazon. So why not do a review on it? The same holds true for a whole-house generator. So after any purchase – no matter where – always check Amazon and see if the product is available there.
Once I had uploaded several videos, brands started reaching out to make videos about their products. I’m happy to do that, but I charge a flat fee. Nothing is free, so to speak. In these videos, I have to declare that the product was provided but that my opinion is still mine.
You can also join online marketplaces like Billo to try to connect with more brands who are looking for Amazon product videos being done.
Amazon now also gives you ideas for what products to review. My current recommendation includes Ring cameras and batteries, socks, and a keyboard.
Where do Amazon product videos show up?
They show up on the product pages for the product being reviewed. They can also show up on amazon.com and Kindle for books and related products.
How do I check Amazon product video performance?
There are two places. One is in the area where you also upload videos. It tells you views over the last 30 days and viewing time and breaks it down by video. To see how much money you’ve made on commissions, click on the affiliate central area. That’s not broken down by video, but you can see what products were sold.
If you are invited to the Creator Connection area, where brands can offer specific campaigns, it will break clicks and sales all down in one area.
Final thoughts
Amazon product videos offer influencers and content creators a great opportunity to earn commissions while providing valuable insights to potential customers. Follow Amazon’s guidelines and best practices around transparency, authenticity, and relevance.
By providing shoppers more context to make informed buying decisions, product videos enable more confident purchases and demonstrate your genuine interest in useful product education over a quick, hard sell. Approaching them from this motivation of service first while still earning fair commissions builds loyalty and trust that pays off in the long run.
The added time investment pays dividends in passive income earned from purchases over months and years.
And, of course, consider using the videos across your other channels!