How To Make Money with Amazon – Ways To Build Your Side Hustle Online
We all know Amazon is a dominating force when it comes to online shopping. But did you know there is a way for us ordinary folk to get a piece of the pie too? In this article, we go over different ways to make money online with Amazon and how to build your side hustle. With a little bit of luck, hard work, and consistency, you can create a full-time income in no time.
1. BECOME AN AMAZON SELLER
One of the most obvious ways to make money online with Amazon is to become an Amazon seller. Amazon sellers list products on the Amazon Marketplace for a profit. These products range from pencils and toothbrushes to holiday niche items such as handmade Christmas ornaments or even your own products. Amazon sellers range from retail giants to individuals selling from their homes.
Clearly, there is more than one way to become an amazon seller, so if your first thought was, “but I don’t have anything to sell,” then read on! We may have a solution for you to make money on Amazon and build that side hustle.
FULFILLMENT BY MERCHANT – FBM
There are at least three ways to approach the Fulfillment by Merchant method of running your Amazon business. Become a direct seller, start a print on demand business or dropship products.
All three options require you to set up an Amazon Seller Central account but differ immensely from there.
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. We may earn a small commission for purchases made through links in this post, at no extra cost to you.
SELL DIRECTLY
If you have something to sell on Amazon, whether it is a product you create yourself or buy wholesale, store, and ship yourself, Amazon FBM might be right for you. Set yourself up with an Amazon Seller Central account and start listing your products on Amazon. It is as simple as that.
PRINT ON DEMAND
Amazon integrates seamlessly with many Print on Demand platforms. It takes a little work to get everything running smoothly, but once it’s all set up, you are good to go.
Once you set up your Amazon Seller Central Account, the print on demand company of your choice (we recommend Printify) should have a walkthrough on how to proceed with the integration. It can take a couple of days to get everything set up, but once the process is complete, you will have access to all of Amazon’s customers to showcase your products and designs.
Learn more about Print on Demand.
DROPSHIPPING
Dropshipping can be a great way to start. It involves finding products online for cheap (usually through Alibaba or Aliexpress) and listing them at a marked up price on the Amazon marketplace. Once a customer orders a product from you through Amazon, you then order it from your supplier with the customer’s shipping information.
Your customer pays you, and you pay the supplier. For individuals new to online side hustles, this is a great way to start, and once you find a winning product, you can upgrade to Fulfillment by Amazon to scale your success.
The only caveat to creating a dropshipping business is the shipping time. Dropshipped products are often coming from overseas and usually take weeks to arrive at their destination. People love fast shipping, so be prepared to lose out on customers due to longer shipping times.
Read about My Dropshipping Experience here.
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Read My Dropshipping Pros and Cons here.
FULFILLMENT BY AMAZON – FBA
Fulfillment by Amazon does require some money upfront, but it can be incredibly lucrative if/when you can find a winning product.
Amazon FBA is when you buy a product wholesale in bulk, list it on the marketplace for sale and ship it to the Amazon warehouse where Amazon will fulfill the orders from there.
Simply choose a product, ship it to the Amazon Warehouses, list it on the marketplace, and it is handsfree from there. Having your products in an Amazon warehouse means that your products will be eligible for Amazon Prime shipping. Who doesn’t love fast shipping?
Our suggestion: Start dropshipping until you find a product that sells well and then make the jump to Amazon FBA. Use the profit from your dropshipping business to pay for the upfront costs of Amazon FBA.
MERCH BY AMAZON – MBA
Merch by Amazon, or Amazon Merch, is an easy way to get started as an Amazon seller. Start by applying to the program, and once you are accepted, you can add designs to products and list them on the Amazon marketplace. It is essentially Amazon’s very own all-in-one Print on Demand service. The products currently offered are mostly shirts, hoodies, and pop sockets. They do add new products to the platform every so often.
Merch by Amazon uses a tiered system. When you first get accepted, you start on the 10th tier. That means that you can only list up to 10 products until you make ten sales. Once you make your first ten sales, you are then bumped up to the 25th tier until you make 25 sales. Next is tier 100, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, 8000, 10,000 and so on.
It can be slow going at first, but once you get yourself past the first couple of tiers and find a couple of winning designs, it is smooth sailing from there!
AMAZON KINDLE DIRECT PULISHING (KDP)
Amazon KDP allows anyone to self publish their own books. Amazon will print the book as it is sold. Sellers make 60% of the list price less printing costs.
You don’t have to be a writer to publish your own books. There are many individuals out there making good money selling journals, notebooks, sketchbooks, coloring books, puzzle books and many others.
Find out how to create your own low content books to sell on the Amazon marketplace here.
2. PROMOTE ON AMAZON
If you have a following on social media, a blog, or any other way of promoting products to the public, you may be able to make money online with Amazon and grow your side hustle by recommending some of your favorite products on Amazon.
AMAZON ASSOCIATES
Amazon Associates is open to anyone who would like to take a stab at promoting products. The Associates program is an affiliate marketing program.
Once accepted to the program, you have 180 days to make three sales, or your associates account will be shut down. But don’t fret, if you don’t make the sale the first time, you can reapply and start fresh with more knowledge to succeed in this venture.
Amazon Associates is ideal for bloggers, YouTubers, Pinterest users, and anyone else that can share a link to a following. And no, it doesn’t need to be a big following.
Pick a product or page on Amazon that you want to share, we like to look at the sales page on Amazon here. Amazon will give you a unique referral link to share the product or page. When someone clicks on that link and makes a purchase from Amazon within the next 24 hours, you earn a commission.
Even if you share a link for a toaster and they go and buy, oh, I don’t know, a $500 flat-screen TV, you will make a commission on that TV. Not a bad deal just for sharing a link!
Amazon does offer, one of, if not the shortest cookie periods out of all of the different affiliate programs out there. However, their barrier to entry is also the lowest, so it’s a great place to start to build your side hustle income.
AMAZON INFLUENCER
Similar to the Amazon Associates program, it is another way for those with an online following to promote products that they like on the Amazon Marketplace.
The Amazon Influencer program lets you create a storefront, with a URL unique to you, and list products from the Amazon Marketplace that you recommend. Your followers can shop through your storefront, and you will earn a commission for every sale.
It is unclear how many followers are needed to ensure acceptance into the program. The more followers you have, the better the chances. However, Amazon is also looking at engagement. Quality over quantity.
3. AMAZON IGNITE
Ignite is a unique way to make money online with Amazon. You must request an invitation to Amazon Ignite and not everyone get accepted. But, if you are accepted onto the platform you are able to upload digital educational content, that you have created or own the rights to, to sell to teachers and/or parents.
This platform is more specific and is definitely not for just anyone. However, if you are a teacher or educator of some kind this may be right for you.
4. AMAZON FLEX
Amazon Flex is a unique way to earn money, not online, but through physical labor. Flex is a delivery service similar to Uber Eats or DoorDash.
You can build your schedule ahead of time, or if you have a few free hours, you can start working immediately through the Amazon Flex app. You create your hours.
Drivers typically earn between $18-25/hour. It’s still trading time for money, but if you’re low on cash or looking for a way to make a few extra bucks, this could be the answer.
It will take a lot of hard work and perseverance, but the market is accessible to anyone with an internet connection and enough discipline. Whether you chose to source your products or to put your designs on the products Amazon has created for you, there is plenty of opportunities for you to build your side hustle. The best way to learn how to make money online with Amazon and grow your side hustle is to jump in and try one of the methods listed above. If you don’t think it’s the right one for you, there are many other options that could suit you better.