In 2023, I did an episode on the 17 different income streams I was working on.

One of the smallest on that list generated the largest response, and that was the Amazon Influencer Program.

At the time of that recording, I’d made only $9.50, but I mentioned it was the easiest money I’d ever made online. A month later, I’m over $100.

Now, there were a lot of questions about the program, and we’re going to attempt to answer those in today’s episode to see whether the Amazon Influencer Program could be a new income stream for you!

To better explain how the program works, I enlisted the help of two Side Hustle Show listeners were earning around $2k a month from their product review videos.

The first was Jon Corres, who encouraged me to test the program. You might remember him from episode 413 where he discussed how he made $10k/mo on YouTube without being on camera.

And second was Tyler Christensen from TylerChristensen.com — a serial side hustler, teacher, and dad of four who has also been doing well with the program.

Table of Contents show

2025 UPDATE

I recently caught up with Tyler to learn what’s new in the Amazon Influencer Program.

He shared that his product review income is now up to around $5k/mo, and over $130k in total since he started.

Get Paid for Product Reviews

Amazon Influencer Program

4.5

Upload brief product review videos and get paid every time you help Amazon make a sale.

Pros:

Easy to get started.
Videos can earn passive income.
No outside marketing needed.

Cons:

Program guidelines aren't super clear.
Commission rates are low.
You might run out of products to review.

Apply Now

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Round 1: Amazon Influencer Program Update

Getting Accepted Into the Amazon Influencer Program

The Amazon Influencer Program is still one of the best ways to make money on Amazon. But the landscape kinda has changed a lot over the past year.

Influencers are now adapting to maximize their earnings with the increasing competition and changing monetization methods.

The core concept of the program remains the same — your create product reviews that Amazon features on product pages — but your earnings potential has changed.

Still, Tyler considers it one of the easiest side hustles out there, but it just requires a better strategy.

Increased Competition and Changing Strategies

Now, if a product already has 20 reviews, it’s harder for your video to stand out.

This has led influencers to focus on trending or high-ticket items. While bestsellers might have too many competing videos, new products can provide fresh opportunities.

Some influencers use software tools to find products with less competition, but Tyler prefers manual research based on personal experience.

“I got a sponsored video this week where somebody sent me a power station and it costs $3,000 on Amazon.”

Product Review Best Practices

Jon and Tyler shared their best practices for getting paid for Amazon reviews.

Keep It Simple

Tyler’s best-performing videos are the ones where he focused on what he liked and didn’t like about the product. He shot those with his phone on selfie mode, usually in a single take.

He realized the value in keeping his product review videos as simple and as honest as possible when Amazon rejected a highly edited video he did. The video took several hours of editing and even included a couple of drone shots. Tyler believes it was rejected simply because it had too much information.

Shoot Horizontally

Jon likes to shoot his videos the old school way: horizontally.

Horizontally is how we’ve historically watched TV shows and movies. It’s how TV screens and computer monitors are shaped, so horizontal videos aren’t going anywhere.

Answer a Problem With the Product

One thing to keep in mind when doing testing products and doing review videos for Amazon is you want to actually convince the viewer to make a purchase.

Jon says a great way to do that is by presenting the viewer with a problem and answering it with the product you’re reviewing.

Take, for example, a breakfast sandwich maker Jon recently reviewed. Instead of just doing a simple review of the product, he created a pitch that went something like, “Want to know how to make the best breakfast sandwich? This is the product you need!”

This tactic has resulted in a lot of high-converting videos for Jon, and it’s helped inform how he ensures future videos have good conversion rates.

Show Results

Don’t just talk about product results — show them.

In one video where Jon reviewed a teeth whitening product, he didn’t just unbox the product and show it. He also showed the product’s effect on his teeth after seven days of using it to convince viewers to buy.

Jon says this strategy will take your reviews to the next level in terms of driving conversion.

Keep Your Thumbnail Organic

Jon likes to keep his thumbnails pretty straightforward. He typically just clips an image from his review and uses that as the video’s thumbnail.

He also makes sure that his hand is in the thumbnail to show he’s using the product being reviewed.

Stick To 1-2 Minute Videos

Both Jon and Tyler recommend shooting 1-2 minute videos.

More complicated products like tech gadgets might need longer videos, but that range is typically good enough for most products.

According to Tyler, if your video is less than a minute, a viewer has to watch 90% of it for you to get credited with a commission. If your video is more than a minute, they only have to watch 30 seconds or 50% of it.

By sticking to the 1-2 minute range, your average view duration will likely be over 50%.

Finding Products to Review

Jon didn’t have to buy a whole bunch of products to get started. He simply went through his purchase history on Amazon and exported those onto a spreadsheet. That gave him about 200 products to start with.

When he finished reviewing those, he reached out to close family and friends and asked if he could review things they had in their homes. That led to another 100 products or so.

Tyler employed a similar tactic but found that he had to wade through over 800 products, many of which he could no longer find on Amazon. “It was easier for me to just go around the house and just pick a room at a time. Do everything in the room.”

Tyler wasn’t picky about products either. “If I bought [a product] at Walmart but it’s listed [on Amazon], I would make those videos.”

Prioritizing Products to Review

As far as prioritization goes, Jon advises reviewing products that don’t have a lot of videos tied to them.

He also likes to review high-ticket items, even if they’re already popular, mainly because Amazon has low commissions.

Tyler adds that it’s also worth reviewing high-ticket items on your YouTube review channel because YouTube gives preference to new videos.

One tool that’s particularly helpful for figuring out which products are worth reviewing is Fluencer Fruit by Liz Saunders.

The tool is a Chrome extension that overlays onto the Amazon shopping page, and it will show you things like the available video slots for a product and a product’s expected commission percentage.

What Happens When You Run Out of Products to Review?

Here’s how Jon and Tyler get more products to review when they run out of the ones they or their friends and family already have.

Buy Products on Amazon

If you’re thinking about buying products specifically to review, there are a few things to consider.

First is: does the product actually need a video review? If the answer is yes, Jon advises checking out the product’s recent customer reviews and actually reading them.

A product with several one- or two-star reviews likely won’t convert. But if a product has several good customer reviews and fewer than six video reviews, then that’s a product worth doing a video about.

To date, Jon has spent just a little over $400 buying products on Amazon specifically to review.

Do Sponsored Reviews

Tyler says the longer you’re an Amazon influencer and the more videos you’ve posted, the more you’ll have companies reaching out to you asking you to review their products.

Companies will often send you the products for free or give you a commission. Tyler says he’s had offers from companies to review other products that he’s been wanting to buy anyway.

Sometimes, he gets as much as 10-15 review requests a day, and when it starts to get overwhelming, he’ll charge a fee for the review.

For Jon, this is when the side hustle really starts to get fun. “A lot of opportunity there in terms of the revenue not just from making commissions from Amazon Influencer [Program], but also … sponsored reviews.”

Just make sure that you have legitimate ways in which companies can actually contact you easily. And if you plan to make sponsored reviews, make sure that you get paid up front. Also, be clear in your review that the product was specifically sent to you by a company.

Tyler finds that charging $25-$30 for a sponsored review works for most companies, and in the last 10 days, he’s made some 30 sponsored videos, which netted him about $400. Typically, he makes a few hundred dollars a month on sponsored videos and 10x that from Amazon.

New Revenue Streams 2025

Tyler said that while it’s harder to make money with Amazon’s Influencer Program than before, he still earns around $5,000 a month.

But he no longer relies on just on-site commissions. Instead, he’s built multiple income streams:

1. Creator Connections Hub

Amazon recently introduced Creator Connections, a section where brands list products they want reviewed. Instead of the usual 2-4% commission, brands in Creator Connections offer influencers up to 20% per sale.

It’s been great because Tyler was already reviewing many of these products anyway. Now, he just checks the box and links his existing videos, instantly boosting his earnings.

Finding this opportunity is easy — it’s located under the “Off-Site Profile” section of Amazon’s Creator Hub. Once enrolled, influencers can quickly browse brand-sponsored opportunities and connect with companies that are actively seeking reviews.

2. Off-Site Commissions from YouTube and TikTok

Many influencers discovered that off-site affiliate commissions (basically links placed on external platforms like YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram) offer better payouts than from Amazon’s on-site program.

Tyler’s brother, for example, earns more through YouTube affiliate links. Tyler has also started focusing more on YouTube, where he can add affiliate links to product descriptions.

His YouTube earnings have now surpassed his Amazon earnings in some months.

3. Sponsored Reviews

As Tyler’s influence has grown, companies have started reaching out daily (Tyler receives 5-10 inquiries), offering free products or even paying him to review their items.

He now charges $30-$80 per review and makes around $1,000 a month from these deals alone.

4. TikTok Shop

Some influencers have turned to TikTok Shop, where commissions can be significantly higher.

TikTok algorithm favors viral trends so you can generate massive commisions overnight.

But Tyler noted that while TikTok’s short-form videos get a lot of views, they don’t always lead to conversions. He still prefers Amazon and YouTube for better results.

Any Mistakes or Surprises Along the Way?

What surprised Tyler the most over the last several months of doing product review videos was the work it took. But he also found that he got better at it as he went along.

Meanwhile, Jon didn’t anticipate that many of the things he had lying around in his house were on Amazon. That meant he didn’t have to buy a whole bunch of products to do reviews.

And as far as mistakes go, Jon said he’d once reviewed low-ticket products with really negligible commissions.

What’s Next?

Jon’s main focus moving forward is his new YouTube channel Pallet Picks, where he films himself unboxing and reviewing Amazon return pallets.

“It’s like a treasure hunting YouTube channel, which is just really really exciting for me,” he said. Currently, Jon is prepping for Prime Day 2023 and Q4.

Tyler, on the other hand, is looking forward to taking what he has learned from the program and applying it to other projects.

“I feel like it’s making me a better school teacher. It’s giving me ideas for other YouTube channels and things that I want to do there,” he added.

Round 2: Donate a Business Idea

Tyler works at a university and teaches future elementary teachers, so he gets questions like, “How can I practice creating a curriculum?”

And his answer to them is simply, “Start a YouTube channel.”

Much like the Amazon Influencer Program, where people reach out for product reviews, YouTube can serve as a platform where people are sought out for knowledge while getting monetary streams.

It doesn’t matter what you talk about. Consistently create videos about any topic and you’ll become more expert on that topic. You’ll have to do research. You’ll gain expertise.

This business model lies in its potential multiple revenue streams:

YouTube monetization
Amazon affiliate marketing
Speaking opportunities
Conference invitations
Product review opportunities

In fact, Tyer has a channel called “Chasing Junk” where he collects items from the ‘80s, like baseball cards from the “junk wax era.”

It’s still in its early stages, but some companies have already reached out to him.

There are also other channels dedicated to nostalgia that have gotten huge, like Pat Flynn’s Pokemon channel.

You can start with Q&A content rather than trying to compete in the entertainment space with the likes of Mr. Beast or Dude Perfect.

Trying to solve specific problems and answer people’s questions can lead to:

Evergreen content that continues generating views years later
Consulting opportunities
Service requests from viewers

The more you look at developing a skill—like video editing, storytelling, or creating thumbnails—those all compound. And so when you start another side hustle, it’s easier and you’re more likely to have success.

Round 3: Triple Threat

Marketing Tactic

After changing how he titles his YouTube videos, Tyler noticed a HUGE difference in engagements.

Just by incorporating intrigue and curiosity, through titles like “This is Why We Chose This Necklace as the Best…” instead of “Review of Product X,” his videos are now getting between 50 and 300 views within the same timeframe.

This small tweak boosted his click-through rates, which makes people more curious enough to watch.

Favorite Tool

You’ve probably had tons of ideas throughout the day, and sometimes it’s faster to record them than to write them down.

But there was never an easy way to transcribe and organize them, so for Tyler, a tool like Google AI Studio saves him hours of manual work.

Favorite Book

The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath talks about the science of creating meaningful moments in teaching, business, etc.

As a parent, this book has helped Tyler how to make the most of his time with his kids; as a teacher, it’s helped him create more effective lessons; and as a content creator, it’s improved his research about creating moments and nostalgia.

Tyler’s #1 Tip for Side Hustle Nation

“Create a review YouTube channel.”

Jon’s #1 Tip for Side Hustle Nation

“If you don’t get in, keep trying.”

Links and Resources

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Amazon Influencer Program: From Zero to $5k a Month Part-Time