What is the new Amazon Influencer Onsite Video Program?
Starting at the end of 2020 Amazon invited existing Influencers to join with them and be part of a new Influencer Onsite Video Program. Influencers were requested to upload product videos to their storefront, and tag products to these uploads. These videos then appear alongside your ideas list, typically at the top of the page. Here is a sample of my storefront with several videos already uploaded Irish Chippy
You can scroll videos from left to right only. As before, Influencers receive affiliate commissions on qualifying purchases from traffic you refer to your storefront. After you upload your first video, you will have access to your Amazon Creator Hub. Here you can see a list of your videos together with analytics for the previous 30 days. There is not much information here except views for videos and total earnings. You can also manage your videos from here. If you wish you can change tags, thumbnails, title or delete a particular video
In addition with Amazon’s new Influencer Onsite Video participants have an opportunity to have their videos displayed by Amazon on relevant product pages. In other words your video may appear on the top of the reviews of a given item. The term ‘Onsite’ means on the Amazon website, and not just your own storefront.
The influencer can then obtain commissions from sales made after a customer watches their video and goes on to buy a product. When your video is played, a cookie is produced, much like that of an associate link cookie. Videos should not include links or statements like ‘Subscribe to me’ or ‘Like’. Videos you already have published on youtube can be used, but may need to be edited. Unboxing videos and reviews of products is what Amazon are looking for from the influencer.
How to qualify for Onsite Video placement?
Once you upload 10 videos that meet Amazon’s content guidelines, you can sign up for the onsite video program. This is a simple matter of going though a few pages (which you should read), and clicking ‘Next’ and/or ‘Agree’. You will be presented with details of commission percentages on different categories. These commission percentages vary from the regular associates, and are generally lower. After all it is Amazon who display your videos on their product pages, and in a sense the influencer’s video is promoted by Amazon. As before, customers who arrive at the video through the influencer’s storefront or affiliate links, will get full associates commission.
During this process Amazon will create an additional Store ID for you the influencer. From your ‘reports’ page you can switch from one account to the other by means of a drop down menu on the top right hand corner of the screen (see screenshot below). The reports for onsite sales do not include all the details as in your normal associates reports. As of this time, there are no details on ‘Ordered Items’. You have to make do with ‘Earnings’ (shipped items) only. However, you can see how many link clicks you received on the previous day(s)
Cookies, Sessions & Catogories
If a customer watches a video or more than one video under a product, the video that Amazon’s algorithm deems most helpful will become the active cookie. If your cookie becomes the active cookie on a customer’s account, then a Session commences. This typically last for 24 hours. A Session under this Onsite Commission Income cookie will not override a session resulting from traffic from a Special Link outside of the Amazon Site. Onsite Commission Income is limited to Direct Qualifying Purchases. A “Direct Qualifying Purchase” is a Qualifying Purchase of a product in the same Product Category. So if your video is played under a product like a hammer, you can get commission on that sale or following sales of hand tools. However, if the customer goes on to buy an evening gown, you will not get commission on that.
As with your original associates account, you will also have to provide bank account and tax information on your new account in order to get paid. You will have two payment pages. You can swap from one to the other by switching the shop ID in the dropdown on the top right corner.
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