How to open your Amazon Affiliate account

This guide will show you how to set up your Amazon affiliate account so you can start making commissions with your FreshStore.

We can walk you through this inside your account. Go to Connect Amazon and we will take you through the application one question at a time, with a suggested answer for each one and your store address ready to copy. At the end you paste your tag in and it applies to all of your stores.

Can anyone open an Amazon Affiliate account?

Yes! Opening your Amazon affiliate account is easy, and:

It is completely free, and always stays free. Amazon pays you, never the other way around
You can be anywhere in the world
You can enter any website or store during your application
Your Amazon account will be opened instantly
You do not need Amazon API Keys (they are built into FreshStore)

You do not have to live in the USA to promote amazon.com. You can promote the US store from anywhere in the world and be paid from anywhere. Most FreshStore members outside the USA promote it anyway, because that is where the buyers are.

Where to Open Your Amazon Account

Visit the following link and create a new account:

https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/

Creating Your Amazon Account

When creating your account, you will need to enter some details about yourself, where you want to receive your commission payments and some details about your store.

You can enter any website or FreshStore in your application. Amazon will not check your website until after you have made three sales.

Enter all the details they ask you for about your store or website, and don't worry about getting everything exactly right.

You will be asked if you are an "Individual" or a "Business". If you are not sure, select "Individual". You can change all your answers later if needed.

Your "Associates Store ID"

You will be asked for an "Associates Store ID" when creating your account.

This can be anything you want and must be unique. It is used in your affiliate links to give you credit for the sales you make.

It must be letters, numbers and dashes only. No spaces are allowed. Some examples:

your-store-name-20
store-name-253434-21
storename123-20

Tip: put a number on the end. Your Store ID has to be unique across the whole Amazon Associates programme, and the obvious names were taken years ago. Adding a few random digits, for example bananastore-83556, means it is accepted first time instead of sending you back to guess again. Nobody ever sees it, including your visitors. The Connect Amazon walkthrough suggests ready-made IDs based on your store.

What you choose for your Associates Store ID is not important. It can be anything you want and you can create multiple IDs. You can use the same tracking ID/tag for all of your stores or you can create a unique tag that will help you easily identify and know where the sale came from. For example, if your store is bananastore.example, your tag can be bananastore-83556-20. This way you know that the click came from that specific store.

Keep Your Account Up to Date

When you create a new store, it is important that you add it to your Amazon Associates account. You should also add your social media pages if you are linking directly to Amazon from them.

Likewise, if you change your address or other details make sure to update it on your Amazon Associates account.

Account Approval

Your Amazon Affiliate account will be opened and ready to make sales as soon as you complete the registration. After you make three sales, Amazon will fully approve your account by checking your account details and website.

You need 3 qualifying sales within 180 days of joining. If you do not reach three, Amazon closes the account. This is not the end of the world, you can simply apply again, but it is the reason we suggest opening your Amazon account once your store is built rather than months beforehand.

Other Amazon Countries

With Amazon, you must register for each country you want to promote. This is possible using the same account you created on the link above.

Select the new country in the top right corner of the link above, and follow the signup process.

We recommend opening an Amazon account in one or two countries to start with (e.g. USA). Then, when you get some traffic and sales, you can start expanding to more countries.

Amazon API Keys

You do not need Amazon API Keys as they are already built into FreshStore.

Once you have made three sales on your account, you can apply for your own API keys. This is entirely optional.

Questions and Troubleshooting

I don't have a store or website for my application.

Create a new FreshStore using an Instant Store to get a website you can use for your application quickly.

I am not based in the USA; can I still apply?

Yes, absolutely. You can open an Amazon Associates account no matter where you are in the world. All the available locales that are supported can be found here.

Do I need a company to join?

No. Choose "Individual" when Amazon asks. Most FreshStore members do.

Amazon says my Store ID is already taken.

Every Store ID has to be unique across the whole programme, so the short and obvious ones went long ago. Add a few digits to the end and try again. Any number works.

My Amazon Associates Account was previously closed, or my application was rejected.

This is easily solvable, and you can reapply. Check out our guide on reapplying to Amazon Associates.