Is The Referral Bonus On Amazon Worth The Hype?
If you are thinking about Amazon’s Referral Bonus, (and if it lives up to the hype) you are in the right place! Amazon’s brand referral bonus program allows brand registry owners to earn commissions for sales generated by driving outside traffic onto their own Amazon-branded stores and product pages.
In this blog post, we’ll delve into the details of this program, explore its benefits and potential implications, and provide you with a comprehensive FAQ section to address all your burning questions – such as…” does it live up to the hype?”
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Referral Bonus Amazon Introduction
In the ever-evolving world of e-commerce, Amazon continues to dominate as the go-to site for buyers and sellers alike. To further solidify its position and attract brand owners, Amazon has launched its groundbreaking Brand Referral Bonus Program (BRB).
Amazon’s introduction of the Brand Referral Bonus is a clear indication of their commitment to harnessing the potential of off-Amazon marketing. They want sellers to redirect their marketing efforts towards their Amazon product listings, rather than their own Shopify stores or other platforms. By incentivizing sellers to send external traffic to Amazon, they are not only boosting their own marketplace but also giving sellers a chance to increase their product rankings and ultimately their sales.
But does it really live up to the hype?
Let’s see…
Unraveling the Brand Referral Bonus Program
Amazon’s Brand Referral Bonus Program opens up new avenues for brand registered sellers to monetize their off-Amazon traffic efforts and boost their sales. Let’s take a closer look at how this brand referral program works:
🚀 Revolutionizing Affiliate Programs: The Amazon Brand Referral Program is Amazon’s answer to its revamped affiliate program. With reduced commissions under the traditional affiliate system, Amazon recognized the need to introduce an attractive alternative for brand registry owners.
💰 Earning Commissions: Under the Brand Referral Bonus Program, brand owners can earn commissions by driving external traffic to Amazon that results in a sale. This means that if you use channels like Facebook ads to generate sales for your own products on Amazon, then you can now receive a commission for your efforts.
🍪 Cookie Tracking: To sweeten the deal even further, Amazon has incorporated a 15-day cookie tracking feature. This means that customer purchases tracked within 15 days after clicking on your referral link earn you a commission on those additional sales as well. It’s an excellent way to maximize your earning potential.
Money: The Brand Referral Bonus Program Bottom Line
The Amazon Brand Referral Bonus program allows sellers to earn bonuses by driving purchases of their brand’s products through non-Amazon advertising. These bonuses are provided as credits that offset the referral fees on future sales.
They vary by product category and, on average, reduce Amazon’s high referral fees for promoted products by 50%. It’s an opportunity to boost your margins by dropping Amazon fees.
For Example:
Imagine you sell a $100 backpack from your brand, and the referral fee is 14%.
By driving a sale through non-Amazon advertising associated with a Brand Referral Bonus, you could earn a 7% credit. This credit can be used to offset the referral fee on a later sale of the same backpack, increasing your net profit from $86 to $93. Not bad!
Benefits of the Brand Referral Bonus Program
Now that we understand how the program works, let’s explore the key benefits that make it an enticing opportunity for brand registered sellers:
Increased Revenue Potential: By tapping into outside traffic sources and earning commissions for driving sales, brand registry owners can significantly increase their bottom-line revenue potential on Amazon.
Easy Setup: Setting up the Brand Referral Bonus Program is a straightforward process. As long as you meet the brand registry requirements, you may apply via your brand registry dashboard.
Diversified Marketing Channels: This program encourages brand registry owners to explore marketing channels beyond Amazon’s own infrastructure. By utilizing platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and other external channels, you can expand your brand’s reach and generate additional Bonus Credits.
Aligning with Amazon’s Lifetime Value Strategy: Amazon’s lifetime value of a customer is remarkably high. By incentivizing brand registered sellers to drive their own external traffic for sales on Amazon, Amazon aims to solidify its dominance while brand owners can tap into the long-term value of customers and potentially benefit from cross-selling opportunities.
Eligibility and Requirements: Getting Started
To be eligible for the Brand Referral Bonus program, you need to meet two basic requirements:
Your brand must be enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry.
You need to sell your brand’s products in Amazon’s US site (.com) using a Professional selling account.
If you meet these criteria, you’re ready to set up your Brand Referral Bonuses and start reaping the benefits.
Application Process
To participate in the Amazon Brand Referral Bonus, you need to be a brand registered owner. Once you meet this requirement, you can apply for the referral program here in your brand registry dashboard. Additionally, setting up attribution, a feature available in the brand registry dashboard, enables you to track external traffic and monitor sales.
Setting up Brand Referral Bonuses involves three basic steps:
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Enroll your Seller Central account in the Brand Referral Bonus program.
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Use the Amazon Attribution tool in the Amazon Ads console to create an amazon attribution tag for your non-Amazon advertising.
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Apply that Amazon attribution tag to your non-Amazon advertising using a campaign manager.
By following these steps, you’ll be on your way to earning those valuable bonuses and boosting your brand’s sales.
BONUS: Leveraging Amazon Attribution: Tracking and Optimizing Non-Amazon Advertising
In addition to earning bonuses on qualified purchases, you can leverage the power of Amazon Attribution to track, assess, and optimize the impact of your non-Amazon advertising.
Utilize clicks, detail-page views, purchases, and other data available to you via Amazon Attribution reports to make informed decisions and maximize the return on your advertising investment. It’s a game-changer for your brand’s growth and profitability.
In fact, the team at Ecom Optimization has enjoyed greater data-driven insights with Amazon Attribution to measure the effectiveness of off-Amazon traffic via Facebook promotions and paid Google ads, or Google paid search.
The team at Ecom Optimization uses Amazon Attribution to track inbound, external traffic, and determine the best ways to drive sales and promote their products through off-Amazon marketing channels. With the help of this technology, they can more easily make strategic decisions based on actionable data.
The result has been the ability to create a highly efficient and effective marketing plan that continues to deliver excellent results for EcomOptimization clients.
The Fine Print: Potential Implications
Curious about the potential impact of the Brand Referral on your business?
Amazon provides a list of estimated Brand Referral Bonus rates by searching for the ‘Brand Referral Bonus’ Help page in Seller Central. This valuable resource helps you understand the potential earnings from your promotional efforts
While the Brand Referral Program offers exciting opportunities, it’s essential to consider some potential implications:
Amazon’s Motives: It’s important to recognize that Amazon’s initiatives are primarily driven by its own interests as a business. While the program benefits brand registry owners, it ultimately serves Amazon’s goal of maintaining market dominance and reduces the brand’s off-Amazon sales.
Competitive Landscape: By participating in the program, Amazon sellers contribute to the solidification of Amazon’s position in the market. This could potentially affect.
Conclusion: Is It Worth The Hype?
The Brand Referral Program can be a game-changer for Amazon sellers who know how to drive off Amazon traffic on their own (ie. not relying on Amazon’s 60-Million daily Shoppers).
By leveraging external traffic and participating in the program, sellers can save significantly on their referral fee while driving more sales to their products. These fees may significantly offset the hassle and costs of running logistics and customer service.
If the economics work, then driving referral traffic to Amazon as opposed to your own Shopify page, may now be financially worth the effort – especially when considering Amazon’s dominiation in direct-to-customer logistics.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What is the Amazon Brand Referral Bonus program?
A: The Amazon Brand Referral program allows sellers to earn credits that offset referral fees for future sales by driving purchases of their brand’s products through non-Amazon advertising.
Q: How does the Amazon Brand Referral Bonus work?
A: The Brand Referral works by providing sellers with credits that reduce referral fees for promoted products. These credits are earned through non-Amazon advertising, and on average, they can reduce the referral fee charges to brand registered sellers by 50%.
Q: How are the sales tracked?
A: Amazon tracks the sales using the Amazon Attribution link. If you haven’t used this tracking tool before, now is the perfect time to start exploring its benefits.
Q: What are the eligibility requirements for the Brand Referral Bonus program?
A: To be eligible for the Brand Referral Bonus program, sellers need to meet two requirements: their brand must be enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry, and they need to sell their brand’s products in Amazon’s US store using a Professional selling account.
Q: How can I set up Brand Referral Bonuses for my products?
A: Setting up Brand Referral Bonuses involves three steps:
Enroll your Seller Central account in the Brand Referral Bonus program.
Use the Amazon Attribution tool in the Amazon Ads console to create tags for your non-Amazon advertising.
Apply those tags to your non-Amazon advertising using a campaign manager.
Q: Can I track the impact of my non-Amazon advertising with the Brand Referral Bonus program?
A: Yes, you can leverage Amazon Attribution to track, assess, and optimize the impact of your non-Amazon advertising. This tool provides valuable data such as clicks, detail-page views, purchases, and more to help you make informed decisions and maximize the return on your advertising investment.
Q: Can I use the Brand Referral Bonus and Amazon Associates simultaneously?
A: No, you have to choose between the Brand Referral Bonus and Amazon Associates. While Amazon Associates allows you to track all product sales with a lower commission rate, the Brand Referral Bonus specifically rewards sales of your own brand with a higher average bonus of 10%.
Q: Is the program available to sellers on all Amazon marketplaces?
A: Currently, the Brand Referral Bonus program is only available for sellers on the U.S. Amazon marketplace. However, there’s a possibility that it will be expanded to other marketplaces in the future.
Q: Can resellers join the BRB program?
A: No, the program is exclusively available to brand owners. However, resellers can explore the Amazon Associates program, which offers commissions on sales generated through affiliate marketing.
Q: How long does it take to receive the bonus?
A: There is a two-month wait time before the bonus is credited to your account. This allows for order cancellations and customer returns. The bonus will be used to deduct referral fees in transactions for the following months until the bonus is exhausted.
Q: Where can I find information about estimated Brand Referral Bonus rates?
A: You can find estimated Brand Referral Bonus rates by searching for the ‘Brand Referral Bonus’ Help page in Seller Central. This resource provides insights into the potential earnings from your promotional efforts.
Q: How are Brand Referral Bonuses applied and tracked?
A: Brand Referral Bonuses are provided as credits and are used to offset referral fees in one or more transactions. You can view transaction details in your Seller Central account, and there is also a downloadable report available that summarizes your Brand Referral Bonus information, including earned and applied bonuses.
Note: The FAQ section is based on the information provided in the full article (above) and serves as a general guide. For more detailed and specific information, it is recommended to refer to the official Amazon Brand Referral Bonus resources and Seller Central platform.
Take the Next Step Toward Unlocking The Power Of Amazon
If you’re looking to get more money from your Amazon efforts, hiring an expert is your best bet. An Amazon Account Management Agency will work with you on so much more than just the Brand Referral Program.
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ECOM OPTIMIZATION Amazon Account Management can help you to build an effective strategy that aligns with your unique brand needs.
Using a hands-on, human-led approach, we’ll help you get more from your Amazon sales channel, so you can enjoy more growth for your business in less time.
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When you look at the many ways that Ecom Optimization Account Management can help you grow your brand on Amazon, you’ll see why selling on Amazon becomes headache-free with Ecom Optimization:
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