Overview

Michele Harman, Product Marketing Manager at Refersion, breaks down how Amazon influencer marketing differs from traditional affiliate programs and outlines practical steps e‑commerce sellers can take to automate both channels. Mastering these tactics lets sellers shift focus from manual link management to core activities such as inventory planning, pricing strategy, and customer service.

Key Points

• Influencer vs. Affiliate — Influencers generate buzz by featuring products in personal content, whereas affiliates earn a commission by sending shoppers through tracked URLs that attribute sales.
• Automation tools — Solutions like Refersion, Amazon’s Influencer Program, and third‑party link generators automate link creation, commission calculations, and performance dashboards, removing the need for spreadsheets.
• Compliance focus — Amazon mandates clear disclosure of any affiliate relationship and strict adherence to brand‑guideline policies; violations can trigger account suspension or loss of earning privileges.
• Performance metrics — Sellers should track click‑through rate, conversion rate, and average order value to gauge each partner’s contribution to revenue.
• Scalable recruitment — Starting with micro‑influencers and gradually adding mid‑tier and macro creators enables testing of ROI before allocating larger budgets.
• Cross‑channel synergy — Pairing influencer‑driven social proof with affiliate‑driven SEO traffic builds a diversified acquisition funnel that reduces dependence on any single traffic source.

How Influencer & Affiliate Marketing Works

1. Partner Identification — Sellers use discovery tools to filter creators by niche relevance, follower count, and engagement rate. For instance, a brand selling premium kitchen knives might target food‑bloggers who post weekly recipe videos and have an average engagement rate above 3 %.
2. Link Generation & Tracking — After approving a creator, the seller generates a unique Amazon tracking link via an affiliate platform. The link automatically tags any resulting sale to that creator, records each click, and calculates the agreed‑upon commission. The seller then copies the link into the influencer’s Instagram bio, YouTube description, or TikTok caption.