I am in the Amazon Associates Program! - Small Town In Stilettos

If you have been paying attention even just the slightest bit, you already know that I LOVE a good Amazon find! I swear about 90% of the outfits I wear and share incorporate at least one item that I got from Amazon. (I haven’t actually done the math, so don’t quote me on that! It wouldn’t surprise me if it were true though!) I honestly wasn’t even fully aware that this program existed! (Yes, it’s very possible that I live under a rock). I was so thrilled when someone from Amazon reached out to me and invited me to join their Amazon Associates program though! Of course, I obliged, and now I am an Amazon Associate! I am so excited about it and wanted to share what it means and how it works.

What is the Amazon Associate Program

The Amazon Associates program, or otherwise known as the Amazon Influencer program allows bloggers and influencers to earn commissions on eligible items that they find on Amazon and share with their audience.

I’m not going to lie, finding the gems on Amazon is not always the easiest. Items can be hard to find amongst the millions of products that Amazon sells on its site. Once you do find an item that you like, the pictures may not depict the item in the most realistic fashion. Othertimes, an item just doesn’t fit the way you want it to. I am a regular at my local hardware store. Not because I buy a lot of tools and home improvement supplies, but because they are a UPS dropoff location and I can leave all of my Amazon returns with them.

The Amazon Associates program is a way for Amazon to reward those going through the work of finding the diamonds in the ruff and sharing them with their audience.

How Does the Amazon Associate Program Work?

You might be asking yourself how Amazon knows to credit me with a commission for something that you saw on my blog and bought. The way it works is that I get individualized links to share with you. The links have codes in them that tell Amazon that it was me who sent you! The only way I will get commission for something that you purchase on Amazon is if you click through my link and complete your order all at once. This will all have to be done in a web browser. If you are on your phone and the Amazon app automatically pops up rather than an internet browser, I will not get commission. The Amazon app can not read the code in the link, so there is no way for it to know that you came from my recommendation.

Likewise, if you click from my site and add the item to your cart, but close the browser and go back to Amazon later to complete the purchase, Amazon will likely not know that I was the one who recommended the product and I won’t get the commission.

More On Link Tracking

I know it sounds creepy that these links are tracking you in a way, but know that this is nothing new. Retailers do this all the time. If you have ever clicked from a retailer’s email to their site, it is VERY likely that they have tracked you in the exact same way. This is a way for retailers to learn more about where they are reaching their customers and the best way to communicate with them. Also know that while I will be able to see what was bought, I will not be able to see who bought it or any other personal information.

I know that people might not want to shop via my commissioned links for a myriad of different reasons. I did want to be as upfront about how it all worked as possible though. While I hope it doesn’t seem like it, there is a lot of time and energy and work that goes into running this blog. Any small ounce of support means the world to me! Using my links to shop the items that I share with you truly helps make all of this possible!

In celebration of this new venture, I wanted to share some of YOUR favorite looks! I used Instagram engagement and saves to determine what I’ve shared here. I hope you enjoy 🙂