Ways to Make Extra Money From Home: What I’d Tell a Friend About Amazon Influencer

Product Review Videos

A friend of mine recently told me she was looking for ways to make extra money from home… because, well, life.

She’s home with two little ones, has another baby on the way, and her husband’s work keeps him away sometimes. Her life is already full.

I told her, “I might have an idea for you.”

Not a promise of easy money. Not another business that requires her to somehow find hours she doesn’t have.

Just something I’ve been working on myself.

I told her that I’ve been making short review videos for products I already own through the Amazon Influencer Program, and those videos have started earning me commissions.

I also told her there was absolutely no pressure. If she was interested, I’d tell her more. If she wasn’t, no worries.

She was interested.

Then another dear friend (who needs breathing room in her life), told me she was interested too.

And I started thinking…

Maybe instead of trying to explain this over and over in messages, I should pull up a chair, pour some coffee, and tell you exactly what I would tell them.

Because maybe you’ve been searching for ways to make extra money from home, too.

Maybe you need some breathing room in your budget.

Maybe you’d love to contribute more financially but don’t want a traditional job outside your home.

Maybe your life is already so full that the thought of adding one more thing feels ridiculous.

I understand that last one especially well.

Because when I first started doing this, I couldn’t figure out how to fit it into my life either.

First, What Is the Amazon Influencer Program?

In simple terms, the Amazon Influencer Program gives eligible creators an opportunity to create content around products and potentially earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Most of the videos I create are simple product review videos filmed right here at home using my phone and this basic setup.

And before you picture me in a fancy studio surrounded by expensive equipment, let me stop you right there.

I don’t even have an office.

My current video setup is attached to a table against a half-wall in my living room.

My house is busy. It’s often noisy. People are coming and going.

And somehow, I’m making it work.

But I definitely didn’t start that way.

It Took Me an Entire Week to Make My First Three Videos

When I was first accepted into the program, I overthought EVERYTHING.

I chose a product.

Then I wrote a script.

Not a few notes.

A script.

I printed the thing out, positioned the paper somewhere outside the camera’s view where I could still see it, practiced what I wanted to say over and over, and then tried to read most of it while recording (because the camera only saw my hands, not my face).

For EVERY video.

OMG.

It took me a solid week just to film and upload my first three videos.

And after all that?

I was discouraged.

Those first three videos sat there through June and July because I kept telling myself I needed to make more, but I couldn’t seem to find the time.

Then Something Changed in August

Something shifted in me in August.

I thought about the real people I personally knew who were earning more than $10,000 a month in commissions through this program.

Not strangers in some screenshot on the internet. People I actually knew.

Then I looked at my own life.

I looked at those three little videos sitting there. I thought about the extra income I wanted to create, the life I was trying to build, and the fact that I wasn’t going to find out what was possible for me if I never really gave this a chance.

Their results weren’t a guarantee of what I would earn.

But they were proof to me that there was potential here worth exploring.

And something in me just shifted.

I decided I was going to stop telling myself I didn’t have enough time and figure out how to make this fit into the life I actually had.

Because the truth was, my life wasn’t suddenly going to become less busy.

I wasn’t magically going to get an office.

My house wasn’t going to become quiet.

Nobody was going to hand me an extra four hours every day and say, “Here you go, SusieQ. Now you can build another income stream.” 😂

If I wanted to see what I could build with this, I had to figure out how to build it right in the middle of the life I was already living.

And that’s exactly what I started doing.

First, I stopped relying so heavily on those printed scripts…

I’d glance at my notes and start talking more naturally.

That felt better.

Eventually, I stopped scripting altogether.

Now, when I pick up a product to record, I usually ask myself one simple question:

What would I want to know about this product if I were thinking about buying it?

Then I hit record and answer that question.

That’s it.

I talk about my actual experience with the product. I show what I would want to see. If it makes sense to demonstrate how something works, I demonstrate it.

I’m not trying to perform anymore.

I’m trying to be helpful.

And that changed everything for me.

Most of My Videos Are Surprisingly Short

Most of the videos I make are somewhere around 30 seconds to a minute.

Sometimes I need longer.

I’ve made two-minute videos. I even have a couple that are five or six minutes long because I was demonstrating how to use a kitchen device and it genuinely took longer to show what someone might want to know.

I don’t try to force every product into the same video length.

I show what I think is useful, then I’m done.

And because many of my videos are short, I discovered something important:

I didn’t need hours to do this. I needed moments.

How I Make Videos in the Moments Between the Moments of Life

This is probably the biggest reason I’ve been able to start creating more consistently.

You can see my overhead camera mount stays attached to that table against the wall in my living room… it lets me position my phone over the product while keeping my hands free.

As I go through my normal day, I’ll notice something I own that I haven’t made a video about yet.

Instead of stopping what I’m doing, I put it on the table next to my video setup.

Later, I notice something else.

Onto the table it goes.

I’m creating a little pile of products that are ready whenever I get an opportunity to record.

And then I wait for life to give me a pocket of quiet.

My husband takes the trash outside?

Light on. Phone in the mount. Grab a product. Hit record.

Sometimes I can knock out two videos before he comes back inside.

He runs to the store to grab a soda?

There’s another little pocket of time.

Boom. Maybe three more videos.

Then I go right back to whatever I was doing.

That’s how I’m building this particular income stream right now, in the moments between the moments of my busy life.

I Do the Rest From My Phone, Usually From My Couch

Here’s another thing that makes this work for me.

I don’t have to finish the entire process when I record.

Later that night, when the chaos has settled and I’m sitting on the couch unwinding, I’ll pull out my phone. Sometimes I’m even watching a show with my husband while I’m doing it.

If a video needs to be rotated or given a quick edit, I take care of that. Then I upload it, create the title and submit it.

The uploading itself usually takes me about a minute per video.

I always double-check my Amazon account afterward to make sure everything uploaded correctly.

And then I’m done with that one.

Amazon can take some time to process and place videos, so I don’t expect to record something and immediately see it appearing everywhere it might be eligible to appear.

I submit it and move on to the next one.

And yes, I do all of this from my phone.

But Do You Have to Show Your Face?

This was another reason I thought of my friends when I considered this opportunity.

You don’t necessarily have to build your product videos around your face.

Some products make perfect sense to demonstrate by pointing the camera at the product itself while you explain or show what you’re doing.

For someone who feels uncomfortable being on camera, that can make creating product content feel much more approachable.

And just so you know, I haven’t shown my face in a single product video I’ve made so far.

I want you to understand something, though.

I’m not suggesting you hide who you are or pretend to have experiences you haven’t had.

The entire reason I became more comfortable making these videos was because I stopped trying to “perform” and started sharing my genuine experience with products I actually use.

Real is easier.

Okay, SusieQ. But Are You Actually Making Money?

Yes.

But I’m going to show you my REAL numbers, because I don’t want to sell you a fantasy.

When I started in June, I only had those three videos uploaded.

June Influencer commissions: $0.64

Those same three videos were still essentially all I had up in July.

July Influencer commissions: $1.86

That’s not exactly quit-your-job money. 😂

But something about it caught my attention.

I hadn’t built a big library yet. I hadn’t even added a bunch of new videos.

And yet those three videos had earned more in July than they had in June.

That didn’t prove they’d continue earning more every month. Commissions can fluctuate for all kinds of reasons.

But it made me curious.

What could happen if I stopped thinking in terms of three videos and started building a library of them?

In August, I finally started pushing myself to create more.

August Influencer commissions: $14.04

And as of September 10:

September Influencer commissions, 1st through the 10th of the month: $34.31

I’m sharing these numbers for one reason.

They’re real.

I’m not writing this article from the finish line.

I’m writing it while I’m still building.

Why Am I Working This Hard for $34.31?

That’s a fair question.

My commissions are small right now.

My goal isn’t.

My baseline goal is to eventually build my income streams to at least $10,000 a month.

And yes, I know that’s a HUGE difference from where I am today.

But I didn’t randomly pull that number out of the air.

I personally know people earning more than $10,000 a month in commissions through this same program.

Their results don’t guarantee mine. They certainly don’t guarantee yours.

But seeing what other people have built showed me what’s possible enough that I decided this opportunity was worth taking seriously.

I’m also learning firsthand why building a larger library of useful videos matters.

Each new video is another piece of content with the potential to be seen and potentially generate qualifying commissions.

I think of it as a compounding content library.

Not because every video will earn money.

Not because commissions automatically go up every month.

And definitely not because there’s some magic number of videos that guarantees a particular income.

There isn’t.

It’s simply this:

Three videos gave me three opportunities. A growing library gives me more opportunities.

So I’m building.

I’m Actually Glad I Started Slowly

This might sound strange considering how frustrated I was with myself at the time.

But looking back?

I’m glad those first three videos sat there.

They taught me something.

My first month earned me less than a dollar.

The next month those same three videos earned more.

Then I finally started adding videos, and I watched my total commissions begin to grow.

Again, I can’t tell you what will happen next month.

But I know enough now to want to keep going.

I’m not at my goal yet. But I’m not at 64 cents anymore either.

And sometimes that’s the evidence you need to keep taking the next step.

But Wait, Do I Have to Be an “Influencer”?

This was one of my questions before I started.

Truthfully, I had absolutely no desire to become an “influencer.” Even now, that’s not how I think of myself.

I was interested in the opportunity to create helpful product videos about things I already owned and potentially earn commissions from them.

And getting started wasn’t nearly as intimidating as I had built it up to be in my head.

The course I used walked me through the application process step by step, including what I needed to do to give myself the best chance of getting accepted. Having someone show me the process made it feel much less overwhelming.

Of course, I can’t promise that you’ll be accepted, and Amazon determines eligibility and can change its requirements. But if the word “influencer” is what’s making you think this isn’t for you, I wouldn’t let the name alone stop you from at least learning how the program works.

I didn’t want to become an influencer either. I wanted to build another stream of income.

There’s a difference.

Ways to Make Extra Money From Home: Is Amazon Influencer a Good Fit?

I can’t answer that for you.

And I don’t want to.

I can tell you why I’m doing it.

I can show you my actual results.

I can tell you that I’ve found a way to create videos without an office, without scripting every word, and without needing hours of uninterrupted time.

I can tell you that I like being able to use products I already own as inspiration for content.

I can tell you that I’m deliberately building a larger video library because I want to see what happens as I create more.

This is still work.

You have to apply and be accepted into the program. You have to create the content. You have to follow Amazon’s current requirements. And if your goal is to build a substantial library of videos, you have to actually keep making and uploading them.

But that’s exactly what I’m doing, one product and one little pocket of time at a time.

And there are no guarantees about what you’ll earn.

So if you’re looking for a magic button that spits out money, friend, this isn’t it.

But if you’re looking through work from home opportunities because you need another possibility…

If you’re searching for side hustle ideas at home because leaving home for another job doesn’t fit your life…

Or if you’re simply wondering whether there might be a way to build a little extra income in the small pockets of time you already have…

This might be worth learning more about.

What I’d Tell My Friend Across the Coffee Table

If you were sitting across from me right now, I’d probably reach for my coffee and tell you this:

Don’t decide based on my $34.31.

And don’t decide based on someone else’s $10,000 month.

Learn how the program works.

Look at your own life.

Think about the products you already use and the things you could genuinely help another shopper understand.

Ask yourself whether you could see yourself doing this consistently.

And then decide whether it’s worth trying.

Because one thing I’m learning as I build my own life beyond survival mode is that I don’t need every income opportunity to work.

I need to find the ones that work for me.

This is one I’m still building.

And right now?

I’m hopeful.

Want to Learn How I’m Doing It?

If you’ve made it this far and you’re thinking, “Okay, SusieQ. I’m interested. How do I actually learn to do this?” this is the program I recommend.

Amazon Influencer A to Z

And yes, the link I’m sharing is my affiliate link. I chose to become an affiliate because this is a program I’ve personally gone through, vetted for myself, and feel good about recommending to someone I care about.

I don’t want to send you to a course that hands you a pile of information and leaves you wondering what to do next. What I love about this one is how thoroughly it walks you through the process step by step. In my experience, it’s very low cost for the amount of training you get, and it over-delivers on what I expected. It’s the resource I would send to a friend who looked across the coffee table at me and said, “Okay. Show me how you learned to do this.”

That’s exactly why I’m sharing it with you.

If you decide it’s right for you and purchase through my link, I may earn a commission, at no additional cost to you.

Learn How to Get Started With Amazon Influencer

But whether you use my resource or decide to figure it out another way, I hope you leave this post remembering one thing:

You don’t necessarily need an empty house.

You don’t necessarily need an office.

You don’t necessarily need hours.

Sometimes you start with the moments you have, in between the moments of a busy life.

And you build from there.

Final Thoughts: Start With the Moments You Have

When I think about the friends who inspired me to write this, I don’t picture someone with hours of free time wondering what to do with them.

I picture a mom with two little ones and another baby on the way.

I picture my other friend who’s stretched beyond her limit, curious about whether this could work for her too.

And I picture women like me, with full houses, full lives, responsibilities, interruptions, dreams, bills, and a hundred reasons why right now doesn’t feel like the perfect time to build something new.

Maybe that’s you too.

I can’t promise you what you’ll earn with the Amazon Influencer Program. I can’t even tell you where my own numbers will be six months from now.

But I can tell you this.

I started with three videos that took me an entire week to make.

I earned 64 cents my first month.

And I kept going.

I’m learning that building something doesn’t always happen during those big, perfectly planned blocks of time we keep waiting for.

Sometimes it happens while your husband takes out the trash.

Sometimes it’s while he runs to the store for a soda.

Sometimes it’s from the couch at the end of a long day, uploading one more video from your phone.

Sometimes you build a different life in the moments between the moments of the one you’re living right now.

And maybe that’s enough time to begin.

I’ll keep sharing what happens as I build mine.

If you decide to try this too, I’ll be cheering for you from my little filming table against the wall in my living room. 💗

Until next time…