5 Amazon Side Hustle Ideas That Work in 2024

Last updated: 31/01/2024 Written By: Ruby Layram

Amazon, the colossal eCommerce platform boasting a user base of 310 million worldwide, presents a plethora of opportunities for individuals seeking passive income or part-time employment.

In this article, we'll explore the top five Amazon side hustles that have proven to be effective in 2024, offering diverse avenues for financial success.

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Amazon KDP is one of the best ways to make money on Amazon. The reason that we have placed this side hustle at the top of our list is because it requires zero start-up costs, can be done with just 1 hour per day of your time and has the potential to generate passive income over time.

What is KDP?

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is a self-publishing service that allows individuals to publish and sell digital books on the Kindle Store.

KDP is free to use and allows anyone to self-publish their content to the Amazon platform. This way, sellers can reach an audience of millions and Amazon can continue to add new titles to it’s ever-growing store.

How does KDP work?

KDP enables authors to publish their books in digital format, reaching a global audience without the need for traditional publishing channels.

The platform works by enabling sellers to publish directly onto the Kindle store and taking a small commission of each sale as a fee. The system checks all content before it is published to make sure that it meets the KDP publishing criteria. Other than that, sellers are given the freedom to create their own listings, set a price, and promote their books however they wish.

It is possible to upload any type of book including novels, biographies, puzzle books, and even blank notebooks. Sellers can also choose whether to list their book as an eBook or physical book, or both!

You don’t need to be a seasoned author to publish on KDP. It is possible to sell eBooks without writing by publishing low-content books or by hiring a ghostwriter to write a book on your behalf.

How to make money with Amazon KDP

The process of using Amazon KDP to make money is fairly simple. Here is a quick overview:

1. Create an Amazon Seller Account: Begin by setting up your account on Amazon. This is completely free and requires just your name and contact information.

2. Sign in to KDP: Access the Kindle Direct Publishing platform and sign in using your Amazon account.

3. Create Your Book: Create your book using free software such as Canva or even Word. You will need to create the main content as well as a front cover and back cover. View the eBook formatting guidelines to make sure that your design will fit KDP requirements.

4. Upload Your Book to KDP: Upload your book to the KDP platform and submit for approval. If usually takes around 30 minutes for a book to be assessed however, sometimes this process can take longer.

5. Make amendments: If it’s your first time publishing, you will probably need to make some amendments to your book before it can be approved by the system. Make these changes and resubmit.

6. Write and Optimize Product Description: Write a detailed, helpful description of your book using relevant keywords. At this point, you will also need to set a price.

7. Share Your Book on Social Media: Leverage social platforms to increase visibility and drive traffic to your listing. Consider sharing your book on Pinterest, TikTok and Instagram.

As soon as your book is published in the Kindle store, people will be able to purchase it. This means that you can technically start making money straight away. However, it usually takes a few weeks or marketing and promotion to start making any sales.

Once you do start to make sale, your book can easily become a stream of passive income.

Amazon KDP October 2023 earnings report, credit: Kadavy.net

Amazon product reviewing is a great remote side hustle for people who enjoy testing products and sharing their thoughts. A few years ago, it was possible to get paid to write positive reviews for sellers to increase their chances of appearing in search. However, this was banned by Amazon in 2017.

Now, the best way to get paid to write Amazon product reviews is through affiliate marketing.

How it works

You can earn money reviewing Amazon products by creating your own blog and putting Amazon affiliate links in your content. To sell products, write helpful reviews that provide potential buyers with everything that they need to know before purchasing. Create content that it honest and authentic to ensure that you are producing high-quality content.

Creating the blog posts is the easiest part of this side hustle. The hard part is driving traffic to your content.

Blogs take around 9 months to see any organic traffic and you will need to publish regularly to increase your chances of appearing in search results. Aim to publish 2-3 posts each week consistently and make sure that the content that you are publishing is user-friendly.

Every time that a readers buys a product through an affiliate link, you will make a small profit.

How much money can you make writing Amazon product reviews?

Earning potential is vast and varies based on the products reviewed and blog traffic. Amazon Associates offers varying commission rates, with higher percentages for certain product categories.

Amazon associates offers a 20% commission for games, 10% commissions for beauty products, 5% commission for music, 4.5% commission for books, 3% commission for toys, 2.5% commission for tech, 1% commission for Amazon Fresh.

The more traffic you manage to get to your blog posts, the more sales you are likely to make. To maximize your earnings, choose a high-commission product and focus on driving as much traffic as possible to your blog.

How to make money writing reviews for Amazon products

1. Start a Blog: Create a blog using platforms like WordPress or Squarespace.

2. Join Amazon Associates: Enroll in the Amazon Associates program, this is Amazon’s affiliate program. Anyone can sign up and start creating affiliate links for free.

3. Order Products for Review: Order products that you want to review so that you can take original images and write helpful content.

4. Test and Write Detailed Reviews: Provide comprehensive reviews with images that will help your readers to decide whether or not to make a purchase.

5. Use Affiliate Links: Integrate affiliate links into your blog posts. Every time that someone clicks a link and makes a purchase, you will receive a small commission.

Amazon FBA is one of the most lucrative Amazon side hustles to start in 2024. However, it comes with high start-up costs. This option is better suited to more experienced eCommerce sellers who understand shipping processes, sourcing and fulfillment.

When done correctly, FBA has the potential to become entirely passive and many successful sellers are able to replace their fulltime jobs.

What is FBA?

FBA (fulfillment by Amazon) is a way of selling products on the Amazon platform without holding any inventory yourself. Instead, your stock is held and fulfilled by an Amazon warehouse.

With Amazon FBA, you're not stuck in your garage packing boxes. You can focus on finding awesome products and growing your brand while Amazon handles the logistics.

Once your products arrive at the fulfillment center, Amazon takes over. They store your goodies, handle the packing, and even ship them out when someone places an order.

How does FBA work?

Sellers source products that they want to sell and then send them to Amazon warehouses where they are stored and fulfilled.

When a customer buys a product from a seller’s store, the order is automatically handled at the shipment center. Sellers focus on sourcing products and marketing to drive traffic to their listings.

Amazon charges a commission for all sales that are made through FBA. This is a type of fee that sellers pay for the convenience of using the Amazon warehouses.

Is FBA legit?

Amazon FBA is a legit business model. However, some sellers inflate their earnings to sell courses and digital products. It is important to take success stories with a pinch of salt.

To be successful with FBA, you will need to invest significant time and money into inventory, marketing and maintenance.

How to start Amazon FBA

1. Create an Amazon Seller Account: Begin by setting up your Amazon Seller account.

2. Conduct Product Research: Identify products with low competition and high demand. It is also a good idea to use social media trends as inspiration because trending products are easy to promote.

3. Find a Supplier: Locate a reliable supplier for your chosen products. It is important to check that the supplier is happy to ship to the Amazon Warehouse.

4. Order and Deliver Stock: Place orders and have them delivered to Amazon's warehouse. You will need to create an FBA label during this step.

5. Create a Listing: Craft a compelling product listing on Amazon. Use keywords and make sure that the description is detailed and accurate.

6. Automate Fulfillment: If you have used the correct shipping label when sending your inventory to the warehouse, you will be able to connect your store to your stock and automate the fulfillment process.

7. Promote on Social Media: Boost your product's visibility through social media to increase sales. Pinterest and TikTok are good platforms for this.

8. Manage Your Stock: Keep a close eye on inventory levels and re-stock when needed.

As we mentioned above, this side hustle is best suited to experienced sellers who have a high startup budget. To be successful, you will need to invest in ads and other forms of marketing.

Print-on-demand is the best alternative to Amazon FBA for people who don’t have a big startup budget. Just like FBA, print-on-demand allows you to sell your products without holding any inventory or handling fulfillment.

However, this passive side hustle does not require you to purchase inventory from a supplier before making any sales.

What is print on demand?

Print on demand is an eCommerce model through which sellers sell their own designs without holding any inventory. Instead, designs are printed on a made-to-order basis by the supplier who then takes care of fulfillment on the seller’s behalf.

Print on Demand (PoD) is like having your own personal printing genie. Imagine this: you have a brilliant idea for a design—whether it's a funky T-shirt, a cozy hoodie, or even a stylish coffee mug. Now, instead of drowning in boxes of inventory and worrying about upfront costs, you bring in the magic of Print on Demand.

How does print on demand work on Amazon?

To sell print-on-demand products on Amazon, you must integrate your print-on-demand service provider to an Amazon seller account.

Other than that, the process is very similar to selling print-on-demand products on any other platform. Sellers use a print-on-demand supplier to create designs and source products and then list the products on their Amazon store.

When a sale is made, the supplier receives a signal to make the product and fulfill the order.

The best print on demand products to sell on Amazon

There are hundreds of products that you could sell through print-on-demand. However, some products perform much better than others. Some of the best print on demand products to sell include:

• T-shirts

• Hoodies

• Mugs and water bottles

• Tote bags

How to start an Amazon print on demand business

1. Create an Amazon Seller Account: Begin by setting up your account on Amazon for free.

2. Sign Up for a Print-on-Demand Service Provider: Choose a service provider that aligns with your needs. Make sure that the supplier you choose offers a variety of products and can be integrated with Amazon.

3. Design Your Products: Create unique and appealing designs for your chosen products. Use free tools such as Canva or use your own photos. Simple designs often sell better but there is also a high demand for novelty designs during the festive period.

4. List Your Products on Amazon: Create a product listing using keywords and great photos.

5. Integrate with Your Amazon Store: You will need to connect your print-on-demand account to your Amazon seller account so that orders can be fulfilled.

6. Promote on Social Media: Leverage social platforms to boost your product visibility. Pinterest is a great platform for showing aesthetic products and linking directly to your store.

If you’re looking for a flexible job to pay the bills or afford your next summer holiday, Amazon Flex could be a great option for you. This side hustle allows you to earn money by delivering Amazon orders in your own car.

This is a particularly good Amazon side hustle for students because it is easy to start and you can pick the hours that you work.

How much does Amazon Flex pay in the UK?

The average hourly rate for Amazon Flex in the UK is £13 - £17 per hour. This is generous compared to a lot of part-time jobs that rarely pay above £11 per hour.

Furthermore, drivers can work as much as they like which means that your earning potential is relatively unlimited.

How to become an Amazon delivery driver with Amazon Flex

1. Check Eligibility: To be able to work for Amazon Flex in the UK you need to be over the age of 18, have a full UK drivers license, have an Android or iPhone smartphone, have a mid-size vehicle with 5 seats or larger and a commercial insurance policy and you need to pass a background check.

2. Download the Amazon Flex App: Download the app to start your application. The signup process is fairly easy and can be completed in less than 30 minutes.

3. Start Delivering Orders: Once your account has been approved you can add a payment method and start picking up delivery jobs.

Conclusion

Amazon offers a diverse array of side hustles catering to various preferences and skill sets. Whether you prefer the passive nature of selling books through KDP, the lucrative potential of FBA, or the flexibility of Amazon Flex, there's an option suited for you.

In this guide, we have taken a look at 5 profitable side hustles to consider. However, there is no guarantee that you will make money from any of the side jobs mentioned. To be successful, you will need to invest time into your side hustle and, in some cases, funds.

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