How to Make $500-$1,000 Per Month on the Road as an Amazon Influencer

Living life on the road as a full-time traveler is full of freedom and adventure, but finding reliable income can sometimes feel like a challenge. That’s where the Amazon Influencer Program comes in.

It’s a fantastic way to turn the products you already use and love into a passive income stream—no need to build a big following or deal with complicated logistics.

In this post, we interviewed successful Amazon Influencer Jessica Larrew, and she gives great tips on getting started, what equipment you need, and how to make the most of this awesome side hustle for travelers.

1. What is the Amazon Influencer Program?

The Amazon Influencer Program is a way for everyday people to earn commissions by making videos about products they already use and love. 

When a potential customer is looking at a page on Amazon, they can watch the influencer videos to get more information about the product (like, a demo of how it works, an unboxing of everything that is included, tips and tricks, etc.).

If the customer watches an influencer video and then makes a purchase, Amazon pays the influencer a commission based on the purchase price and a set commission structure (between 1-5% depending on the category of the product).

If you are on Amazon, you’ll see a section called “Videos”. This is different from the customer review section, where there may also be videos. 

These videos shown are made up of customer reviews, influencer videos, and the brand’s own videos. 

The influencer videos will have a title for the video and an influencer name underneath. 

When you click the video, you’ll see a spot that says “Earns Commission” below their influencer name.

So, if I was to watch the video above and then buy the vacuum in the video, Marc would earn a commission. The commission is given to the creator of last video watched before clicking the buy button (ie. the person who ‘closed the sale’).

Typically, these videos are between 1-5 minutes long. 

The program is especially appealing because it eliminates the need to find and build your own audience. Amazon already has the traffic; you just need to create helpful content that customers find useful. 

For digital nomads, this is a fantastic opportunity to generate passive income while showcasing products that align with your unique lifestyle.

2. What Equipment Do You Need to Get Started With This Program?

Thankfully, getting started as an Amazon Influencer doesn’t require a ton of big, bulky, and expensive gear, which is perfect for those living in a small space like an RV or van. No one wants to be lugging around big lighting boxes and cameras that weigh a ton, especially when space is so limited already.

The one thing you absolutely need to have to get started, without having any extras, is a smartphone. You can use the phone’s camera to take and edit your videos, as well as upload them to Amazon. I prefer uploading through the computer, but it is possible to do through the app as well. 

There are a few extra tools I like to have, but are not required to be successful. 

1. Tripod: A compact, portable tripod helps keep your shots steady and professional. There are some that are really small and even ones that are magnetic so you can use them pretty much anywhere and they fit in a small backpack.
2. Lighting: Natural light is great, but a small ring light or portable clip-on light can help for evening or indoor videos. Even a 4-inch clip on light can enhance the quality of your videos by a lot.
3. Microphone: For clearer audio, especially if you’re filming outdoors or in noisy environments, a lapel mic (I like this one from Rode) that clips onto your shirt can make your videos sound much better.

Most of these items are affordable, lightweight, and easy to pack, making them ideal for life on the road. If you are out of cabinet space, you can easily use a small backpack for these supplies so they are always easily accessible. 

3. What Could Be Potential Benefits and/or Challenges for Someone Trying to Do This on the Road?

One of the biggest benefits I see for someone living on the road is the unique perspective they bring to the table when creating their videos. You can offer a unique insight into the products you use daily, that I could never provide. 

If someone is looking for a hiking backpack and they see one from someone who lives on the road and hikes daily, they are going to trust their feedback over someone who’s only used the backpack a few times.

Another benefit is the fact that you can do this completely on your own schedule and without any location restraints. There are no quotas to meet, so you can make videos when you feel like it, and then they can bring in passive income after that.

One thing that could be a challenge after you’ve been in the program for a while is running out of products to review. I think a lot of people who live in vans/RVs tend to live minimalistic lifestyles and not buy excess stuff. I think it would take quite some time to get through all of your stuff, though, even if you keep things simple. Plus, you can make multiple videos per product too, so that will help when if you were to start feeling limited.

4. What Types of Content Works Best for Nomads, Especially Those Who Are Always on the Move?

There are many styles of videos that people make for the influencer program. Two styles I think nomads would excel at the most are real-life product demos and videos that highlight specific features of products from the perspective of a nomad. 

For example, if you have a solar generator in your van, you can easily make three videos for that one product. 

1. You can show exactly how you have it setup for your van.
2. You can show how you use it and anything unique to your living situation.
3. You can show all of the features for the model you chose and why they were important for you specifically.

Nomads can really create all of the same type of content I can make from home. That’s the great thing about the program.

5. How Do You Recommend Building a Following or Community That Engages With Product Recommendations?

One of the best things about the Amazon Influencer Program is Amazon already has a built in audience. As the creator, you do not need to worry about building a following or community for your videos. There really isn’t a way for the creator and the shopper to interact with each other, so you can just focus on making videos!

6. Are There Specific Products or Categories That Perform Well for Nomads?

Absolutely! Some product categories that a nomad would bring a unique perspective to are:

• Travel Gear: Packing cubes, portable laundry systems, travel bags.
• Van/RV Accessories: Compact appliances, storage solutions, and vehicle maintenance tools.
• Outdoor Equipment: Camping gear, hiking accessories, foldable solar panels.
• Mobile-Friendly Tech: Hotspots, portable chargers, compact laptops.

These products naturally align with the challenges and needs of a nomadic lifestyle, making them easy to create content for. Anything you have and use in your daily life is a potential product to make a video about. 

7. How Can Someone in a Mobile Lifestyle Stay Consistent With Content Creation for the Amazon Storefront?

Since Amazon doesn’t have any quotas for you to meet, you get to really set your own schedule and content creation timeline. 

Some strategies you can use to help stay consistent are:

• Batch Create Content: Film multiple videos in one sitting when you have good lighting, a quiet space, and some extra time available.
• Use Downtime: Edit videos while traveling or during long stretches of (someone else) driving.
• Plan Ahead: Map out locations with reliable Wi-Fi for uploading videos and managing your account.
• Keep It Simple: Focus on short, efficient videos (1-3 minutes) that highlight key features.

8. What Are Some Strategies for Capturing High-Quality Videos in Limited Spaces?

Video quality is so important for videos! Some things you can do to help your videos look great are:

• Maximize Natural Light: Film near windows or outdoors during golden hours for optimal lighting.
• Use Multi-Purpose Angles: Experiment with overhead shots or tight angles to highlight the product without needing a large setup.
• Compact Tripods: Use a small, flexible tripod to position your camera in tight spaces.
• Backgrounds: Use clean, simple backdrops like a table, counter, or even the side of your van for a professional look.

I record 90% of my videos in the same corner of my dining room. It has a blank wall and I can set up my tripod and light without it being in the way. As you make videos, you’ll find a spot that feels the most comfortable for you to make videos.

9. For Those New to Influencing and the Amazon Program, What Are Some Realistic Income Expectations?

When starting, focus on building a solid library of videos. With consistent effort, it’s realistic to earn $500/month after uploading 100-200 videos. Over time, as your library grows and you refine your content, you could scale to $1,000 or more per month. The great thing is that each video contributes to your passive income and continues earning even when you’re offline.

10. How Important Is It to Have a Cross-Platform Presence?

To get into the Amazon Influencer Program you have to have at least one active social media account (I recommend TikTok). Once you are approved, it is no longer important to have that cross-platform presence. I don’t share any of my review videos anywhere besides Amazon.

11. Are There Any Tips for Setting Up the Amazon Storefront for Nomad-Friendly Products?

There aren’t a lot of ways to personalize your Amazon Storefront, but there are a couple of ways you can make it know you are a digital nomad and bring a unique perspective to your videos.

1. Your Influencer Name – You can make your influencer name unique and include some sort of descriptor that will resonate with other nomads. Example: Reviews From The Road or Van Life Essentials.
2. Your Video Titles – I would always include something in the video title that showcases your personal expertise. For the solar generator I mentioned earlier, you could do a title like “How This Generator Helps Me As A Full-Time RVer”. When someone sees that, they’ll be drawn to your video over someone else’s if they are also living in an RV.
3. Your Storefront BIO – This is where you can add a few sentences about the unique perspective you bring to your videos and what type of products you enjoy reviewing.

12. What Are Some Common Mistakes Nomadic Influencers Should Avoid?

Sound and video quality are going to be the biggest things to watch while living on the road! 

You’ll want to make sure the sound is clear without a lot of background noise. You can achieve this by using a label microphone when recording outdoors, or by adding voiceover after you record the video.

When recording the video, you want to make sure you can clearly see the product you are talking about. If you are on the move, you’ll want someone recording for you so the product stays in view and you should make sure to record during the brightest times of the day.

13. What Are the Best Ways to Track and Grow Success Within the Amazon Influencer Program While Juggling a Nomadic Lifestyle?

• Set Goals: Aim for milestones like “X new videos per week” or “Y commissions per month.”
• Stay Consistent: Make content creation a habit, even in small bursts, to keep growing your library.

For tracking, I like to check my commission reports daily to see how my videos did the day before, and then I check every month to make sure I am meeting my goals. You could export the data to a spreadsheet if you want, but I just check on the Amazon site from my phone.

14. If Someone Wants To Learn How To Do This, What’s Are The Next Steps?

If you are ready to get started, I can help with that!

I created the Amazon Influencer Mastery course because as I was sharing my influencer journey with my friends and email list, people had so many questions about how to get started and how to do it successfully.

When looking online for how to do something like this, there is always a bunch of conflicting information, and it can take days/weeks to get through it all.

Since I have over 10 years of experience teaching people how to make money on Amazon, it made sense for me to create a step-by-step course that would walk people through the whole Amazon Influencer process in just a couple of hours.

I know how hard it is to piecemeal information together, so I wanted to give people a place to go where everything is up to date and all in one place.

The course starts with a thorough overview of the program; how it works, how you get paid, my experience, etc. 

Then, we move into getting you approved for the program, which is a multi-step process. Many people try this on their own and just give up completely!

So, I show you how to get approved so you can start making money!

Once approved, we get into the video creation process. All the different types of videos you can make, how to edit them, how to upload them, how to make good captions, etc. 

Then, we finish off with some FAQs and managing your account moving forward.

Basically everything you need to be a successful Amazon Influencer from the very first step.

The course is mostly video where I’m sharing my screen, talking to the screen, or recording myself actually doing the stuff like making videos and editing them.

There is also an optional support group available as well, for those people who prefer more interaction and a place to ask me and the other members questions.

Don’t want a course, but want more information? 

I also have a free ebook “7 Steps To Becoming A Successful Amazon Influencer” which is a great overview of all of the steps that go into getting started as an Amazon Influencer. 

It covers the two-part application process, and what to expect along the way. Plus things like creating videos and managing your influencer storefront.

This free ebook will really help you know what you are getting into and if this is the type of side hustle you want to start.

Where can people get to know you better?

Thanks for letting me share! It’s been fun!

I’d love to continue the conversation with anyone who wants to know more 🙂 

You can find me hanging out on TikTok @JessicaLarrew, and at my site The Selling Family where I share about the Amazon Influencer Program, other side hustles I do, and ways to save money.

• Amazon Influencer Mastery Course
• Free Ebook on the Amazon Influencer Program