A blue-collar worker says he makes $10,000 per month from Amazon in just 20 hours of work — how you can do it, too

Aditi GangulyWed, April 29, 2026 at 11:00 AM UTC

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Photo of a man looking at his laptop screen, which is showing Amazon.

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Some side hustles are more lucrative than others. Michael Strahl, a 41-year-old senior construction technician, says he earns $10,000 a month through the Amazon Influencer Program — reviewing Amazon products and posting his videos to Amazon and other social media websites.

“I’ve been in blue-collar work most of my life,” he told Business Insider (1). “If you’re looking for a side hustle you can do while the kids are napping or in your spare time, this is easy to fit in.”

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Strahl works full-time. He’s a husband and father of two. But despite his busy lifestyle, he has time to earn a hefty extra sum each month — spending no more than 20 hours on his side hustle.

Here’s how he does it.

The Amazon Influencer opportunity

An Amazon Influencer is a content creator who inspires their audience with product recommendations, according to the official website (2). In plain speak, the program pays creators like Strahl to funnel buyers to products through informative videos and affiliate links.

For example: The buyer watches a video, clicks a link and buys the product. The creator earns a cut.

There are other ways to monetize, too, such as by directing buyers to your Amazon store. But Strahl says his strength is in creating high-quality videos: He focuses on videos about products including tools, camping gear, automotive and household items.

“I made about $5,800 in revenue in my fourth month after joining the program,” Strahl said, adding that “it kept growing from there.” He recommends shooting and posting 100 videos to learn the ropes. That is, assuming Amazon lets you participate.

To join, you must apply to the program with a YouTube, Facebook, Instagram or TikTok account. Amazon reviews how many followers you have, among other things. But if you can swing it, the program might open the doors to a lucrative side hustle.

On a 2025 Reddit thread, Amazon influencer McKay Christensen (3) also recommended the program, with some caveats. Christensen runs the GoTechGeek Amazon storefront, where he sells shoppable products. Like Strahl, he focuses on posting high-quality videos to earn revenue. He calls his exposure to the program “life changing,” despite recent modifications (4) that have made earning big money more difficult.

Christensen says he got started with the program in June 2022, “when it was pretty easy money.” Now, he posted, “those days are gone.”

Despite the challenges, which include a surge of creators posting videos to Amazon, he thinks there are “still great opportunities” to make money doing product reviews.

Read More: This $1B private real estate fund is now accessible to non-millionaires. Start investing with just $10

The road to earning $10,000 a month

Let’s say you get into the program. What’s the best way to get started?

Strahl credits his quick success with the program to “in-depth, highly descriptive, long-form videos (1).” His videos aren’t cinema quality, but they’re highly detailed and include product B-roll, a technique that shows the product being described during a voiceover.

Likewise, Christensen suggests creators focus on high-quality videos (4). He also says it matters when posting content to third-party platforms like YouTube.

In fact, most of Christensen’s earnings no longer come through the Amazon Influencer Program. He urges new creators who consider joining the program to regularly post videos to TikTok, YouTube or Facebook. He says he would probably be earning one-fourth to one-third of what he did that year without his YouTube channel.

Strahl opened his first YouTube channel in 2024, a year after joining the Amazon Influencer program (1). There, he reposts his best Amazon shoppable videos, which drive traffic to his Amazon. He says it took him 11 months to monetize his channel.

Earnings for time spent

Side hustles in the US bring in $1,275 a month on average, according to The Penny Hoarder’s Side Hustle Statistics 2026 survey (5). Asking why Americans are taking on side hustles in 2026, the publication cites a gap between what the typical American earns and the cost of household expenses.

Certainly, $10,000 a month — like Strahl claims to be making as an Amazon Influencer — could go a long way toward bridging that gap.

Apart from Strahl, however, it's unclear what the average Amazon Influencer makes through the program. A popular 2024 thread on the r/Amazon_Influencer subreddit suggests the average creator who posts makes somewhere around $300 a month. Many of the commenters say income is inconsistent. One says they earn between $165 and $1,200 in any given month (6).

Of course, not everyone wants to juggle multiple gigs or spend their free time building another stream of active income.

If you want to generate passive income but aren’t eager to spend your evenings launching a side business or learning an entirely new skill, you could let your savings do the heavy lifting for you. Putting idle cash to work in income-generating assets allows you to earn returns in the background — no extra shifts, client calls or weekend hustle required.

A high-yield account like a Wealthfront Cash Account can be a great place to grow your uninvested cash, offering both competitive interest rates and easy access to your money when you need it.

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A Wealthfront Cash Account currently offers a base APY of 3.30% through program banks, and new clients can get an extra 0.75% boost during their first three months on up to $150,000 for a total variable APY of 4.05%.

That’s ten times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC’s March report.

Additionally, Wealthfront is offering new clients who enable direct deposit ($1,000/mo minimum) to their Cash Account and open and fund a new investment account an additional 0.25% APY increase with no expiration date or balance limit, meaning your APY could be as high as 4.30%.

With no minimum balances or account fees, as well as 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, your funds remain accessible at all times. Plus, you get access to up to $8M FDIC Insurance eligibility through program banks.

Automate your investments

Periodically investing a chunk of your savings in the stock market can also help boost your portfolio over the long run. The logic behind this approach is simple: Instead of trying to time the markets, consistently investing small amounts can add up over decades, thanks to compounding.

For instance, investing $20 each week for 30 years can help you save over $179,000, assuming it compounds at 10% annually (7).

By far, the easiest way to stay consistent is to invest automatically, without even thinking about it. That’s where platforms like Acorns come in, allowing you to turn your spare change from everyday purchases into an investment opportunity.

All you have to do is link your cards, and Acorns will round up each purchase to the nearest dollar, investing the difference — your spare change — into a diversified portfolio managed by experts from leading investment firms like Vanguard and BlackRock.

For instance, if you buy a donut for $3.25, Acorns will round up the purchase to $4 and invest the change in a smart investment portfolio. So a $3.25 purchase automatically becomes a 75-cent investment in your future.

Even better, sign up with Acorns today and get a $20 bonus investment.

Invest in real estate

Real estate is another popular avenue for generating passive income. Rental properties can provide monthly cash flow while also offering the potential for long-term appreciation.

Still, becoming a landlord comes with its share of hurdles. Buying property usually means putting down a large sum up-front, and the ongoing responsibilities — from repairs and maintenance to property taxes and tenant management — can quickly add up. These costs and commitments can be the biggest barriers to getting started for many.

But online platforms like Arrived are changing that.

Backed by world-class investors, including Jeff Bezos, Arrived allows you to invest in shares of vacation and rental properties, earning a passive income stream without all of that extra work that comes with being a landlord of your own rental property.

To get started, simply browse through their selection of vetted properties, each picked for their potential appreciation and income generation. Once you choose a property, you can start investing with as little as $100, potentially earning monthly dividends.

The best part? For a limited time, when you open an account and add $1,000 or more, Arrived will credit your account with a 1% match.

Diversify your portfolio

For those looking to invest beyond short-term vacation rentals, mogul might be worth a look.

Founded by former Goldman Sachs real estate investors, mogul handpicks the top 1% of single-family rental homes nationwide for you. This way, you can invest in institutional quality offerings for a fraction of the usual cost — while receiving monthly rental income, real-time appreciation and tax benefits.

The team at mogul carefully vets each property, requiring a minimum 12% return even in downside scenarios. Across the board, the platform features an average annual IRR of 18.8%. Their cash-on-cash yields, meanwhile, average between 10% to 12% annually. With investments typically ranging between $15,000 and $40,000 per property, offerings often sell out in under three hours.

Every investment is also secured by real assets, not dependent on the platform’s viability. Each property is held in a standalone Propco LLC, so investors own the property — not the platform. Blockchain-based fractionalization adds a layer of safety, ensuring a permanent, verifiable record of each stake.

Getting started is a quick and easy process. You can sign up for an account and then browse available properties. Once you verify your information with their team, you can invest like a mogul in just a few clicks.

— With files from Cole Tretheway

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Article sources

We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.

Business Insider (1); Amazon (2); LinkedIn (3); Reddit (4), (6); The Penny Hoarder (5); Acorns (7)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Money”