Amazon affiliate links for food creators in India: a practical guide

Every cooking video is full of products: the kadhai, the knife, the brand of kasuri methi, the air fryer. Viewers ask "which pan is that?" all the time. Affiliate links let you answer that question and earn a commission when someone buys.

This guide covers the practical side for creators in India: how to set it up, where links actually get clicked, and how to stay on the right side of disclosure rules.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Programme rules change, so always check the current terms on the official sites.

How Amazon Associates works

Amazon Associates is Amazon's affiliate programme. The basics:

1. You sign up and get a tracking tag (it usually looks like yourname-21).
2. Any Amazon link that carries your tag tracks purchases made through it.
3. When someone buys within the tracking window, you earn a percentage of the sale. The rate depends on the product category.

Two things catch creators out:

• You need to make qualifying sales early. New accounts are reviewed after a probation period. If you don't generate the required sales in that time, the account can be closed and you'll need to reapply. Check the current requirement when you sign up.
• Each marketplace is separate. amazon.in, amazon.com and amazon.co.uk each have their own programme and their own tag. If much of your audience is abroad, consider joining the matching programmes too.

What to link (that people actually buy)

In cooking content, the links that earn tend to be:

• The tool that makes the dish work. The cast-iron tawa for the crisp dosa, the zester for the lemon rice.
• Ingredients that are hard to find locally, like a specific chilli flake, gochujang or bronze-cut pasta.
• Your honest everyday kit: "the knife I use in every video". Repetition builds trust.

Skip products you don't use. Viewers notice, and one bad recommendation costs more trust than a month of commissions earns.

Where to put affiliate links

The best moment to show a product link is while someone is reading the recipe. That's when they see "10-inch cast iron skillet" and think "I don't have one".

On a Nook recipe card you add products with their links right on the card. If you save your Amazon tag once in your profile (India, US and UK are supported), it's added to every Amazon link automatically, so you never paste a link without it. Nook takes no cut of your commissions.

Disclose it: ASCI rules in plain words

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has guidelines for influencer advertising. The core idea is simple: if you have a material connection to a brand, tell your audience clearly and upfront.

• Affiliate links count. You earn money if someone buys, so disclose it.
• Make it obvious, using a clear label like #ad, #affiliate or affiliate link, placed where people will see it before they click, not hidden in a wall of hashtags.
• Keep it on every platform you post the content on.

Nook cards have built-in disclosure labels for affiliate links and sponsored cards, so the disclosure travels with the recipe. Read the current ASCI guidelines yourself as well; they're short and worth knowing.

Track what's working

Without numbers you're guessing. Watch for:

• Clicks per product. Which recommendations people act on.
• Clicks per video or campaign. Did the Reel or the Short send the buyers?
• Code copies, if you also run discount codes with brands.

Nook shows clicks per link and where the visits came from (a Reel, a QR code or a campaign tag you add), so you can double down on the formats that sell.

A simple plan for your next video

1. Pick one product that genuinely makes the recipe better.
2. Mention it in the video: "this is the pan, it's linked on the card".
3. Put the link on the recipe card with a clear affiliate label.
4. After a week, check the clicks and do more of what worked.

Add your first product link to a recipe card, free: open Studio.