How Rob Wagener Rebuilt His Income After HCU with Amazon Influencer

In this week's episode of the Niche Pursuits Podcast, Rob Wagener and I discuss how the Amazon Influencer Program became a full-time income stream after his affiliate blog was devastated by the Helpful Content Update (HCU). Rob shares a detailed strategy for how to succeed with AIP, including the exact criteria he uses to choose products, what separates top earners from the rest, and how he uses data to scale efficiently. 

If you're looking for a blueprint for making AIP work, especially in today’s changing landscape, this is the episode for you. Let’s walk through Rob’s journey, his tactical approach, and the key lessons he shares for those looking to either get started or take their skills to the next level.

Watch the Full Episode

The Fallout From HCU and the Search for What’s Next

Rob wasn’t always an Amazon Influencer. He began like many others in this space: building a niche site, driving affiliate revenue, and trying to play the long SEO game. That worked well for a while, until it didn’t.

• The Helpful Content Update in 2023 devastated his blog, which had been his primary online income source.
• Rob described feeling "crushed" watching something he’d built slowly fall apart, despite trying to salvage it with multiple SEO courses and strategies.
• During that difficult time, he remembered hearing about the Amazon Influencer Program and decided to give it a shot, despite not knowing exactly what he was signing up for.

Without any prior video experience, he submitted three YouTube clips and was accepted. He earned over $2,000 in his first month, which immediately caught his attention.

From Side Hustle to Full-Time Job

Rob is quick to emphasize that AIP isn't passive, at least not at the level he’s operating. He put in hours every day, not as a casual side hustle but as a second job.

• When he was laid off from his job in April 2025, AIP was already earning enough to replace his full-time salary.
• He says consistency is the key differentiator between people making $500/month and those hitting $10,000+.
• Rob interacts with many creators through his Oink Chrome extension and sees a common thread: the high earners are consistently building their pipeline of new products and content.

The Two Simple Rules for Product Selection

This is where Rob’s clarity really shines. He breaks down his product selection strategy into just two criteria:

1. The product must be selling.
2. There must be room for your video to be seen, meaning low competition.

He sticks to these two rules religiously and advises others to do the same.

• It doesn’t matter how many videos you make. If they’re for products that don’t sell, you won’t make money.
• He avoids products with full carousels, especially the upper carousel, which typically holds five influencer videos.
• Total video count submitted to a product doesn’t matter to him, only whether there’s a visible slot open for a new video.

What “Selling” Means in Practice

Not all “selling” products are created equal. Rob explains that it’s not just about the raw number of units sold, but also about context.

• A product selling 500 units a month with an empty carousel is more attractive than a product selling 50,000 units with no room to be seen.
• His personal baseline is around 500 units/month, but he’ll go lower if the competition is zero or if the product has a Creator Connection campaign attached.
• He prefers upper carousel placements but will consider lower ones if it means being one of the only videos there.

What’s Changed in AIP and Why Now Is the Best Time

According to Rob, the Amazon Influencer Program in late 2025 is radically different from what it was even a year ago. This has brought in a flood of new and returning creators.

• Creator Connections, Amazon’s campaign program offering elevated commissions, is now fully integrated into the AIP ecosystem.
• Many influencers, Rob included, now earn more from Creator Connections than from traditional shoppable video commissions.
• Amazon is aggressively expanding the program, with nearly 500,000 campaigns available, and that number is expected to keep growing.

Rob says he hears from people daily who had joined AIP in the past, left it, and are now returning because of how much it has evolved.

The Day-to-Day Routine of a Successful Influencer

Rob’s workflow isn’t flashy; it's efficient and repeatable. His entire strategy revolves around maintaining a strong product pipeline.

• Each day starts with sourcing products that meet his two core criteria.
• He then figures out how to get those products: buying them, requesting samples through Creator Connections, or repurposing things he already owns.
• The rest of his time is spent shooting, editing, and uploading videos.

The simplicity is deceptive. Rob says people often overcomplicate things or get distracted by shiny tactics. But the top creators stay laser-focused on pipeline and execution.

The Most Successful Creators Share One Trait

When asked what separates the top 1% of AIP earners, Rob had a simple answer: consistency.

• Most successful creators touch the program daily, even if it’s just for 30 minutes.
• They keep uploading new videos, reaching out to brands, and optimizing their workflows.
• Rob mentioned one creator who was uploading about 6.5 videos per day, not extreme, but sustained over time, which yielded massive results.

This approach stands in contrast to the “spray and pray” method many influencers use, where they upload a few videos and hope something takes off.

Oink: The Chrome Extension Built by an Influencer, for Influencers

Rob built the Oink extension to solve his own problems. Then he realized other creators had the same issues, and it took off.

• Oink helps creators instantly evaluate whether a product is worth making a video about.
• It shows estimated monthly sales, carousel availability, and campaign opportunities all in one place.
• There are also features for tracking broken videos, messaging brands, and sorting campaigns by payout.

For side hustlers especially, the extension can make the product pipeline process faster and more efficient, something Rob says is often the hardest part for beginners.

Final Thoughts

Rob’s story is a perfect example of adapting in the face of change. What started as an uncertain experiment during a time of SEO upheaval has become a scalable, full-time business. But he’s clear that success isn’t about luck; it’s about doing the work with consistency and focus.

If you’re considering the Amazon Influencer Program:

• Follow the data. Use clear criteria to evaluate every product.
• Stay consistent. This isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme, but it scales well with time.
• Take advantage of the tools available, especially Creator Connections and Chrome extensions like Oink.
• Don't waste time on products with no visibility. Always ask: Will anyone see this video?
• For content creators burned by algorithm updates or tired of waiting for search traffic to kick in, AIP offers something refreshing: a data-driven, repeatable, and profitable model, if you’re willing to show up and do the work.

And as Rob says, “It’s simple. Not easy. But simple.”

Links & Resources

• Learn more about OINK
• OINK's Facebook page
• Check out OINK on YouTube

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