Looking to monetize your website or blog through affiliate marketing?
Dive into the world of digital literature with the top eBook affiliate programs!
As more readers embrace the convenience of digital reading, partnering with these affiliate programs can unlock a lucrative revenue stream for publishers, bloggers, and content creators.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the best eBook affiliate programs, highlighting their features, commission structures, and potential earnings, empowering you to make informed decisions and maximize your affiliate marketing success in the ever-expanding realm of digital publishing.
Let’s begin!
Best eBook Affiliate Programs.
Here are the top eBook affiliate programs:
1. AbeBooks.
AbeBooks is an e-commerce site that sells millions of new, old, used, and rare books and documents.
It also features a large library of e-books, with more than 23,000 now available.
The company’s name comes from its early days as the “Advanced Book Exchange”.
Amazon has owned AbeBooks since 2008.
At this point, you’re probably wondering, “Why not just join Amazon’s affiliate program instead?”
There are several reasons for considering the AbeBooks affiliate program.
For starters, it works with many independent bookstores that do not sell on Amazon.
It often offers cheaper delivery than Amazon, and its search function is particularly designed with book enthusiasts in mind.
Convincing?
Register up for AbeBooks’ affiliate program via Impact Radius.
The affiliate program includes a 30-day cookie period and offers a standard 5% commission on book purchases of up to $500.
In other words, if a consumer clicks on your affiliate link to purchase a $700 book, you only get compensated on the first $500.
Higher commission rates could be negotiated depending on sales volume.
Affiliates get paid 50 days after the end of the month in which the sale is made.
According to the Impact Radius, the affiliate program’s 30-day EPC is $0.25.
AbeBooks frequently provides commissionable coupons to affiliates, enabling them to make money from future sales.
It offers additional affiliate marketing resources like banner advertisements, textual links, and API access to the AbeBooks website.
The firm also offers dedicated affiliate management staff that can address your queries.
- URL: AbeBooks affiliate program
- Commission rate: 5% per sale
- Cookie duration: 30 days
2. BookBaby.
BookBaby enables independent writers to publish and sell e-books in the world’s most popular bookstores and platforms, such as Kindle, Apple Books, and Barnes & Noble’s Nook.
Authors keep 100% of net earnings generated via BookBaby.
The site provides a variety of different services.
These include an audiobook publishing option that pays artists a 75% royalty rate, as well as a cover design and bookbinding service for independent and small publishers.
BookBaby provides free US ground delivery on all printed book purchases of 25 or more copies.
Register for BookBaby’s affiliate program through the Pepperjam network.
The firm offers up to 5% commission on all eBook publishing and short-run book printing services.
- URL: BookBaby affiliate program
- Commission rate: Up to 5% per sale
- Cookie duration: Unlisted
3. Apple Books.
Apple Books is Apple’s one-stop store for book enthusiasts, with a large selection of e-books and audiobooks.
The site enables users to explore current bestsellers, lists selected by Apple Books editors, and tailored suggestions based on their reading and listening history.
Members may also establish reading objectives and measure how much time they spend listening or reading.
Apple’s ebook affiliate program is maintained by the Partnerize affiliate network.
It typically pays a 7% commission on all sales revenue and has a 30-day cookie period.
The firm also has an invite-only premium program that compensates affiliate marketers for each trial they generate and provides additional support and marketing materials.
To be invited, you have to drive large-scale trial signups, maintain consistent conversion rates from trials to paid memberships, and follow Apple’s strict brand requirements.
Apple Books’ commission payout cycle lasts 60 to 90 days, with a $30 minimum threshold requirement.
Commissions can be paid in 60 global currencies across 200+ countries, with American Express handling conversions.
As an affiliate, you have access to a variety of tools and services within the affiliate program, including the Apple Services Toolbox, which is the fastest and most convenient method to generate and add affiliate links.
Apple also provides embeddable widgets, icons, banner advertisements, badges, and an RSS feed generator for incorporating lists of best books.
- URL: Apple Books affiliate program
- Commission rate: 7% on sales revenue
- Cookie duration: 30 days
4. Smashwords.
Smashwords claims to be the world’s biggest distributor of independent ebooks, with over 400,000 approved and well-formatted ebooks from more than 100,000+ authors and publishers accessible through its online store.
The platform has helped several writers become bestsellers in USA Today and the New York Times.
Most of its books are reasonably priced and accessible in a variety of formats.
The Smashwords affiliate program offers an incredible commission rate, starting at 11% per sale and up to 80.5% of the net sales price (minus the PayPal processing charge).
Why is this so broad?
Smashwords enables writers to “juice” their commission rate by sharing a portion or all of their revenue with affiliates.
In theory, bigger commissions encourage affiliate marketers to promote a book more vigorously.
Unfortunately, Smashwords only offers a 48-hour cookie period, which is less than most e-book affiliate programs we’ve seen.
The affiliate program is accessible to anybody over the age of 18.
- URL: Smashwords affiliate program
- Commission rate: 11% – 80.5% of net sales price
- Cookie duration: 48 hours
5. Barnes & Noble.
Barnes & Noble is the world’s biggest bookstore, with a collection of more than 5 million books, 3.6 million e-books, and 300,000+ audiobooks.
It also offers DVDs, Blu-ray discs, music, toys, games, and home items.
The majority of retailers provide curbside pickup, and purchases over $40 qualify for free delivery.
The Barnes & Noble affiliate program is handled by the CJ Affiliate network.
It offers a 2% commission on most products, and up to 5% for some ebook titles, monthly picks, and specific physical products.
According to the CJ Affiliate network, the affiliate program’s three-month EPC is $3.27.
Barnes & Noble provides a variety of resources to assist affiliates boost traffic and sales, including a dedicated affiliate manager, a comprehensive product catalog, and regular seasonal and holiday promotions.
- URL: Barnes & Noble affiliate program
- Commission rate: 2% – 5% per sale
- Cookie duration: 1 day
6. Kobo.
Kobo is a Canadian firm that offers e-books and audiobooks, offering more than 5 million titles to choose from.
Since 2012, it has been owned by Rakuten, a Japanese e-commerce company.
The online shop offers every form of eBook imaginable, from current bestsellers to treasured classics.
It also offers award-winning e-readers, which can hold thousands of e-books.
Kobo e-readers include a built-in light for better nighttime reading.
Kobo’s affiliate program is managed by the Rakuten affiliate network.
It has 6 different affiliate programs, each aimed toward a different location, including the United States Of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Europe.
The US affiliate program includes a 14-day cookie period and a standard commission rate of 1%, which increases to 5% for Kobo devices and gift cards and 10% for device accessories.
Before joining this ebook affiliate program, keep in mind that all applications are personally screened, and the approval process may take up to 2 weeks.
- URL: Kobo affiliate program
- Commission rate: 1% – 10% per sale
- Cookie duration: 14 days
7. Amazon.com
Let’s be honest: you already know what Amazon.com is.
The world’s biggest e-commerce company made $143 billion in sales in 2023 and currently stocks more than 75 million products, including Kindle e-readers and a huge number of e-books.
Amazon is often recognized as one of the world’s most trustworthy companies, making it easy for affiliate marketers to “close the deal.”
It also has a very high conversion rate, believed to be 10% or more, so your referrals are likely to convert into purchases.
That’s why, it is one of the most popular affiliate networks, with 58.5% of affiliate marketers and publishers using it.
However, the Amazon Associates affiliate program does not offer commissions for single eBook purchases.
But it does give a 4% commission on Kindle device purchases, as well as other reward payments on Kindle premium subscription packages, as seen below:
- $3 for Kindle Unlimited free trials and six-month subscriptions.
- $5 for Kindle Unlimited 12-month premium subscriptions.
- $10 for Kindle Unlimited’s 24-month paid subscription.
All actions have a limited 24-hour cookie period.
However, if your referred consumers add a product to their shopping cart and convert within 90 days, you will get a commission.
Another key factor to remember is that Amazon will only accept your associate application if you have generated three sales within 180 days.
If you do not meet Amazon’s target, you will be removed from the program.
- URL: Amazon Associates affiliate program
- Commission rate: $3 – $10 on Kindle subscriptions; 4% on Kindle devices
- Cookie duration: 1 day
8. eBooks.com
eBooks.com, as the name implies, is an online store that sells e-books to customers while also providing ebook-related services to publishers.
The site currently has 5,873,448 members and 2,188,663 ebooks in stock.
The firm has license arrangements with more than 4,000 publishers, including all of the major English-language commercial, professional, and academic publications.
Publishers upload around 20,000 eBooks every month to eBooks.com, which maintains local sales portals in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia.
The eBooks.com affiliate program offers a large 45-day cookie period and a tiered commission scale depending on the number of sales generated in a calendar year:
- 10% commission rate for annual sales up to $100,000.
- 15% commission on annual sales over the first $100,000.
Affiliates can increase their earnings with regular performance incentives.
To help improve affiliate marketing performance, eBooks.com provides dedicated affiliate management staff as well as real-time tracking and reporting.
- URL: eBooks.com affiliate program
- Commission rate: 10% – 15% per sale, based on order volume
- Cookie duration: 45 days
Conclusion.
The world of eBook affiliate programs offers a wealth of opportunities for publishers and content creators to capitalize on the growing digital reading trend.
By leveraging the insights and recommendations outlined in this guide, you can strategically select the best eBook affiliate programs suited to your niche and audience.
Remember to continuously monitor performance metrics, adapt your strategies, and explore new partnerships to stay ahead in the competitive landscape of affiliate marketing.
With dedication and informed decision-making, you can unlock the full potential of eBook affiliate programs and cultivate a sustainable revenue stream for your online endeavors.
