Ebooks are a great way to make money from home and promote your business online. You can sell them on sites like Clickbank or through other affiliates who will give you commission for sales.
There are many different ways of making money with ebooks but how does one go about becoming an affiliate in order to earn income off their own work? Here we'll look at what it takes to become an affiliate to help you decide which type of eBooks might suit you best. We've also got our list of the Top 9 Ebook Affiliates that will pay commissions for each sale.
Yes! Amazon is probably the biggest seller of ebooks around so they have tons of opportunities for people wanting to start earning money selling their books as an affiliate. They offer two types of affiliate links - standard (affiliate) links and product specific (Amazon associate). The difference between these two is explained below.
Standard Links allow anyone to use their affiliate tracking code to track sales made by visitors coming from any site using their link. For example if someone clicks on a link to buy a Kindle edition of your book from Amazon then they're tracked as having come from a website using your Amazon affiliate link. This means you don't need a separate account or anything else special to set up an affiliate link for Amazon products.
Product Specific Links require users to enter a unique ID number when signing up for your book before being able to access it via Amazon's store. Once signed up you'll receive a confirmation email containing a referral link. People clicking on your link can only read your book if they sign up for it first. If they choose not to continue reading after signing up, no further revenue sharing is possible.
You may find that there aren't very many affiliate offers available for ebooks due to the fact they tend to be more expensive than printed material. However, there are lots of publishers willing to take part in affiliate schemes such as Kobo and Barnes & Noble, along with several smaller companies offering commission based affiliate links.
If you'd prefer to avoid sending readers away from your own website you could consider promoting another author's book instead. Some authors even encourage others to spread word of their new release using social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Of course you can! There are plenty of websites where you can advertise other peoples' ebooks directly alongside yours. These include places like Shareasale.com, CJ.com and Rakuten Ad Network. All three offer affiliate links for various kinds of goods including ebooks.
It all depends on whether you want to focus solely on Amazon or whether you think you'll generate sales elsewhere too. For instance, Rakuten sells physical items and services alongside digital downloads, while CJ sells DVDs and CDs, plus games and apps. So both of those sites would be good options if you wanted to try advertising your own ebooks alongside physical merchandise.
However, since Amazon has the largest market share of ebook sales worldwide, they are likely to attract most of your traffic anyway. In addition, Amazon offers additional benefits to affiliates such as increased visibility on its search engine results pages and faster payments once you reach certain levels of sales.
As mentioned above, you can simply create an Amazon Associate account and add your book to the appropriate category. Then just follow the steps outlined on their page for setting up an affiliate link. It involves adding a URL shortener, entering your Amazon Associates Number and choosing either "standard" or "product specific" links.
The process is pretty straightforward and you should be able to get started within minutes. Just remember that if you plan to build your reputation over time rather than rely entirely on affiliate earnings, you won't see much benefit in creating a separate account. Instead, stick with the default option and let your existing accounts handle the rest.
When you finally launch your ebook into the world, you can always change the affiliate settings later on under Manage Your Account.
This article isn't really going to cover every single affiliate scheme out there, but instead focuses on the main ones worth considering. We've included links to each below to show you exactly what information you need to provide in order to apply for affiliate status.
ShareASale allows affiliates to sell multiple digital products from Amazon, iTunes, Audible, B&N, Sony Reader Store, iBookstore, Zappos, Overdrive, and Kobo. They also support video sales and merchandising, allowing you to showcase videos created by yourself or others.
CJ Affiliate Network currently supports 10 categories, though the exact list changes regularly. Right now they seem focused primarily on adult content, but are open to applications for all sorts of related subjects such as cooking, gardening, fashion, health/fitness, travel tips, etc.
Rakuten Advertising operates in Japan only but is still considered a reputable company. Their affiliate network seems to be aimed specifically towards Japanese audiences and includes many popular brands such as Nintendo, Sega, Yahoo!, Toyota, Canon, Panasonic, Fujifilm, Nikon, Yamaha, NTT Docomo, SoftBank Mobile, Sumitomo Mitsui Card, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, and more.
Affiliate networks usually pay per click rates for keywords, similar to Google AdSense. As well as getting paid for actual sales, you'll often get paid extra if a visitor makes a purchase during a specified period of time.
Some affiliate networks charge monthly fees, depending on the amount of activity you generate. Others pay you according to performance, meaning the higher your sales volume, the bigger your cut. A few even reward customers who refer friends to join the network themselves.
In general, affiliate programs pay less than regular adverts because you're not paying to display ads on the publisher's website; instead you're providing a service for potential buyers to browse and shop without leaving your site.
To determine whether or not an affiliate program pays well enough to justify the effort involved, check the average payout rate across all affiliate partners. Payouts are typically lower for niche markets, but you can expect to earn anywhere between $0-$100 per sale depending on competition and popularity.
For example, the Apple Books affiliate program pays out 0.15% of total purchases, compared to 1.8% for Amazon. But the latter is far larger overall, so it's unlikely you'll ever recoup the costs of recruiting a few hundred subscribers.
Once you've decided on an affiliate partner, the next thing to do is register as a member. Most affiliate programs ask for personal details such as name, address, phone numbers, email addresses and payment methods. Be sure to fill everything in correctly otherwise you might miss out on future rewards.
Payment methods vary greatly, with the majority accepting credit cards or PayPal. Some offer direct bank transfers, while others accept checks or cashier's cheques. Finally, there are some who only deal with wire transfer payments.
Many affiliate managers will tell you that affiliates are responsible for handling customer complaints relating to their product or service, so make sure you know how to react appropriately. Otherwise you risk losing credibility and potentially jeopardizing your chances of joining another affiliate network down the line.
Again, this depends on what sort of affiliate program you wish to participate in. Many affiliate managers will specify the minimum requirements for applying for membership. Generally speaking however, you'll need to submit proof of ownership rights to ensure that you haven't copied someone else's work.
As well as supplying relevant contact details, you should also supply samples of your writing accompanied by a brief biography detailing why you wrote it and what experience you had behind it. Don't worry too much about grammar and spelling as long as it sounds professional enough to appeal to prospective customers.
After submitting all necessary paperwork, you'll then wait for approval from your manager. Depending on the size of your mailing list, this could take weeks or months, so keep checking back periodically until you hear something.
Be patient! Remember that even if you never receive an answer, your application doesn't mean you'll automatically lose your spot on the roster.
Conclusion
So that's it then... if you're ready to jump into the world of ebook promotion, you've got plenty of choices to pick from. Whether you opt for building your own platform or working with established players, you're bound to find something suitable soon.
Just remember that although it's possible to make a decent living from ebooks alone, you'll still need to put in considerable effort in order to succeed. That said, if you enjoy writing and feel motivated to write a lot of high quality articles, you shouldn't have too many problems attracting attention from interested advertisers.
As a blogger, author, and digital marketer myself, I'm always looking for ways to make money online. And while it's possible that there are lots of people who can write great content on their own, many of us have day jobs already. That means we're either working at home full time (which isn't ideal), or we're trying to squeeze writing into our schedule when we don't have one.
So how does someone go about making extra income from blogging without having to quit his job? It turns out that there are plenty of opportunities available if you know where to look. One of these is affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing is simply selling other companies' products as part of your website content. This could be anything from hosting services, software downloads, courses, physical merchandise -- whatever! The key thing is that you get paid by commission whenever someone buys something through your link. Of course, you also need to sell those products yourself first, which makes things more complicated than they might seem. But with patience and persistence, anyone can learn to do affiliate marketing right. Here's how.
One of the most popular types of affiliate marketing is using ebooks. An eBook is essentially just like any other book, except that all of the text has been replaced with hyperlinks. These hyperlinks take readers directly to product pages on Amazon, Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play Store, etc., so that they can buy the item being promoted. So instead of reading "The Secret", you read a page that says "Buy The Secret" and then click the link below it to visit the product's webpage.
You'll notice that not only will you see the price of the item, but you'll also find reviews, customer ratings, star rankings, and even photos of the actual product itself. You may think that these kinds of features would make your eBook less useful to potential customers, but studies show otherwise. In fact, research suggests that the average person reads around 200 words per minute. If someone clicks a link within 10 seconds, he will likely finish reading the entire book before heading over to purchase the item.
In addition to helping users discover new information, eBooks can help them save money. For example, let's say you've written a guide titled How To Make Money With Your Blog. When you write your eBook, you want to include information about how much each step costs and what you'd expect to earn based on that cost. Then you publish the eBook under your name and offer it up to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. People will pay $9.99 for access to your eBook because they trust you won't charge them too much. They believe that since you wrote the eBook, it must contain valuable information worth paying for. Plus, they realize they can keep buying additional chapters for $1.00 each until they complete the whole series.
If you aren't familiar with Amazon Kindle (or similar platforms) yet, now is a good time to check them out. Not only do they allow authors to distribute their work freely, but they also provide promotional tools designed specifically for writers. Like the above example, you can create an author profile and list your earnings history alongside your book sales data. This lets others easily track how successful you've become, allowing you to build credibility quickly.
Since you probably haven't sold millions of copies of your eBook, chances are you're going to need some assistance promoting it once you release it. Fortunately, there are several options available to you at no cost whatsoever.
First off, consider sending a copy of your eBook to bloggers and influencers who regularly post articles related to your niche. Many of these individuals will gladly review your book for free, provided they receive compensation in exchange. Just send them an email explaining why they should feature your book in their next article. Most bloggers will respond positively after receiving such an invitation. Some may even ask for permission to repost the interview on social media.
Another option you should explore is to sign up for Amazon Associates. You can set it up manually, or use a service called ClickBank to automatically generate a unique code for every sale made via your link. Either way, you'll receive payment within 48 hours of the transaction taking place.
Of course, neither of these methods guarantee success. However, both strategies allow you to test various promotions to determine whether your eBook really sells well. Once you figure out what works best, you can scale up your efforts accordingly.
Yes, absolutely. All you need to do is ensure that you follow proper protocol when creating your eBook. First of all, make sure that all links lead back to relevant landing pages. Don't point visitors towards irrelevant websites or pages within your eBook. Instead, choose quality sites that complement your topic area. Second, make sure that the link takes readers straight away to the product page. There's nothing worse than clicking on a link that leads you to a generic webpage telling you how awesome your book is.
Finally, remember that readers prefer to experience value for their dollar. Give them exactly what they want. Avoid gimmicks like hidden bonuses, freebies, or limited offers. Readers appreciate consistency, especially when it comes to pricing. As long as you stick to these tips, you shouldn't encounter problems with linking.
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1. Amazon
Amazon has been around since 1995 as far as online bookstores go, but they really took off after the introduction of Kindle devices in 2007. Since then, more than 100 million people worldwide have downloaded over 1 billion books from the site.
The Amazon Affiliate Program allows you to sell products through Amazon and earn commissions based on sales generated by other websites. You won't get rich with it -- think about all those people buying books every month -- but if you've got something valuable to offer readers, it could be worth exploring Amazon Affiliates.
You'll need to sign up for an account, which is free.
Once logged in, click "Affiliations" under My Account settings.
"Add New Affiliation" to add another website to your list of affiliates.
When adding new sites, select "Create a custom URL." This way you can use your domain name instead of linking directly to Amazon pages.
Choose how much commission you want to take per sale - 10% is standard, though you might get higher rates depending on what type of product you're selling.
Click "Save Changes", making sure to check the box next to "Enable Automatic Replies". These will let visitors know where to find your affiliates' offers.
If you'd like to link to specific products within your post, just paste the HTML code below anywhere on your page.
I used to run a successful blog
Ebooks are one of the most accessible ways that authors can sell their work online and make money from it. In fact, there's a whole industry built around promoting them on websites like Clickbank (for example) where they're sold as digital products or PDFs via affiliates.
So how do I go about getting started with selling my own book using these kinds of platforms? Here we'll look at what makes up an eBook, the best places to find free ones to promote, and how to get paid when someone buys something through your link.
If you want to learn more about making money with your writing, check out our guide to becoming a writer. If you've already got a published novel, see if anyone wants to buy it!
You absolutely can - but it depends on the platform you're using. For instance, Amazon allows you to include affiliate links in your Kindle edition of a book, so long as the main page is not obscured by a banner ad. This means that people who purchase your book will be redirected to another website where they might click through to other items within your affiliate network. However, you won't earn any commission until they actually complete the sale.
This method works well if you have several different products available within your market niche, which you could then point potential buyers towards once they decide to buy yours. It also helps if you offer additional services such as editing, proofreading, formatting etc., since readers may need assistance beyond just buying your product.
However, if you only plan to publish your book on Amazon, you'll probably want to avoid including affiliate links unless you have multiple products available. You should always aim to provide value to your reader before trying to convince them to spend their hard earned cash on anything else.
On the other hand, many publishers sell eBook versions of their physical books on sites like Smashwords without ever having included affiliate links. They simply give away copies directly to customers so that they can read it first and decide whether it's worth paying full price for later.
The same applies to Google Books, although you'll usually find a lot fewer titles available than you would expect due to copyright issues. But the upside is that you don't pay per copy, instead earning revenue based on sales generated by clicks.
Of course, publishers aren't alone in offering both print and electronic editions of their wares. Many self-published authors choose to distribute their work digitally because it has become easier to reach new audiences. And it doesn't matter whether those readers prefer paperbacks or eBooks - both formats enable you to build relationships with your fans.
It's important to note that while affiliate links can certainly help boost traffic to your site, they shouldn't be used purely to drive traffic. Otherwise, you risk being labelled "spam" by search engines, especially if you try to manipulate rankings. Instead, focus on providing valuable content to attract visitors from all over the world.
Yes, provided you follow certain rules. For example, you must ensure that the primary purpose of your eBook isn't to generate commissions from purchases made elsewhere. That way, you're less likely to run into problems with Google, Bing, Yahoo!, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Reddit, eBay, PayPal, Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Microsoft...and everyone else on the planet.
As mentioned above, you should aim to provide value to readers before asking them to buy other things from you. Your eBook should contain helpful information that answers questions or solves problems for users. Then, once they realize that the solution exists somewhere else, they're far more likely to take action to acquire it.
That said, you can still incorporate affiliate links throughout your eBook to encourage readers to visit related pages. Just remember to keep track of conversions so that you know exactly how much profit you're generating overall.
Another thing to consider is the length of time that the average user spends reading an eBook. Most ePubs tend to fall between 200kbps and 600kbps, which equates to roughly 5 minutes to 10 minutes depending on the device. So if you're planning to publish your eBook on Amazon, you should aim to write a shorter version that offers enough value to justify spending 5-10 minutes browsing your list of links.
Alternatively, you might opt for a longer version that includes plenty of useful advice and tips, even though it takes slightly longer to consume. The choice really comes down to personal preference, and it's often better to err on the side of caution. After all, nobody likes losing precious seconds every day.
There are lots of options here, but generally speaking, you should start off by creating compelling headlines that clearly explain why readers should click on the link contained therein. Don't say too little, otherwise no one will care about clicking on the link. Likewise, don't say too much either, otherwise the reader might end up feeling overwhelmed.
Instead, tell them everything they need to know upfront and let them explore further if they wish. Remember that every click counts, so the last thing you want is for them to lose interest halfway through scrolling past your headline.
Once you've written your eBook, it's essential to add callouts wherever appropriate. These are short sections containing instructions on how to access relevant material. For example, if you mention a particular tool in passing, you could include a brief description of its benefits and a direct link to its homepage. Or perhaps you talk briefly about a specific topic and suggest a resource that covers it in greater detail. Whatever you do, you should never refer to your eBook as "the definitive..." because that implies that it contains the answer to every question.
Finally, you should create social media posts that link back to your eBook whenever possible. There's nothing worse than seeing a friend post about a great deal they scored on Amazon, only to discover that they didn't bother checking the fine print before clicking 'Buy'. By linking back to your eBook, you increase the likelihood that your followers will actually engage with your content rather than simply ignoring it altogether.
Amazon is undoubtedly one of the biggest players in the field, so you'd think that they wouldn't allow you to advertise outside of their marketplace. Unfortunately, this isn't necessarily true. As long as your eBook itself doesn't violate any laws governing intellectual property rights, you can upload it onto Amazon KDP Select and share it with others.
This basically means that you can sell your eBook independently of Amazon's main store, allowing you to retain 100% of your profits. Of course, you'll need to sign up for an account with KDP Select beforehand, but after that you can use your own domain name to host your book and sell it freely.
In addition to sharing your eBook across multiple channels, you can also earn extra income by signing up to affiliate programs offered by companies like Rakuten Advertising and ShareASale. Both of these platforms allow you to set up advertising campaigns aimed at driving prospective clients to your chosen stores.
For example, you could create ads promoting Amazon gift cards, so that viewers are encouraged to shop there. Alternatively, you could target keywords relating to specific topics, such as travel or health, and show ads promoting hotels and diet pills respectively. All of this leads to higher conversion rates compared to traditional banners, and the results speak for themselves.
Just follow our battle-tested guidelines and rake in the profits.