Do you have a book-related blog that you want to monetize with Affiliate Programs? Maybe a social media account or even a book club?
While the book industry is worth US$119 billion per year, it is not easy to build a significant income with this topic since the prices and profits are on the lower end.
However, if you choose the right mix of programs and strategies you can create a full-time income while sharing your passion for reading.
The best part? Avid readers are happy to buy book after book even when their To-Be-Read pile keeps getting higher so you won’t need to do any hard selling or convincing.
They are also however an educated and picky crowd so you want to make sure to create quality content that attracts them and earns their trust so they feel motivated to click your affiliate links.
Without further adieu, here are 10 great book affiliate programs from huge retailers and second-hand stores to indeoend bookstores and ebook specialists.
Best Books Affiliate Programs For Every Niche
1. Barnes & Noble Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: 2%
- Cookie Length: Reservation Referrer (same day attribution only)
- Join here
Barnes & Noble is the world’s largest bookseller and a worldwide trusted brand that has managed to survive the digital reading revolution successfully.
Their analog book business has claimed the tile of being the #1 bookseller in the United States, but they have also adapted and other compleemntary products like movies, music, gifts, and their e-reader called Nook.
As an affiliate, you get 2% on all products except gifts and 4% on the Nook. These commissions won’t make you rich but the brand reputation means the books practically sell on their own and placing a link on your content will take you no more than a minute.
Another benefit of their program is that you can place affiliate links on social media while other programs like Amazon that pays 4.5% commission do not allow it.
Barnes & Noble Affiliate Program is Commission Junction. CJ and Barnes and Noble and unless you are in a risky niche, you can get accepted easily.
2. BookRoo Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: 10%
- Cookie Length: 90 days
- Join here
Bookroo is a monthly subscription box for children’s books. Their goal is to help parents spend quality time with their kids while helping them develop a love of reading.
Parents can choose between three board books geared towards younger children or 2 picture books for kids ages 6 and up. Subscriptions are either month-to-month or can be pre-ordered for 3, 6, or 12 months.
Their commission a 10% commission rate which is one of the highest in the niche and the average sale amount is ~$80, so affiliates an average of $8 per sale.
You can also present this is also a gift idea for grandparents, relatives, or friends that want to share their love of reading with their loved ones.
Their affiliate program is hosted on ShareASale which is a trusted network with easy and detailed reporting where you’ll also get access to links and banner ads.
If your audience loves reading, you can almost be sure they’ll also love this product.
3. Amazon Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: 4.5%
- Cookie Length: 24 hours
- Join here
Amazon has one of the biggest affiliate programs in the world and is also one of the most popular places to buy books online with over 30 million books sold in 2019.
Since Amazon has a great customer service and people are used to buying there everyday, their conversion rate is also really high siting around 10%-15% versus the 2%-3% that most sites get on cold traffic.
Customers have all their shipping and payment card info inside their accounts so when they click on one of your links, the purchase is easy and seamless.
Amazon recently (2020) slashed their affiliate commission to less than half in most categories which impacted a lot of affiliate but The commission rates for Physcal books was one of the few that stayed the same and today still is 4.5%.
You can also get 4% on their Kindle ebook reader and different fees for its membership. You can find all the details of the commisions here.
Their cookie duration is only 24 hours but a great benefit is that you also make commissions on any other products that your referral buys during that time.
As an Amazon affiliate you get access to links, short links, deep linking tools, banners, and widget for your site.
4. Book A Million Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: 5%
- Cookie Length: 30 days
- Join here
Books-A-Million is the second-largest U.S. bookstore both online and offline. They claim to be committed to offering great prices and superior customer service to all customers you send their way.
They accept websites of all sizes and offer a 5% commission rate with a 30-day cookie which is pretty standard for the niche but still above what big retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble pay.
Ultimately, if you decide to promote it, you want to evaluate their conversions rates and compare their 5% versus the 1%-2% of big retailers and do the math to see which one will result in more earnings overall.
Their affiliate program is administered by Commission Junction, which is a reputable company in the affiliate management industry with a 24-hour tracking system.
5. Biblio Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: 5%
- Cookie Length: 45 days
- Join here
Biblio is the largest international marketplace for used, out-of-print, and rare books. They have an inventory of over 100 million books and offer up to 90% savings on college textbooks.
As an affiliate, you’ll be offering your readers the possibility of finally finding a book they’ve been looking for a long time. At the same time, as a small independent business, Biblio emphasizes their customer service with knowledgeable and personal attention to all customers you send their way.
Their affiliate program is run through ShareASale and you can get access to designed graphic links, text links, coupons, and a direct search box links to allow your visitors to search for books without having to leave your website.
Biblio’s affiliate commissions start at 5% on every book purchase under $500, and $25 for each purchase over $500!
If you have an audience that is interested in unique and second-hand books, this is a great program to add to your offers.
6. AbeBooks Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: 5% on products worth up to $500 *Negotiable based on volume.
- Cookie Length: 90 days
- Join here
AbeBooks is an online store for new, used, and rare books as well as other collectible items from independent sellers in over 50 countries.
Their website search feature is optimized specially to help book lovers find signed books and first editions.
Since one single collectible book can cost thousands you can make a significant commission with just a few sales, if you have the right audience. While the commissions are limited to the first $500, you’d still be making more than with regular books.
Their affiliate program is hosted on Impact Radius and gives you access to text links, tracking links, banner ads, and their real-time updated API.
While not every book lover is a collectionist, this is a good program to add to your site to expand your options. You can also generate content around related keywords and attract readers that might be interested in these rare editions.
7. eBooks Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: 8%-15% based on volume
- Cookie Length: 45 days
- Join here
eBooks.com is the longest-established online e-bookstore with over 1. million professionally contemporary ebooks from over 4,000 publishers.
As you can imagine by their name, they specialize in selling digital books which also allows for bigger profit margins and better commissions for affiliates.
One benefit of promoting ebooks from this program is that they work with a variety of devices and customers are not tied to use one particular brand like with other digital bookstores. However, some readers are very loyal to their Kindle which is one of the devices that they don’t support.
They work with an tiered system based on the revenue you refer to during a month which is always a good incentive to send more readers their way.
- Up to $499 commission earnt = 8% commission
- $500-$999 commission earnt = 10% commission
- $1000-$1999 commission earnt = 12% commission
- $2000+ commission earnt = 15% commission
The affiliate program is run by Commission Junction and you get access to banner ads, dynamic links, product links, real-time tracking tools, and newsletters with optimization tips.
If you are looking for an alternative for e-books that pays a better commission rate, this is a good program to consider. Their website does look a bit outdated for a digital store so it’s up to test and see how good it converts.
8. Book Depository Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate:5%
- Cookie Length: 30 days
- Join here
Book Depository is the second most popular place to buy books on the internet after Amazon thanks to their free delivery to 100 countries which is their biggest selling point.
They carry more than 19 million titles from all over the world, including titles from indie authors and publishers, and offer competitive prices and great discounts on bestsellers and future releases.
They have uncomparable stock availability so your readers will often find what they are looking for and they also have a huge selection of non-English books including Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Russian, and Japanese.
Their affiliate program is also open to affiliates worldwide and is especially great if you have lots of readers from outside the USA since the free delivery will be less common and make a bigger difference for them.
9. Audible Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: $5-$10
- Cookie Length: 30 days
- Join here
Audible is Amazon’s audiobook platform and is currently the biggest player in the category. Audiobooks have grown exponentially over the last few years as they are much more accessible and convenient for our average pace of living.
The Audible app integrates smoothly with any mobile phone and makes it super convenient to listen to a book on the go during daily commuting.
Audible affiliate program is actually part of the Amazon Associates Program, so if you are already part of it, you can also promote Audible’s offers and make a commission for every purchase or membership signup that you refer.
Eligible Products and Services | Value |
---|---|
Audible Gold Digital Membership | $10.00 |
Audible Free Trial Digital Membership | $5.00 |
Audible Audiobook | $0.50 |
In the same way as Amazon,’s Audible customer support is available 24/7 through, live chat and even telephone and provides top quality that will leave all the customers you refer satisfied.
This is a great opportunity to make commissions without even selling anything. All you need to do is recommend an audiobook and get your readers to sign up for the trial. Whether they upgrade to the Gold membership or not, you will still make money from it.
10. ThriftBooks.com Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: 5%
- Cookie Length: 14 days
- Join here
ThriftBooks.com is one of the largest online sellers of used books in the United States and
With over 7 million books in stock, they offer everything from classic children’s books to rare and collectible editions and aim to offer the lowest price available on used books.
Not only can readers make significant savings by buying used books but they are also reducing their carbon footprint which is a more relevant concern every day, especially for younger generations.
If that is not enough for selling points, they also get free shipping in 100% recycled packing on all US orders over $10.
As an affiliate, you’ll receive a 5% commission on every purchase and can get up to 8% if you refer more than $10,000 worth of sales each month.
The Thriftbooks.com affiliate program is run by FlexOffers and you get access to frequently updated coupons, advanced product data feeds, and real-time tracking.
11. Bookshop.org Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: 10% per subscription
- Cookie Length: Unkown
- Join here
Bookshop.org is a benefit corporation dedicated to helping independent bookstores and making it easier for consumers to support them and keep them an integral part of their culture and communities.
Customers can choose a specific local bookstore to support and they’ll receive the full profit of their order Otherwise, your order will contribute to an earnings pool that will be evenly distributed among independent bookstores
Their affiliate program pays a 10% commission on every sale, and gives a matching 10% to independent bookstores.
The best part? You don’t need to have a website to promote it. If you are an author, a website or magazine, have a book club, an organization that wants to recommend books, or even just a book-lover with an Instagram feed, you can sign up to be an affiliate.
They also have a cool feature where you can create your own online storefront to showcase all the books you want to recommend which also makes it easier to add as a link to your social media profile.
Consider their mission, features and generous commissions, this is a good program to promote versus Amazon’s or Barnes&Noble.
12. Scribd Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: $8 per subscription
- Cookie Length: 30 days
- Join here
Scribd is an American e-book and audiobook membership that provides monthly access to millions of books, audiobooks, magazines, comics, and sheet music selections.
Contrary to other companies like Audible and Kobo where the membership only includes one or two books per month, with Scribd you get unlimited access to all the titles you can read or listen to.
Users can access Scribd content via Android and iOS smartphones and tablets, as well as the Kindle Fire, Nook, and personal computers so there are no limits when it comes to the audience that can sign up.
Scribd Affiliate Program is run via VigLink and offers $7.50 – $8.00 per subscription and a 30-day cookie duration. The program is available worldwide and you get access to promo material, real-time tracking, and a dedicated affiliate team.
13. Book of the Month Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: $10 commission rate on all Book of the Month sales
- Cookie Length: 30 days
- Join here
Book of the Month is a book subscription box where members have the opportunity to choose between 5 hand-picked books every month.
They can also choose to skip the month if they don’t like any of the titles or if they are fast readers, they can add up to 2 additional books to their order for $9.99 each!
As an affiliate, you get up to a $10 commission rate on all Book of the Month sales during the 30 days of their cookie duration.
The program is run bu affiliate network ShareAsale and gives you access to bi-Weekly newsletters with promotions, incentives, and the latest offers designed to help you earn higher commissions.
Subscription boxes are very trendy in all categories and books are no exception. People enjoy the thought of having something to rely on and look forward to every month and avid readers are always thinking about their next book.
14. Rakuten Kobo Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: 5% on eBooks, audiobooks and devices. 14% on device accessories
- Cookie Length: 14 days
- Join here
Rakuten Kobo Inc., or simply Kobo, is a Canadian company that sells e-books, audiobooks and e-readers. The name Kobo is actually an anagram of book.
Kobo offers one of the world’s largest eBookstores with millions of titles across 77 languages.
They also have their own brand of sleekly designed eReaders called Clara HD which is fully compatible with the store’s collection of titles and includes top-rated iOS and Android apps.
Kobo’s Clara HD actually outperforms its direct competition Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite in almost every area that matters so you can promote it as a safe alternative.
Kobo’s Affiliate Program is run through Rakuten Marketing and offers a 5% commission on eBooks, audiobooks and devices and 14% commission on device accessories.
This is a good program to promote as an alternative to Amazon digital books. The commissions are higher and you make money for every book versus Amazon which only pays for the initial subscription.
15. Indigo Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: Tiered structure starting at 2%, going up to 7%
- Cookie Length: 7 days
- Join here
Indigo is —according to themselves— Canada’s biggest bookstore with both offline and online marketplaces. They have been around since 1940 and have been able to adapt and survive the internet era and the appearance of digital books.
They have a special focus on kids’ books but also carry tens of thousands of fiction and non-fiction titles for teens and adults along with toys, home decor, and more.
This affiliate program has a tiered structure starting at 2%, going up to 7% and they offer a 7 day cookie duration.
The program is run through Commission Junction and gives you access to special deals every week, larger omni-channel promotions, and creative banners available for every major gifting occasion.
If a large portion of your visits comes from Canada, then this can be a good program to include since they offer free shipping for orders over $35 but otherwise they don’t offer any outstanding benefits vs. other bookstores with a bigger presence worldwide.
16. Waterstones Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: 4%
- Cookie Length: 30 days
- Join here
Waterstones is —in their own words—UK’s leading high street book specialist. They provide competitive prices and a series of rolling promotions with up to 50% off on pre-order titles and new releases.
They also offer free delivery to any UK address for orders over £20.
Their affiliate program is run through Awin Affiliate Netwrok and offers a 4% commission rate and a 30 day cookie period.
As an affiliate, you get access to a wide range of custom graphics, a regularly updated product feed, and regular bonus and seasonal promotions.
This is a great program if you get a lot of traffic from the UK or you can add it as an alternative when you are trying to target keywords related to that audience.
Kobo’s Affiliate Program is run through Rakuten Marketing and offers a 5% commission on eBooks, audiobooks and devices and 14% commission on device accessories.
This is a good program to promote as an alternative to Amazon digital books. The commissions are higher and you make money for every book versus Amazon which only pays for the initial subscription.
17. KnetBooks Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: 8%
- Cookie Length: 45 days
- Join here
Knetbooks is a company created to helps students save up to 85% on textbook rentals. Founded in 2009, it has become a primary source for affordable textbooks for students at every school across the country.
While the costs are low and you won’t be making high ticket commission, their conversion rates are very high due to their incredible selection and low pricing model. This means you can still make a good income while sharing a valuable service with your audience that will genuinely help them.
Their affiliate program is run through Junction or ShareASale and you get access to a library of high converting buttons (directly to shopping cart), text links, logos, and banners. You can also use their product data feeds and API to integrate products on your website.
If you target an audience that includes high school or college students, this is a good program to get easy commissions and make some money while helping them save it.
18. IndieBound Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: 10%
- Cookie Length: Unkown
- Join here
IndieBound is an initiative of the American Booksellers Association dedicated to supporting a network of hundreds of independent bookstores through the “local first” shopping movement.
Through IndieBound, readers can choose a local bookstore to buy from and have the profits go 100% to them. Otherwise, the earning are split evenly among the network of independent libraries which gives them the chance to make a difference in their local economies and communities.
There is a growing interest in more sustainable and socially conscious companies vs. huge retailers so this is a good opportunity to reach that audience while you also do your part in keeping small bookstores in business.
Making sense with their mission, Indiebound’s affiliate program is run independently and you can earn a 10% commission rate on all sales. Your readers might not get same-day shipping but you’ll both be supporting a more important cause.
How To Promote Book Affiliate Programs?
There are books for absolutely every subject you can think of so you don’t need to be a book blogger to promote these affiliate programs.
No matter what your blog is about, you can grow your income by adding some book suggestions or links among your content.
Here are some idea on how you can start making some earning from these books affiliate programs:
1. Add links your current blog posts.
You don;t need to create new artcile to add affiliate links to books. Go through the one you already have published and that are getting traffic and see where it’d be relevant to add a link to a book fo reference so readers can get more in-depth information.
Below is an example of how any topic works for these type of linking.
2. Write Book Reviews
Book reviews have the highest buying intent since people who are looking for them are close to making a purchase and are just looking for some final reassurance.
Of course, creating this type of content would take longer that other type of product reviews but if you enjoy reading, this is a great way to attract a high tagrtted audience.
3. Create Book List Articles
People love lists. 10 best book for introverts thise summer? yes! 20 best books for Scoprios? Sign me up? 8 best books if you are having an exsitential crissis? Please!
These are also really fun to write and can get a lot of social media shares so definitely icnlude them in your content startegy.
4. Use Social Media
While most of these affiliate programs will ask for a website or blog to get accepted, there are also some great ones that you can promote on join without one and from on your favorite social media platform.
You can create a theme account dedicated to your reading passion and share your thoughts, reviews, and TBR additions. Most platforms now have the option to add a link to your bio so you can easily share your affiliate link there.
Book Affiliate Programs | Takeaway
Whether you are a book blogger, write for another niche, or an avid reader wanting to share your passion…there is one affiliate program that you can start earning money with.
While these programs can be considered low ticket, you can still make some good profits by choosing those with a higher commission rate and adding them to your mix of affiliate offers.
However, if you want to make some significant income, I’d advise you to also add some high ticket affiliate offers that will help you move the needle faster and see results that are worth your time and will motivate you to keep going.
I used the affiliate training here to turn my affiliate business into a six-figure income in less than a year.