While the majority of book bloggers are hobbyists doing it for their love of books, it’s possible to earn passive income from your blog through affiliate marketing. Considering that we talk about and review books, sharing affiliate links on our posts is a logical and useful addition to your blog so that visitors can click a link to buy from the retailer of their choice directly from your post.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to make some spare cash from our hobbies, especially given my book buying addiction got out of control after Reader Voracious opened its virtual doors. But book blogging is not only a small niche, but also its own beast that doesn’t play by the “tried and true blogging rules”. I’m here to give you all an overview on affiliate marketing and a list of affiliate programs for book bloggers to join for that passive income side hustle!
What is Affiliate Marketing
Chances are you’ve heard this phrase thrown around a lot on the internet, especially with the rise of influencer marketing. In short, this means the book blogger provides a customized link directly to a retailer’s page for the product they recommend. When a purchase is made through that link, the blogger receives a small commission at no extra cost to the consumer for referring the sale.
Affiliate Programs for Book Bloggers
In this day and age there are a lot of online stores available to buy books and other goods, which is very exciting! There are a lot of options out there, and I’ve put together a list of the options and some affiliate marketing terms you will need to know so you can determine the best programs to recommend to your audience.
- Commission rate: typically a percentage that is earned by each sale, but sometimes there is a flat-rate (sometimes referred to as CPO)
- Cookie duration: the amount of time that your affiliate link will credit a sale for you (they don’t necessarily have to place an order right after clicking the link)
- AOV: average order value
- CPC: cost per click; the amount an advertiser will pay per link click (not typical with the affiliate programs listed in this guide)
- CPM: cost per mille; the amount an advertiser will pay per 1,000 ad impressions (not typical with the affiliate programs listed in this guide)
- Conversion rate: the percentage of users who complete a sale/sign-up after clicking the link
Affiliate Marketing Networks to Join
Affiliate Marketing Networks are fantastic as they manage multiple programs for brands all in one place. This comes in handy when you promote within different niches, as well as helping to reach minimum payout balances more quickly. Amazon is the go-to for obvious reasons: almost everyone uses Amazon – but there are a couple more that us bookish peeps should join.
- Cookie tracking depends on the brand
- Commission rate varies based on the brand
- Network payout minimum is $50
- You need to generate at least one sale within six months or you are removed from the program; however, you can easily reapply
Bookish Affiliate Programs
Now that we’ve gone over the basics, here is a list of the book merchants and services that have affiliate programs with the commission rates, cookie duration, and links of where to sign up. If the program is managed by one of the affiliate networks, it is mentioned in parenthesis after the affiliate name.
Audiobooks.com (CJ)
- $4.50 commission for each free trial sign-up
- 45 day cookie tracking
- Servicable area: Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States
Audible
- $15 commission for each free trial sign-up
Join Audbile Affiliate Program
Better World Books (CJ)
- 5% commission on all orders
- 90 day cookie tracking
Join Better World Books Affiliate Program
Blackwell’s Bookshop
- 6% commission on all orders
Join Blackwell’s Affiliate Program
Books A Million (CJ)
- Up to 5% commission on all orders
- 30 day cookie tracking
Join Books-A-Million Affiliate Program
Bookshop
- 10% of every sale generated (and a matching 10% goes to independent bookstores)
- Minimum $20 balance for payout
Join Bookshop Affiliate Program
Indigo Books (CJ)
- Up to 5% commission on all orders
- 7 day cookie tracking
- Minimum $25 balance for payout
- Servicable area: Canada and United States
Kobo
- 5% on audiobooks, books, and ebooks
- 14 day cookie tracking
The Book Despository (Awin)
- 5% on all orders
- 30 day cookie tracking
- IMPORTANT! If you were a pre-2020 affiliate, you need to reapply with Awin
Join The Book Depository Affiliate Program
Waterstones (Awin)
- 4% commission on all orders
- 30 day cookie tracking
Join Waterstones Affiliate Program
Wordery (Awin)
- 5% for new, 2% existing customers on all orders
- 30 day cookie tracking
Join Wordery Affiliate Program
Barnes and Noble (CJ – inactive as of 2021)
- Used to offer 2% commission on all orders, but it dropped to 0% in 2020.
Bookish Programs with Referral Bonuses
While this post is geared towards affiliate programs, I would be remiss to leave out these popular book services with fantastic referral bonuses! If you are a member of these services, you are able to share a referral link to receive a free productive equivalent for each sign-up.
Libro.fm is the independent option for audiobooks. Their membership (not fully international at this time) is a direct competitor for Audible and all purchases made support an independent book store of your choice (which you are able to update at any time).
- Each new membership sign up using your link gives you a free audiobook credit
- Learn more about the Libro.fm referral program
💬 Related Post: Why I Switched to LibroFM for Audiobooks
Scribd is an ebook and audiobook monthly subscription service. Available internationally, Scribd addresses some issues of book access internationally. A monthly account gives you unlimited* access to their library.
- Each new membership using your referral link gives you a free month on your membership
- Learn more about the Scribd referral program
How to Properly Disclose Affiliate & Referral Links
Now that you’ve chosen the affiliate program(s) you want to join to include on your website, it’s important to briefly talk about how to properly disclose affiliate and referral links in your content. The United States FTC has strict endorsement guidelines that we need to follow in order to comply with the law.
💬 Related Post: What CMA Guidelines Mean for Book Bloggers & How to Properly Disclose ARCs
Even if the country you live in doesn’t have disclosure requirements, the truth is that you need to comply to the laws for the countries your visitors reside in. Yes, that’s right. It’s impossible to know where each visitor is from, so it’s best to adhere to the strictest guidelines (US or UK). This is why all ARC reviews have disclaimers on them! The FTC Guidelines are pretty detailed for online endorsements – be it affiliate or paid for review (including received the product for free) and are a good place to start.
It’s important to know that your affiliate disclaimer needs to be at the top of your content and near the links themselves: check out the CMA guidelines for some awesome infographics on how to properly disclose.
Let’s Chat!
💬 Do you participate in affiliate marketing on your book blog? Why or why not?
💬 Which affiliate programs are your go-tos?
💬 What recommendations for earning passive income do you have?
While this post is all about affiliate marketing, none of the links included are my affiliate links and I will make zero dollars when you click. 😉
If you like the work that I do here Reader Voracious, please consider buying me a ko-fi ☕ or joining my patreon!
I barely see people using affiliate links for places other than Amz, book depo, blackwells and bookshop so this is very helpful! Thanks for sharing!
I was honestly surprised how many bookish ones there were because most people don’t branch out. I’m glad you found the post useful, thanks for stopping by!
This is by far the most comprehensive and succinct guide on bookish affiliate programs that I have come across so far! This would be so helpful since I plan on starting to use affiliate links on my blog! Thank you!
Thank you SO MUCH for your comment, I am glad you found it useful and good luck getting your affiliate links sorted on your blog!
Thank you so much for this post! It’s pretty helpful.
I’ve been a part of the TBD Affiliate program but it kind of wasn’t working for me so I never thought to look at other options. Now I might look at some of the options you’ve listed including the Audible and Amazon Affiliate program just to see if it’s worth the effort.
You’re welcome and I’m so glad you found it useful!
I am still SO SALTY that TBD changed their affiliate program and didn’t tell anyone? Like I’ve been using “fake” affiliate links for over a year lmao. Good luck with the programs you check out!
Ah thank you so much for this guide Kalkal! I’ve never ventured into using affiliate links or joining any programs simply because I didn’t know where to begin or if there was any point. I’ll definitely be referring back to this guide though as I may start to look into joining affiliate programs and such.
Yea — it is definitely pretty daunting to know where to begin, especially beyond the Amazon program (especially since you get kicked out of it if you don’t get 3 sales within the first few months). Get that coin, Cloclo!
This is a very helpful guide. I did try Amazon’s program once but it felt so time consuming and confusing. Maybe they’ve gotten better since then, I should try again!
Amazon’s program has improved over the years and is worth the effort because the links apply to the whole site with cookies!
I think we’re only affiliated with Waterstones, Bookshop, and Indiebound. I didn’t know Blackwells offered a program, so that’s cool to learn! I also didn’t know about the nuances/differences between the different types of programs, so thanks for breaking that down!
I didn’t know about the Blackwells program either, which has me pretty excited! Thanks for reading and I’m glad you found the post useful
This is so helpful! Thank you for sharing this- I’m bookmarking it to read in depth as I want to look into these options.
You’re welcome Greg, I’m happy you found the post useful and good luck when you decide to dive into affiliate programs yourself!
i’ve never heard of many of these! most people use amazon or book depository. this is a great list, thank you!
I was honestly SO SURPRISED at how many options there are since everyone basically uses Amazon and TBD! Thanks for reading & I’m glad you found the post useful Chelsea.
I’ve been an Amazon and TBD affiliate since I started blogging but I never really earn anything. I still put Amazon affiliate links in my posts though 😂
This is such a helpful post for people who want to try affiliate marketing, Kal!
Yea, I don’t make much from my affiliate programs either — I’ve only gotten a couple payouts from Amazon in the 3.5+ years that I’ve been blogging. I think it’s worth it to include the links though since it isn’t much effort. Thanks for reading, Inah!
Thank you Kal, this is such a comprehensive list! I’ve bookmarked this page as I have been thinking of using affiliate links sometime in the future.
Ahhh thank you Wendy, I’m happy the post is useful to you & good luck when you decide to get started with affiliate programs!
I should have guessed that something was up when I got a payment from Book Depository that was less than the minimum payout. Not nice that they didn’t tell us. As for Barnes & Nobel, I guess they don’t want people to buy books from bloggers with affiliate links. Stupid, if you ask me! By the way, Booksamillion is also on CJ. I didn’t know about Indigo, though. Thanks.
Oooh I am happy to hear you GOT a payout from Book Depository as I am sure that I didn’t lol. I was bummed about B&N — it was suspended when the pandemic started, so I hope it might come back sometime in the future when things return to normal again. Thanks for letting me know about Booksamillion!
Oh, one other thing. Kobo (which is now Walmart) is through Rakuten Advertising, which also carries Alibris.
AHHH I forgot about Kobo!
what a great list! i hadn’t actually heard of many of these besides the amazon one. thanks for sharing <3
Thank you Allison, I’m glad you learned about some new programs from the list!
I’m looking into affiliate marketing and this was extremely helpful!! Thank you, Kal!
You’re MORE than welcome Birdie, I’m glad you found the list helpful!
I stopped using book depository after they changed things. I only use Amazon affiliate links now. Though I don’t see getting anything and they close it when it don’t get required sale and then I have to reapply . I don’t know how long I can do that before I stop using it.
Yea it really stinks that Amazon requires the sales or you get kicked out and have to reapply, it’s such a pain in the butt. I hope you’re able to get those required sales so you don’t have to keep reapplying!