Are you considering signing up for book affiliate programs?
You should; people read for many reasons. Some do it for entertainment, while others do it because they have to for their college courses. Some read to their kids because their parents read to them when they were younger.
And that’s why we’re not surprised that the book industry is worth US$119 billion per year.
Building a profitable affiliate site around this topic can be difficult. But if you put on your Authority Hacker hat, you’ll find multiple ways to approach this problem.
You need the right variety of book affiliate programs to promote.
Book Affiliate Programs
- Barnes & Noble Affiliate Program
- Bigger Books Affiliate Program
- Thrift Books Affiliate Program
- Second Sale Affiliate Program
- Calendar Club Affiliate Program
- Eagle Saver Affiliate Program
- Vital Source Affiliate Program
- Premier Collectibles Affiliate Program
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1 Barnes & Noble
Here we have another survivor of the digital reading revolution- Barnes & Noble.
They adapted better than most, releasing their Nook e-reader to compete with the Kindle. Their analog book business has been doing well, too, claiming the title of the #1 bookseller in the United States, with 1 million titles in stock at any one time.
They seem to stay competitive by offering novels, kids’ books, and student textbooks because, despite what people think, there’s still a strong market for printed books.
You’re unlikely to retire on what you make referring new customers to Barnes & Noble—they pay a 2% affiliate commission. And their EPC is far from massive.
The only reasons they go over the line here are:
- Brand name – you won’t even have to work to promote them
- Their ‘Network’ Earnings score says their affiliates are making money
So, promote them via their affiliate program, but don’t go exclusive with them.
- URL: Barnes & Noble
- Commission: 2%
- EPC: $4.77
- Cookie duration: 1 day
2 Bigger Books
Bigger Books was one of the leading e-tailers of used and new college textbooks from 2001 to 2014. That was the year they began offering a textbook rental option simply because many students could not afford the textbooks they needed for the coming semesters.
They also offer a full range of eTextbooks, replacing heavy books with e-reader files. They’re also more than happy to buy your existing used textbooks from you, easing the cost of investing in them.
This affiliate marketing program pays a 5.5% commission on all textbook sales and rentals, with an average payout of $4.98 per transaction.
Their ‘Power Rank’ score and EPC tell you that they have many affiliates making money.
And there’s also the tiny detail that they have an 18% conversion rate. Add in the fact that education is the most profitable affiliate niche—the average education website earns more than $15,500, according to our affiliate marketing statistics—and this program is clearly one of the best book affiliate programs out there.
- URL: Bigger Books
- Commission: Up to 6.5%
- EPC: $90.42
- Cookie duration: 30 days
3 Thrift Books
I became a big fan of buying used books about a decade ago when I checked off a major bucket list item – spend a year reading. Used books became my “go-to” because I could buy an entire box of them for the price of a single new hardback novel.
Unfortunately, I didn’t know about ThriftBooks back then, even though they’ve grown to become the biggest online retailer of used books in the United States. As of the time of writing, they have 7 million books in stock, including everything from kids’ classics to the latest fiction thrillers and rare and collectible items.
You’re not sure how you can sell used books to your audience?
Tell them reading previously owned books lowers their carbon footprint, which is entirely true.
As an affiliate, you’ll receive a 5% commission on every purchase your visitors make. However, you can get an 8% cut if you refer more than $10,000 worth of monthly sales.
It’s always nice to see a vendor offering a sliding scale to top performers because it encourages other affiliates to really push themselves to break through to the next level.
- URL: ThriftBooks
- Commission: 5%
- EPC: $21.85
- Cookie duration: 7 days
4 Second Sale
Two things popped out at me when I landed on the homepage of used book specialists, Second Sale.
- They have the ugliest header I’ve seen in years
- They have over 10 million used books in stock
But you should never judge a book by its cover – we explain why later.
They’re quite happy to sell your visitor’s books for as little as $3.78.
But they’re also equally happy to buy used books from your visitors or anyone else.
And they also offer free standard shipping on pretty much every book they have in stock.
While we criticized their header for being ugly, these guys convert 30%+ of their traffic into affiliate sales.
If you’re unsure if that’s good or bad, take my word for it – it’s exceptional.
So, although you might think their website looks dated or messy, they’re keeping their new and existing customers very happy. And that’s far more important than a few design issues.
- URL: Second Sale
- Commission: 5%
- EPC: $81.03
- Cookie duration: 90 days
5 Calendar Club
Yes, yes, I know it says Calendar Club. And no, they don’t only sell Calendars.
It’s a family-oriented bookstore with lots of entertainment and educational titles for kids. However, they also have lifestyle and motivation books for adults.
I like how they’ve categorized their books. You can choose from specific authors, activities like bedtime books, or even just the book style you want to read—humor, sports, travel, entertainment, etc.
A nice touch is that they have both US and UK stores, so they’re suitable for a regional or international audience.
Affiliates are paid a 5% commission on all books sold, but you’ll receive a 10% cut of any incidental calendar purchases. It is worth noting that they offer a 45-day cookie, 44 days more than some of the other affiliate programs listed there.
Who doesn’t offer at least a 7-day cookie these days?
- URL: Calendar Club
- Commission: Up to 10%
- EPC: $26.81
- Cookie duration: 45 days
6 Eagle Saver
Eagle Saver has no interest in selling you anything. Instead, they want to buy your used books (as well as CDs, DVDs, and games) from you for cash. And that includes a single copy of a book, or even if you happen to have boxes of the same title – they have a special “bulk checkout” option.
You also don’t have to wait to get paid—the money will be in your PayPal or checking account 24 hours after Eagle Saver receives your books.
If you’re worried about shipping costs, don’t be – you choose FedEx or UPS and print out your shipping label. Eagle Saver takes the financial hit there for you.
The website looks and feels dated, but how are their affiliates doing?
Their affiliates are doing well thanks to the 28% conversion rate, 5% commission, and a 45-day cookie.
What more could you want from an affiliate program? Apart from being paid to do absolutely nothing, which is highly unlikely.
- URL: Eagle Saver
- Commission: 5%
- EPC: $78.70
- Cookie duration: 45 days
7 Vital Source
You could invest in a small mountain of paper textbooks for your college course. Or you could choose to save the trees and buy eTextbook versions from Vital Source instead.
The cost of buying textbooks can cause some students to simply do without them, impacting their grades. With Vital Source, students can choose the exact eTextbooks they need at up to 80% off regular prices.
This is possible because this company has relationships with 7,000 educational institutions, 500 stores, and 1,000 publishers. So they can negotiate for better prices on behalf of students everywhere.
Your traffic will need to have a large percentage of students for you to monetize this offer properly. But if you do, then you can make a neat 3% commission for every customer you send their way. And you have 30 days for that interested visitor to turn into a paid lead.
- URL: Vital Source
- Commission: 3%
- EPC: $53.28
- Cookie duration: 30 days
8 Premier Collectibles
We end this roundup with a pretty cool business: Premier Collectibles, purveyors of all types of rare and collective books.
Now, if you’re a book nerd (like me), you probably dream of the day you’ll be browsing in a used book store, only to find a signed first edition of “The Hobbit.” Okay, that’s probably never going to happen….but I can dream.
In the meantime, Premier Collectibles just might have the autographed first edition of a book you want—or a signed copy of a book by a loved one’s favorite author.
Either way, this is one of those truly unique affiliate programs that can be fun and profitable to promote.
Autographed books and first editions are often valued in the hundreds but sometimes in thousands of dollars.
Regardless of the value of the book, you’ll receive a 15% commission for each transaction, which could be hundreds of dollars for selling a single book.
- URL: Premier Collectibles
- Commission: 15%
- EPC: $34.25
- Cookie duration: 60 days
Over to You
As you can see, affiliate programs for book lovers are a bit of a mixed bag.
On the one hand, huge companies offer a 2% commission rate and a 1-day cookie.
Meanwhile, book companies you’ve never heard of before today (probably) are paying 2x – 5x as much commission, offer a 45-day cookie, and have way better performance metrics.
That’s why we tried to add as much variety to the offers as possible while still providing you with profitable affiliate programs to promote.
Now, we have a treat for you if you want to learn how to make money with these programs.
You can sign up for our free training on how to build your first affiliate site.
That’s 20 years of industry experience condensed into two short hours.
Tell us where to send your invite, and we’’ take care of the rest.
