Earlier today, I was browsing the sites of a couple authors I enjoy, and I noticed they had links for visitors to buy their books, but they weren’t affiliate links. The internet marketer in me nearly had heart failure.
If you’ve published a book and you’re promoting it on your website (you are promoting your book, right?), then you should be signed up with a bookseller that offers an affiliate program. Both Amazon and Barnes and Noble offer affiliate programs, and I’m sure other bookstores do too.
Once you sign up, you can make links that allow your site visitors to click through and buy the book from the merchant. You’ll get at least 6% of the purchase price (Amazon has a sliding scale where you get a higher % if you sell more items), and you’ll make even more if folks buy other items from the store while they’re browsing.
Considering typical paperback royalty rates aren’t much higher than this (disgusting, hunh?), you’ve got a chance to nearly double what you make per book if you promote your work–with an affiliate link–on your site.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Olivier | Books that can change your life // Feb 22, 2009 at 12:54 am
You’re totally right Lindsay, Amazon commission is a way to finally be well paid when you write and sell a printed book !
2 Genevieve // Feb 22, 2009 at 11:52 pm
It’s absolutely shocking how little most people understand about the internet. I see the same thing, Lindsay, and it makes me crazy too. It’s hard enough to make a living from one’s writing without missing out on a big, easy percentage of the income!
3 Anne Wayman // Feb 24, 2009 at 10:35 am
Have done this for years and years (www.powerfullyrecovered.com for instance), even when Amazon said they didn’t want us to. I just figured they probably wouldn’t catch me. It worked.
4 Just Interesting Stuff - Resource Tuesday Roundup // Feb 24, 2009 at 11:02 am
[...] at Writing for Your Wealth points out yet another way to make at least some money in a post called How to Get Paid Twice for Your Book. An excellent example of staying open and aware to money making [...]
Leave a Comment