A book is more likely to sell when it’s recommended by someone influential. According to a Nielsen survey, 88% of customers most trust recommendations from people they know.
We’ve scoured the web to gather the 25 best book affiliate programs. So, you can promote your favorite reads while earning extra cash. Along the way, we’ll also note some points to consider before paying affiliates.
TL;DR
If you love reading, why not earn money by promoting your favorite books? Check out the top bookstore affiliate programs to get started.
- Amazon Associates (Commission: 4.5% per sale, Cookie: 24 hours)
- Bigger books (Commission: 5%, Cookie: 30 days)
- Barnes & Noble (Commission: 2%, Cookie: 1 day)
- Eagle Saver (Commission: 5%, Cookie: 45 days)
- Vital Source (Commission: 3%, Cookie: 30 days)
- Premier Collectibles (Commission: 15%, Cookie: 60 days)
- Bookshop (Commission: 10%, Cookie: Revealed once registered)
- Books-A-Million (Commission: 5%, Cookie: 30 days)
- TextbookX (Commission: 5%, Cookie: 30 days)
- Chirp Books (Commission: 5-20%, Cookie: 7 days)
- TAN Books (Commission: 8%, Cookie: 30 days)
- eCampus.com (Commission: 6%, Cookie: 45 days)
The final step in an affiliate program is compensating affiliates for driving successful orders. To ensure your payments are processed smoothly, review these 4 key points beforehand.
- Determine payment schedule & payment threshold
- Verify affiliate sales and commissions
- Choose a widely used payment method
- Handle invoices & taxes
Affiliate marketing is a risk-free way to increase your bookstore’s revenue because you only pay when affiliates make sales. UpPromote, the most favorite affiliate marketing solution, helps you run & manage your campaign. You can recruit book-loving partners, offer dynamic commissions, and track their performance.
Top 25 Best Affiliate Programs for Book Bloggers of 2024
In a hurry? Look at the top reading affiliate programs in the table below.
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The best affiliate programs |
Program name |
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Affiliate program with the highest commission rates |
Spring Nature (30%) |
|
Affiliate program with the longest cookie duration |
DiscountMags (60 days) |
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Affiliate program with the most payment methods |
BiggerBooks, Vital Source, TextbookX |
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Affiliate program with the lowest payment threshold |
Bookshop ($20) |
Amazon Associates
Amazon Associates is among the largest affiliate marketing programs for books in the world. They offer millions of products and programs and provide customers with a variety of genres, topics, and editions.
Amazon commission for physical books is 4.5%. The cookie duration only lasts 24 hours from the first click.
To receive a commission, you must earn at least $10 in cheque or $100 for Amazon Gift Certificate and bank transfer.
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Bigger books
BiggerBooks is one of the fastest-growing textbook affiliate programs in the industry. With its exclusive technology, it offers a wide range of deals on books, with up to 91% savings.
This affiliate marketing program for books is powered by CJ Affiliate. The brand offers commission rates starting at 5% and a 30-day cookie duration from the first click. Moreover, the average order value is up to $60 with free shipping.
When you sign up for their affiliate program, you will receive exclusive coupons, access to banners, buttons, links, and their product catalog to promote your affiliate link.
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Vital Source
Vital Source is one of the largest providers of digital course materials in the world. They carry over 90% of all textbooks in use today, including eTextbooks, eResources, and digital course materials.
Their affiliate program is managed by CJ Affiliate and offers multiple benefits for affiliates. They give out a commission rate of at least 3% and a 30-day cookie period for promoting through affiliate links.
As part of their affiliate program for books, you will receive a wide range of promotional tools and offers, such as coupons, banners, and links. They also provide a product catalog and campaign with size requirements for their partners.
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Bookshop
Bookshop connects readers with independent booksellers worldwide. In the past four years, it has raised more than $32 million for independent bookstores.
The bookshop affiliate program offers a 10% commission rate for their partners. Bookshop pays a transaction fee on all cashouts for affiliates. They use one of the highest grades of payment processing security – Stripe, with a payment threshold of $20.
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Books-A-Million
Books-A-Million has been in business for more than 100 years and is the second-leading bookstore in the US. With more than 200 stores in 32 states, they offer thousands of books, toys, games, collectibles, and more.
Commission Junction manages the Books-A-Million affiliate program. This program’s commission rate is 5%, and the cookie duration is 30 days.
Books-A-Million’s marketing team helps affiliates sell books by providing banners, links, and marketing tips. The payment threshold depends on each method. The minimum for direct deposit is $50, and for paper checks is $100.
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TextbookX
TextbookX is among the top online e-commerce sites for cheap textbooks. They offer more than 100 million books in different categories for every consumer.
The book affiliate program offers a 5% commission rate with various benefits. The conversion rate can be up to 7% and 10% during peak seasons. The average order value is over $100, which means you can earn at least $5 per sale.
To help their affiliate partners, Textbook X provides monthly newsletters with tips, special offers, unique banners, and text links.
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Chirp Books
Chirp is a well-known audiobook retailer with millions of listeners. They run hundreds of limited-time books of various types, including romance, fiction, and more.
The Chirp affiliate program is run through CJ Affiliate. Commissions are up to 20% and 5% for returning customers. The cookie duration is only 7 days; however, Chirp offers various promotional materials to their partners.
Chirp’s affiliate partners will receive affiliate newsletters and coupons annually. The brand also gives out product feeds daily with banners and text links.
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TAN Books
TAN Books is one of the most trusted publishers in the Catholic world. Their goal is to help people become saints through reading books.
Powered by CJ Affiliate, the Tan Books affiliate program offers a 10% commission rate and a 45-day cookie duration. Tan Books has a high average order value of $50.65 and provides a 6.4% conversion rate since 2020.
TAN Books provides their partners with a regularly updated catalog and a fully dedicated support team to help increase sales.
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eCampus.com
eCampus is considered as a friend of college students in buying and renting textbooks and eTextbooks. They serve as the official bookstore for over 150 schools nationwide and continue to grow.
The commission rate of their affiliate program is different for each type of book:
- 5% for New Books & eTextbooks
- 6% for Used Books
- 8% for Rentals
Moreover, for buybacks, you can receive $3 per sale. eCampus’s cookie duration is 30 days. They also provide in-house management, coupon codes, banners, links, and a product catalog for their partners.
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Waterstones
Waterstones is a leading book specialist in the UK with competitive prices. They provide shipping for any Waterstones shop order over £25 in the UK.
The commission rate is 1% for existing customers and up to 4% for new customers. The cookie duration is 14 days, and commission processing takes 28 days.
When signing up for the Waterstones book affiliate program, you can have attractive bespoke graphics and updated feeds. Waterstones also offers regular bonuses and seasonal promotions to their partners.
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Eagle Saver
- Commission rate: 10%
- Cookie duration: Not mentioned
Eagle Saver is an online buyback merchant with the highest trust pilot rating in the industry. It offers payback for books, textbooks, Blu-rays, DVDs, audio CDs, and video games.
Second Sale
- Commission rate: 6%
- Cookie duration: Not mentioned
Second Sale is a big provider, selling more than 10 million book titles every year. The prices here are cheaper, starting at $3.78.
eBooks.com
- Commission rate: Up to 15%
- Cookie duration: 45 days
eBooks.com is a leading global bookstore with thousands of book categories. This site offers marketing and eBook fulfillment services to book publishers worldwide.
Calendar Club
- Commission rate: 10%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
Calendar Club is the UK’s biggest provider of high-quality calendars. They offer more than 6,500 products, including calendars, diaries, gifts, and more.
Bookroo
- Commission rate: 10%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
Bookroo provides monthly book subscription box services for kids ages 0 to 10. This website is targeted at moms and babies to help them develop a love for books.
AbeBooks
- Commission rate: 5%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
AbeBooks offers a wide range of products, such as books, fine art, and collectibles. Here, you can find new, used, and rare books at affordable prices.
Kobo
- Commission rate: 5-10%
- Cookie duration: 14 days
Kobo offers one of the highest-paying affiliate programs in the book industry. Their program varies, including social influencers, authors, publishers, and bloggers, as well as cashback, shopping, and coupon websites.
Biblio
- Commission rate: 5%
- Cookie duration: Not mentioned
Biblio is the largest independent marketplace for quality used, rare, and out-of-print books. Biblio has provided more than 100 million books in various categories.
Indigo Books and Music
- Commission rate: 2-5%
- Cookie duration: 7 days
Indigo Books and Music is a site where adult women and children under 10 can find books. They also offer online books, toys, gifts, and more.
Willmaker – Nolo
- Commission rate: 25-35%
- Cookie duration: 90 days
Nolo is a provider of law books all over the world. You can find any law-related books and documentaries here.
Discounted Newspapers
- Commission rate: 20%
- Cookie duration: 15 days
Discounted Newspapers offers the best deals on newspapers at a lower price. They carry any title of newspaper, including nationwide and local newspapers.
Ignatius Press
- Commission rate: 10%
- Cookie duration: 45 days
Ignatius Press affiliate program provides chances to promote Catholic books, music, movies, and more. They specialized in publishing Catholic products at a fair price.
Magazine.co.uk
- Commission rate: £4
- Cookie duration: 30 days
Magazine.co.uk is a leading independent magazine subscription website in the UK with over 3 million visitors. They offer customers exclusive offers for hundreds of different magazines and newspapers.
DiscountMags
- Commission rate: 18%
- Cookie duration: 60 days
DiscountMags offers popular magazines at the lowest price. They provide more than 6,000 magazines, free shipping, and tax-free shopping for their customers.
Spring Nature
- Commission rate: 30%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
Spring Nature is a major e-commerce book platform with more than 2,900 journals and 300,000 books for authors and readers. They lead the market in providing documents to academia, scientific institutions, and corporate R&D departments.
Key Points To Check Before Paying Your Book Affiliates
Obviously, you need to pay affiliates when they drive book sales to your store. And it’s important to make payments timely and accurately.
A trusted affiliate app like UpPromote guarantees hassle-free payments for your affiliates. Happy affiliates, who receive on-time payments, will likely strike to drive more sales.
Let our affiliate marketing software help track and pay your partners.
Now let’s find out what to consider before sending out affiliate payments.
Determine payment schedule and payment thresholds
Ensure that all payment details are crystal clear to your affiliates. The most common aspects are the payment schedule and payment thresholds.
Payment schedule: How often affiliates will receive their earnings, such as monthly, biweekly, or even daily. It’s essential to stick to the schedule you set, as timely payments are key to maintaining affiliate trust and motivation.
Payment thresholds: The minimum amount an affiliate must earn before they can receive a payout. For example, affiliates might need to earn at least $50 before payments are issued.
If affiliates do not meet the payment threshold, ensure their unpaid commissions roll over to the next payment period.
You should also decide on a return period in case customers send back books. Be sure not to pay commissions until the return period has passed to avoid paying out on returned items.
Your affiliate page is the ideal place to show payment information. Hence, potential affiliates can easily understand your payment structure before joining your program. Transparency fosters stronger relationships and builds trust between both parties.
Verify affiliate sales and commissions
Before processing payments, make sure all referred sales are confirmed and the return period has ended.
UpPromote offers a trusted affiliate tracking system that handles the accounting for you. Our app tracks each referral your affiliates bring in, and commissions are credited only after you approve them.
Within the UpPromote dashboard, navigate to the Referrals section.
When a customer completes a purchase through an affiliate link or coupon, a referral order is automatically recorded once the payment is received.
The system will then notify the merchant via email about the new referral order. Its status will be visible in the Affiliate Referrals tab for the merchant to review.
Choose a payment method
It’s crucial to choose a payment method that your book affiliates are comfortable with. Popular options include PayPal, bank transfers, store credit, checks, debit/credit cards, and gift cards.
In case you’re not familiar with store credit, you can send commissions as discount codes for your store. These codes cannot be withdrawn as money but can only be used to purchase books from your store.
Our affiliate system supports paying affiliates via store credits, and it’s simple to set up.
Just go to Settings > Payment > Payment Settings and select Store Credit > Save. If you have multiple programs, you can choose which one this payment method will apply to.
If your store is integrated with PayPal, UpPromote can automate payments through this popular method. Say goodbye to manual work!
In the same Settings section, go to Payment > Schedule auto-payment and activate Auto-payout with PayPal toggle.
Next, select whether to schedule payments for a Specific date or by Payment cycle. Note that auto-payments must be set up at least 2 days before the payday.
- Specific date: Choose a specific day for the system to process payments
- Payment cycle: Set a recurring cycle for automatic payments on your preset schedule
Handle invoices and taxes
Invoices and taxes are essential parts of the affiliate payment process. It’s important to manage these transactions carefully and comply with legal requirements. Both you, as the merchant, and your affiliates need proper documentation.
In our affiliate software, both sides can download invoices for paid referrals. There are Invoice ID, Payment method, Payment info, Payment amount, Affiliate name, and Referral details.
Additionally, there are tax implications when issuing commissions to your affiliates. The amount of tax and the payment process depend on your location and local laws.
In places like Germany and the EU, you must follow strict tax regulations. So it’s necessary to understand the tax requirements in your country.
With our affiliate system app, you can determine whether taxes should be paid by no one, you (the merchant) or your affiliates.
Conclusion
Accurate and timely commission payments are crucial for both merchants and affiliates. Merchants must ensure correct payouts to maintain affiliate loyalty and avoid financial losses. Conversely, affiliates rely on consistent compensation to sustain their promotional efforts.
UpPromote offers a reliable solution with real-time tracking & reporting, ensuring accurate commission payouts. Moreover, merchants can enhance their campaigns with commission settings, affiliate motivation techniques, etc.
Check out our pricing plans to discover how our app can benefit your business.
