Top 10 Best eBook Affiliate Marketing Programs in 2025 for Book Reviewers

The global eBooks market is forecast to generate $14.92 billion in revenue by 2025, according to Statista. If you’re a bookworm or a content creator, now is the perfect time to start earning money by promoting highly-rated eBooks.

In this article, we’ll introduce 10 of the best eBooks with full details on commissions, cookie duration, and other benefits. Let’s explore and find the perfect fit for your audience’s interests today!

TL;DR:

If you enjoy reading and want to make money from it, let’s take a quick overview of the top 10 eBook affiliate programs we’ve highlighted.

• Abebooks (Commission: 5%, Cookie: 30 days)
• Apple Books (Commission: 7%, Cookie: 30 days)
• Books-A-Million (Commission: 3%, Cookie: 30 days)
• Epic! (Commission: $0.5, Cookie: 30 days)
• Pinch of Yum (Commission: 50%, Cookie: 180 days)
• Kobo (Commission: 5-10%, Cookie: 14 days)
• eBooks.com (Commission: 10-15%, Cookie: 45 days)
• Barnes & Noble (Commission: 5%, Cookie: 1 day)
• Flipkart (Commission: 12%)
• BookBaby (Commission: 10%)

It can be overwhelming to run programs, manage affiliates, monitor performance, or process payments. However, affiliate software like UpPromote can help handle all these tasks effortlessly. Our app makes it simple for even beginners to grow a successful affiliate marketing program.

10 Best eBook Affiliate Programs to Monetize Your Content

Pressed for time? Skip ahead to the table below for the best ebook affiliate programs.

1. Abebooks

Abebooks is a great online marketplace for book lovers and collectors searching for hard-to-find, unique items. They have become a global platform connecting buyers with independent sellers in over 50 countries.

When joining the Abebooks affiliate programs, you’ll earn a 5% commission on every approved sale. However, the brand pays commissions only on the first $500 of an item’s sale, even if the price exceeds that amount. The cookie stays active for 30 days from the customer’s first click on your link.

Abebooks runs their eBook affiliate program through Impact Radius. You can access the network and utilize their ready-made banners on your site to enhance your promotional efforts.

2. Apple Books

Apple Books is an e-book and audiobook platform developed by Apple. They offer millions of titles, from bestsellers and free books to handpicked collections across various genres.

The Apple Books affiliate program pays you a 7% commission for all sales you refer. The cookie stays valid for 30 days from the customer’s first visit to your link.

The brand collaborates with the Partnerize network to manage their program. You can simply log in to the platform to access your unique tracking link for promotions. Apple Books pays out commissions once your balance reaches $30.

3. Books-A-Million

Books-A-Million is the second-largest book retailer in the U.S., with 260 stores across 32 states. They offer a diverse selection of books, e-books, magazines, collectibles, toys, tech gadgets, gift items, and more.

The Books-A-Million affiliate program lets you earn a 3% commission on every qualified sale you refer. The cookie lasts for 30 days, so you’ll earn commissions on purchases made within this period.

You can request direct deposit payouts once your balance reaches $50, while paper checks have a minimum threshold of $100. The brand will send you their ready-to-use banners, text links, and button images to help you promote their products better and increase conversions.

4. Epic!

Epic! is a digital library for kids. They offer over 40,000 books, including picture books, chapter books, audiobooks, educational videos, and interactive content to make reading more engaging and fun.

This ebook affiliate program pays you a $0.50 commission for each account sign-up you drive. The cookie tracks referrals for 30 days from the initial click.

You can receive bonus commissions for each sale made in your first month with the program. Moreover, sharing their engaging content and exclusive discounts with your audience is a great way to enhance your promotions.

5. Pinch of Yum

Pinch of Yum offers a variety of recipes, from vegetarian meals to quick dishes for busy days. They also provide an eBook, Tasty Food Photography, with practical tips for anyone looking to improve their food photography skills.

You can enjoy a generous 50% commission on each eBook purchase made through your affiliate link. The long 180-day cookie duration gives you plenty of time to earn commissions on qualifying purchases.

Their ebook affiliate program is managed via the Shareasale network, so you must have an account before signing up to be their publisher. Additionally, you can create many attractive promotions with their eye-catching banners and text links.

6. Kobo

Kobo is a digital reading service offering over 5 million ebook and audiobook titles. Book lovers can download the Kobo App for free to enjoy their favorite stories on the go.

By joining the Kobo ebook affiliate program, you can earn different commission rates based on the type of item you promote:

• eBooks, audiobooks and devices: 5%
• Device accessories: 10%

With a 14-day cookie, you can earn commissions on purchases completed within this timeframe.

The brand partners with the Rakuten Linkshare to manage their program. Ebook affiliates can monitor your clicks, conversions, and earnings via Rakuten’s tracking dashboard.

7. eBooks.com

eBooks.com is a leading ebook retailer with over 2 million titles. They are also well-known for providing ebook-related services to publishers.

The eBooks.com affiliate program offers you a tiered commission structure based on your annual sales:

• Sales up to $100,000: 10%
• Sales over $100,000: 15%

The cookie window lasts 45 days, so you have a long time to earn money on purchases made after the first visit.

You can monitor your performance in real time through their user-friendly tracking and reporting tool. Besides that, their dedicated affiliate managers will provide valuable insights, strategies, and ongoing assistance to help improve your performance.

8. Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble is the leading bookseller with nearly 600 stores in the U.S. They offer a wide range of products, including textbooks, magazines, DVDs, gifts, and an extensive selection of eBooks and audiobooks.

When joining this ebook affiliate program, you can enjoy a 5% commission on each sale through your referral. However, the cookie duration is only 1 day, and you just get credit for purchases within this period.

The brand works with CJ Affiliate to manage their program. So, make sure your CJ account is active before signing up.

9. Flipkart

Flipkart is among the biggest and most well-known e-commerce platforms in India. Their product range includes electronics, clothing, shoes, toys, ebooks, and beauty products.

The Flipkart ebook affiliate program rewards you with a 12% commission on each successful sale. You can choose an eGift voucher payment with a minimum of Rs 2,500 or an EFT payment once your balance reaches Rs 5,000.

The company assists you with plenty of ready-to-use banners, links, and content to create interactive promotions. Their tracking dashboard will update you with your real-time orders and commissions.

10. BookBaby

BookBaby helps authors publish and distribute their eBooks, print books, and audiobooks. They provide professional services for book design, formatting, marketing, and distribution to major platforms like Amazon and Apple Books.

With this ebook affiliate program, you can enjoy a 10% commission on new referrals for orders over $100. Payments are processed through ACH or PayPal, so make sure your account is active before enrolling in their program.

You can monitor the performance of your campaign anytime through your BookBaby Partner account dashboard.

The Ultimate Guide to Building a High-Performing Affiliate Program for Your Ebook Brand on Shopify

The global market for ebooks is expanding rapidly. By 2025, it’s projected to be a $15-billion industry with over a billion readers.

This presents a massive opportunity for any brand selling ebooks on Shopify.

However, a bigger market also means more competition. With so many titles available, how do you ensure your ebooks connect with the right audience? The answer often lies in trust.

Think about your own habits. When an expert you follow or a blogger you admire recommends a book, you’re much more likely to consider it than a random ad.

This is the power of a trusted recommendation, and affiliate marketing helps you harness it at scale.

So, how does it work?

Affiliate marketing is a partnership with content creators, influencers, or educators whose audience aligns with your ideal readers. You provide them with a unique link to your Shopify store.

When one of their followers clicks that link and makes a purchase, the affiliate earns a commission. It’s essentially building a performance-based sales team where you only pay for actual results.

This approach offers several advantages over traditional advertising. Rather than spending large budgets upfront with uncertain returns, you invest in relationships that generate measurable sales.

This guide will show you how to do it, step-by-step. You will learn how to launch and grow a great affiliate program on Shopify. It will help you sell more ebooks and build a strong community around your brand.

Why Affiliate Marketing is a Game-Changer for Ebook Brands

To build an affiliate program that truly works, you need to understand whether this approach suits your e-book business. The answer is a resounding yes, and here’s why.

First, affiliate marketing is incredibly low-risk.

Compare this to paid ads on platforms like Google or Facebook. You pay for clicks or impressions upfront, regardless of whether anyone actually buys your e-book.

You could invest thousands into a campaign and see little to no return. The financial risk is entirely yours, and you pay it all before seeing any results.

With affiliate marketing, the model flips entirely. You only pay after a sale is made. If your partners don’t generate sales, you owe nothing. Your marketing cost is tied directly to your success.

Next, it leverages the power of a trusted voice.

Instead of your brand promoting your ebook, it’s a blogger or creator – someone their audience already knows and trusts – recommending it.

Where many people are skeptical of traditional ads, a personal suggestion from someone they respect feels like genuine advice, not a sales pitch.

That trust is the key. It makes people genuinely consider the recommendation and feel much more confident about making a purchase.

Finally, it gives you direct access to a highly targeted audience.

Why do you have to spend months or years building a community from scratch when you can partner with someone who has already cultivated one?

Your affiliates have dedicated followings built around specific interests – like sci-fi fans on a book blog, entrepreneurs on a business podcast, or professionals in a LinkedIn newsletter.

By collaborating with them, you tap directly into a pre-built audience that is already interested in what you have to offer.

Setting Up an Affiliate Program for Your Ebook Brand on Shopify

Now, it’s time to build an affiliate program for your Shopify store, and don’t worry – this part is much easier than it sounds.

Choosing the Right Shopify Affiliate Marketing App

Let’s be real for a second. Trying to keep track of every affiliate click, sale, and commission by hand would be challenging and error-prone.

Imagine managing everything in a spreadsheet or notebook. You’d need to calculate commissions for every single partner, verify each transaction, and update totals constantly.

Miss one sale? You’ve underpaid an affiliate.

Make a calculation error? You’ve damaged a valuable relationship.

The risk of losing top-performing partners over payment disputes is simply too high.

That’s exactly where UpPromote comes in. It acts as the command center for your whole program, putting all that hard work on autopilot.

UpPromote’s primary function is to track everything accurately and in real-time. When an affiliate generates a sale, the app records it instantly. No guesswork, no manual entry, and no room for human error.

Besides, as your program grows, you’ll likely need different structures for different partners. For instance, you might offer top influencers a higher commission rate while running a separate referral program for existing customers.

UpPromote allows you to manage multiple campaigns with different commission structures under one dashboard, making it simple to scale without adding complexity.

You don’t need technical expertise to manage your program. UpPromote is designed with an intuitive interface that makes navigation straightforward, even for beginners. If you ever run into questions, their 24/7 support team is available to assist you.

And you don’t have to commit right away. UpPromote has a free plan and offers a 14-day free trial on all its paid plans. This gives you the opportunity to test the platform, explore its features, and confirm it’s the right fit for your e-book brand before making any financial commitment.

Designing an Attractive Commission Rate

Step 2: Design an Attractive Commission Rate

Your commission rate needs to be competitive enough to attract high-quality partners while remaining profitable for your business.

The best way to determine the right rate is to research what others in the market are offering.

Understanding Market Benchmarks

Let’s start with the major platforms. Barnes & Noble and AbeBooks both offer around 5%, while Apple Books pays 7%. These established retailers set the baseline, but they’re also massive brands with built-in traffic and recognition.

Where should you position yourself?

To understand your options, look at your more direct competitors: independent e-book retailers and digital-first platforms. For example, BookBaby offers 10%, and eBooks.com offers between 10% and 15%.

These rates reflect what affiliates who specialize in digital books have come to expect from brands with business models similar to yours.

Finding Your Sweet Spot: 5% to 15%

Based on this research, a commission rate between 5% and 15% gives you the flexibility to compete effectively across different affiliate segments.

Here’s how to think about this range:

At the lower end (5% to 7%), you’re matching major platforms like Barnes & Noble and Apple Books. This is the minimum threshold to be taken seriously and works well for testing new affiliates or those with smaller, less targeted audiences.

At the higher end (10% to 15%), you truly stand out. By matching independent retailers like BookBaby and eBooks.com, these rates attract dedicated e-book affiliates and top performers who can drive significant volume.

The beauty of this range is its flexibility.

You can start at 5% to 7% to test the waters and manage initial costs, then scale up to 10% to 15% for affiliates who prove their worth through consistent sales.

This tiered approach lets you remain competitive while protecting your profit margins.

A rate in this range accomplishes two critical goals. First, it gives you options to motivate different types of affiliates based on their performance and audience quality. Second, it signals that you’re a serious partner committed to mutual success, not just looking for cheap promotion.

Setting an Effective Cookie Duration

Once you’ve determined your commission rate, the next crucial decision is your cookie duration. This technical term has a direct impact on how and whether affiliates get credited for their referrals, so it’s worth getting right.

What is cookie duration?

When someone clicks an affiliate link, a small tracking tag (commonly called a “cookie”) is stored in their browser. This tag remembers which affiliate referred them.

The cookie duration is simply how long that tag remains active. If the customer returns and purchases your e-book anytime within that window, the affiliate receives credit for the sale.

Why this matters

E-book purchases often involve a consideration period. A reader might click a link, browse your catalog, compare titles, read reviews, or simply wait until they have time to read.

If your cookie expires too quickly, the affiliate who introduced that customer to your brand receives nothing, even though they drove the initial interest.

Let’s look at what major platforms offer. Barnes & Noble provides just a one-day cookie window, while Kobo extends this to 14 days. These short durations aren’t particularly affiliate-friendly, especially given typical e-book buying behavior.

For independent retailers closer to your business model, the standards are more generous but vary. Understanding where you fit in this landscape helps you make a strategic choice.

The optimal range: 30 to 90 days

For e-book brands on Shopify, a cookie duration between 30 and 90 days strikes the right balance. Here’s how to choose within this range:

Start with 30 days if you’re new to affiliate marketing or want to test the waters. This gives customers a full month to make a purchase decision, which covers most e-book consideration cycles, while keeping attribution relatively straightforward.

Consider 60 days as your sweet spot. This duration accounts for customers who discover your books during a busy period and return later when they have reading time. It’s long enough to capture delayed purchases without creating excessive attribution overlap.

Extend to 90 days if you’re in a competitive market and want to stand out, or if your e-books are higher-priced collections or series where customers take longer to commit. This longer window demonstrates real commitment to your affiliate partners.

Identifying and Recruiting High-Quality Affiliates

The success of your program doesn’t depend on having hundreds of affiliates. It depends on having the right ones. This section is all about how to find and attract those high-quality partners.

Defining Your Ideal Affiliate Profile

You might be tempted to accept anyone who applies, but a strategic approach works better. Focus on partners whose audience is genuinely interested in your e-book’s topic and who create content that aligns with your brand values.

The most effective affiliates typically fall into four categories: niche content creators, podcasters, newsletter writers, and your existing customers. Each brings unique strengths to your program.

Let’s start with the most common partners: niche bloggers and content creators. These are people who build an audience around a specific topic.

The key is finding those whose niche aligns closely with your e-book’s subject matter.

For example, if you sell “The 30-Day Guide to a Minimalist Home,” seek bloggers who write about simple living.

Rather than just posting banner ads, they integrate your e-book naturally into their content. They might write “How I Finally Organized My Kitchen” and mention how your chapter on kitchen zones transformed their approach, sharing their personal success story as authentic proof.

Where to find them: Search Google or Pinterest for terms like “minimalist living blog” or “home organization tips.” Look for creators who post consistently, have engaged comment sections, and align with your brand voice.

To give you a head start, here are a few examples of perfect partners for that kind of ebook:

• Joshua Becker (337K subscribers)
• The Minimalists (612K subscribers)
• Marie Kondo (779K subscribers)

Next, think about podcasters in your ebook’s specific field. 

Audio content creates an incredibly personal connection. Podcast hosts literally have the ear of their listeners, often during commutes, workouts, or downtime when attention is high.

If your e-book is a “Beginner’s Guide to Sourdough Baking,” a food podcaster could share on their show how they struggled with bread-making until your guide finally clicked for them.

Hearing “I tried everything, but this book was the key” from a trusted host carries enormous weight with listeners.

You can search on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for your topic. Don’t focus solely on show size. A smaller podcast with 500 loyal, engaged listeners often outperforms a larger show with passive audience members.

Don’t forget about newsletter creators.

Email newsletters land directly in subscribers’ inboxes, one of the most trusted digital spaces. Newsletter creators typically have highly engaged audiences who actively choose to receive their content.

If you sell sci-fi e-books, partner with newsletters that send weekly book recommendations to genre fans.

The creator could feature your title as their “Indie Discovery of the Week” with a personal review. This feels less like advertising and more like a trusted recommendation from someone with similar taste.

You can explore Substack or Beehiiv to find newsletters about your topic, browse newsletter directories, or see who’s being mentioned in relevant online communities.

Finally, one of your most powerful groups of affiliates is right under your nose: your own loyal customers.

Who is better to promote your ebook than someone who has already bought it and loved it?

Their endorsements carry authentic weight.

They might share your e-book in a Facebook group for fans of your genre or post on personal social media: “I just read this and it was amazing, you need to check it out!”

This promotion is powerful precisely because it’s completely genuine.

You already have their contact information. Send an email to recent purchasers (especially those who left positive reviews) inviting them to join your affiliate program.

Reaching Out Directly

Once you’ve identified your target affiliates, it’s time to reach out. A personalized message shows you’ve done your research and genuinely believe they’re a strong fit for your program.

When writing your outreach, keep these principles in mind:

Be genuine and specific. Reference something concrete about their work to prove you’re not mass-emailing. A generic compliment like “I love your content” gets ignored. Instead, mention a specific post, video, or episode and explain what resonated with you.

Lead with value for them, not you. Focus on how your e-book benefits their audience, not just on your commission rate. Position this as a partnership that serves their community.

Keep it concise. Respect their time. Get to the point quickly while still being personable.

Make the next step clear. Don’t leave them wondering what to do if they’re interested.

Here is a simple email template you can use:

If you are reaching out on social media, your message should be shorter and more casual:

No pressure at all, but if you’re open to it, I’d love to send you a free copy of the ebook to look over and share a few more details. What’s the best email to send that to?

Set Up a Great Registration Page

While you actively look for partners, you also need a simple way to let them come to you. A great registration page acts as the “front door” to your affiliate program.

A well-designed registration page accomplishes several critical goals:

• It makes a strong first impression. A clean, professional design that matches your brand shows potential partners you run a legitimate, organized program worth joining.
• It clearly communicates your offer. This is where you prominently display your commission rate, cookie duration, and other program benefits to attract quality applicants.
• It pre-qualifies applicants. Strategic questions help you screen candidates before approval, saving time and ensuring you work with partners who align with your brand.
• It provides a shareable link. You can place this single URL on your website footer, social media bios, email signatures, or share it in outreach conversations.

You don’t need design skills to create a professional registration page. UpPromote provides user-friendly templates you can customize to match your brand. Adjust colors, fonts, and layout to align with your store’s visual identity..

But this form does more than just collect names. It’s your secret tool for finding the best partners.

By adding a few of your own questions to the form in UpPromote, you can learn more about your applicants before approving them.

Here are a few good questions to ask:

• “What is your primary platform?
• “Please share the URL to your website or main social media profile”
• “What topics do you primarily create content about?”
• “How do you plan to promote our ebook?”
• “Have you promoted ebooks or other products related to [your ebook’s topic] before?”

The question about their plan shows you who is serious about being a partner.

In addition, asking about their past promotion experience is very insightful. It tells you if they already have an audience that is interested in your topic and if they know how to sell a similar product.

Keep Your Partners Motivated

Recruiting great affiliates is just the beginning. The real challenge is keeping them active, engaged, and enthusiastic about promoting your e-books over time.

Affiliates who feel valued and supported consistently outperform those who only hear from you when there’s a problem.

Without consistent engagement, even your best affiliates will gradually shift focus to other programs that offer better support, recognition, or incentives.

The most successful affiliate programs treat partners as valued collaborators, not just a sales channel.

This section covers proven strategies for maintaining strong, productive affiliate relationships that drive sustained results.

Providing Performance Bonuses to Your Top Performers

Performance bonuses reward affiliates who achieve specific goals, creating clear targets that drive focused effort.

You can set a concrete milestone and offer additional compensation when affiliates reach it. For example, any affiliate who generates 20 sales in a month earns an extra $50 on top of their regular commissions.

This approach works because it gives affiliates a tangible, achievable goal. When they hit that target, they feel recognized for their hard work, which motivates continued high performance.

Your bonus should be meaningful but sustainable. A good rule of thumb is to offer bonuses worth 10% to 20% of the regular commission earnings at that sales level. If an affiliate earning $30 commission per sale makes 20 sales ($600 total), a $50 to $100 bonus represents an attractive 8% to 17% boost.

Consider tiered bonuses for even better results:

• 10 sales in a month: $25 bonus
• 20 sales in a month: $75 bonus
• 50 sales in a month: $200 bonus

This structure motivates affiliates at different performance levels rather than creating a single all-or-nothing threshold.

Offering Time-Based Incentives to Your Affiliates

Different timeframes serve different purposes.

Monthly bonuses create regular motivation and give affiliates frequent opportunities to win, which keeps energy high. These work well for e-book programs where affiliates can generate multiple sales relatively quickly.

Quarterly bonuses reward sustained performance over time and work well for top-performer recognition. Consider offering larger rewards, $200 to $500 bonuses for affiliates who hit ambitious quarterly targets like 100+ sales.

Special campaign bonuses drive focused effort around specific events. Launching a new e-book? Offer a limited-time bonus, double commissions for the first two weeks or a $100 bonus for the first five affiliates to generate 10 sales, to create urgency and excitement.

This might sound like a lot to track, but UpPromote makes it simple. Its Bonuses feature lets you create and automate these kinds of rules. You can easily set up sales goals or other targets, and the app will handle the rest.

Giving Non-Monetary Recognition and Support

Financial incentives matter, but they’re not the only way to keep affiliates engaged. You can consider:

• Featured affiliate spotlights: Showcase top performers on your website, in your newsletter, or on social media. Public recognition motivates high achievers and shows all affiliates what success looks like.
• Exclusive resources: Provide your best affiliates with premium promotional materials, early access to new e-books for review, or custom discount codes they can offer their audiences.
• Direct communication: Schedule quarterly check-ins with your top 10 to 20 affiliates. Ask what’s working, what challenges they’re facing, and what additional support would help them succeed.
• Education and training: Share best practices through monthly tips emails, case studies of successful promotions, or webinars on effective content marketing for e-books.

Conclusion

You now have a complete roadmap for building a successful affiliate program: from choosing the right platform and setting competitive rates to recruiting quality partners and keeping them motivated.

The key is creating mutually beneficial partnerships. When you offer fair compensation, provide proper support, and work with affiliates whose audiences align with your e-books, you build a sustainable sales channel that grows over time.

Start with your core offer, take it step by step, and remember that every successful program began exactly where you are now.

FAQs

1) What is an eBook affiliate program?

It’s a revenue-share model where publishers/influencers promote your eBook using tracked links or coupons and earn a commission on sales they refer.

2) What commission rate works for eBooks?

Common ranges are 20–50% for digital products. Higher rates (35–60%) are feasible because there’s no physical COGS; pair with tiered bump rates for top partners.

3) Can affiliates earn on upsells and bundles?

Yes—define the “commissionable catalog.” Many eBook sellers include order bumps, bundles, and course add-ons; disclose if post-purchase upsells are included.

4) What creatives convert best for eBooks?

Mockups (3D cover stacks), chapter previews, swipe copy, short video teasers, and “problem–solution” landing pages. Provide UTM’d links and coupon variants.

5) Are PLR or resell-rights eBooks allowed?

If your product uses PLR, state usage rights clearly. Many programs restrict affiliates from bidding on your brand or cloning your sales page.

6) What features should eBook sellers look for in affiliate software?

Deep-linking, coupon attribution, multi-touch tracking, first/last-click rules, tiered commissions, automated payouts, and fraud controls. Bonus: partner portals, link shorteners, and analytics API.

7) Where do I find good affiliates for eBooks?

Start with your buyers (post-purchase “become an affiliate”), newsletter subscribers, niche bloggers, BookTok/BookTube, course creators, and newsletter swaps. Use “author notes” inside the eBook to invite partners.