In the active world where everyone just observes the surface value or the face value in terms of content, beauty, material and income, passive means are mostly overlooked or degraded. But we all should remember that passive means always help in adding something in such a way that it brings in the value and substance to any work despite making too much noise about its existence. Similarly in the marketing world of books, affiliate marketing for books is a passive source of income for book bloggers, Influencers, Instagrammers, etc.
To earn income via affiliate marketing for books, one needs to create exclusive links which can be used by bloggers, and influencers while marketing and promoting the book on their websites, social media accounts, etc. To be more precise for a layman, affiliate marketing for books is something similar to commission earning. But it’s not the same thing as sponsored posts or display marketing because they are an active way of earning money.
The blogger/influencer creates specific content for sponsored posts or display marketing as they are paid by the authors or the publishing houses who hire the blogger or influencer. In affiliate marketing for books, the reader has to purchase the book so that the blogger/influencer can earn money, just clicking will not help.
Now the question arises – why does somebody need the passive source of income when he/she is having a direct way of earning through sponsored posts, display marketing, etc. Well, the answer lies in the fact that keeping the source of income limited to one platform is very risky especially in the book industry. As we have seen, publishing houses or self publishers hire marketing agencies and promote their work on multiple platforms to reach their target audience. Similarly for a blogger and influencer to explore different ways to earn money is crucial.
Affiliate Marketing For Selling Books:
Now the question arises how one can use affiliate marketing for selling books? There are few different ways for different Sellers , so first we will discuss How Bloggers Can Use Affiliate Marketing For Selling Books Via Their Blogs.
For incorporating affiliate links into a blog a blogger can insert Deep Links and/or use Banner Ads.
1. Deep Links
Deep links are integrated by the blogger in his blog and reviews on his website. Ideally one should insert a deep link whenever the title of the book is mentioned during the review or blog. Also, one important thing to know is that the link should not hinder the flow of the reader, in fact if the reader chooses to click the link then it should allow him to know the ID of the blogger. Also if the blogger is tabulating, each tabular content should direct the reader to the book so that the purchasing rate becomes higher. Not only that, links can be given or added at the end of the book where the readers can buy the book via these links. For example, Amazon has a feature called Widget, which allows inserting image links into the post/blog.
2. Banner Ads
Banner ads are becoming a common thing whenever you are reading or using social media in general too. They are like image based advertisements which direct you to that particular website or app where you can shop, listen to music, scroll down latest headlines or fashion trends, etc. But if the reader only scrolls and doesn’t buy anything then you will not be earning out from such ads. So be wise which ads you want to incorporate so that it helps in lifting up your sales. Banner ads can be displayed at the beginning or at the end or in between too the blog or on the homepage of the blogger website etc. One main backdraw that banner ads have, is the fact that it breaks the flow of reading for the readers.
There are many affiliate networks present for book bloggers and influencers. So, the blogger and the influencer should be well aware of the pros and cons of such networks before signing up for these networks. These networks are either directly connected to the seller or via another (third) party. These networks have different affiliate programs because the sales are dependent on socio-geographical factors as well as on different currencies. Some websites automatically ask the reader to visit the required link via directing it. Some of them do not support this function.
Some of the most popular affiliate marketing networks examples are:
1. Amazon: (Amazon affiliate programs are the most popular ones as the price range is easy on pocket and the conversion rate of these programs into sale is more compared to other affiliate programs available) Example of affiliate programs on Amazon are Kindle Unlimited – an ebook affiliate program and Audible – an audio affiliate program. Amazon’s affiliate marketing program is available in both US and UK with different commission rates. Like in the US the commission rate is 4.5% on physical books and 10% on other products. The minimum payment threshold is $10. Whereas in the UK affiliate program of Amazon the commission is 5% on books and 10% on other products. The minimum payment threshold is $25.
Also Read – How to get influencer to promote your book
2. Barnes and Noble: It is a US-based affiliate program that works via a third party Called CJ affiliate. Although it’s a huge name in the book world, affiliate programming values are not that lucrative. They offer only a 2% commission rate.
4. Waterstones: this affiliate program runs via a third party called AWIN and is a UK-based affiliate program. It is a very functional affiliate program and easy to use as bloggers and influencers can just insert the codes which will automatically turn into an affiliate link thus helping in generating sales for bloggers and influencers in a more easy and quick way.
As we started talking about affiliate marketing for books, we have to remember that its side source or passive income source for bloggers and influencers especially and the commission is also equivalent to peanuts only. So why should one stick to it? The answer is it creates a pool for bloggers and influencers which can be used and reused depending on the genre you are promoting and talking about. The target audience is connected to the bloggers which are an important tool for promoting and marketing these days. So to earn better via affiliate marketing for books the blogger should connect to one platform of his choice and concentrate on that rather than running every affiliate program. This exclusivity will help in more traffic generation on the blogs and thus finally help in increasing the number of sales.
