Why KDP Authors Should Use The Amazon Associates Program

I am sure many authors may cringe at the words affiliate marketing. But please sit back and relax for a moment because the Amazon Associates program can work to your advantage.

If you are an author, you write, publish, promote, and sell your books and ebooks. Then, at the end of each month, you receive your royalty payment from Amazon.

But did you know that you can top up your Amazon book sales income with one very small change to the way you promote your books?

Best of all, it’s very easy.

What is Amazon Associates?

By registering with the Amazon Associates Program, you can add a special link to all your book promotion links and posts.

With this link, you can make money online from the Amazon Associates fees and commission sales.

I can hear you saying that an affiliate commission on an ebook or book sale will be peanuts.

And you are right; it is.

However, the big bonus with Amazon affiliate links is that you can earn a commission on any other items that people buy on the Amazon store.

Yes, for 24 hours after people click on your book link, you can earn a commission on any other product they buy on Amazon.

Don’t worry. You are not promoting products or trying to sell products other than your books.

But if your site visitor buys a product, such as a video game or lawnmower, you earn an extra commission.

You can use the Amazon affiliate program on your blog or website in many different ways.

But let’s look first at how you can get started.

Registering and setting up Amazon Associates

How can you become an Amazon Affiliate?

Your first step is to go to the Associates home page to join and register.

You start your registration process by clicking the Join Now For Free button.

If you live in the US, you will choose the US program.

But if you live in other countries, there are programs for the UK, Japan, Canada, Italy, Germany, Spain, France, and neighboring countries.

You don’t need to be too worried, though.

After you have registered, you can merge all these country accounts into one link later.

Once you are registered, the first thing to do is to set up your Amazon Stripe.

It will appear at the top of your screen every time you are logged in and visit an Amazon page.

Now, you are ready to copy Amazon’s associate product links from your site stripe to your books.

You can use them in your blog posts, on social media, or anywhere else you promote your books.

Finding and using your new affiliate link

Go to your book page on Amazon. If everything is set up correctly, your new stripe will appear at the top of the page.

There is a selection of links you can use, such as text, image, or a combo.

You can also directly share your book page on social media. If you add responsive native ads, they will resize on any device.

Creating a text link is super easy. Click on Text, and you will see this drop-down box.

You can use your full link, but a short link is usually better for the landing pages you want to use.

Now, you can embed this link into text on your blog or even as a link on an image.

If you have your book cover images on your blog sidebar, just add a new affiliate link to each one.

You can also create links using your book cover image. All you need to do is copy the HTML code and paste it into your blog pages.

Lastly, you can create responsive ads that will resize perfectly on mobile devices.

Your ads are set up and working, so where’s the money?

Once your links are up and running, you will earn a small extra commission on your book sales. Yes, small.

But if someone clicks on your link and then makes another purchase of any products within 24 hours, your account will be credited with an earnings fee.

Here is a brief report from my account that shows you an example of how you can earn an Amazon Affiliate commission.

The table above is only a small snapshot. I have to say that some months can be very good, while others are not so good. There is always a little bit of a luck factor in any affiliate marketing program.

On occasions, I have earned excellent commissions on such items as televisions, electronic devices, and, even once, a complete home video surveillance system.

Once your links are up and running, there is nothing more you need to do. Your new book links will be working for you 24/7 for a very long time to take advantage of what Amazon customers buy.

Making more from your Amazon Associates program

If you would like to try your hand at Internet marketing, you now have all the tools. But you don’t need to go overboard.

When you write blog posts, you mention a lot of topics and subjects. Some might be good candidates for you to recommend high-quality products or product reviews.

You certainly don’t want to fill your blog posts with ads. But by using text links, you can subtly offer extra information and value to your readers.

By the way, did you know that I recently released my first-ever audiobook, One Last Love? It has even received some nice reviews, so I am over the moon.

Yes, that was a terribly blatant plug, I know. Please ignore my misplaced enthusiasm, and I will return to the topic of this article.

However, it illustrates how easy it is to add an income-earning link into text in your blog articles.

Don’t turn your blog into an affiliate site

As tempting as it might sound, you are not going to make a fortune from Amazon affiliate commissions unless you can drive traffic to your blog by the thousands.

For any blogger, and more importantly for authors, it is a means to make a little more each month. Used wisely, it can do that, but don’t expect miracles.

Concentrate on taking a step-by-step approach to slowly building your blog traffic from search engines like Google Search with some basic SEO, and write great blog articles for your readers.

Logically, the more traffic you have, the more you can earn. Then, let your new book promotion links and your occasional Amazon ads go to work for you.

Wrap-Up

Depending on where you live, there are different payment conditions and options.

You will need to select the one that works best for you. In some countries, Amazon offers electronic payment, but in others, it only pays by check.

However, there is an option to have your earnings paid into your gift card account, which is an option worth considering.

It might not be for every author.

However, taking the time to set up your Amazon Associates Program account and updating your book links to Amazon affiliate links will give you a new potential income stream.

That is certainly not a bad thing at all.

You don’t need much technical knowledge. If you are already blogging, you probably have all the skills you need to start.

Even if you aren’t blogging, you can use these links in your posts on Facebook, X (Twitter), or any other social network you use.

There is more than one way to take advantage of Amazon affiliate links, so what are you waiting for?

Related reading: Amazon Keyword Tool Choices For Self-Publishing Authors