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Amazon Kindle Books - Affiliate Links?

by VoodooChild
17 replies
Hi Al


I have been searching and searching but cannot find a concrete answer for this, maybe I am looking in the wrong places


Can you use insert affiliate links in your amazon kindle ebooks?
#affiliate #amazon #books #kindle #links
  • Profile picture of the author RahimaMal
    Of course you can.

    I see this all the time when I read kindle books.

    Just don't sounds spammy and give away useful content for free :p
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    • Profile picture of the author agmccall
      Originally Posted by RahimaMal View Post

      Of course you can.

      I see this all the time when I read kindle books.

      Just don't sounds spammy and give away useful content for free :p
      MY GOD!!!Why give an answer when you have no idea what you are talking about. Answers like this can cause someone to lose their amazon account for good.

      @VoodooChild you said you have been searching and searching and can not find an answer. Well if you focused your search in the Amazon terms of service or asked on one of the amazon forums you would have your answer and that answer is NO absolutely NOT.

      al
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      "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Thomas Edison

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      • Profile picture of the author edlewis
        Originally Posted by agmccall View Post

        MY GOD!!!Why give an answer when you have no idea what you are talking about. Answers like this can cause someone to lose their amazon account for good.

        @VoodooChild you said you have been searching and searching and can not find an answer. Well if you focused your search in the Amazon terms of service or asked on one of the amazon forums you would have your answer and that answer is NO absolutely NOT.

        al
        Before you get all uppity...perhaps you should do some more research and understand the topic.

        You're misinformed...and incorrect.

        You should re-read the TOS. The affiliate links Amazon is referring to in the TOS are only Amazon affiliate links. This is because they don't want people creating 'ebooks' that are just lists of Amazon products with affiliate links in them. Which was very POPULAR back when Kindle was just getting started.

        If you don't believe me, copy and paste the TOS you're referring to here.
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        • Profile picture of the author agmccall
          Originally Posted by edlewis View Post


          If you don't believe me, copy and paste the TOS you're referring to here.
          Here you go

          5.1.2 Content Requirements:
          http://...
          You may not include in any Digital Book any advertisements or other content that is primarily intended to advertise or promote products or services

          Here is the link to the entire TOS you can scroll down to 5.1.2 and read the entire paragraph https://kdp-eu.amazon.com/agreement?...language=en_US

          al
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          "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Thomas Edison

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          • Profile picture of the author edlewis
            Originally Posted by agmccall View Post

            Here you go

            5.1.2 Content Requirements:
            http://...
            You may not include in any Digital Book any advertisements or other content that is primarily intended to advertise or promote products or services
            Yeah...not sure where it says no affiliate links. It doesn't mention affiliate links...

            Let's just say this is beyond VAGUE. Let's also just say that I've been publishing on Kindle since late 2010, I've published well over 100 ebooks. Probably included over 1,000 affiliate links....never had a problem.

            Steve Scott does pretty well on Kindle...he agrees with me.

            SPQ 041: Can You Use Affiliate Links within Kindle Books? | Self Publishing Questions
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            • Profile picture of the author VoodooChild
              Originally Posted by edlewis View Post

              Yeah...not sure where it says no affiliate links. It doesn't mention affiliate links...

              Let's just say this is beyond VAGUE. Let's also just say that I've been publishing on Kindle since late 2010, I've published well over 100 ebooks. Probably included over 1,000 affiliate links....never had a problem.

              Steve Scott does pretty well on Kindle...he agrees with me.

              SPQ 041: Can You Use Affiliate Links within Kindle Books? | Self Publishing Questions
              I know, right

              This is very confusing!

              I have emailed Amazon directly, hopefully we can get to the bottom of this.

              My issue, is i want to include clickbank affiliate links in kindle ebooks.
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              • Profile picture of the author edlewis
                Originally Posted by VoodooChild View Post

                I know, right

                This is very confusing!

                I have emailed Amazon directly, hopefully we can get to the bottom of this.

                My issue, is i want to include clickbank affiliate links in kindle ebooks.
                Here's another issue....depending on the customer service rep you get from Amazon, you may get two or three different answers. I know because it's happened to me...and happened to others I know and others I don't know who post about it online.

                The affiliate links are fine. What I would do if I were you...and what I do....is to use some type of redirect link. Especially for a Clickbank link.

                All you need is a domain and a redirect script...if you install WordPress there are redirect plugins out there.

                Set one up so that the link in your Kindle book is www.yourdomainname.com/link1 or whatever, that's just an example.

                You are more than safe doing this...and your account will not be banned.

                Just don't put anything in the ebook that can be considered an 'ad'. So don't take a banner ad and put it in the Kindle book with a link...and don't blatantly promote a product just to get an affiliate link in there. And don't write an entire Kindle book that is basically just a sales letter wrapped up as a Kindle 'book'.

                But if you write about or recommend a specific site or product in your Kindle book, you can go ahead and include an affiliate link to it. Just as long as it's not an Amazon affiliate link...as those can only be placed on websites.
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            • Profile picture of the author sagwa02
              Originally Posted by edlewis View Post

              Yeah...not sure where it says no affiliate links. It doesn't mention affiliate links...

              Let's just say this is beyond VAGUE. Let's also just say that I've been publishing on Kindle since late 2010, I've published well over 100 ebooks. Probably included over 1,000 affiliate links....never had a problem.

              Steve Scott does pretty well on Kindle...he agrees with me.

              SPQ 041: Can You Use Affiliate Links within Kindle Books? | Self Publishing Questions
              hey in the blog article you mention. the author say to link to a blog first, and then Amazon. Which is okay. But pure Amazon affiliate links cannot be used directly in the book. If linking to something outside of Amazon that is, of course okay.
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              • Profile picture of the author edlewis
                Originally Posted by sagwa02 View Post

                You CANNOT put affiliate links in Kindle books. I called Amazon Associates and asked them this a month or two ago (and recently after I've seen people say you can). You cannot do this. Amazon might not care too much, but you will get in trouble eventually.

                Link people to your own site or blog first, then refer them to Amazon. This is the safest way to do this, and they said it is okay. I find that people will still click through. Be safe bro, you do not want your work wasted, just link to a blog first, if you do not want to pay for your own personal site.

                Just call them and ask, to get your own understanding.
                Originally Posted by sagwa02 View Post

                hey in the blog article you mention. the author say to link to a blog first, and then Amazon. Which is okay. But pure Amazon affiliate links cannot be used directly in the book. If linking to something outside of Amazon that is, of course okay.
                No offense, but what are you talking about here...?

                I've said numerous times NOT to include Amazon Associates affiliate links in a Kindle book. This is because of Amazon Associates rule of only placing their affiliate links on websites. You can't put them in a Kindle ebook...or even in a PDF.

                You most certainly CAN put other affiliate links in your Kindle ebooks. If you are trying to say otherwise - you're incorrect, sorry.

                This is exactly where so much of the CONFUSION on this topic comes from. People thinking that when someone says "affiliate links" they mean "Amazon Associates affiliate links".
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                • Profile picture of the author RahimaMal
                  Originally Posted by edlewis View Post

                  No offense, but what are you talking about here...?

                  I've said numerous times NOT to include Amazon Associates affiliate links in a Kindle book. This is because of Amazon Associates rule of only placing their affiliate links on websites. You can't put them in a Kindle ebook...or even in a PDF.

                  You most certainly CAN put other affiliate links in your Kindle ebooks. If you are trying to say otherwise - you're incorrect, sorry.

                  This is exactly where so much of the CONFUSION on this topic comes from. People thinking that when someone says "affiliate links" they mean "Amazon Associates affiliate links".
                  Yup this is exactly what I mean... I see it all the time.

                  Anyway, no harm in cloaking or disguising the affiliate links too..
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            • Profile picture of the author agmccall
              Originally Posted by edlewis View Post

              Yeah...not sure where it says no affiliate links. It doesn't mention affiliate links... So you are telling people here that affiliate links are NOT intended to promote a product???

              Let's just say this is beyond VAGUE. Let's also just say that I've been publishing on Kindle since late 2010, I've published well over 100 ebooks. Probably included over 1,000 affiliate links....never had a problem. Hey, here is a great idea. Give us the titles and we will send the information to Amazon, then we can see if it is OK

              Steve Scott does pretty well on Kindle...he agrees with me. It does not matter who agrees with you it matters what amazon thinks

              SPQ 041: Can You Use Affiliate Links within Kindle Books? | Self Publishing Questions
              Put the links in at your own risk

              al
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              "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Thomas Edison

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            • Profile picture of the author AntonioSeegars1
              [DELETED]
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  • Profile picture of the author Silentkiller1
    There should not be any issue (just my opinion). But you should put only a few links and don't come out as spammy .
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  • Profile picture of the author sagwa02
    Originally Posted by VoodooChild View Post

    Hi Al


    I have been searching and searching but cannot find a concrete answer for this, maybe I am looking in the wrong places


    Can you use insert affiliate links in your amazon kindle ebooks?
    You CANNOT put affiliate links in Kindle books. I called Amazon Associates and asked them this a month or two ago (and recently after I've seen people say you can). You cannot do this. Amazon might not care too much, but you will get in trouble eventually.

    Link people to your own site or blog first, then refer them to Amazon. This is the safest way to do this, and they said it is okay. I find that people will still click through. Be safe bro, you do not want your work wasted, just link to a blog first, if you do not want to pay for your own personal site.

    Just call them and ask, to get your own understanding.
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  • Profile picture of the author TexasSteve
    Of course! Just not amazon links. People do it all the time.
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  • Profile picture of the author missmystery
    If the link is non amazon related and relevant to your book, I don't see how this can look spammy. If in doubt just link to a landing page you own. Thanks for this thread, what I was looking for.

    I think the whole "Primarily intended" refers to getting your sales page and shoving it in a book. And that makes sense, I would be furious if I just paid for a sales page.

    Make your content great, add a few links as optional extras if the person is interested.
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