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Is it OK to put upsell links in Kindle e-books?

by spearce000
18 replies
I'm about to publish my first Kindle e-book for a while. It's going to be a paid download. I know Amazon no longer allows affiliate links in free Kindle books, but is it OK to put a link to an upsell product (that you own) in a paid-for e-book? Obviously I don't want to get canned by the folks at KDP, but I've not been able to find a definitive answer anywhere.
#amazon #ebooks #kindle #links #put #upsell
  • Profile picture of the author Sarevok
    Always ask Amazon support and have their answer in wirting.



    They are quite draconian once they've found you to be in violation of their TOS, so I would advise asking them directly.

    Just my $.02
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  • Profile picture of the author marciayudkin
    The answer is yes.

    I have published 18 Kindle ebooks since July 2011 and almost all of them have some resource links in them.

    Just be sure that your ebook contains a complete reading/educational experience and is not mainly a sales letter for your upsell. That will get you a lot of negative reviews.

    Marcia Yudkin
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  • Profile picture of the author sethczerepak
    Originally Posted by spearce000 View Post

    I'm about to publish my first Kindle e-book for a while. It's going to be a paid download. I know Amazon no longer allows affiliate links in free Kindle books, but is it OK to put a link to an upsell product (that you own) in a paid-for e-book? Obviously I don't want to get canned by the folks at KDP, but I've not been able to find a definitive answer anywhere.
    I have a link in mine. I also see them in a lot of kindle books that I buy.

    I think it's affiliate links most people have issues with.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by sethczerepak View Post

      I have a link in mine. I also see them in a lot of kindle books that I buy.

      I think it's affiliate links most people have issues with.
      Where most people get into hot water, based on accounts here and in other places, is when they disrespect the marketplace and treat it like just another article dump where they can drop whatever crappy sales message or PLR lead gen report they like and have Amazon market it for them.

      I've even seen Amazon tolerate some affiliate links, but the keys seem to be discretion and relevance. The ones I've seen in books that have been around for awhile have been limited to one or two, and were highly relevant to the subject. They were also simply dropped into the text flow with no attempt to draw extra attention.

      As Marcia pointed out, Amazon has no problems with links to additional resources as long as you deliver a complete experience in the book itself.
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  • Profile picture of the author fatchap
    So basically once more it comes down to quality of product and relevance. Turning it round 180 degrees if I buy an ebook and the link out is to some sales page or dodgy offer I would be a bit dis-chuffed.
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  • Profile picture of the author HelpingYouBeAnExpert
    I have a link to my site on the first page after the cover then on the last page more links but I avoid products (my own or affiliate) because I'm sure the nitpickers will report me and get my account banned. So that's me, I know I can put my sites since I have see people do that all the time, but my recommendation avoid products.
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  • Profile picture of the author spearce000
    Thanks for all the replies. I think I'll drop an e-mail to Amazon just to be on the safe side.
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  • Profile picture of the author alvinhy
    I remember reading somewhere that says Amazon does not allow Cloaked links and their affiliate links in eBooks.
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  • Profile picture of the author seobro
    I have links in mine. Also, I advertise other kindle books in my series. They do not want a list of links, but value in what you are selling to consumers. Yeah, put yourself in the shoes of customers and think of what is necessary. Also, look at their terms of service.
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    • Profile picture of the author LilBlackDress
      You can include affiliate links in your ebooks, though Amazon does not want overly promotional links.

      However, you can NOT include Amazon Affiliate links in your eBooks as it is against Amazon's affiliate TOS. So you can link to your other books in your eBooks but the links cannot be Amazon affiliate links.

      Note: This is an Amazon Associate rule - https://affiliate-program.amazon.com.../participation #6
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  • Profile picture of the author themikerogers
    I believe that you can put links to your products that you created, but I'd ask Amazon if you can.
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  • Profile picture of the author Coach Comeback
    yes of course.

    There is nothing in the terms that says you cannot link to relevant content.

    Tons of books have links in them. Resource pages. Blog links. Social media profiles etc.

    Just affiliate links were the problem
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  • Profile picture of the author JeanneLynn
    As a reader, I get annoyed when there are too many links in a book. Maybe a few at the end of a book is okay. I was reading a book the other day that had so many links in it that I kept accidentally opening the browser on my kindle.
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  • Profile picture of the author spearce000
    FYI - I wrote to Amazon and got the following reply today:

    You may certainly include URL links within the content of your book. We suggest only including URLs which link to trustworthy websites and that the URL to the website has little chance of being changed in the future. For this purpose, adding links that direct to the pages where they can buy the [upsell] is permitted.
    Thanks to everyone who responded.
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  • Profile picture of the author GringoMonkey
    Originally Posted by spearce000 View Post

    I'm about to publish my first Kindle e-book for a while. It's going to be a paid download. I know Amazon no longer allows affiliate links in free Kindle books, but is it OK to put a link to an upsell product (that you own) in a paid-for e-book? Obviously I don't want to get canned by the folks at KDP, but I've not been able to find a definitive answer anywhere.
    I sell quite a lot of books on Kindle and I put links in all of them, I suggest you put a bit.ly link in your book rather than the affiliate direct, it looks better, you can track traffic and Amazon cannot be too nosey.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by GringoMonkey View Post

      I suggest you put a bit.ly link in your book
      I strongly advise people not to do that - it makes very little sense indeed to rely on the continuity of an unnecessary third-party service, and especially one as notoriously unreliable as bit.ly and hosted in Libya!: The .ly domain space to be considered unsafe | :Ben Metcalfe Blog

      Originally Posted by GringoMonkey View Post

      you can track traffic
      For as long as "bit.ly" lasts and is reliable and doesn't cause you any problems. And then you're scuppered, and all those books you've already sold with bit.ly links in them don't help you so much.

      Just like all the people who depended unnecessarily on "tinyurl links" in 2009 when the service disappeared overnight, at one point, and they lost all their links.

      Remain in control of your own business and your own traffic.

      If you want to use masking/re-directing of some kind, there are plenty of ways of doing so through your own website, so that you remain in control of it in future and don't take any unnecessary risks.

      .
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  • Profile picture of the author Adie
    Yes. I found a very useful blog through a free kindle report.
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    Moderator's Note: You're only allowed to put your own products or sites in your signature.

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  • Profile picture of the author Dave37
    Originally Posted by spearce000 View Post

    I'm about to publish my first Kindle e-book for a while. It's going to be a paid download. I know Amazon no longer allows affiliate links in free Kindle books, but is it OK to put a link to an upsell product (that you own) in a paid-for e-book? Obviously I don't want to get canned by the folks at KDP, but I've not been able to find a definitive answer anywhere.
    I have never seen that before, and just thinking about it, this definitely seems like something that would be against their TOS. Correct me if I'm wrong but Google Play doesn't allow ebooks with links inside, and it's certainly the same for Amazon.
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