Smashwords unveils new affiliate program
The online self ebook publisher Smashwords has announced the beginning of their affiliate program, which will let bloggers, publishers, authors, and website owners promote ebooks sold on Smashwords in exchange for a commission on each sale. Here’s an excerpt from their press release:
“Our mission at Smashwords is to help authors and publishers publish, promote and sell their ebooks,” said Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords. “The Smashwords Affiliate Marketing Program will help authors and publishers expand their digital shelf space while providing affiliate marketers the opportunity to profit from the rapid rise of electronic books.”
According to the Association of American Publishers(AAP), ebooks are the fastest growing segment of book publishing today. Ebooks experienced a compound annual growth rate of 58 percent per year for the last six years, versus an overall industry growth rate of 1.6 percent. In recent months, the growth of ebooks has accelerated to over 100 percent while print books have declined, according to the AAP (source: http://www.publishers.org).
I think this is a win-win for authors and website owners alike. The authors will have a chance to get their ebooks promoted in front of a much wider audience, and website owners will be able to reap the financial rewards for promoting ebooks – something many have been doing for a while now.
Furthermore, with the reluctance of major publishers to fully embrace ebooks (and cling to draconian DRM), I think that the independent author will really flourish in the next few years. The independent author will be someone who is tech saavy, enjoys relating directly with his/her readers and believes that traditional publishing is not necessarily the best way to get their work out into the world.
Will I sign up for the Smashwords affiliate program? I’m seriously considering it and will research it a little more. I really do get excited by the thought of being able to promote these authors who have gone out on their own, and I want to support them in every way possible.
My experience with Smashwords is somewhat limited so I’m asking you if you have any experience with this website. Have you published with them? Do you buy ebooks from them? If so, leave a comment below and give us the scoop (especially if you’re an author who has published on Smashwords). I look forward to hearing from you.
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