Can Blogging About Books Make You Money?
By L.a. Buroker
People who love books like to share their love of books, and they often do this by blogging about them. They'll do book reviews, write-ups on new releases, author interviews, and other posts related to their favorite genres. If you're one these hobbyist bloggers, you're probably not in it for the money...but I bet you wouldn't mind making a little!
Thanks to affiliate programs, it's always been possible to make a few pennies here and there promoting titles listed on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc., but changes in the last couple years are making it possible for more and more "book bloggers" to make respectable amounts of money from their sites. Few are making enough to live on, but lots are earning a nice part-time income from their passion.
The changes I speak of have largely been brought about by the eBook revolution.
The increasing popularity of eBook reading devices such as the Kindle, iPad, Nook, etc. has created a new audience of folks who purchase books (ebooks) regularly. People who previously bought a title or two a month are loading up their e-readers. Having novels automatically delivered to your device makes shopping super easy. The number of low-priced and even free ebooks is helping fuel people's excitement for digital purchases.
Also, the eBook revolution has made self-publishing or "e-publishing" easier than ever, and this has created a wave of independent authors selling their titles at affordable prices. While readers might cringe at the idea of spending $10 for an eBook from a mainstream author, they might go on to purchase several novels in the $0.99 to $2.99 price range. And, thanks to generous royalty rates from online retailers such as Barnes & Noble and Amazon, indie authors can still make money offering their works at these lower prices.
By now, you're probably wondering how all this translates into bloggers making money.
There are a couple ways book bloggers (people who review books, write about new releases, interview authors, etc.) are cashing in on this phenomenon. The first is with the affiliate marketing we mentioned before. That's basically being paid on commission for promoting books or ebooks for Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, etc.
Affiliate programs have been around since the being of e-commerce, but the eBook craze is making it easier to sell products to people. Ebooks can be purchased with a single click. They're then automatically delivered to people's e-readers. This eliminates shipping charges and extra steps dealing with shopping carts and filling in addresses and credit card information.
Another way book bloggers are profiting from the indie eBook revolution is by selling advertising directly or indirectly to independent authors. Though publishing houses look down their noses at these small hobby blogs, indie authors are eager to get the word out about their offerings. They're looking to be seen, especially on blogs that attract people who happen to be in their target audience. As you might imagine, a science fiction author would love to have his work displayed on a blog that reviews popular science fiction books and ebooks. And he might just be willing to pay for it!
If you have a book blog, you may be able to turn that hobby into a part-time income. If you don't have a book blog yet, but you enjoy reading, now might be the time to start!
The author maintains an e-publishing blog for ebook authors. She's written a popular post on How to Make Money Promoting Ebooks, and you might find it interesting if you're looking to start making some money with your book blog.
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