Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Kobo Suspends Google Affiliate Program and Switches to Rakuten LinkShare

rakuten-linkshare_0

Affiliate programs are very popular with booksellers, indie bookstores, authors and online websites. Kobo has been running theirs for a number of years and allows people to earn a 5% commission for ebook sales, while devices and accessories generate 10%. Today, Kobo announced that they were severing ties with Google Affiliates and transitioning to the Rakuten Linkshare program.

Rakuten has been running their own affiliate program for a long time and taps into not only Kobo but other online retailers, such as Barnes and Noble. Recently Kobo lowered their commissions on their affiliate program across the board. Kobo is decreased it from 8% to 5% and also scraped their tiered system that allowed people who grossed over $1500 in sales to be bumped up to 15%.

The Rakuten network allows people a bit more flexibility such as; Direct Links, API Access, and Country Specific data. One of the best features is the Compile a Catalog, which allows affiliates to create a comprehensive and dynamic list of eBooks to appeal to your audience. In order to encourage people to make the switch, Kobo will be giving an extra 2% above the base commission through August 31st, 2013.

You can be paid by check or direct deposit, on your transactions and will enjoy the monthly Kobo email that makes you aware of savings and discounts. If you want to be paid by direct deposit, it is only available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US.

The main reason Kobo is switching their main affiliate program is because Google themselves are suspending their model in the next few months. Considering Kobo is owned by Rakuten, it makes sense to have their home base where the parent company is. If you are not already a member of Rakuten LinkShare, here are the signup links:

Canada
https://cli.linksynergy.com/cli/publisher/registration/registration.php?mid=37219
US
https://cli.linksynergy.com/cli/publisher/registration/registration.php?mid=37217
UK
https://cli.linksynergy.com/cli/publisher/registration/registration.php?mid=37589
Australia
https://cli.linksynergy.com/cli/publisher/registration/registration.php?mid=38131

Kobo Suspends Google Affiliate Program and Switches to Rakuten LinkShare is a post from: E-Reader News

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