Audible Affiliate Program Review: $10 Commissions (2023)
Looking to join the Audible affiliate program or Creator Program as a blogger or influencer? Audible, a subsidiary of ecommerce giant Amazon.com, is the leader provider of digital audiobooks with over 180,000 titles, along with a membership subscription that grants credits redeemable for audiobooks each month. Audible is an extremely popular service, and chances are, you may have heard one of your favorite content creators mention them as a sponsor.
In this article, I'll be sharing my experience with Audible affiliate marketing and answer frequently-asked questions such as how it works, how to sign up, commission rates, the benefits, and more.
Does Amazon Audible have an affiliate program?
Yes, Audible has an official affiliate program on their website here: https://www.audible.com/ep/affiliate-intro. The Audible affiliate program is actually hosted on Amazon Associates, which is the affiliate program for Amazon.com.
It is 100% legit and completely free to sign up and join.
What is the Amazon Creator Program?
Amazon also has a "Creator Program" which is open for influencers, content creators, and podcast hosts that earns a bounty for each free trial signed up via your affiliate links. The Creator Program seems to be hosted on Impact Radius affiliate network, one of the largest affiliate networks online.
For their "Creator Program", you can earn $15 for each trial membership generated through your links. Since the Audible affiliate program is part of the larger Amazon Associates network, you may be eligible to earn even more commission if users purchase other items in addition to their Audible membership or audiobooks.
How much does Audible affiliate program pay in commission rates?
The Audible affiliate program pays $10 commission for each "Audible Gold Digital Membership" referred, $5 commission for each "Free Trial Digital Membership" referred, and $0.50 commission for each individual Audible Audiobook sold.
There is a 24-hour cookie window just like the Amazon Associates affiliate program. This means that if someone clicks your affiliate link and upgrades to a paid Audible membership within 24 hours, you can earn a CPA commission depending on the level they choose.
Pros and Cons of Audible affiliate program
Pros
Get paid up to $10 commission on qualifying sales
$5 CPA commission for free trial signups
Audible has an amazing large selection of Audiobooks
Cons
Only a 24-hour cookie window like Amazon Associates
What are the Audible affiliate program requirements?
Since you need to join Amazon Associates in order to promote Audible, you will need to apply and get approved into Amazon Associates first. The application requires that you have a valid website and to fill in your personal or business information. To join the Creator Program, you will need to apply for this separately from Amazon Associates, as it appears to be hosted on the Impact affiliate network instead.
Do you need a website to get approved by Audible affiliates?
Yes, since the Audible affiliate program is hosted on Amazon Associates, you will need a valid website for the application to get approved. However, if you are an influencer or content creator with a following, chances are you can join the "Creator Program" instead and may not need your own website.
If you need help creating a professional affiliate website quickly, check out my affiliate marketing for beginners guide.
My personal experience and thoughts on Audible affiliate program
After reviewing dozens of affiliate programs, I see Audible more like an extension of Amazon Associates than a standalone program, especially since you need to sign up for Associates to promote Audible either way.
Audible as a service and subscription is a very good product, I enjoy listening to audiobooks and they have a fantastic selection.
Also, I have seen a ton of marketing efforts put towards promoting Audible so that's always a boost to make affiliates lives easier.
On the downsides, I think the $10 CPA commission ceiling is on the low side, but it is kind of a consolation to still get paid $5 for each free trial signup.
Always great to get CPA commission on free trials, and $5 isn't bad at all.
I think the 24-hour cookie window like Amazon Associates is way too short and would love to see a 30-day cookie instead.
But perhaps if a user signs up within 24 hours, then upgrades later, you may still qualify for commission?
If that's the case, then I think that's fair.
Best Alternatives to Audible Affiliate program
After reviewing dozens of affiliate programs, here are my best recommendations of alternatives and related programs to Audible: