How many writers or would-be writers do you know?
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A brief search online shows that 80-90% of people want to write a book. Many of them probably have great ideas for books, even if they never get to the writing part.
The U.S. book publishing industry is a $26.23 billion business. That’s a lot of earning potential, even when you break down the writing industry into print books, eBooks, and other types of writing, such as advertising copy.
There are several ways affiliate marketers can get in on the action. Read on to learn about these top 10 writing affiliate programs and how they can fit into niche market websites.
PS. If you love writing, you’ll like this article about how much money you can make writing online.
Writing Affiliate Programs
- Write!
- WriteShop
- Writers Store
- Freelance Writers Den
- Lisa Tener
- Screenwriters University
- Final Draft
- ProWriting Aid
- EssayProfit
- AWAI
1. Write!
- URL: Write! Affiliate Program
- Commission: 20% base
- Cookie: 30 days
Write! is a writing software package that combines the best features of a word processor, text editor, and productivity app for writers without a lot of clutter or distractions. All of the work is backed up online, too, so writers don’t have to worry about losing their documents.
With Write!, writers are able to create to-do lists, take notes, focus on one paragraph at a time, create tweets or work on book-length projects, and collaborate with teammates. The interface is designed specifically to downplay distractions and help writers stay on task. A new tool makes it easy to publish finished documents right from Write!, and there are discounts for students using the software.
Why You Should Promote Write!: Top-performing affiliates get exclusive discounts, and the commission can go up to 35%. There’s also a 7-day money-back guarantee for new customers, which might help convert some shoppers.
2. WriteShop
- URL: WriteShop Affiliate Program
- Commission: 10-15%
- Cookie: 180 days
WriteShop is a publisher of writing curriculum resources for students from kindergarten through high school. The target audience is mostly home-schooling families or families who have students in need of a little extra writing support. The company does offer a discount for schools and coops that want to use the WriteShop materials in their classrooms.
There are a few different levels of the WriteShop curriculum. On the primary level, the idea is to help students feel confident about their writing ideas. The second level, WriteShop Junior, helps students explore the ideas of writing in different genres. WriteShop I and II are for older students who are learning to write papers and essays.
The commission for the video series is 10%, and the commission for all other products published by WriteShop is 15%.
Why You Should Promote WriteShop: In addition to the products, this company has a Facebook group where educators can discuss how best to teach writing skills. For affiliate marketers, the cookie length is great and the commission is nice, too.
3. Writers Store
- URL: Writers Store Affiliate Program
- Commission: 10%
- Cookies: Unknown
Writer’s Store is associated with F + W, a media and e-commerce company that is known for its Writer’s Digest and Farm Quarterly publications. The affiliate program is meant for writers who want to expand or polish their writing skills.
Products include writing software and books, supplies, resources for helping move literary works into audio and video products, and how-to webinars and seminars. There’s a special tab on the website for ScriptXpert, which offers script coverage for screenplays, with or without developmental comments.
Why You Should Promote Writers Store: There’s a money-back guarantee on most products, and the store is a well-known resource for writers, so customers could feel comfortable buying products from this website.
4. Freelance Writers Den
- URL: Freelance Writers Den Affiliate Program
- Commission: 25-50%
- Cookie: Unknown
Freelance Writers Den is a subscription-based membership website where more than 1200 freelance writers learn how to grow their online businesses. It includes teaching people how to write better blog posts and to use those skills to become better affiliate marketers.
Affiliates earn 50% when someone joins Freelance Writer’s Den through their affiliate link. After that, the affiliate makes 25% for each month that the referral stays in the den. Most den members stay for around six months.
The cost per month is $25. Members get a 7-day money-back guarantee.
Why You Should Promote Freelance Writer’s Den: The commission rates are nice, and the ability to get commission month after month for one referral is a nice perk, too. One thing to note, however, is that the den only opens to the public twice a year. Referrals can be put on a waiting list until then.
5. Lisa Tener
- URL: Lisa Tener Affiliate Program
- Commission: 10-20%
- Cookie: Unknown
Lisa Tener is a writing coach who helps people get their books written and ready to publish. She offers four programs that affiliates can promote. These programs include “Bring Your Book To Life”, “Inspiration To Author In 8 Weeks”, “Quick Start To Kick Start Your Book”, and “Fast Track Your Book Proposal.”
These coaching programs are big-ticket items. For example, the “Bring Your Book To Life” program sells for just under $6,000. Affiliates make a $500 commission for that program, $750 commission for the “Fast Track Your Book Proposal” program, and $150 for the “Inspiration to Author In 8 Weeks” program.
The 10-20% commission applies to products such as books, e-kits, and audio products. There’s a 10% commission on coaching, teleseminars, and other services that are purchased through an affiliate link.
Why You Should Promote Lisa Tener: The high-ticket items result in some nice bumps in affiliate income, and there’s a variety of ways to earn commissions with this company.
6. Screenwriters University
- URL: Screenwriters University Affiliate Program
- Commission: 10%
- Cookie: Unknown
Screenwriters are a special breed of writers who have to both tell a great story and adhere to strict formatting guidelines. It can be tough for some writers to move from novels and novellas to screenwriting. Screenwriters University’s services are meant to help make that transition easier.
Screenwriters University has around 53 different courses to help writers. They teach the basics, including how to develop their characters, but there are also in-depth courses such as advanced film writing and ten-week workshops. Costs range from around $80 to $600 per course.
Some of the courses last between three to ten weeks. Others are self-paced. Screenwriters University offers occasional live events and webinars, too. All of the courses are taught by experienced screenwriting professionals, and customers can arrange their own schedules based on their goals and time constraints.
Why You Should Promote Screenwriters University: The high number of choices could result in fuller shopping carts or repeat customers.
7. Final Draft
- URL: Final Draft Affiliate Program
- Commission: 00%
- Cookies: 30 days
Final Draft was co-founded in 1990 by Marc Madnick and Ben Cahan. It’s a multi-awarded screenwriting software that has advanced brainstorming and visualization tools, automatically paginates and formats scripts, supports over 97 languages, provides automatic file back-ups, over 100 different templates to choose from, and other features.
Final Draft has won Primetime Emmy Engineering Award. It’s used by Netflix, NBCUniversal, Paramount, ABC, and Pixar to name a few. Their affiliate program is run by ShareASale, affiliates can earn a 10% commission on every sale made.
Why You Should Promote Final Draft: It’s great for aspiring screenwriters who are looking to use the same industry-standard screenwriting software used by motion pictures and major television shows. They have a high average order value and their Final Draft 11 even has a free 60-day trial.
8. ProWriting Aid
- URL: ProWriting Aid Affiliate Program
- Commission: $20 per sale
- Cookie: 30 days
ProWriting Aid is an editing tool meant to make editing easier and faster for all types of writers. One of the program’s features is a powerful grammar editor. The software also includes style suggestions to help address issues like repetitiveness, varying sentence length, passive voice, vague wording, and overdependence on adverbs.
There’s a free version, which writers can use to check 500 words at a time, but it’s limited to 19 reports. The premium version costs $60 a year and has a desktop version with no word limits for editing. The premium-plus version includes a plagiarism checker, as well, and it costs $70 a year.
Both the premium and premium-plus versions integrate well with a variety of writing platforms such as Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and Scrivener.
Their affiliate program is managed through ShareASale.
Why You Should Promote ProWriting Aid: Besides the high commission rate and nice cookie length, you get a commission on any purchase that goes through your affiliate link, even if you link to a blog post and don’t mention the editing tool at all.
9. EssayProfit
- URL: EssayProfit Affiliate Program
- Commission: up to 70%
- Cookie: 360 days
EssayProfit is an affiliate program catering to students in the United States and the UK who hire services to help them with research papers, essays, theses, and similar projects. The program has a wide variety of promotional materials to use on several different platforms.
The average order size is $150. Affiliates get 50-70% commission on new customer orders and 15-30% on repeat customer orders. Most customers use this service 7-9 times.
Why You Should Promote EssayProfit: The high commission rate and high average order value are attractive. However, other than the affiliate page, there isn’t much information regarding how the services are provided.
10. AWAI
- URL: AWAI Affiliate Program
- Commission: Unlisted
- Cookie: Unknown
American Writers and Artists, Inc., or AWAI, is the number one trainer for copywriters, but it also has training sessions and programs for travel writing, visual communication skills, and more. The aim is to help writers expand their skills and their abilities to make money with freelance jobs that fit their talents.
Affiliate marketers make money on the programs that are sold through their links. Membership in the AWAI is free. All the programs have a 100%, money-back guarantee. Members can view the catalog and the job opportunities that are open to them.
AWAI is associated with The Barefoot Writer, Professional Writer’s Alliance, Great Escapes Publishing, and more.
Why You Should Promote AWAI: The 100% guarantee is a selling point, and the wide variety of programs that are available could mean more sales from people with multiple talents.
Affiliate Website Ideas
Now that you’ve gone through the list of the top 10 writing affiliate programs, what kinds of niche market ideas spring to mind?
Have you considered a website that focuses on helping writers sell their indie-published eBooks? A niche market like this could promote affiliate programs like the Writers store. It could also feature social media management companies, sales tracking software, productivity software for managing projects like trade shows, and hardware such as computers or mobile devices.
There could also be a niche market for people who are learning to write in English for the first time. In this case, programs like EssayProfit and ProWriting Aid could be helpful. This type of website could also promote language learning programs and video courses to help develop writing skills.
A website that zeroes in on home management for people who write from home could also be extremely helpful. Writing is a business, so you need to work, but working from home presents plenty of challenges (I know first hand!)
Besides promoting websites like Write! to ease the burden of editing, a website like this one could share information about meal kit delivery services, productivity software, and subscription-based communities where writers can subcontract with other work-at-home professionals for formatting manuscripts, developing graphics, or laying out documents.
Boost Your Affiliate Earnings
These 10 affiliate programs are just the beginning of what's possible. There are hundreds of ways to earn affiliate commissions with your website, including product reviews, top 10 lists, how-to guides, and more
But what about traffic and conversions? How do you make sure your affiliate links get clicked?
I used the affiliate training here to turn my brand new website into a six-figure income generator in less than two years. Build a business, not just a pocket-money side project!
Nathaniell
What's up ladies and dudes! Great to finally meet you, and I hope you enjoyed this post. My name is Nathaniell and I'm the owner of One More Cup of Coffee. I started my first online business in 2010 promoting computer software and now I help newbies start their own businesses. Sign up for my #1 recommended training course and learn how to start your business for FREE!
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jonathan
Awesome article! Thanks 🙂
One that didn’t make the list is THE LORES Magazine. They actually have an affiliate program for travel writers.
Nathaniell
Great suggestion Jon!