The 15 Best Affiliate Marketing Books

Affiliate marketing has become a desirable avenue to establish an income-generating online enterprise. It is one of the numerous business models available today and even more easily accessible on the internet.

Unfortunately, new affiliate marketers struggle to make sense of the industry’s intricacies and develop successful strategies. This is because affiliate marketing is constantly evolving, and the system used five years ago might no longer apply today. 

How, then, do you ensure your success in such a challenging market? 

Be as knowledgeable as possible. 

Despite the prevalence of news and social media as a source of information, books on affiliate marketing continue to be one of the most effective ways to generate new ideas and gain fresh insights into the dynamic world of affiliate networking.

In this article, I will provide you with the 15 best affiliate marketing books, allowing you to expand your understanding of this field.

Why Do You Need Affiliate Marketing Books?

Affiliate marketing books are essential to any affiliate marketer interested in mastering the field. Without the knowledge these books offer, we wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the numerous affiliate marketing tools available on the market or apply some handy techniques to beat the system. 

For instance, some affiliate marketers have never read any of these books. They fall into a subset that focuses solely on their models, eschewing any in-depth analytics. They don’t balance potential losses with potential gains, don’t allocate funds using sound fiscal management practices, etc. 

They have yet to learn that there is a particular mathematical foundation upon which they can estimate their earnings. In fact, they need to be made aware of the difference between CPC and EPC or how they can estimate future earnings using these two metrics.

You’ll also find another group of affiliate marketers who haven’t taken advantage of the latest resources, styles, techniques, or tricks. They don’t care about advice from experienced affiliate marketers and only occasionally gloss through recent developments. Because of this, they are relatively removed from the market.

The third group is blind to glaring security holes, common scams, and platform-based bot deployment methods. The fourth group consists mainly of those just starting with affiliate marketing. These newbie affiliate marketers haven’t grasped the most basic ideas; instead,  they spend plenty of money on affiliate networks or other sources without research.

All these groups can benefit from reading affiliate marketing books. 

So, what do we gain from reading affiliate marketing books?

Affiliate marketing books allow us to:

• Master the essential affiliate marketing concepts and the basic components of this field as a cohesive mechanism.
• Study the necessary industry lingo.
• Learn how affiliate marketing works, how to manage finances, diversify risks, and market-entry thresholds.
• Learn to evaluate deals thoroughly and identify the most profitable ones. 
• Affiliate marketers can learn how to review traffic sources: ad networks, your affiliate marketing website, or email lists.
• Understand fraud schemes and vulnerabilities
• Learn how to set up effectively and track ad campaigns and evaluate their performance
• Learn how to determine the optimal targeting settings
• Choose convenient and practical tools to set up ad campaigns and analyze them
• Understand affiliate marketing strategies to monetize and increase your profits.

Newcomers will find these affiliate marketing skills vital. 

The 15 Best Affiliate Marketing Books

Currently, 16% of all eCommerce purchases are tracked back to affiliate marketing programs, making it an essential part of any company’s online marketing strategy.

The following books are great resources for anyone interested in learning more about affiliate marketing:

1. Affiliate Marketing For Dummies

2. From Nothing

3. Performance Partnerships

4. The Complete Guide to Affiliate Marketing on the Web

5. Affiliate Program Management: An Hour a Day

6. Affiliate Marketing: Secrets

7. Affiliate Marketing: The Ultimate Guide to a Profitable Online Business

9. Affiliate Marketing 2020: Launching a 6-Figure Business

10. Affiliate Marketing: Learn how to make $10,000+ monthly on autopilot

11. The 1-Page Marketing Plan

12. Amazon Affiliate Marketing

13. Traffic Secrets

14. Affiliate Marketing by Mark Smith

15. The One-Hour Content Plan

16. Honorable Mention: Growth Hacker Marketing

Now, let’s go through an in-depth review of each book. 

1. Affiliate Marketing For Dummies

• Author: Ted Sudol and Paul Mladjenovic
• Published: 2019
• Page count: 352 pages
• Why readers love it: The book’s popularity stems from the fact that it is a beginner-friendly book providing accessible introductions to a wide range of topics. Great for beginners keen on boosting marketing efforts.
• Price: US $16.99
• Buy it here: Amazon

Ted Sudol and Paul Mladjenovic’s Affiliate Marketing for Dummies is an excellent introduction to the field of affiliate marketing because it is both accessible and brief. Future affiliate marketers would be well served to begin with this book because it provides both theoretical background and actionable guidance to establish an affiliate strategy.

Affiliate Marketing for Dummies explains the theory behind Affiliate Marketing. It offers practical advice to start your affiliate marketing journey and achieve a marketing implementation breakthrough. 

2. From Nothing

• Author: Ian Pribyl
• Published: 2019
• Page count: 360 pages
• Why readers love it: This book is a no-holds-barred guide to launching online affiliate sites in whatever profitable niche you choose, written by industry veteran Ian.
• Price: US $19.99
• Buy it here: Amazon

‘From Nothing,’ written by Ian Pribyl, is meant to rescue any affiliate marketer whose affiliate site is underperforming. The author’s wealth of knowledge and advice for the real world inspired the book’s creation. This comprehensive book will allow aspiring affiliate marketers to learn everything they need about the industry. 

‘From Nothing’ lives up to its billing with invaluable guidance. It provides step-by-step, tried-and-true advice straight from the trenches, developed specifically as a remedy to the shark-infested waters of “get rich quick” online gurus. I found it fascinating, and since implementing its strategies, my online business’s visibility and revenue have skyrocketed. 

In addition, the author goes the extra mile to ensure your success. If you follow it to the letter, you’ll have a successful online business while avoiding the pitfalls that kill most people’s dreams of making money online.

3. Performance Partnerships

• Author:  Robert Glazer
• Published: 2017
• Page count: 290 pages
• Why readers love it: Performance Partnerships provide a robust framework for how businesses may effectively put their network of marketing partners to work for them.
• Price: US $22.99
• Buy it here: Amazon

This book examines the affiliate marketing industry in detail. The insights and perspective it offers are invaluable for making sense of recent events and their potential impact on the future of internet marketing.

Performance Partnerships provides fantastic insight into both the past — which is essential to comprehend — and the present and exciting future — where the real opportunity lies. Few people can match Bob (the author) in terms of his comprehensive understanding of the Affiliate Marketing field and his depth of practical expertise with the most typical tactics employed in it. 

The book is a valuable resource for those working in the field and an excellent example of how markets evolve to favor value creation above profit maximization.

4. The Complete Guide to Affiliate Marketing on the Web

• Author: Bruce C. Brown
• Published: 2009
• Page count: 98 pages
• Why readers love it: The book provides detailed advice and analysis to help you choose the best affiliate program for your business’s needs and goals.
• Price: US $19.95
• Buy it here: Amazon

This is an excellent resource for online merchants and people interested in becoming affiliates because it is among the best books on affiliate marketing. A management-level or seasoned affiliate marketer may not require it.

The information in this book will provide you with a strong affiliate marketing foundation to launch a successful affiliate marketing campaign using Clickbank products and other resources. 

Indeed, the author’s work is comprehensive, covering both the fundamentals and intermediate concepts of affiliate marketing. Newcomers to the game can receive a solid grounding in the fundamentals covered in this book, allowing them to begin working on their first Ad Campaign. And more seasoned partners can use this book as a reference and “skip forward” to the most relevant sections. 

5. Affiliate Program Management: An Hour a Day

• Author: Evgenii Prussakov
• Published: 2011
• Page count: 464 pages
• Why readers love it: This is not a text on the theory behind Affiliate Program Management. It contains concrete, actionable advice.
• Price: US $15.97
• Buy it here: Amazon

The previous books on the list above are intended for affiliate marketers who hope to make money online by promoting existing affiliate programs. But the ‘Affiliate Program Management: An Hour a Day’ is written for those who oversee affiliate marketing initiatives; the business owners and program managers.

In this book, author Evgenii Prussakov walks you through every step of establishing a terrific affiliate marketing program. ‘Affiliate Program Management: An Hour a Day’ uses a “task-based approach” to help you create an affiliate program tailored to your business fast and efficiently. It provides a basic overview of affiliate marketing before delving into more complex topics like program evaluation and administration.

6. Affiliate Marketing: Secrets

• Author: Charles Edwards
• Published: 2020
• Page count: 57 pages
• Why readers love it: The book contains a straightforward affiliate marketing guide with the essentials explained.
• Price: US $16.99
• Buy it here: Amazon

This book includes strategies for affiliate marketers, especially beginners, to establish a reliable source of affiliate income that allows them to work whenever and wherever they like with minimal effort while maximizing their profits.

The book begins with defining the topic and progressing through helpful hints and current trends. It is intended for those new to the affiliate marketing world, but affiliate marketers of all stripes can benefit from it and finally get a firm grasp on the industry. 

By the end of the book, you will have a thorough understanding of the affiliate marketing field and a solid background in the subject.

7. Affiliate Marketing: The Ultimate Guide to a Profitable Online Business

• Author: Nik Neutron
• Published: 2019
• Page count: 162 pages
• Why readers love it: The book shows new and seasoned marketers alike the ropes of advertising digital products and businesses.
• Price: ‎US $29.98
• Buy it here: Amazon

Neutron writes this affiliate book to help affiliates make money on the internet. ‘Affiliate Marketing: The Ultimate Guide to a Profitable Online Business’ has the essentials for getting started with affiliate marketing. 

The book covers various topics, from the basics of affiliate marketing to advanced affiliate marketing strategies like subject selection, creating content, email list building, and passive revenue. It also reveals the keys to financial independence.

I’m not a newbie, yet I still learned a ton from this book. Affiliates at all skill levels, from newbies to pros, should give this a try.

8. Affiliate Marketing 2021 Edition

• Author: Robert Kasey
• Published: 2021
• Page count: 138 pages
• Why readers love it: It is an easy-to-read guide with plenty of actionable advice.
• Price: ‎US $14.90
• Buy it here: Amazon.

This definitive guide to affiliate marketing reveals the secrets to making a comfortable living from the comfort of your own home. It’s useful for beginners since it explains all you need to know to get started in affiliate marketing and make a good living at it.

Kasey explains several ideas, like what affiliate marketing is, how it operates, how to get started with it, how to maximize revenues, how affiliate marketers may advance their businesses through advice from more experienced affiliate marketers, and so on.

Affiliate Marketing 2021 Edition is written for those who want to learn the fundamentals of affiliate marketing and utilize that knowledge to launch a successful business that can provide them with a path to financial independence and the lifestyle of their dreams with little grunt work.

9. Affiliate Marketing 2020: Launching a 6-Figure Business

• Author: Noah Gray
• Published: 2020
• Page count: 266
• Why readers love it: Anyone interested in affiliate marketing will find this to be an indispensable resource. The author did a fantastic job of outlining the processes involved in personal branding and marketing.
• Price: US $19.99
• Buy it here: Amazon

This book delves into the fundamentals of affiliate marketing, outlining the steps necessary to launch a lucrative online enterprise that draws customers worldwide. Those serious about making a living as affiliate marketers will find invaluable information in this book.

On these pages, Noah Gray lays out a plan worth following. This book aids its readers in expanding their theoretical understanding and practical affiliate marketing skills. Gray also stresses the need to ask pertinent questions about your brand and its relationship to your business.

The book covers planning resources, practical affiliate marketing strategies for execution, dos and don’ts, and warnings about pitfalls encountered while participating in affiliate programs.

It’s a great book to help you get started on the path to financial independence.

10. Affiliate Marketing: Learn how to Make $10,000+ Each Month on Autopilot

• Author: Michael Ezeanaka
• Published: 2019
• Page count: 122
• Why readers love it: An excellent feature of this book is that it includes a review page with multiple-choice questions at the end of each chapter, allowing the reader to check their understanding of the material before moving on.
• Price: US $25.87
• Buy it here: Amazon

This book is an excellent resource for learning everything there is to know about affiliate marketing. The document also chronicles the industry’s early days and subsequent development. Having this book at your disposal will give you a leg up on the competition in the affiliate marketing industry, as it will demonstrate how to kick off your venture and construct your business from the ground up.

In addition, the book will instruct you on how to create content and intuitive web banners to attract readers through free and paid methods. Therefore, this book is of great help and sets readers on the proper track to start a six figure business.

11. The 1-Page Marketing Plan

• Author: Allan Dib
• Published: 2016
• Page count: 234 pages 
• Why readers love it: Throughout the book, Allan (the author) preaches what he practices, making for an excellent conversational tone and incredibly sound business counsel.
• Price: US $26.96
• Buy it here: Amazon

You need a solid strategy for fast expansion if you want a successful affiliate marketing business. 

The 1-Page Marketing Plan is a game-changer for the marketing industry, written by serial entrepreneur and countercultural marketer Allan Dib. It’s just one page with nine equal sections. You can go from knowing nothing about marketing to being a master strategist with this book.

12. Amazon Affiliate Marketing

• Author: Michaele Greene
• Published: 2014 
• Page count: 60 pages
• Why readers love it: The book offers advice on selecting a reliable web host and coming up with a catchy domain name that brings in customers.
• Price: US $14.99 
• Buy it here: Amazon

This short, 60-page book will teach you how to generate money using the Amazon affiliate program, Amazon Associates. The author explains why Amazon’s affiliate program is so great and walks you through finding a niche, creating a website, signing up as an Amazon affiliate, and promoting products to earn income.

Finally, you’ll learn eleven best practices to keep your Amazon affiliate account from being blocked and 26 “untold” affiliate marketing secrets to enhance your Amazon affiliate revenue.

13. Traffic Secrets

• Author: Russell Brunson
• Published: 2020
• Page count: 352 pages
• Why readers love it: This book was written as a go-to reference and a springboard for further exploration. Acquire the audiobook on a hard copy and keep it for later use.
• Price: US $15.29
• Buy it here: Amazon

Russell Brunson, the founder of ClickFunnels and author of numerous books on direct marketing and traffic generation, is a successful businessman. He strongly recommends using sales funnels.

The method entails identifying your ideal client, finding the places they congregate, and casting the nets that will bring them into your sales funnels (where you’ll tell the clients a narrative and present them an offer).

This book can help those unfamiliar with internet sales realize the importance of sales funnels. You only need an autoresponder and a free, open-source email marketing platform to build a funnel — you can accomplish this without using ClickFunnels. 

14. Affiliate Marketing by Mark Smith

• Author: Mark Smith
• Published: 2016
• Page count: 68 pages
• Why readers love it: The book begins with affiliate marketing’s origins and then guides us through the industry’s various functions and deep affiliate marketing terms.
• Price: US $12.95
• Buy it here: Amazon

Affiliate Marketing by Mark Smith negates common misconceptions and reveals direct marketing techniques. This book on affiliate marketing is quick and straightforward to read. 

Mark Smith works in digital marketing. In his book, you’ll get information on Affiliate Marketing, how to start your website or blog, how to leverage social media platforms to increase sales, and where to find the best affiliate networks. In addition, it provides advice on how to recognize and prevent common affiliate marketing scams.

15. The One-Hour Content Plan

• Author: Meera Kothand
• Published: 2017
• Page count: 148 pages
• Why readers love it: This book explains why something is important and then shows you how to do it very concretely. You are expected to actively participate in your own education by completing the extensive worksheets included in the workbook.
• Price: ‎US $12.99
• Buy it here: Amazon.

Many affiliate marketers will agree that copywriting is a crucial skill to acquire. Maria’s book details the most effective copywriting strategies for email marketing, content, blog articles, and sales pages.

Crafting content ideas for affiliate marketers is a never-ending challenge; however, quality content creation is the foundation of success in this industry.

The information in ‘The One Hour Content Plan’ can be the foundation for an effective content strategy. Put an end to squandering time each day, thinking of new themes for articles. Instead, in just one sitting with this book, you can come up with enough blog post ideas to last you a whole year.

Bonus: Best Books Per Category 

1. Best Affiliate Marketing Book for Content Publishers

SEO 2023 by Adam Clarke

• Author: Adam Clarke
• Published: 2023
• Page count: 245 pages
• Why readers love it: Written in an engaging, occasionally witty, and conversational tone, not only will you devour this book quickly, but you will also take away a wealth of helpful information. Keep track of the recommended online resources as well. They’re worth their weight in gold.
• Price: US $18.99
• Buy it here: Amazon

SEO 2023 is the definitive guide to optimizing successful affiliate programs, with affiliate marketing written content refreshed yearly to reflect current best practices.

As Adam Clarke outlined in this book, keyword research, and white-hat search engine optimization strategies are the key to maximizing your blog’s revenue. He also discusses some less-than-honorable tactics that can lead to Google delisting your site.

The SEO 2022 guide is helpful for both newcomers and seasoned affiliate content publishers.

2. Best Affiliate Marketing Book for PPC/Media Buyers

Ultimate Guide to Facebook Advertising

• Author: Thomas Meloche, Keith Krance, and Perry Marshall
• Published: 2017
• Page count: 268 pages
• Why readers love it: With the information in this book, you’ll have a thorough understanding of digital marketing and how to use it on Facebook. It covers the essentials of Facebook marketing and goes in-depth into the nitty-gritty of Facebook advertising. Those interested in marketing on Facebook will find this book well-written and contains practical tips.
• Price: ‎US $28.80
• Buy it here: Amazon

There aren’t many books that can live up to their headlines, but “Ultimate Guide to Facebook Advertising” does just that. Its contents are updated regularly to cover Facebook’s newest apps and services.

It shows businesses how to make the most of the platform’s advertising tools to reach the site’s 1.7 billion monthly users. This book is a must-have if you use Facebook to drive visitors to your site.

3. Best Affiliate Marketing Book for Email Marketers

Copywriting Secrets

• Author: Jim Edwards
• Published: 2019
• Page count: 328 pages
• Why readers love it: This book provides helpful advice for improving persuasive writing. It’s easy to follow, entertaining, and full of constructive advice.
• Price: US $22.21
• Buy it here: Amazon

Jim Edwards is the ideal mentor for your copywriting career.

His book “Copywriting Secrets” explains the many facets of copywriting and the power words have over a sale, helping you become a better affiliate marketer.

4. Best Affiliate Marketing Book for Social Influencers

How to Be Internet Famous 

• Author: Cameron Chapman
• Published: 2009
• Page count: 242 pages
• Why readers love it: Internet Famous delves headfirst into the history of social media marketing, defines the different variations, and discusses the various benefits of each, serving as a primer, reference guide, marketing plan, and personal consultant rolled into one.
• Price: US $24.99
• Buy it here: Amazon

For an affiliate marketer looking to achieve rapid business growth through social media platforms, “How to Be Internet Famous” is a must-read.

You’ll learn how to make money off social media in every way possible, from creating your own brand to curating viral content.

5. Best Affiliate Marketing Book for Community Managers

The Business of Belonging

• Author: David Spinks 
• Published: 2021
• Page count: 208 pages
• Why readers love it: David’s book serves as an accessible introduction to contemporary community design, which is likely to play an increasingly important role in future affiliate marketing efforts. The SPACES framework unites teams in understanding the communities they’re developing, the goals they should aim for, and the best way to manage internal expectations.
• Price: US $23.00
• Buy it here: Amazon

“The Business of Belonging” is a comprehensive manual for understanding the profit-making power of communities, how to tap into that power, and how to make the most of it.

In this enlightening read, David Spinks lays out a method for developing your community strategy, ensuring that it aligns with your business’s objectives.

Affiliate Marketing Courses vs. Affiliate Marketing Books

We have discussed some of the best books on affiliate marketing so far. And in many respects, you may use these as a general introduction to several subjects.

However, affiliate marketing courses are generally a better option for those looking for more practical and up-to-date guidelines to follow.

Unfortunately, by the time you read a book’s contents, the knowledge it contains may be completely out of date. However, good courses are constantly updated to reflect new research and provide students unlimited access to the materials.

You can always be one step ahead of the competition by keeping up with the latest developments in your field, whether in industry news or software and platform updates.

In addition, courses may provide a far more concentrated, concrete, and step-by-step approach to establishing a profitable affiliate marketing business, complete with over-the-shoulder instructions and computer screen shares that clarify every stage of the process.

Conclusion

Learning from the best is the best approach to ensure highly focused success as an affiliate marketer. And what could be more effective than reading books to educate oneself? 

By reading the books we’ve outlined in this post, you’ll learn helpful information that may be immediately used in your Affiliate Marketing campaign. Whether you’re just starting a free internet marketing project or have years of experience, buying a book on Affiliate Marketing is a good idea.

FAQs

What books to read on affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketers can learn from the following books:

1. Affiliate Marketing For Dummies

2. From Nothing

3. Performance Partnerships

4. The Complete Guide to Affiliate Marketing on the Web

5. Affiliate Program Management: An Hour a Day

What are the three best affiliate marketing books?

The top three affiliate marketing books on our list are:

1. Affiliate Marketing For Dummies

2. From Nothing

3. Performance Partnerships

Who is the best affiliate marketer to learn from?

Here are the five best affiliate marketers to learn from:

• The Affiliate Lab – Matt Diggity.
• The Authority Site System – Authority Hacker.
• Authority Hacker Pro – Authority Hacker Pro.
• Commission Hero
• Savage Affiliate – Franklin Hatchett.

Who is the king of affiliate marketing?

The Customer – It is common knowledge that “The Customer Is King.” This is also true in an Affiliate marketing framework. Affiliate marketing schemes are only effective because customers make purchases.