Writing and selling books and eBooks is on virtually every list to make money from a blog. But is it something that is viable for all bloggers? Is it possible to make a few extra bucks selling digital products? There are a lot of variables to consider, but the results could be worth the time you invest.
It mostly comes down to what you write, your marketing prowess, and the number of visitors to your blog. If you only get 10 to 20 visitors per day, you’re not going to sell a lot of copies of your books.
Nonetheless, a well-written and sought-after printed book or eBook could generate quite a bit of money.
10 Pros and Cons of Selling Books from Your Site
Easy to Set Up with WordPress
If you use WordPress to power your blog, you can quickly add eCommerce using a number of plugins in a matter of minutes. In fact, it’ll probably take you longer to add photos and product descriptions than to set up an online bookstore in WordPress.
While you can use platforms like Shopify or Etsy, you’re still limited by those platforms. Not to mention having to send traffic to a second site instead of selling to the people who use your blog directly.
As you can probably tell, I am a big proponent of self-hosted WordPress. But that’s because I know how well it can work, as I’ve been using the platform since 2008 and have built a myriad of sites for myself and clients.
Better Profit Margins
Selling books directly on your blog cuts out the middleman. That means you’ll make more in royalties, especially when compared to something like Amazon.
For example, let’s say that I sell a printed copy of my book for $12.99 on both Amazon and my blog. After printing fees and charges from Amazon, I’ll make about $2.05 per sale. If I sold the book from my blog, I would only have to pay the printing costs and processing fee from something like PayPal.
Selling the book from my blog would net around $8.05 per sale. That’s using the fees associated with PayPal and using author copies I buy from Amazon. And yes, you can sell author copies directly from your blog.
That is a $6 difference per copy!
Full Store Control
Because you’re building the online store directly from your blog, you have absolute control. This means managing everything from how your book appears on the site to the shipping service you use for paperback or hardcover books.
You don’t have to worry about competing titles showing next to yours, a flood of AI-generated slop burying your titles, or losing sales because of a glitch in Amazon’s system, which happens way more often than it should.
Essentially, you’re the owner and manager of your own online bookstore, even if you only have three books to sell.
Supports Your Fans
Building a fan base should be at the top of every author’s list. These are the folks who will come back frequently and buy all of your books. Mix that with a blog sharing your insights on writing, character development, or interviews, and you have a strong presence online.
Think of your author blog as a base of operations for writing your books. It should center on what you create while also providing merch your fans can and will appreciate. This means you can also go beyond just selling books. You could add a wide scope of products and expand what you offer fans.
Just make sure you regularly publish content. You don’t want your fans to forget about you.
Many Ways to Monetize the Blog
Selling books is but a single way to make money from a blog. You can easily add affiliates for products you use, set up a membership platform, sell ad space to others, include ad revenue from platforms like AdSense, and a whole lot more.
In other words, your blog can generate income beyond what books you sell. It really comes down to what your target audience wants and how well you can deliver it. Not all monetization methods are going to work well for your readers.
You could go so far as to set up a podcast that links back to your blog and your books. This helps create an intricate web of marketing for yourself as a writer while potentially making money from other platforms in addition to your blog.
Requires a Lot of Visitors
For any website to generate any meaningful amount of revenue, you need a lot of traffic. According to Umbrex, a good conversion rate for a blog is between 1% and 5%. This means that out of every 100 people, 1 to 5 of them will make a purchase or take a desired action.
So, you’d need at least 100 visitors to sell a single book minimum, if that is your focus. To replace a full-time income, you’d need about 1500 visitors per day at the very least. And then hope that 1% of them are interested in your book.
This amount of traffic isn’t the easiest to accumulate, especially nowadays, thanks to AI Overviews. However, there are still blogs out there that make a decent amount of money, due mostly to external marketing tactics outside of SEO.
Heavy External Marketing Needs
You can’t rely on Google’s assistance to generate traffic today. If you want a lot of people to come to your site to buy your book, you’ll need to invest in serious external marketing methods. This includes things like collaborations with other creators, email networking, video content, in-person events, and social media ads.
The bottom line is that no one is going to buy your book if they don’t know it exists. That means you’ll have to invest in various marketing avenues.
All of this promotional material can cost you quite a bit of money. However, there are some authors out there who earn six figures per year thanks to ads and various marketing methods. So, it’s worth the time exploring your options.
Greater Need for Digital Security
If you’re selling digital copies of your books (eBooks), you’ll need a good idea for security. It’s quite easy to copy a digital file and distribute it as a pirated book. Of course, this is a concern whether you’re selling books from your blog or Amazon.
Some digital platforms will do what they can to protect your work, but nothing is ever absolute. All you can really do is stay vigilant and keep your fingers crossed. You may have to invest in legal representation in the worst-case scenario, and that’s going to cost you thousands.
As I said, though, this isn’t merely a concern for those looking to build online bookstores from their blog. It’s a growing concern across the entire industry.
Backend Management and Delivery
There is a lot of work that goes into managing your online bookstore. This is especially true if you start hitting thousands of visitors per day. Everything from content management to shipping and taxes is on your shoulders.
And don’t get me started about dealing with customs in other countries. When I sold electronics through an eBay store back in 2009, it was such a nightmare, especially when getting goods to Italy, for some reason.
Anyway, running your store is going to take time, energy, and a monetary investment. The trade-off, however, is making a decent income from those sales.
Storing Printed Copies (If You Have Them)
If you decide to sell printed copies of your books, you’ll need to store them. Ideally, you want them away from anything that can cause them to smell or get damaged. So, no smoking around your books or letting your cats lie on the boxes.
My first box of Kingmaker was peed on by my puppy at the time. Needless to say, I had to reorder 20 copies.
You also need to make sure it’s not too humid, as the humidity could cause your books to warp prior to shipping.
I try to keep mine in a sealed crate, stored in a cool (but not too cold) closet. It keeps the humidity down, the cats can’t get in there, the dog has no interest in sitting in the box, and it’s far away from anything that can generate a smell.
Would I Suggest Selling Books from a Blog?
Out of all the pros and cons I can think of, I would still host my own online bookstore. In fact, it’s on the roadmap for what I want to do with WriterSanctuary.
The biggest drawback is the amount of time and money you’ll invest to build one that can generate sales.
With consistent content, it could take up to six months to bring in around 100 visitors per day. And that’s if you have high-quality content people want to read or a great marketing strategy, especially if you’re a new author and don’t have a strong reputation yet.
Now, there is nothing wrong with adding your books from day one of your blog. Aside from buying the printed copies, you won’t have much in the way of costs outside of your web hosting until you make a sale.
Create a platform to sell your books, but don’t expect to become a millionaire overnight. It’ll be slow in the beginning, but as long as you keep putting in the effort and building yourself as a brand, it’ll get better over time.
As I pointed out earlier, the blog is a great base for your fans. Take care of them, and they’ll take care of you. Keep writing and building that reputation. Your site could very well become the official outlet for your books, generating enough to quit your full-time job.
Well, as long as you don’t quit and explore various options for marketing and content. Remember, it’s all about the traffic.
Selling Books from a Blog is a Business Venture
As a self-published author, your name is your brand. Essentially, you’re in business for yourself. Setting up a blog and mini bookstore to sell your titles is merely an extension of that.
I loved owning my own store back in the day, and I am looking forward to when I can do it again. But not everyone is business-minded and doesn’t want to deal with the stress that can come from the experience.
If you’re not committed to promoting yourself, you won’t make a lot of money. Explore your options and get the most out of being a blog owner and author. You may find selling books from your blog to be your best investment of yourself.
- Dropping a Class to Maintain Mental Health Is Not Bad - August 31, 2026
- How Many Articles Can You Derive from One Listicle? - August 28, 2026
- Working On Part 2 of A Freelancer’s Tale - August 26, 2026