You wrote the book. Now Amazon wants up to 65% of it.
That’s the math pushing more authors to sell ebooks on WordPress directly: on your own site, your only cost per sale is payment processing (roughly 2.9% + $0.30), you own every customer email address, and nobody can change the commission terms under you.
This guide shows the full setup — from file to first sale — in about 15 minutes of actual work, without WooCommerce or a monthly platform fee.
Quick answer
Install a digital downloads plugin, connect Stripe or PayPal, upload your PDF/EPUB as a product, and place the buy button on your site. Buyers pay, and the plugin instantly emails a secure, expiring download link. Total cost: $0 plus card processing.
Your own site vs. Amazon KDP (it’s not either/or)
Amazon gives you reach; your site gives you a business. On KDP you don’t get your readers’ email addresses, you compete on a page full of also-boughts, and depending on price and program, Amazon keeps 30–65% of every sale. On your own WordPress site you keep ~97%, own the customer relationship, and can bundle, discount and upsell however you like.
The strategy that works for most authors is both: Amazon for discovery, your website for margin. Publish on KDP for the search traffic and credibility, and in the book’s front and back matter, point readers to your site — where the next book, the bundle, and your mailing list live.
What you need before you start
- Your ebook file(s). PDF is the universal choice (fixed layout, opens everywhere). EPUB reflows for e-readers and phones and is worth offering alongside PDF — a downloads plugin can deliver both files with one purchase. Export from Google Docs/Word (PDF) or a tool like Calibre/Vellum (EPUB).
- A cover image for the product page. Flat front cover plus a 3D mockup convert better than either alone.
- A WordPress site — any theme. That’s it; no shop theme required.
- A Stripe and/or PayPal account. Free to create; you connect them during setup.
Step-by-step: selling your first ebook
We’ll use our own digital downloads plugin for WordPress, SiteMile Downloads — the flow is the same in any tool of this type, and everything below is in the free version.
1. Install the plugin (2 minutes)
Plugins → Add New → search → Install → Activate. The setup wizard asks for your country and currency, then walks you through payments.
2. Connect payments (2 minutes)
Click Connect for Stripe and/or PayPal and authorize your existing account. Offer both if you can — a surprising share of ebook buyers strongly prefer PayPal.
3. Create your ebook product (5 minutes)
Add a new product: title, description, price, cover image. Upload your PDF (and EPUB) in the files section — files are stored protected, outside your public uploads folder, so nobody can link to them directly. Set a download limit (we suggest 5–10; a limit of 1 punishes readers whose download failed on the subway) and an expiry if you want one.
[SCREENSHOT: ebook product edit screen with PDF + EPUB attached]
Description tip: sell the transformation, not the table of contents. “Learn to plan a kitchen renovation without a contractor” beats “180 pages, 12 chapters.” Then list the chapters below for the skimmers.
4. Put the buy button where readers are (2 minutes)
Every product gives you a shortcode/block. Drop it on a dedicated sales page — and also at the end of your most-trafficked blog posts on the same topic. Content that earned the reader’s trust is your highest-converting shelf space.
5. Test the whole journey (3 minutes)
Test-mode purchase → confirm the email arrives → download both files → confirm the link expires per your settings. Done: you’re live.
Protecting your ebook (an honest note on piracy)
Expiring, signed download links stop casual sharing — a forwarded link that’s dead in a week protects most of your sales. What no WordPress plugin honestly stops is a determined pirate re-uploading your PDF; even Adobe’s DRM gets stripped.
The pragmatic playbook: watermark the buyer’s email onto purchased PDFs if you want a deterrent, put your site URL in the footer of every page (pirated copies become ads), and spend the energy you’d spend on DRM making the legitimate purchase the easiest path. Price fairly, deliver instantly, allow re-downloads — and pirates stay the rounding error they’ve always been.
Pricing your ebook
Self-published nonfiction on authors’ own sites typically sells between $9 and $49, and the ceiling is about the specificity of the problem solved, not page count. A 40-page guide that solves an expensive problem for a defined audience outsells a generic 300-page tome at three times the price.
Three tactics that reliably lift revenue:
- A bundle tier. Book alone at $19; book + worksheets + checklist templates at $34. Many buyers take the bigger option, and the extras cost you nothing per sale.
- Launch pricing. A real, dated discount for your list (“$12 until Friday”) converts fence-sitters; Pro’s discount codes handle it.
- The free chapter as lead magnet. Give chapter one for an email address; sell the book to the list. Your email list is the asset that compounds across every future book.
Selling ebooks with WooCommerce instead?
You can — WooCommerce handles downloadable products, and if you already run a WooCommerce store for other goods, use it: one system beats two. Our WooCommerce digital downloads guide covers that setup, including the digital-checkout fixes it needs. For an ebook-only site, though, a dedicated downloads plugin skips the shipping/inventory machinery entirely — the trade-offs are laid out in how to sell on WordPress without WooCommerce.
FAQ
Can I sell ebooks on WordPress for free? Yes. A free digital downloads plugin plus Stripe/PayPal costs nothing beyond ~2.9% + $0.30 card processing. No listing fees, no commission.
PDF or EPUB — which should I sell? Both, delivered together with one purchase. PDF for universality and fixed layouts; EPUB for comfortable reading on e-readers and phones.
Can I sell on my site and Amazon KDP at the same time? Yes, with one caveat: KDP Select (the program required for Kindle Unlimited) demands ebook exclusivity while enrolled. Standard KDP publishing doesn’t — you can sell everywhere. Check the current terms before enrolling in Select.
How do buyers receive the ebook? Instantly: a secure, expiring download link by email the moment payment clears, plus re-download access from their account page within your limits.
Do I need to charge VAT on ebook sales to the EU? EU digital-goods VAT applies based on the buyer’s country, regardless of where you are. SiteMile Downloads Pro handles the rates and issues compliant PDF invoices; at small scale, many non-EU sellers also weigh the practical burden with an accountant.
What about audiobooks? Same setup — an audiobook is just bigger files. Deliver MP3s zipped by chapter, and mention the file size on the product page for mobile buyers.
