What Is A+ Content on KDP?
Amazon has been releasing all sorts of new options and tools for authors through KDP this year. Their newest marketing tool to help promote your book is A+ Content. There’s not a lot of background needed for this, so let’s jump right in.
What Is A+ Content?
A+ content is a new section that will show on your book’s detail page on Amazon that allows you to engage readers and give them some more information about your story. A+ content allows you to add images, texts, and even comparison tables to help your book stand out.
It will appear lower on a book’s detail page, and browsers will have to scroll down the page to see your A+ content. So, this probably won’t be what grabs potential readers’ attention, but it could be the push that convinces readers to purchase your book.
Here is an example of what A+ Content can look like from Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game.
Each of the rectangles is called a module. You can see here that Sally Thorne used the A+ content to highlight publication quotes about her book.
As the A+ guidelines state, if you use publication quotes, they must be from well-known publications or public figures. So, you can’t use reviews from Goodreads users or from your Amazon listing, just so you know. You’ll have your A+ content rejected if you do, and you’ll have to redo your content.
But remember, readers won’t see this right away, so I want to show you how the full page will look using Vivian Mae’s Burning Little Secrets.
You can’t see a lot of the detail here, but what you can see is that there is a full screen of content between the top of the page and the A+ content. So if a reader is scrolling, this will likely catch their attention and hopefully pull them into purchasing.
From what I’ve seen while looking through romance novels on Amazon, this 3- to 4-module picture and text layout seems to be most commonly used in this genre.
Another layout I saw that could be very helpful if you have a series is to have a module that shows all the books in the series.
Julia Quinn has done this with her Bridgerton series.
A+ content offers an interesting tool as a supplemental marketing tool, much like great story quotes you may share on TikTok or Instagram to convince people to read your book, so take advantage in case a potential reader is on the fence.
A+ content has many layout options and many content guidelines, so I want to go over these before you dive into creating your A+ content.
A+ Content Guidelines
I think it’s important to start with here because Amazon has put into place specific content guidelines for A+ content regarding what is and isn’t allowed in your modules. Amazon reviews all A+ content before they publish it to your book details page, and they will kick it back to you with revision instructions if any of these guidelines are violated. They can even delete the A+ content all together, so take your time reviewing the rules.
I think the easiest way to share these guidelines is to break them into three sections: what isn't allowed, what is allowed, and general formatting rules.
What Amazon Doesn't Allow
Pricing/Promotional Details
You can’t list your price or say something like, “only $4.99.”
You can’t create A+ content for a sale or free period to advertise the discount.
You can’t use language like, “affordable,” “bonus,” “free,” “buy now,” or “add to cart.”
Customer Reviews
You can’t include customer reviews at all; this includes Goodreads reviews and Amazon reviews, as well as ARC reviews unless they are from well-known publications or public figures (see “What Amazon Does Allow” section).
Time-Sensitive Information
You can’t say “now,” “new,” “latest,” “on sale now,” in terms of time-sensitive information. For example, “Get the new edition of this book now!”
You can’t refer to holidays, such as, “This book would be perfect for Christmas!”
Bad/Animated Images
You can’t use blurry/low-quality images.
You can’t use images with watermarks.
You can’t use images with text so small that it can’t be read/seen on a mobile device.
You can’t use images already included in your product gallery.
You can’t use images (or text) that mimic or attempt to mimic Amazon logos or copy.
Image Alt-Text
You can’t include alternate text for images that does not describe the image.
You can’t include alt-text that isn’t useful for someone using a screen reader application.
Claims
You can’t make environmental claims in your content, such as “eco-friendly,” “biodegradable,” or “compostable.”
You can’t claim a product is “recyclable” or “ecological” without a note in the text that states the materials used or the certifying body and year.
You can’t make satisfaction claims, such as “100% satisfaction guaranteed.”
You can’t make boastful statements, such as “#1 rated.”
Guarantee Information
You can’t give guarantee information or include off-Amazon return or refund policies.
Comparisons
You can’t compare your books to the books of others. (Comparison charts should only be used to highlight other books that are your own, not compare your book(s) to those of others.)
Strictly Prohibited
You can’t include content that Amazon determines as hate speech, that promotes the abuse/sexual exploitation of children, contains pornography, promotes rape/pedophilia, advocates terrorism, or includes other inappropriate or offensive material. (Amazon determines this.)
Miscellaneous Exclusions
You can’t include standalone trademark or copyright symbols, and these symbols must be removed from copy text.
You can’t include links or language directing readers to other products, whether inside or outside of Amazon and even if they are your own.
You can’t include text written in languages other than the one specified while creating your content.
You can’t violate KDP Terms and Conditions or KDP’s general Content Guidelines
You can’t include shipping or contact information.
You can’t refer to Kindle Unlimited.
What Amazon Does Allow
Quotes from your book or information about your book/series and yourself.
Publication Quotes
A maximum of four quotes/endorsements are allowed from well-known public figures or publications.
Quotes must include the author’s name. If quoting a publication, the title must be included.
Images
File types should be .jpg or .png in the RGB colorspace. Individual files must be under 2 MB.
Brand Logos
If you choose to include a brand logo, include only one.
Additionally, only use icons (such as arrows) that help customers to navigate through the text.
Trademark/copyright symbols are allowed if they’re reasonably sized and already included in product packaging, logos, or both.
Awards
For awards/endorsements, you must include a note in the text with the date when the awards/endorsements were achieved and the name of the organization granting the award.
To include information about a certification or award, you must include a note in the text with the year and the certifying/awarding organization, study, or publication.
Formatting Instructions
Spell out all numbers under 10.
Use consistent punctuation, and use the serial (oxford) comma.
Capitalize each major word in a header.
Check for grammatical errors, misspellings, or punctuation issues.
Don’t include unnecessary/repeated information.
Don’t go crazy with font features. Bold and italic formatting are only intended to be used to highlight headings or a few words.
Layout Options
Now that we covered the content guidelines, let’s discuss your layout options.
Before you start creating your A+ content, I recommend checking out the layout options KDP offers, so you know what you are trying to create. There are 17 different modules to choose from, and you can use a maximum of 5 modules. I shared with you some examples above, and I believe these layouts will be the most helpful. Additionally, they seem to be the most popular for romance novels.
There are a few options though that I believe would be less helpful, so I want to advise against them here. The “Book Sample” layout option doesn’t seem like it would be helpful for romance novels, but rather for cookbooks (as Amazon’s example shows) or children’s books or maybe even craft books. I also recommend against using the A+ content option for “Author background.” This option would be more helpful in non-fiction writing to highlight the author’s experience and qualifications.
It will be more effective to highlight your book or your series to draw possible readers into your story and get them to buy your book. Strategically choose your layout to do the most for your and your book sales.
Creating A+ Content
You will create your A+ content from the KDP Marketing page. There, you’ll find the A+ Content Manager and be able to create the A+ content modules with images and text to promote your book. After you create A+ content, you can duplicate, delete, and suspend your content as needed.
So, let’s start with how to get to your A+ Content Manager page:
Go to the KDP Marketing page.
Scroll to the "A+ Content" section.
Choose a marketplace.
Click Manage A+ Content.
Next follow these steps to actually create your content.
Click Start Creating A+ Content, then you can start new A+ content or edit existing content.
Enter your content details.
You’ll enter a content name to identify your content.
Choose the language in which your A+ content is written.
Add modules.
From the “Create Your Content” section, click Add Module to choose a module, and that module will be added to the content layout.
To add additional modules, click Add Module again.
Design Your Modules
You can re-order modules if needed by using the icons in the upper right corner of the module to move it up or down.
You can remove modules by clicking the “X” that is with the other icons in the upper right corner of the module, and a prompt will confirm the action.
To add images, click Click to add image to upload an image. (*Amazon won’t resize images, so make sure the image file is sized correctly.)
To add text, you can type directly into the module text fields or copy and paste your text into the module.
When you’re done designing and adding to your A+ Content, click Next: Apply ASINs.
Apply ASINs
Under the "Add ASINs" section, you’ll search for the ASIN or ASINs (you can add your A+ content to more than one book--great for series) to apply the content you created to the book’s detail page. Your added ASIN(s) will appear in the “Applied ASINs” section.
Click Apply ASINs after your selection is complete. And when it is successful, you’ll be notified at the top of the page you’re on.
Now, to move into the last step, click Next: Review and Submit to complete the process and submit for final approval.
Review and Submit
You can, and should, preview your A+ content on both a desktop and mobile layout before submitting for final approval.
When you’ve reviewed everything and are ready to go, click Submit for approval.
If your content is approved, it will appear on your Amazon detail page within 8 business days. If you need to make changes to your A+ content, Amazon will send you an email with instructions for revision.
A+ content is an interesting marketing tool because it’s not something that will be the main selling point on your book’s detail page, but it could be something that tips a reader over if they’re exploring your book.
To really have your A+ content work for you, make sure you’re using original text and images that are unique to this tool. Don’t just copy your book blurb or your title. Give yourself every opportunity by making your A+ content original.
Resources:
“A+ Content Guidelines,” https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G4WB7VPPEAREHAAD.
“Create A+ Content,” https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G8EP5W6H9CY7T8GS#update.
“A+ Content Examples,” https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GCKLH8V7ULLD5EXY.
