Amazon A+ Content for Authors: 7 Proven Rules (2026)
Amazon A+ Content is free for KDP authors. Learn the 17 modules, the rules that get layouts rejected, and 7 proven steps to turn browsers into buyers.
What is Amazon A+ Content for books?
A+ Content is a set of design modules that KDP authors use to build an extra section on their book's Amazon detail page. According to KDP's A+ Content module guide, you choose from 17 modules and can use up to five per layout. The finished layout shows under the From the Publisher heading, and Amazon notes that most readers need to scroll to see it.
Think of it as the visual half of your sales page. Your Amazon book description does the persuading in words, while A+ Content shows the mood, the characters, the world or the outcomes of your book in images, short text panels and tables. It sits below the buy box but above product details and customer reviews, as Jason Hamilton explains in Kindlepreneur's A+ Content guide.
Eligibility is broad. KDP says A+ Content works for published books and for pre-orders, and one project can be applied to several ASINs, so your ebook and paperback can share the same layout. You don't need KDP Select, and you don't need Amazon Brand Registry.
That price history matters. A feature publishers once paid $600 per title for is now included with every KDP book, as David Wogahn documented for IBPA's PubSpot. Yet many indie listings still skip it, which leaves an easy edge for authors willing to spend an afternoon on design.
Is A+ Content worth it for self-published authors?
Amazon's own numbers are the strongest public data point. Its A+ Content seller page states that Basic A+ Content can increase sales by up to 8%, and well-implemented Premium A+ Content can increase sales by up to 20%. The footnote cites only "Amazon internal data," with no sample size or time frame.
Read those figures with care. They come from Amazon's seller program across all product types, not from books, and the Premium tier belongs to that seller program; the KDP help pages describe the standard module set. Treat 8% as a ceiling to aim for, not a promise.
Author reports are encouraging but anecdotal. In Indie Author Magazine, author Skye MacKinnon said one of her children's books had almost doubled sales after she added A+ Content, while noting she could not confirm it was the only cause. That honesty is the right frame: A+ Content supports a strong listing, it doesn't rescue a weak one.
The practical case is simple. It costs nothing, it takes a few work sessions, and it gives a hesitant reader one more reason to click buy. If your cover, title and reviews already earn the click, A+ Content helps close the sale.
How do you create A+ Content in KDP?
KDP's Create A+ Content help page walks through the process. The short version:
- Open your KDP Bookshelf and go to the Marketing page||Choose the marketplace you want, then select Manage A+ Content||Start a new project and enter a content name and language||Add up to five modules, then upload images and write text for each one||Apply the project to every ASIN it should cover, such as ebook and paperback||Review the preview on desktop and mobile, then submit for approval
KDP says compliant content appears on the detail page within eight business days, and longer during busy periods. Real timelines vary: Wogahn saw his layout go live within two business days, and MacKinnon reported approvals ranging from seconds to about a week.
What should go in your five modules?
Wolman's walkthrough uses a layout that suits most novels and many nonfiction titles: one banner, three feature blocks and one comparison chart. She applied it to six ASINs, the ebook and paperback editions of three books in a series, which shows how far a single project can stretch.
- Module 1, the banner: a wide image and text overlay that sets the mood in one line, such as the setting, the core trope or the main promise||Modules 2 to 4, the feature panels: three images and short captions, one idea each, such as three characters, three themes or three results||Module 5, the series chart: a comparison chart that lists the other books in your catalog in reading order
If you only have one book, swap the chart for a Standard Single Left Image module with a short author bio, or a text module that answers the question readers ask most often. KDP's text module allows up to 6,000 characters, but short blocks read better on a phone. Fewer, stronger modules beat five crowded ones.
Rule 1: Plan the story before you open the builder
A common A+ mistake is opening the module builder first and filling boxes second. Wogahn recommends two phases, brainstorming then execution, and budgeting two to three work sessions for one book. Ricci Wolman of Written Word Media gives the same advice in her August 2026 walkthrough: finalize your copy before you design any graphics.
Start with one question your ideal reader asks before buying. For a romance, it might be: will this give me the trope I love? For nonfiction: will this solve my problem? Then build each module to answer part of that question.
- Fiction: a mood banner, three character or trope panels, and a series chart||Nonfiction: a promise banner, three outcome panels, and a table of what each chapter covers||Children's books: a full-width spread from inside the book, three sample pages, and age guidance||Series: a reading-order chart that names every book you have published
Study the A+ sections of top sellers in your genre before you design. You'll see quickly which layouts feel like a movie poster and which feel like clutter.
Rule 2: Choose modules that work on a phone
You get 17 modules and five slots, so every slot has to earn its place. The workhorses for books are the Standard Image and Text Overlay banner, the Standard Three Images and Text panels, the Standard Single Left or Right Image blocks, and the Comparison Chart. KDP's module guide lists the exact sizes for each.
Design for the phone first. KDP's three-image module accepts images as small as 300 by 300 pixels, so tiny text inside those images becomes unreadable on a phone. The guidelines list text too small to read on mobile as a rejection reason, and The Book Designer's Cameron Chapman urges authors to preview A+ Content on several devices and screen sizes before submitting.
Keep words out of images where you can. KDP's guide for the image and text overlay module says not to add text to the background image and to use the optional overlay box instead. When text must sit inside a graphic, make it large and high contrast.
Rule 3: Follow the image specs exactly
Image problems are the easiest rejections to avoid. Here is what the KDP help pages require:
- JPG or PNG files in RGB color, never CMYK or animated GIFs||300 DPI recommended; KDP treats images under 200 DPI as low resolution||Keep every file under 2 MB: the A+ Content Guidelines set that limit, even though some module pages mention 3 MB||Banner overlay images at least 970 by 300 pixels, with 1940 by 600 suggested||Unique images that don't repeat your cover or gallery images||Descriptive alt text on every image, kept within the 100 characters Written Word Media reports for the field||No watermarks, blurry art or QR codes
You must own the rights to every image. Stock art with a proper license, your own cover artist's work with permission, or original graphics are all fine. Fan art and screenshots from other books are not.
Match your palette to your cover. Readers scroll from the cover thumbnail into the A+ section, and a consistent look makes the page feel professional rather than pasted together.
Rule 4: Write copy that passes review the first time
Many text rejections come from the habits of ad copy. The KDP A+ Content Guidelines ban several words and phrases that authors use every day in other marketing.
The guidelines also enforce style. Spell out numbers under 10, use the serial comma, capitalize each major word in headers, avoid strings of all-caps text, and use bold or italics only for headings or a few select words. Grammar and spelling errors are grounds for rejection too, so send your A+ text to your editor or a careful proofreader.
Write benefits, not hype. "A slow-burn romance set in a snowed-in Vermont bookshop" passes review and sells the book. "The best romance of the year" does neither.
Rule 5: Use endorsements the right way
You can include up to four quotes or endorsements, but only from well-known publications or public figures, and each must name its source. When you quote a publication, include the publication title. Quotes from individuals, customers or other private figures are not allowed.
That rules out the most tempting content of all: your best reader reviews. Wogahn suggests putting those quotes in your book description instead, and KDP points authors to Author Central for editorial reviews.
Awards need proof as well. Each award note must include the date and the granting organization, and awards received more than two years ago are prohibited. If you won a genre award in 2025, it can still appear in 2026, but plan to retire it.
Rule 6: Sell the series with a comparison chart
For series authors, the Comparison Chart is the most useful module in the builder. KDP allows up to five ASINs per chart, and the guidelines say charts may only compare books in your own KDP account. That limit is a gift: it turns the module into a reading-order guide.
Build rows that answer the questions readers actually ask about a series:
- Reading order, book one through book five||Main couple, narrator or case for each book||Standalone or cliffhanger ending||Heat level, content notes or age range, where relevant to your genre||Length or page count
Remember that the chart can't mention Kindle Unlimited or prices. Let the reader click through to each book's own page for that.
Rule 7: Apply it to every format and marketplace
A+ Content publishes only to the store where you created it. KDP lists 13 marketplaces that support it, from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk to Amazon.de, Amazon.in and Amazon.co.jp. Kindlepreneur notes that approved content can be copied to other marketplaces that use the same language, which saves time for English-language stores.
- Apply each project to the ebook, paperback and hardcover ASINs, so every format shows the same layout||Repeat the project in each marketplace where you see meaningful sales||Use the Duplicate option to create a new layout for the next book in the series, then swap images and text||Update the comparison chart every time you publish a new book||Suspend, rather than delete, a layout you want to pause; deleting is permanent
KDP's AI Ready modules can draft text and images, but only in English and only in the United States store, and KDP warns that generated content must be checked for accuracy and guideline compliance. Treat it as a first draft, never as finished work.
How do you know if your A+ Content works?
KDP doesn't report A+ Content performance on its own, so you have to measure around it. Note the date your layout goes live, then compare sales and page reads in your KDP Reports for the four weeks before and after, keeping ad spend and price as steady as you can.
If you run Amazon Ads, watch conversion on the same campaigns. More clicks turning into orders is the clearest sign that the detail page, A+ section included, is doing its job. Changing one element at a time keeps the result readable.
This is where a full listing review helps. Read & Rate's Book Biometrics tool analyzes your cover, title, description and A+ Content together, because readers judge them together. A beautiful A+ section can't fix a mismatched cover or a thin review count, and reviews still carry the most weight, as our data on how many reviews a book needs shows.
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