Amazon A+ Content for a Kindle e-book: the free "from the publisher" panel (2026)

Harvested 2026-10-31 (skills harvest). Index check first: "a+ content" had 0 hits in INDEX.md and all ~650 skill files. Builds on amazon-kdp-2026-price-band-select-vs-direct.md (the decision to list on KDP at all), amazon-kdp-7-keyword-boxes-subtitle-autocomplete.md and amazon-kdp-three-categories-bsr-shelf-c*.md. This file only covers the image-and-text panel on the Amazon product page.

Status for Cedwyn: PROPOSAL. It only applies once a book is live on KDP, and listing needs the project lead's GO (his tax, bank and ID). Nothing here can be done from the box.

What it is (KDP help pages, read 31 Oct 2026)

• A+ Content adds images, text and comparison tables to the "From the Publisher" section of a book's Amazon page. It's free, and you build it in KDP under Marketing → A+ Content.
• 17 modules are available and you can use up to 5 per layout (KDP "A+ Content Examples", GCKLH8V7ULLD5EXY). Kindlepreneur (J. Hamilton, updated 2 Jan 2026, read) found the same 5-module cap by testing.
• Image specs (same page): JPG or PNG, max 3 MB per file on that page (the guidelines page states under 2 MB, so keep each file under 2 MB). RGB, at least 72 dpi, no GIFs, no watermarks, no small text that can't be read on a phone. Minimum sizes by module:
• Image header with text overlay: 970×300 minimum; 1940×600 recommended.
• Single left image: 600×180 minimum; 600×600 recommended.
• Technical specifications: 150×300 minimum.
• Alt text is required and checked. Alt text that doesn't describe the image can get the content rejected (KDP "A+ Content Guidelines", G4WB7VPPEAREHAAD).
• Language copies: English content approved in one marketplace is copied as a draft to the other English marketplaces (US, UK, CA, AU). Each copy still has to be submitted (Kindlepreneur, read).
• No links of any kind (Kindlepreneur, read), so it can't send readers to the newsletter or the shop.

Rejection rules that matter for us (KDP guidelines, read)

• No prices, discounts, or the words "free", "bonus" or "affordable". No calls to action like "buy now".
• No time-sensitive words: "new", "latest", "now", "on sale", holidays, or Kindle+.
• No customer reviews. At most 4 publication quotes or endorsements, each with source and year. No quotes from customers or private individuals.
• No email, phone, address or QR codes. No unprovable assertions ("best", "#1") or awards without the name and year.
• You need the rights to every image. Breaking the rules can get the content rejected or, worse, the ASIN removed.

What it does for sales (practitioner testimony, all weak)

• Several r/selfpublish and r/KDP threads (2024–2026) agree that A+ does not help discovery, because Amazon's search ignores it. The claimed benefit is conversion on the page.
• Two claimed numbers, both from search snippets only (Reddit blocked this box): "5–15%" better conversion (r/selfpublish), and "about a 30% increase in conversion rate" on low-content books (r/selfpublishing, Feb 2026). Low-content books are not like ours. Treat both as not checked.
• No controlled test for e-books was found. Measure it ourselves (below) instead of quoting a lift.

How to do it (zero spend, about 1 hour per book once live)

1. Wait until the book is live on KDP and its page shows "Read sample".
2. Build 3–4 modules, not 5, because shorter reads better on a phone: - (a) A header banner with a period photo or map we have the rights to (1940×600) and one line on what the book covers, in plain words with no superlatives. - (b) "Inside the book": four images with text, each a real record shown in the book (a document detail with a source line and catalogue ID). - (c) If there is more than one edition or volume, a comparison table of our own books only (v0.0.1 free edition vs v0.0.2: pages, period covered, what each adds). No prices in the table. - (d) Optionally, up to 4 endorsements, but only from real published reviews with name and year. If we have none, skip it.
3. Write alt text for each image saying what it shows ("1910 Ordnance Survey sheet showing the farmstead west of Llandough church").
4. Apply it to the ASIN and submit. Then open the draft copies in the other English marketplaces and submit each one.
5. Measure: KDP Reports → compare the 28 days before approval with the 28 days after. Count orders per page view if Amazon Attribution or Author Central shows page views; otherwise count units. Log it in the project workspace Kill rule: none needed, since it costs nothing to keep. Swap module (a) once if nothing moves in 8 weeks.

How we apply it to Cedwyn

• This only applies after a GO on the KDP proposal. Add one line to that proposal: "A+ Content (3–4 modules) prepared in advance, so it can be submitted on day one".
• The images can be made now from material already on the site: banner 1940×600, four 300×300 "record" tiles, and phone-legible text only. Store them under the project workspace and keep each file under 2 MB. Don't build them while disk is under 1 GB free.
• Editorial rules apply in full: never name the project lead; none of the banned words (states, assertions, per, second-hand report, not checked, reported, deception, taken); no insignia; Llandough Farm is not Great House Farm; nothing about family holdings.
• KDP's own rules also forbid "free", so don't advertise the free v0.0.1 edition in A+. Let the comparison table show the content difference only.
• Bilingual: Amazon shows content only in the reader's preferred language, so English goes on .co.uk and .com. A Spanish A+ needs a Spanish-language listing (amazon.es); park that until a Spanish edition is listed.

Sources

• KDP Help, A+ Content: kdp.amazon.com (read 31 Oct 2026)
• KDP Help, A+ Content Guidelines: kdp.amazon.com (read)
• KDP Help, A+ Content Examples (17 modules, 5 per layout, image sizes): kdp.amazon.com (read)
• Kindlepreneur, "Amazon A+ Content: What is it and How to Use it", J. Hamilton, updated 2 Jan 2026: kindlepreneur.com (read)
• r/selfpublish "Does A+ content make a difference?": reddit.com ; r/selfpublishing thread 1r5f41k (search snippets only, 403 from the box, not checked)

Raw Markdown: amazon-kdp-a-plus-content-ebook-panel-proposal.md · version and changes: changelog · machine index: agents.json