If I had a dime for every click-baity headline I’ve read declaring that “KDP is dead!” I’d definitely have a few extra dollars of passive income in my pocket.
The truth is, KDP is FAR from dead. Despite all of the competition out there, low-content publishing is STILL one of the fastest and simplest ways to start generating passive income.
One word of caution, though….don’t confuse simple with easy!
You’ll still need healthy amounts of determination, patience, and good old-fashioned elbow grease if you want to give low-content publishing a go. Beyond this, there are 5 things you absolutely must have for low-content publishing business success in 2023 and beyond
You can watch this video where I discuss these 5 must-haves or read on for the main points below.
(This post contains affiliate links, which means—at zero cost to you—I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Thank you for your support!)
5 Must-Haves to Low-Content Publishing Success in 2023
As I mentioned, KDP is FAR from dead; however, the competition has definitely grown over time. To succeed as a low-content publisher in 2023 and beyond, here are 5 essential things you must have.
1.You Must Have a Growth Mindset
If you want to experience success in low-content publishing (or in any ANY endeavor), you must have a growth mindset. This means believing that you can learn new things and that your skills and talents can be improved through repeated efforts.
Low-content publishing isn’t effortless. It requires learning brand new skills. You may experience failures along the way, and it may feel like you don’t know what you’re doing at first. Many people fall off the train at this point.
For example, one of my Low-Content Profits Academy students, Kim George (aka Your Chic Geek), made $11,000 in a single month after publishing 30 books. Despite the failures she experienced, she trusted in her ability to learn this new skill and is now on track for consistent five-figure months.
If you’re willing to see your failures as part of the learning process and as opportunities for growth, you can set yourself up to reach your full potential in business and in other areas of your life.
2. You Must Think Long-Term
Just like any other endeavor, low-content publishing requires a long-term commitment. Don’t believe anyone who tells you it’s fast, easy, or a sure thing. Your success depends on the time, effort, and patience you put in.
If you’re desperate for cash and have no other income, don’t start off with low-content publishing. Get a job that covers your expenses first so you can take the time needed to start gaining momentum. You may start generating sales within a few days, but it will take several months (or longer) to reach hundreds or thousands of dollars a month.
You also need to enjoy the process. If you don’t enjoy creating books–or you’re not willing to outsource the parts of the process you don’t enjoy–and if you’re only in it for the money, you won’t succeed. Money is a great motivator, but it won’t be enough to keep you going for the long haul.
3. You Must Combine Quality with Quantity
Quality beats quantity in low-content publishing, but volume still plays a huge role in success. Aim to create books with real staying power. A few hundred books can lead to significant income, but 80% of your income may come from just 20% of your books. You want to create books that keep selling into the future so that you can take time off if you want to and still have money rolling through the door. This is what allowed me to take about six months off after having my first child.
Realistically, several dozen books can start generating a small amount of recurring revenue while you may need a few hundred to start generating significant income in the range of a few thousand dollars a month.
Quality books are those that appeal to your target audience. You need to know exactly who you’re targeting and then create books that speak directly to them and to no one else. If your books are too generic or if you try to appeal to everyone, you’ll wind up appealing to no one.
Once you’ve identified and understand your target audience, you can jam pack your books with as much value as possible. Forget about “no-content” books such as notebooks or journals that offer nothing but lined pages. These won’t get you far. You need to provide real value.
Quality books also require quality design. Your book will definitely be judged by its cover. While you don’t need to be a professional graphic designer (in fact, many successful low-content publishers aren’t design pros), you do need to ensure that you’re using high-quality professional stock imagery from websites like Creative Fabrica to create designs that will appeal to your target audience.
If you really have no eye for design, be willing to outsource this portion of the process. It could be the difference between your ideal customer clicking on your book or scrolling past it.
4. You Must Differentiate Yourself From Your Competitors
Ready to rock the competition and stand out from the crowd? Here are 4 tips to help you do just that!
- Put your own unique spin on trends. It’s definitely important to follow the top trends, but if you just copy what everyone else is doing you’ll never stand out. To stand out from the crowd you need to put your own unique spin on what’s popular. For example, there are a bazillion floral planners on Amazon so I realized that simply creating another floral planner wasn’t going to do anything to set me apart. Instead, I created a floral planner with a snarky phrase over the floral pattern. My target audience loved it (as evidenced by my sales)! I created a few variations on this design and they all did very well.
- Find out who’s being underserved…and serve them. Another way you can create a unique spin on a popular trend is to find the gaps in the market. If everyone else is serving the sweet and pretty flower lovers, why not cater to the sassy and snarky ones? Know your audience and give them what they want.
- Build a brand around you and your books. Building a brand around you and your books helps you build authority and a loyal customer base. While branding shouldn’t be the very first thing you consider when you start creating books (since you’ll be experimenting quite a bit to see what works), once you start gaining some traction you can generate consistent sales by building a brand around your most successful books. For more about building a brand, check out How to Create A Profitable Low-Content Book Brand.
- Optimize your book’s product page with A+ Content. A great way to optimize your book’s product page is by creating A+ Content to showcase the interior of your book and your overall brand. This extra step will go a long way toward helping customers know if your book is right for them by showing them the value you’re offering inside.
If you want to learn more about creating A+ Content, check out 5 Ways to Use KDP’s A+ Content to Help Your Low-Content Books Stand Out From The Crowd.
For more information on how you can make your books stand out from the competition, check out, How to Make Your Low-Content Books Stand Out.
5. You Must Promote Your Books
With more competition cropping up, having a game plan for promoting your low-content books and scaling your business is crucial.
The first step is to build that email list. It’s true that it does take time and effort to build a list, but creating a direct connection with your target audience is worth it!
Once you’ve got your list going, you have a customer base ready for your next book launch and a group of people eager to leave a glowing review.
Ready to amp up your game even more? Try paid advertising with Amazon Advertising. Before you dive in, though, be sure you’ve got a handle on the publishing process and have seen some sales. Throwing good money at a book that’s not selling won’t increase sales. Investing money into a book that people want, will!
Social media is also an avenue to explore. Some low-content book publishers have seen some success on TikTok, but not so much on Instagram and Pinterest. Definitely look into it, but consider spending more of your time growing your email list and investing in paid ads (once you start seeing sales).
I hope these 5 low-content publishing must-haves provided you with some insight into what it takes to build a successful business.
To recap:
- By having a growth mindset, you can continuously improve and evolve.
- By thinking long-term, you can build a strong foundation for your business.
- By focusing on both quality and quantity you’ll ensure you’re creating valuable books that your target audience will love.
- By differentiating yourself from the competition you’ll stand out and be memorable.
- By having a plan to promote your books you’ll help reach a wider audience and increase your sales.
By incorporating these 5 musts into your low-content publishing journey, you’ll be well on your way to achieving your goals and growing your business.
If you want to learn how to publish other types of low-content books like journals and planners, be sure to download my free guide, “3 Steps to Publishing Your First Low-Content Book in Less Than a Day.”
For additional help be sure to join my free Facebook Group, Low-Content Profits.
