The dilemma is often faced by most publishers who are staring their publishing journey with KDP, whether, they should focus on quantity or quality.
In the past publishing a collection of low content notebooks was a popular strategy that could bring in significant sales. However, in recent years this approach has become less effective.
Amazon has removed the look inside feature for low content books, which has made it challenging for those who primarily publish notebooks to drive sales.
In this article I will be sharing my personal experience and results of uploading over 180 notebooks versus just one coloring book. By comparing these two strategies, you’ll gain a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t.
Following case study is totally based on my experience and my results, I started using KDP in April 2022 and during my first three months I only uploaded low content books such as notebooks, planners and etc.
In my first two weeks, I managed to sell four low content books in a specific niche, while it’s possible to still make sales from uploading notebooks, it’s important to do niche research and target low competition and specific niches.
If you’re publishing notebooks on popular niches, such as cats, unicorns, dogs and many more high search volume niches, the competition is very high and you may not see sales unless you run not only ads, but add a unique twist to your cover or interior design.
So, in my first three months on KDP, I made the mistake of only uploading low content books. I was eager to see sales and better results, though I did get some sales in a very specific niche. However, I soon realized that this approach was not sustainable.
I was hyped up and continued to publish more and more notebooks, but the truth is sales were not consistent at all. There were months, when I would receive no sales and it was discouraging.
I became so disheartened by the lack of results that I decided to take a break from KDP for four months. I had only made 10 sales in total, which was a far cry from my expectations and believe me, I was ready to give up on KDP.
However, after some time I returned to publishing with a different approach. I focused more on creating high quality coloring books that would attract a larger audience. I put in a lot of effort to create an enticing and clickable cover for my first high quality coloring book and was pleased with the results.
The cover alone was enough to grab the attention of potential buyers and I was able to make more sales in just a few weeks than I did in my first three months on KDP with low content books.
In the first month, I sold 48 copies of my coloring book without running ads or any promotions. This was a huge improvement from the 10 sales I made previously. This experience taught me the importance of creating high quality and well-researched medium-to-high content books and that was just the start.
The following months the sales of that coloring book continued to increase and it consistently made sales every month. The difference between my previous strategy of uploading nearly 200 notebooks and my current approach of focusing on one well-researched and well-made coloring book was remarkable.
I learned that having a good product with a well-designed cover and targeting a specific niche can bring better results with consistent sales, compared to just uploading a large quantity of low content books.
This is why I highly recommend that if you are thinking of getting into KDP, put more focus on creating a high quality product rather than just uploading a large quantity of low content books.
With proper research and hard work you will surely see better results in your KDP Journey. Creating medium or high content books like, coloring, maze, puzzles or Sudoku books, is a time-consuming and challenging process It may take you several days or even weeks to come up with a high quality product.
However, the key to success on KDP is to focus on the quality of your books rather than the quantity. My approach now on KDP is, to focus on creating coloring books and medium content books instead of just throwing low content books.
I believe that putting effort and time into creating one quality coloring book is equal to creating hundreds of low content notebooks. This has been my approach for the past few months and it has shown me consistent sales and growth.
Having said that, this approach may not work for everyone! If you have found success with publishing low content books then by all means continue with that approach. The most important thing is to find what works best for you and stick with it.
The publishing industry is constantly evolving and it’s essential to stay up to date and adapt to changes. The downside of creating low content books now is the lack of the look inside feature. This feature is not available for low content books on KDP, making it harder for new publishers to make sales on these types of books.
It’s especially difficult for those who don’t have an established brand focusing on low content books. Without the look inside feature potential customers can no longer preview the book before making a purchase, which could be a significant factor in their buying decision.
This makes it even more important to focus on a specific niche, create a captivating cover and have a unique spin on the interior to entice potential customers to purchase your book.
I could upload 300 to 500 notebooks a day by using automation tools like FlyingUpload. If you have thousands of designs stored on your computer, FlyingUpload can convert them into notebook designs and automate the upload process.
It may be tempting to use automation tools to upload hundreds or even thousands of low content books, but it is not recommended for a few reasons.
Firstly, such a large volume of low content books can be perceived as spammy by Amazon putting your KDP account at risk. Additionally, this approach does not provide a sustainable and long-term solution for your publishing business. You may also overlook potential copyright, trademark issues as with such volume it’ll be hard to keep an on every published book.
Low competition and targeted niche research are key to making consistent sales with low content books. It is important to focus on creating high quality engaging content even for a low content book, no matter it takes more time and effort. By putting in the work to create high quality books, you can build a brand and reputation that will bring you success in the long run.
Amazon KDP or for that matter any other business, it’s all about finding the right approach that works for you. Based on my experience creating one high quality coloring book can lead to more consistent sales compared to publishing hundreds of low content notebooks.
For you it may be a different story, I shared my story to put a testimonial for publishers who might be struggling to bring adequate sales or for those who may be working harder than me, but they are putting their efforts in wrong direction.