If you haven’t started selling low-content books as yet, DON’T!
Do these three things instead!
These days, it seems like everyone is looking for new ways to make money online. If you were to type “how to make money online” in the YouTube search bar, endless videos would pop up. Even more endless, would be the views that those videos attained!
With the cost of goods and services increasing by the day, it’s no wonder that people are looking for means to supplement their income. In fact, content creators themselves are capitalizing on this by curating content that claim to show persons how they can passively earn full-time or supplemental online.
One of the common suggested side-hustles is creating and selling low-content books on the Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform. I know this because I’ve watched tons of videos on this, and I even tried it by creating and attempting to sell a low -content book. I say attempted, because I never even sold one copy. If you like, you can be my first customer, and get the book here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=realistic+plans+only+2023+sarima+achor&ref=nb_sb_noss
Why you shouldn’t start selling low-content books
Essentially, a low-content book is a book that “has minimal or no content on the interior pages”. Examples include blank journals, planners or adult colouring books. They are usually touted as great side-hustles for persons who don’t have time or the desire to write and self-publish an entire book. All that’s required is a little creativity, some time, and a print-on-demand service like the Amazon KDP platform. Once the template is made and formatted, all that’s left to do is to upload it on the platform, and they’ll print and ship the book whenever a customer clicks, purchase.
Though seemingly easy to create, the returns on low-content books are minimal. Here are a few reasons why.
1. The market is heavily saturated with low-content books. For the same reason you’re probably thinking of making this your side hustle, millions of other persons are. This makes it difficult for your book to stand-out.
2. Little or no marketing. There’s no reason to believe that different rules apply to low-content books just because less effort is required to produce them. If the book isn’t marketed, no-one will know it exists, and if no-one knows it exists, no-one will buy it, and if no-one buys it, Amazon will not amplify its visibility to other purchasers.
3. Poor quality. Again, just like any other book, low-content books need to be high-quality in order to attract purchasers. The book’s title, description, blurb, cover, and content need to be desirable in order to entice persons to buy it.
4. Little or no value. The truth is, “the money you make is a symbol of the value you create” (Idowu Koyenikan). You get more value when you give more value. It’s that simple.
Alternatives to low-content books
Instead of looking for ways to make a quick buck, try thinking of ways to add value to others. There must be some skill or talent that you possess and can share online in exchange for a fair price. It may not even be a skill, it might just be an experience or a unique perspective. Take that and share it using one or more of the following three ways.
- A short book. I did exactly this with my book, Grieving while Christian. I’m a Christian, and I happened to experienced grief, so I thought it wise to share with others how I reconcile the death of my dad with my belief that God is good. In far less time, it sold way more copies than the low-content book I attempted. If you’re interested in that topic, you can check out my book here: https://www.amazon.com/Grieving-while-Christian-Frances-Carryl/dp/B0BW2SL76X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=grieving+while+christian&qid=1693693268&sprefix=grieving+while+christian%2Caps%2C418&sr=8-1
2. Start a blog. Whether right here on medium or on your own personal blog-site. Create valuable content and share it with the world. You may not make millions over night, but you’re sure to see real returns on your investment.
3. Sell practical templates. Maybe you’re good at creating resume’s, budget sheets, emails, letters, contracts, or other documents that persons might find useful. If that’s the case develop a format and sell it online. Persons are always looking for simple examples to follow. Why not create your own to help them? This is exactly what I’ve done to help persons create resume’s, self-publishing budgets and even write entire books. I created the templates, put them on a website, and I tell people about them every chance I get. You can check those out here: https://selar.co/m/FrancesCarryl
Ultimately, the idea is to create value so you can attract it. It’s not that you can’t be successful by selling low-content books. You probably can, but why not aim higher, do a bit more, and set yourself up to yield bigger returns?
