Have you been looking for a way to generate passive income without having to spend a lot of time building your products or creating a system that funnels in buyers every single day?
If so, then you’ll want to read every word of this special report because I’m about to reveal one of the easiest ways to make money with one of the biggest platforms online: Amazon.
@JosieElias via Twenty20
I’m talking about creating low content books that sell like hotcakes!
Low content books include all the following:
- Journals
- Calendars
- Coloring Books
- Planners
- Sketch Books
- Composition Books
- Notepads
- Prayer Books
- Trackers
- Printables
And just about anything else that involves very little-to-no content.
In fact, with low content books you can create one interior template and use it again and again (though you should vary the interiors to cater to specific niches.)Here’s the beauty of publishing low-content books:
- Low content publishing doesn’t take a lot of time. Once you’ve created your initial inventory of products, you can easily expand on your offers or outsource everything!
- It doesn’t require any previous experience. You can use existing templates that come with commercial-use rights and sell them as your own.
- It doesn’t cost a lot of money to get started. In fact, you may already own everything you need and if not, you can sign up for a free Amazon KDP account.
- It doesn’t require any writing skills whatsoever. Since these are low content books, they are based on lined journal styles rather than any text or graphics.
- You could literally outsource everything and set it on autopilot. How’s that for passive income?
The truth is, with low content publishing, you can get started in less than a couple hours. The learning curve is minimal and once you’ve cut your teeth on the process you can quickly expand your inventory by creating hundreds of additional journals and notebooks.
In fact, you can literally publish low content books in a matter of minutes.
Are you ready to create a profitable business selling low content books that are always in demand?
Let’s begin!
Getting Started
The easiest way to show you what you’ll be creating is to send you over to Amazon so you can see a couple of profitable low content books in action
Click the “Look Inside” button so you can see what the interior templates look like. Then quickly scan the book description as well.
Here are a few to check out:
Title: My Bible Study Journal
URL: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1546564276
Estimated Monthly Revenue: $2,489.89
Title: The One-Minute Gratitude Journal
URL: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1523242701
Estimated Monthly Revenue: $4, 217.36
Title: Meal Planner: Track & Plan Your Meals
URL: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1974561798
Estimated Monthly Revenue: $2,828.10
Notice how simple those journals are? They feature an attractive cover and a basic interior.
Low content books can be as detailed or as simple as you want them to be. In fact, you could create one lined-journal template and upload it again and again with different covers!
And in my examples above, every single one of these low content books are selling for thousands of dollars a month!
This is exactly what you’re going to be doing:
- Create 100-150-page low-content books using pre-made templates. You can find these on shops like https://shop.nicheraiders.com
These packages come with private label rights so you can rebrand as your own and sell at your own price point.
Note: I don’t recommend publishing books that are greater than 150 pages as it makes it hard for your customers to write in once they get to the middle due to the type of binding. Amazon currently doesn’t offer spiral-bound books.
- You should aim to publish at least 25-50 low-content books in 30 days. No worries, if this is too much for you to do right away, please feel free to set your own goals.
That’s the key: set a realistic goal and then set aside some time each day to work towards meeting it.
Consistency is key. Even if you only publish 1 low-content book a day, that’s 30 books by the end of your first month!
- Create attractive, attention-grabbing covers that target specific niche markets, along with high-quality, professional interiors/templates. Your covers won’t always be pretty or even polished, but they will instantly stand out to a segment of your niche.
Note: Uploading simple lined journals is a great way to start, but if you really want to boost your income you’ll want to invest in professional interiors that provide customizable layouts.
- Write keyword-centric blurbs for every book you publish. These will be filled with relevant and targeted keywords that will pull in traffic and help you connect with the right audience of buyers.
- Once you’ve seen a few sales, identify your bestsellers and focus on creating more of them. Build a brand around a “series” of themed low content books and maximize your income!
Now, when it comes to making the most money possible on Amazon, you’ll want to focus on just 3 main things:
1: Finding hot niche markets. This is the most important step when it comes to making money with low-content books. You want to cater to die-hard fans in scorching hot markets who will buy anything that features images or phrases about their hobbies and interests.
2: Creating unique and attractive covers. Notice that I didn’t say pretty? That’s because a bunch of pretty covers won’t likely make you a lot of money. Instead, you want to gear your covers towards what people in that niche are instantly attracted to.
3: Building a Brand. You’re going to build a brand around your best-selling low-content books. That way, you can not only sell more low-content products, but you could branch out and maximize your income by promoting relevant affiliate products.
And I’ll throw in a fourth step to consider once you get the hang of this:
4: Experiment with different Interiors. You can start with basic lined-templates for now, but once you’ve cut your teeth on publishing low-content books, you can start to play around with different interior layouts that help you stand apart.
They key to this is that we’re maximizing our income while minimizing the time we spend doing it.
So, don’t worry about creating elaborate templates or spending too much time on covers when you’re just starting out. The bulk of your time should always be spent on researching markets and uncovering hot niches.
Uncovering Hot Niches
Finding profitable, underserviced niches is the key to maximizing your income with low-content books.
Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Research Consistently
There are many ways to uncover hot niche markets, but we’ll start with Amazon since that’s where we’ll be publishing our low-content books.
If you plan to publish via Lulu.com, Etsy, or other publishing houses, you should still use Amazon to gauge profitability and overall demand.
Here’s the tool I use to simplify the process: Publisher Rocket
https://publisherrocket.com/
Publisher Rocket is one of my favorite tools for evaluating the profitability of journals and other low-content books on Amazon.
After researching so many different Amazon-based tools, Publisher Rocket seems to be the most reliable when it comes to digging deep into low content book niches to figure out how many books are likely to sell each month.
That being said, it’s not uncommon to see a slight fluctuation in estimated book sales from week to week by $200-300 based on recent activity and ranking.
With Publisher Rocket, you’re also able to uncover keywords that you’ll use within your book listing and descriptions on Amazon to increase visibility and sell more books. It’s a very useful tool for helping spot hot niche markets.
Here are a few other places you can go to find niches with die-hard fans who will gladly buy low-content books:
Facebook Groups
This is by far one of the easiest ways to scout for hot niche markets. Look for groups that are very specialized and have 200 or more members and are active.
You can locate groups at: https://www.facebook.com/groups. Click “Discover” and enter in a few keywords to find relevant groups.
You can also dig deeper into niche markets by using Facebook’s Audience Insights tool here: https://www.facebook.com/ads/audience_insights
This is a great way to identify sub-niches with people who may be a viable audience for your books.
Subreddits: https://www.reddit.com/subreddits/
I absolutely love browsing subreddits when researching potential markets because it gives me an instant snapshot of hot topics and trends. Subreddits are niche-based communities so you’ll find a ton of useful information there.
You can take a look here: https://www.reddit.com/subreddits/search
Tip: You can also install the Reddit Enhancement suite. It’s a free tool that makes it easy to filter out irrelevant keywords and older posts.
You’ll find it here: http://redditenhancementsuite.com/features/
Etsy: http://www.Etsy.com
You’ll not only be able to find hot niche markets for your journals just by browsing through the different categories on Etsy, but you can quickly pick out popular printables that people are buying and then create journals around those in-demand templates.
You can also sell your low-content books there as downloadable printables just by creating your own shop!
Google: http://www.Google.com
You can use Google’s search bar in the same way that you use Amazon’s.
Tip: When you’re researching, you’ll want to create a swipe file (just use a notepad) to keep track of potential keywords.
If you don’t know where to begin, or what keywords to enter to find potential niches, start by writing down every profitable umbrella niche you can think of. Umbrella niches are the larger niches that you’ll later drill down into.
For example, gratitude journals are part of an umbrella niche. They’re a great place to start, but to stand out, you want your low-content books to cater to a very specific segment of that market.
So instead of just publishing a general gratitude journal, consider creating any of the following so that you’re intersecting niches:
- Gratitude journals for first-time moms.
- Gratitude journals for newlyweds first year.
- Gratitude journals for memorial services.
- Gratitude notebooks for people suffering from depression.
All the above examples include intersecting niches, such as people who like gratitude journals and first time moms, or newlyweds, or people suffering from anxiety or depression.
The idea is to always niche down. Dig beneath the surface of a larger niche so you can tailor your low-content books to a specific audience, and you’ll always outsell those who just go for the top-level, broader markets.
Driving Traffic to Amazon
When it comes to boosting your low-content book ranking on Amazon and driving in targeted traffic that’ll convert, there are many factors that go into how well you rank.
Obviously, the higher the ranking, the more exposure you’ll receive.
StartupBros has an in-depth post outlining all the different variables when it comes to ranking on Amazon. I suggest reading it over to better understand how it all works.
You can find that article here: https://startupbros.com/rank-amazon/
One thing that all Amazon sellers will agree on is that keywords play one of the greatest roles in helping buyers find your books.
The great news is that there is a method to the madness when it comes to marketing on Amazon and boosting your book’s visibility and rankings (which means, more sales!). It all comes down to knowing exactly how to trigger Amazon’s algorithms.
And it starts by recognizing one important fact:
Amazon isn’t just a marketplace, it’s a search engine!
If you want to boost your book ranking, you need to keep this in mind. Just like Google, Amazon matches keyword strings with products that are relevant to user search queries.
In fact, when it comes to securing a higher ranking on Amazon, gaining traction, and maximizing exposure, it all comes down to 2 main things: keywords & categories.
Keywords will help to dramatically improve discoverability of your book. They also make it easier to get your book into popular sub-categories, rather than just the main ones accessible to you via your KDP dashboard.
Unfortunately, keywords are often underutilized, or used incorrectly by authors, which results in their books not being seen by readers.
The truth is, without targeted keywords, no one will find your books. And without proper category placement, no one will understand your brand.
Thankfully, coming up with the best keywords for your book doesn’t have to take a lot of time.
The goal is to uncover 10-15 keyword strings commonly used by potential readers, and then use them within your book listing and other areas that all work towards triggering Amazon’s algorithms.
To start, Amazon allows you to include up to 7 keywords for every book you publish. These keywords are entered when you create your book listing via your KDP dashboard.
They also don’t have to be individual keywords; nor should they be. You can enter in keyword phrases to take full advantage of the space you’re given.
Example: Rather than using “journals” as one of your keywords, you could use: “journals for pregnant moms”.
In author circles, we refer to this as our hidden keywords because they aren’t seen by readers. They’re only known to the authors who use them.
Then you have the front-end keywords. These are keywords used throughout your book listing itself, editorial comments, and even reviews. These are visible to potential readers.
Here’s exactly how to uncover the best keyword strings for your book so you can maximize exposure and sales.
Tip: Before you start, I recommend using Google Chrome in incognito mode when searching for keywords. That way Amazon isn’t using your account history to determine what results to show you.
Even if you log out of your Amazon account, your browser’s cookies could affect the data.
To start, visit Amazon.com and enter the Kindle marketplace. You want to complete the next step from the Kindle store because it will give you far more accurate results when searching for keyword strings.
To get there, type in KINDLE STORE into the search page on Amazon.com, or click the drop-down menu on Amazon.com and choose Kindle Store.
Click the search icon and then choose “Kindle eBooks” from the side bar.
Start by typing keywords into the Amazon search bar once you’ve dug deep into the sub-category that best matches your book. Think about a common keyword in your genre and enter that in.
When you do that, Amazon will offer recommendations by providing a drop-down list of commonly used keyword strings and phrases. These keywords are based on what readers are actively using on Amazon to find relevant books!
Focus on long-tail keyword strings rather than single keywords. Think about how you would personally search on Amazon to find products that you are interested in.
You never want to enter just a single keyword when publishing your book via KDP because that’s not how people typically search for things!
Explore Every Page Listing.
Don’t rely just on the keyword phrases provided by Amazon’s auto-fill in tool. You want to type those recommended keyword strings in yourself and visit every page so that you can double-check that your book would make sense being featured there.
Include the word “and” in your keyword search.
If you enter in a primary keyword (such as ‘journal’) + the word “and”, Amazon will provide you even more long-tail keyword strings.
Keep track of every popular keyword phrase you find.
Even though you can only use 7 within your book listing, you’ll be able to use other keyword strings in other places on Amazon.
Save 1-2 keywords for your main categories.
To get into the main categories that best match your book, you’ll need to include one of Amazon’s primary category keywords in the 7 you can enter via your KDP dashboard.
Check out the category page here for details on the best keywords for your book. https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200652170
The key is to think from a reader’s perspective. When they visit Amazon looking to buy a book, they do one of the following:
1: They use the on-site search bar to type in relevant keywords relating to the books they enjoy.
2: They browse categories looking for interesting reads.
3: They go to the authors pages they’re familiar with and look through recent releases, as well as the also-boughts (the books that are recommended by Amazon because they’re similar to previous purchases).
So, if you want to maximize book sales, you need to cover all 3 areas.
Maximizing Sales Quickly
Let me show you how to quickly build a customer base and boost your rankings on Amazon with Instagram and Pinterest.
We’ll start with Instagram:
One easy way to gain followers is to post content regularly and use appropriate hashtags.
Hashtags are those things you see that look like: #hashtag, and they are equivalent to keywords. You must use the # sign in front of the tag, and there must be no spaces.
If you have multiple words in your hashtag, you can either combine them all into one word like this:
#thisisyourhashtag
Or you can separate them with underscores, like this:
#this_is_your_hashtag
You can have up to 30 hashtags in each post, so be sure to use as many as are appropriate for every post you make. I would advise putting them at the end of your caption.
Very proud to show off my latest journal cover! It will be available on Amazon next week! #catloversjournal #yearlyjournal #weeklyjournal (other keywords that apply).
Always include at least 5 hashtags, and usually the more, the better because this is one of the most important ways your posts will be found on Instagram!
When you properly tag your posts, people will be able to find your posts when they search Instagram for that tag, or when they click the tag on someone else’s post.
The best way to find hashtags to use is to start with a base keyword that fits your post, for example “memory books”, or “personal journals”.
Put this into the search bar on Instagram and use some of the tags that come up. Instagram will even do this for you when you use the hashtag symbol and start entering text in your post caption!
Here are a few quick tips on creating an effective marketing strategy:
- Add your website’s URL in your bio along with relevant hashtags. You cannot have links anywhere else on Instagram, so it’s critical to put it in your bio!
- Choose a general category for your photos such as humor, emotional, culture, artsy, etc.
- Use images to tell a story making sure it matches the theme and overall scope of your low-content books. You can also post images of your book covers (and you should!).
- Whenever you post a new book cover of an upcoming release, be sure to update the URL in your profile and tell viewers to check out the link on your bio page.
- Synchronize your Instagram so that it automatically updates your other social media accounts, such as Twitter and Facebook.
- Create a photo/image series, based around a specific theme that ties into your niche market.
- Use relevant, branded hashtags within every post and include the same ones in your bio/profile. Including 5-10 hashtags will get you more profile and image views.
- Create contests and giveaways that engage your audience and maximize your exposure.
- Use Statigram, at https://pro.iconosquare.com/, to keep a pulse on key metrics to better understand your audience and what posts are getting more exposure.
Another useful tool is http://sparkgrowth.com/nitrogram/
Next up, Pinterest!
When you create your account on Pinterest, you will want to use keywords in your username AND in your profile. This will help you pop up in search results when people search by keyword.
For example, you could use words like:
- Journals
- Sketchbooks
- Coloring Books
- Printables
You can also include a link in your profile, so be sure to link to your blog, opt-in page, website, or Amazon profile.
You’ll want to create a few “boards”, which are basically folders in which you bookmark items using images.
Make sure to name your boards with focus keywords in the title, and always put a description that includes additional primary keywords.
What this does is help your boards get found when people search for boards to follow. You want as many people as possible following your boards so all your pins will show up in their feeds.
You might have boards such as:
- Holiday Journals
- 5-Year Memory Books
- Free Printables
Those are just a few examples, but you’ll probably want to create at least a dozen boards or so. Then you can start pinning content to them.
The Right Way to Pin Content
You can do this in two ways. Either click the “Saved” tab in the Pinterest app then look for the + sign at the top right. This will pop up a window that lets you either enter a URL or upload a photo from your device.
Or, you can pin an image directly from a website if you either have the Pinterest plugin from your browser, or if the owner of the site has a social sharing button on the page for Pinterest.
Don’t forget to include a description with keywords to make all your pins easier to find. If you pin from a website, there will often be a description generated automatically based on the metadata on the page.
You might want to change this if you don’t like the description and/or keywords included.
Conclusion
Low content publishing is one of the easiest ways to create a passive income channel, but it’ll take some upfront work to build up your inventory on Amazon.
To start, focus on creating 100 journals, notepads and planners – ensuring you focus on the larger niche markets and then drill down into sub-niches as you continue to build your platform.
Create an Author Central account on Amazon here: https://authorcentral.amazon.com/ and then make sure to fill out your bio, claim all your books and customize your URL so it’s memorable.
And finally, make sure to spend time researching niches so you can uncover profitable keywords that can be used within your book descriptions and listing on Amazon.
