Publishing on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is a great opportunity to earn money and share knowledge. However, many people fail. This article will analyze 3 common mistakes to avoid for success with Amazon KDP.
1. Publishing Books with Unprofitable Keywords
Choosing the right keywords is the most important factor, accounting for 90% of your success. A good book, beautiful cover, and attractive description will still fail if the keywords are not profitable. Good keywords need to meet the following criteria:
- Reflect actual search demand: Keywords must be phrases that readers actually use when searching for books on Amazon. Avoid using the book title as a keyword if it’s not a common search term.
- Have competing authors making money: Research the search results on Amazon. If many books on the same topic with your keywords are selling well, it shows that the keyword has potential. Conversely, if no books are selling well, you should reconsider.
- Reasonable competition level: The lower the number of search results, the higher the chance of ranking on the first page. Prioritize keywords with under 1000 search results. However, keywords with a few thousand results can still be exploited.
2. Not Planning Your Book Publishing Strategy
Many people make the mistake of publishing books haphazardly. They find a profitable keyword in one niche, publish a book, then move on to another niche. This approach is not as effective as focusing on a specific area.
Plan to publish a series of related books in the same niche. This allows you to:
- Create Combo/Bundles: Combine individual books into a combo/bundle to sell at a higher price and increase revenue. For example, if you have a book about the Keto diet, you can create a combo including a guidebook, a cookbook, and a Keto meal plan book.
- Optimize Costs: Reuse content and resources to create more books without spending much more.
3. Not Focusing on Quality
Do you want to do book business for the “short-term” or the “long-term”? Low-quality books can bring quick profits, but they will soon be forgotten due to bad reviews. In contrast, high-quality books will sell sustainably and generate long-term passive income.
A quality book needs:
- No spelling and grammar errors: Ensure the content is written with correct spelling, grammar, and is easy to understand.
- Content that meets the readers’ needs: Solve problems or provide useful information that readers are looking for. Thoroughly research the market to understand the needs of your target audience.
- Appropriate length: Books should have a minimum length of about 30,000 words (equivalent to 150 pages).
Conclusion
Success with Amazon KDP requires perseverance, effort, and the right strategy. Avoiding these 3 mistakes will help you build a sustainable and successful book publishing career. Focus on choosing profitable keywords, planning a long-term publishing strategy, and creating high-quality books to attract readers and generate stable passive income.