Amazon KDP can be worth it for people who enjoy writing. These are individuals looking for a low-cost opportunity to publish their works. They are also willing to do their own book promotions and marketing. This makes it worth it because they get almost 100% of their book sales. E-books let you earn 35%-70%, while paperbacks and hardcovers offer 40%-60% in royalties. According to various online sources, KDP publishers can earn around $300 to $1K on average.
Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is a good way to earn money. You can self-publish printed and electronic books. This means you handle almost everything, from formatting to proofreading. You have more opportunities to increase your income. According to Book Writing Cube, book launch events and cross-platform marketing are useful. They help you grow your fan base and online reach. However, publishing quality books on Amazon KDP that actually sell requires considerable effort. You need solid writing ability. Plus, there’s no guarantee anyone will buy and read your book.
Despite having a good income potential, a low barrier to entry has led to high competition. So, Amazon KDP requires a good pricing and marketing strategy. Amazon KDP writers recommend marketing channels like social media or paid ads. It's best to advertise on well-known platforms like Google, Amazon, or Reddit.
An Amazon KDP writer on Reddit claims to have made $1.5 million in revenue between 2015 and 2021. However, they admit that only half of those earnings were actually profit. A large part of their earnings went to marketing. Although marketing is a major expense, the KDP author still averaged around 6 figures a year. They maintained this income range for over 6 years of selling on Amazon KDP. Many people would consider this a worthwhile investment.
Amazon KDP typically isn’t worth it if you’re only going to write one book because Amazon KDP books are usually low cost. So, you'll need to sell a large quantity of books to make a solid income. In fact, Amazon rewards pricing books between $2.99 to $9.99 by offering sellers the maximum 70% royalty in this range. Books priced outside this range only command a 35% royalty. You should have many books priced in the 70% royalty range to realize big earnings with Amazon KDP.
Amazon KDP is also not worth it for writers seeking extensive support in publishing their books. Although Amazon KDP makes it free and easy to publish books, they don’t offer high-level support. Many sellers even complain about the poor quality of support provided by Amazon. Many of them experienced insufficient communication on major issues like account termination.
For example, Natalie of the YouTube channel Think Big Profits with Natalie. She is a former KDP author who had her account terminated without clear grounds from Amazon. This has been a common theme among Amazon KDP seller experiences. Natalie spent money on advertising to promote her Amazon KDP books. But, Amazon still abruptly closed her account and kept her expected earnings.
An alternative online business model to consider is local lead generation. You don’t need to worry about a major corporation stealing your earnings. Local lead generation entails creating websites to attract customers for local businesses. Then, you sell those leads for a recurring fee each month. You get monthly passive income without the complexity of a third-party platform.
In the following article, we discuss further whether Amazon KDP is worth it or not. We also provided real-life experiences from three KDP authors. Plus, we'll feature 5 reasons why entrepreneurs avoid Amazon KDP in 2024.
Is Self-Publishing on Amazon KDP Worth It? Real Experiences From KDP Publishers
Gem Blackshaw (Project Rich Mum)
Gem Blackshaw is a YouTuber who started out with low-content publishing. Today, she makes thousands of dollars per month on KDP. But, she dismisses the idea that it’s an easy way to make money online. According to Gem, not making money during your first months is much more realistic than what other KDP enthusiasts are telling you. During her first three months, she made very little sales.
According to her, selling a low-content book on Amazon is not worth it because everybody else does it. A low-content book dies off much faster than a medium- or high-content book. She took things more seriously during her fourth month. Gem tried to go for medium-content books such as children’s workbooks. By the end of the month, she made over $140 in sales.
By her 6th month, she was making over $300 in sales. In February 2022, Gem made over $500 in sales through seven of her published books. Now, she has over 70 books in total. According to her, most people who tell you that KDP makes easy money could be lying. It could also mean that they are spending ridiculous amounts of money on advertising. In fact, Gem even claims that people who talk about KDP potentially make more money in their videos rather than their KDP business itself.
Romney Nelson (The Life Graduate)
Romney Nelson is a YouTuber who spent around $5K on a course on making money on Amazon KDP. He made zero dollars in his first three months. He never gained back the $5,000 he invested in learning Amazon KDP. Romney started his KDP journey in November 2019 and wanted to focus on high-content books. By the end of March 2020, he had generated a grand total of $120 in his first five months on Amazon KDP.
Apart from his $5K initial investment, Romney also ran Amazon ads monthly. By April 2020, he had spent over $1,000 in advertising just to make $450 in six months. He exerted maximum effort on Amazon KDP because he was tired of seeing minimal returns. Romney did extensive research, tried to find good niches, and came up with a killer book cover. He did almost everything he could to bump up his sales. Finally, by the end of December 2020, Romney had over $7,300 in that month alone.
However, he clearly states that Amazon KDP is not as easy as some might say. You need to be focused, determined, and resilient if you want to see results. Don’t think of Amazon KDP as passive because it requires a lot of hard work and motivation.
Nuria Corbi (The Home Boss)
Nuria Corbi is an Amazon KDP author who has made over $10,000 in sales. But she tells her viewers that self-publishing on Amazon KDP is not worth it for some people. According to Nuria, it will take a long time before you make money on the KDP platform.
Her journey began back in November 2019. In December, she made over $300. But during the first two months of the following year, she struggled to even reach $200. Because KDP did not generate enough income, Nuria looked to other online businesses while still pursuing Amazon KDP. She put in a lot of hard work and dedication to finding out how she could make better books. Nuria researched consumer patterns, applied catchy graphics and designs, and optimized book titles.
Finally, in May 2020, she made her first thousand in sales. However, she still struggled to maintain $1K in revenue from July to September. Fortunately, she generated over $1K in October. From there, her sales skyrocketed to over $5,000 in November and a little under $10,000 in December.
Nuria’s story further proves that Amazon KDP is not a guarantee that you will make money and be successful. Just like any other business or job, you must work hard if you expect to see results.
Can You Still Make Money on Amazon KDP in 2024?
Yes, you can still make money on Amazon KDP in 2024 if you put in the work. You need to create high-quality books that give value to the readers. Your topics must be relevant, in demand, and engaging. This way, you still get sales even in the long run. Many Redditors report making four to six figures in monthly income. One individual attributed his success to the Kindle Unlimited platform. Another Redditor mentioned spending around $100-$200 in paid ads to boost his book sales.
Amazon KDP is still profitable. You can create high-content books for more chances of better sales. Categories like fantasy, romance, and science fiction sell fast on Amazon KDP. Thousands of KDP publishers have made significant revenue through this platform. Plus, it costs nothing to start an Amazon KDP account.
However, even if you do put in the work or enroll in the best Amazon KDP courses, you’re not guaranteed to make a high income. You'll encounter many difficulties in 2024. These include topic/niche oversaturation, intense competition, and expensive ad spending. Ultimately, Amazon KDP might not be for you if you’re only looking for a get-rich-quick side hustle.
5 Reasons Entrepreneurs Avoid Amazon KDP in 2024
1. Amazon KDP is Highly Saturated.
Amazon KDP is saturated. There are lots of aspiring KDP writers who venture into making low- and mid-content books. Most of them choose these books because they take little time to create. According to posts on the KDP Community page, low-content books are oversaturated. Mid-content books are next in line to get many submissions. This Quora user even stressed how difficult it is to gain a solid presence without paid ads and reviews.
Amazon KDP has existed since 2009. Since then, thousands of authors around the world have published millions of books. These include many genres, from fiction to nonfiction. To give you context, here are some numbers to help you understand how saturated the KDP market is:
If you’re planning on publishing a book on Amazon KDP or the Kindle Store, be sure to conduct extensive research. It will help you come up with a publication that resonates and stands out.
2. Amazon KDP is Extremely Competitive.
The competition for publishers on Amazon KDP is high. According to Word Finder, there are over 1 million writers on the platform. Over 2,000 of those authors have generated $100,000 in sales. In India alone, there are approximately 100,000 authors. This shows how difficult it is to be successful on Amazon KDP.
Amazon has 300 million customers worldwide. Despite this, there’s no guarantee your book will be noticed or purchased. Starting this online venture entails competing with thousands of other writers.
If you want your books to gain some exposure and get ahead of the competition, you could try KDP Select for free. However, Amazon KDP Select might not be worth it since it can only be used for 90 days and is available for free to anyone. Enrolling in this program entails giving full publishing rights to Amazon. This means that you won’t be able to publish your work anywhere else.
Amazon KDP Select, also known as Kindle Select, is a version of KDP that provides premium features and benefits such as:
- Kindle Unlimited
- Kindle Create
- Higher royalties in other countries
- Marketing and advertising tools such as Kindle Instant Book Previews, Amazon Author Central, Amazon A+ Content, and Kindle Countdown Deals
- Kindle Owners Lending Library
3. Marketing and Advertising in Amazon KDP is Expensive.
You need to run ads and marketing campaigns to advertise your books to the public. However, running an Amazon ad every day can be costly. It could take a huge toll on your revenue if you don’t sell enough books to cover ad spend. According to Jungle Scout, PPC campaigns cost around $0.05-$10 per click. Moreover, WebFX estimates the average CPC of Amazon advertisers to be at $0.81. While you could run ads daily for as little as $5, most successful businesses spend up to $100 daily to gain exposure.
One Redditor mentioned staying away from any kind of advertising. He stressed that paid ads are not worth it. Alternatively, he uses other marketing methods like social media posts and blog posts.
4. Amazon KDP’s Royalty System Can Cause Revenue Loss.
If you're planning to sell an eBook on Amazon KDP, there's no best option. The 35% royalty rate has set book pricing of $0.99 to $1.99. It might be lower than the 70% option, but it entails fewer conditions. Choosing the latter can lead to significant revenue loss. If you already have a following and you know for a fact that your book sells, KDP might not be for you.
Amazon KDP has set pricing of $2.99 to $9.99 per book for the 70% royalty rate. Most experienced writers have books that are worth more than Amazon’s asking price. So, they'll get less royalties for higher-priced books. Plus, you need to pay for file delivery. Self-publishers also get limited territories for the 70% royalty arrangement. These include Canada, the U.S., Australia, the UK, and most areas in Europe.
Other avenues where you can advertise your book and find more success include:
- Book Bolt
- Publisher Rocket
- Your own website or blog
- Social media platforms
5. Amazon KDP Doesn’t Offer Sustainable Passive Income.
Publishing on Amazon KDP gives you passable income since you don't get 100% of your royalty rate. For eBooks, you get either a 35% or 70% royalty rate. This doesn't include the delivery cost and territorial limitations of the latter arrangement. For paperbacks and hardcovers, you get a 60% royalty rate. Again, this doesn't include the printing cost.
You can publish multiple low-content books at a crazy pace. However, Amazon has found a way to counteract this behavior. This would have worked in 2015. But since then, Amazon has changed its algorithm. People who keep publishing books will just waste time and effort. Today, Amazon rewards those who put in the time and dedication to produce high-quality work. One Redditor shared how he creates 1 to 2 books a day for five days a week. Despite doing this tedious work, he's only getting 20% of sales from over 1K uploaded books.
Also, Amazon does not pay its authors monthly. Instead, they release funds every 60 days, which can become a headache for those trying to make a living off of KDP.
What Makes Local Lead Gen More Worth It Than Amazon KDP?
Local lead generation is more worth it than Amazon KDP because of its scalability and ease of set up. You can increase your income by creating more niche websites. This process takes only a few hours to complete. In Amazon KDP, you need to consider daily or weekly book production. This consumes time and effort if you're planning to grow your online business. Plus, you need to be mindful of Amazon's rules and regulations. One wrong move and you can lose all your potential earnings.
You can make money with Amazon KDP. But you need to increase your production and create high-quality content. If you do this every day, you'll end up with fewer ideas in just a year. Competition is also tough because of AI platforms. Many aspiring KDP publishers can quickly generate fresh ideas and outputs. Unless you niche down, you're competing with writers globally.
With local lead gen, you're dealing with local niches. This means you have less competition. All you have to do is create a website that ranks on Google using SEO tactics. Once your website ranks, you don’t have to do anything. You simply allow free leads to accumulate on your sites. Then, you can rent these out to local businesses for a monthly recurring fee. You can also sell them the leads. This lets you earn around $20,000 to $50,000 monthly.
Local lead generation offers more control and stability over your finances. It gives you more time for other things in life. If you’re after a business model that provides more flexibility, then local lead gen is for you.
