Analyzing Profitability of Coloring Books on Amazon KDP

TLDR: In this video, the speaker shares his experience in publishing 20 coloring books on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), discussing his sales numbers, ad spends, and profit margins over a period of seven months.

Insights

Creating and Selling Coloring Books

📘 The speaker created 20 coloring books over a period of seven months.
📈 His top-performing book was ‘Dinosaurs in Space’, which brought in £603.
📉 Many books only made between £10 and £80, indicating volatile success.

Ad Spend Strategy and Costs

💸 Ad campaigns were run across multiple countries, costing approximately £230 in the UK, $582 in the US, and smaller amounts in Australia and Canada.

Keyword Ranking and Niche Research

🔍 Proper niche research and keyword ranking were identified as crucial factors for a book’s success.
⏱ Timing of the book’s release also played a part, particularly for seasonal purchases like Christmas.

Profit Calculation and Tax Implications

💼 After accounting for tax and expenses, the speaker made almost £500 from 20 coloring books over seven months.
💰 Each book made roughly £24.56, reducing to £14.63 after tax.

Video Summary

00:00: 🎨 The video discusses the creator’s journey selling coloring books on Amazon KDP and reveals how many coloring books are required to make a thousand pounds a month. The author shares his experience of using AI to create coloring books, the performance of his first 20 books, and cost spent on ads for promoting the sales. He stated a sales boost during the December holiday season after starting his publishing in November 2022. Dinosaurs in Space and Lucha Libra wrestling were the top selling coloring books.
Key ideas:

• Selling coloring books on Amazon KDP can potentially generate a thousand pounds a month.
• Use of AI improved the quality of the creator’s coloring books.
• The author has produced and sold 20 coloring books so far.
• Sales spiked during the December Christmas season.
• Dinosaurs in Space and Lucha Libra wrestling coloring books were the top sellers.
• Costs have been incurred for ads to promote sales.

02:17: 📚 Over the past seven months, the Dinosaurs in Space coloring book has been a top seller, with positive reviews and 223 copies sold. However, other coloring books such as the Wrestling, Lazy Labrador, and another Dinosaur themed book have not performed as well, mostly due to keyword ranking and ad performance. These factors have significant impacts on organic sales and overall profit in Amazon publishing.
Key ideas:

• Dinosaurs in Space is a top-selling coloring book, with 223 copies sold in seven months.
• Other coloring books have not sold as well, mostly due to issues with keyword ranking and ad performance.
• Keyword ranking and ad performance significantly impact organic sales and overall profit in Amazon publishing.

04:42: 📚 The text discusses the author’s effort to market different types of coloring books like beard, fish, alien, cats and dogs in space, sweet treats, hipster, kids’ Halloween, and swear word themes. The sales were not very high despite the quality of the books, indicating the importance of ranking for keywords. They also anticipated these books may gain more popularity during Christmas. Some books failed to perform well, and the author had trouble getting sales for books with expensive keywords, like the kids’ Halloween coloring book.
Key ideas:

• The author tried to sell different themed coloring books, including beard, fish, alien, cats and dogs in space, sweet treats, hipster, kids’ Halloween, and a swear word coloring book.
• Sales were low indicating the importance of keyword ranking for visibility and marketability.
• The author hopes for increased sales during the Christmas season.
• The author had difficulty selling books with expensive keywords.
• The sales performance of the different books varied, with some showing no sales.

07:02: 💼 The speaker shared their experience selling books on Amazon KDP in the past seven months. Out of 20 books, 4 had zero sales accounting for 20% of the total books. In total, the speaker made 534 sales bringing in a revenue of 1,384 pounds and 29 pence, not including tax, ad spend, or other expenses. The most successful book was the ‘Dinosaurs in Space’ coloring book, which made 603 pounds. Most of the other books made between 10 and 80 pounds, with 7 making under 10 pounds. The speaker suggests that the success of the coloring book may be due to the time of its release before Christmas and effective keyword utilization.
Key ideas:

• Out of 20 books created, 4 had zero sales.
• 534 total sales were made in the past seven months.
• The total revenue generated was 1,384 pounds and 29 pence, before tax, ad spend, or other expenses.
• The ‘Dinosaurs in Space’ coloring book was the most successful, making 603 pounds.
• Seven out of the 20 books made less than 10 pounds each.
• Success on Amazon KDP may be influenced by release timing and effective keyword utilization.

09:31: 📚 The excerpt discusses the strategy of releasing coloring books on Amazon, primarily through advance releases, keyword optimization and paid advertising. It is explained how the author generated sales for a wrestling coloring book organically via Reddit, Facebook and using select keywords. The author advises releasing a book 1.5-2 months prior to the sales push, and spending on ads for effective reach. The long-term value of books is discussed, emphasizing the continuing sales they may generate. Finally, the author explains that without niche research and ad spends, success might not be achieved.
Key ideas:

• The author generated sales organically for a wrestling coloring book using Reddit, Facebook, and keyword search terms.
• A strategy suggested is releasing a book one and a half to two months in advance of a major sales push.
• The author stresses the importance of ad spending in generating sales and highlighting books on Amazon.
• Without proper niche research and ad spending, generating substantial amounts on Amazon might not be successful.
• The author has spent approximately 723 pounds, across multiple countries, on ads for the books, helping to rank them for keywords and increase sales.

11:58: 💰 The author discusses the financial outcomes of their first 20 coloring books, achieved over a period of seven months. From the after-ad revenue of 1,384 pounds, a total profit of 661 pounds was made. After deducting AI creation tool costs (approximately 170 pounds), the net revenue stood at 491 pounds. The author acknowledges the ROI compared to the time and effort isn’t ideal yet, but anticipates that growth, more book volume, improved research, and better ad management will increase profitability. The goal is to earn recurring revenue from the sold books and outperform with the next set of books.
Key ideas:

• The first batch of 20 coloring books yielded a profit of 661 pounds after ad expenditure.
• The cost of AI creation tools was approximately 170 pounds, leaving an after-cost profit of 491 pounds.
• It’s acknowledged that the current return doesn’t reflect the effort put in, but the expectation is for growth and better optimization to increase future profits.
• The plan involves more volume production, better research, and improved ad management.

14:20: 💷 The text discusses the author’s experience with publishing coloring books through Amazon KDP as a secondary income stream, coupled with a full-time job. Despite taxes and expenses, the author manages to generate an additional revenue. The data suggests that one can expect to make around 15 pounds per book, and would need to create nearly 194-300 books to hit a monthly profit of around 1000 pounds.
Key ideas:

• The author has published 20 coloring books on Amazon KDP while working full-time.
• The earnings from the books are taxed at 40%, and after expenses and taxes, the actual profit per book is approximately 14.63 pounds.
• One would need to create nearly 194 coloring books to make a thousand pounds profit.
• If working around a full-time job and taxed at the 40% bracket, over 300 books may be needed to reach the monthly 1000 pounds target.

16:54: 📘 The author has been improving his skill at creating coloring books and exploring the use of AI for the same over the past six months. He projects a goal of publishing 200 books to aim for a target of earning a thousand pounds profit a month from Amazon KDP. Acknowledging that success stories of making large profits from a single book are rare, he suggests a realistic perspective for newcomers focusing on consistent work and continual improvement. A follow-up review of his progress in six months is proposed.
Key ideas:

• The author has been improving his skills and using AI to create coloring books.
• The goal is to publish 200 books, targeting to make a thousand pounds profit per month through Amazon KDP.
• Success stories of large profits from a single coloring book are rare, providing a more realistic perspective for newcomers.
• The author proposes a follow-up review of his progress in six months.

Q&A

How many coloring books did the speaker create and sell?

The speaker created and sold 20 coloring books.

How much did the speaker spend on ads across different markets?

The speaker spent approximately £723 on ads across different markets, with the majority spent in the UK and the US.

What factors contributed to a book’s success according to the speaker?

The success of a book largely depended on keyword ranking, timing of the release, and effective niche research.

How much profit did the speaker make from publishing coloring books on Amazon KDP?

After taking into account tax and expenses, the speaker made almost £500 from 20 coloring books over a span of seven months.

Comments

TLDR: The commenters are discussing the profitability of creating coloring books and self-publishing through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. Some have shared their experiences stating that the industry is saturated and significant earnings are not guaranteed. Others suggest that creating original, high-quality content, effective marketing and niche research are the keys to standing out and making a profit. They also mention the need to pay tax on income.
Negative: Many commenters are concerned about the over-saturation of the coloring book market on KDP, making it harder for new entrants to achieve success. They also express disappointment about the low income earned from selling on KDP and needing to handle taxation themselves.
Positive: Commenters appreciate the video creator’s honesty and find the information shared in the video to be valuable. They also acknowledge the tips on using specific software and images for creating coloring books, and the advice on how to tackle taxes on self-employed income.
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