7 DEADLY Mistakes That Are Killing Your Book Sales - Amazon KDP

About this video

Sean, who says he built a multiple six-figure KDP business he sold for $820,000 and is now building a second account, lists seven biggest mistakes / lies self-publishers must avoid. First, ‘KDP is too saturated’ — he argues saturation signals profitability and claims his second account, in a very saturated niche, made over $12,000 last month including ACX and audiobooks. Second, hunting a perfect keyword: there are only good keywords, endless research is avoidance, and a high-competition, highly profitable keyword beats a low-competition, low-profit one. Third, chasing trends and seasonal topics, including crypto, fidget spinners and NFTs, instead of evergreen topics that earn consistently outside Q4. Fourth, not focusing on quality: do not save money with DIY Canva covers or cheap ghostwriters, since a good cover and content drive long-run sales; he recommends Fiverr or 99designs for covers and The Urban Writers for writing. Fifth, being too scared to invest in Amazon ads — uploading and forgetting does not work, though ads can later be outsourced to make the business more passive. Sixth, giving up too early: 5 to 20 reviews is nowhere near enough, he says aim for at least 40 to 50 reviews for traction, pass 100 to see things pick up, with a minimum of 50 and a benchmark of 100 per book. Seventh, not building an audience/email list to launch books and gather reviews. He illustrates this with BookSprout ARC campaigns from his second account, citing 67 participants producing 39 reviews at 4.8 average, 59 claiming a copy producing 35 reviews at 4.7, and a newer campaign with 61 participants and 29 reviews so far.

Key takeaways

• Saturation is not a reason to avoid KDP — Sean claims it signals profitability and that skill lets you stand out
• Stop endless keyword research for a perfect, zero-competition keyword; publish in proven, profitable, competitive topics
• Prefer evergreen topics over trends and seasonal books for consistent monthly income
• Invest in quality covers, quality content and Amazon ads rather than cheaping out upfront
• Do not judge a book on 5-20 reviews — aim for 50 minimum, 100 as a benchmark — and build an email list / ARC audience for launches

Episode details: published March 10, 2023 · 11:23 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Sean Dollwet’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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