How to Hire on Upwork for Amazon KDP (Upwork Tutorial for Beginners)

About this video

Sean gives an Upwork tutorial for outsourcing almost every KDP step — ghostwriters, editors, cover designers, illustrators, formatters, Amazon ads specialists and virtual assistants — claiming most of his hires came from Upwork or Fiverr. Method 1 is searching talent directly: filter to freelancers (not agencies), 90% or higher job success (he often wants 95%+), at least $5K earned and preferably over $10K, 100–1,000 hours billed, and appropriate English level; negotiate by offering long-term, bulk work. He stresses judging samples and reviews, not country of origin, citing top writers he hired from Nigeria and Serbia. Method 2 is posting a job to attract rising talent more cheaply: select long-term, worldwide, fixed price, and write a detailed post — his ghostwriter template specifies niche topics, personal experience in the niche, 30,000-word books, submission checks every 10,000 words, daily replies within 24 hours, a sample and personal-experience explanation, and the application phrase ‘pink elephant’ to prove the post was read. His suggested budget sweet spots: ghostwriters $2 per 100 words for simple books, $2.2–$2.5 per 100 words for general non-fiction (about $660–$750 for 30,000 words), $2.5–$3+ for technical topics; editors $100–$300 per book; covers $50–$200 on Upwork (cheaper on Fiverr); illustrators from $3 for a simple black-and-white element to $20+ per full-colour page; formatters $30–$100 per book; ads help from a $3–$5/hour trainable VA up to the $750 a month he says he paid an experienced Amazon ads specialist. Outsource what you’re not good at, he advises, rather than everything.

Key takeaways

• Two Upwork routes: search and message established talent directly for quality, or post a job to attract cheaper rising talent
• Filter for freelancers with 90%+ (ideally 95%+) job success, at least $5K and preferably $10K+ earned, and judge work samples and reviews rather than country
• In job posts, require niche/personal experience, a work sample, daily communication, staged check-ins every 10,000 words, and a code phrase (‘pink elephant’) to verify applicants read the post
• Sean’s ghostwriter sweet spots: $2 per 100 words for simple books, $2.2–$2.5 for general non-fiction (about $660–$750 per 30,000 words), $2.5–$3+ for technical topics
• Other suggested budgets: editors $100–$300/book, covers $50–$200 on Upwork, illustrators $3 to $20+ per image, formatters $30–$100/book, ads VA $3–$5/hour versus $750/month for a trained specialist

Episode details: published May 13, 2024 · 17:27 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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