Unprofitable Amazon KDP Niches to Avoid (And What to Do Instead)

About this video

Dollwet argues there are no truly bad KDP niches, only bad execution, and defines what makes a niche hard: oversaturation causing a price race to the bottom with no differentiation; low margins — books stuck at $5.99-$6.99 yielding roughly $1-$2 profit, leaving no room for ads when a sale typically takes about 10 clicks; and no real customer demand. His three worst categories: 1) Generic journals and planners — covers made in Canva titled simply ‘Journal’ or ‘Yoga Journal’, no reviews, unsellable either cheap or at $15-$25. Instead, specialise: he cites ‘Mom, I Want to Hear Your Story’, a guided mother’s journal by Jeffrey Mason, which he says makes $1,000-$2,000 a day in royalties (creator’s claim) and was expanded into a brand with Dad, grandmother and Spanish versions. 2) Generic coloring books — AI mushroom/fairy and mediocre bold-and-easy books, including interiors that are just grayscale pictures impossible to colour. Instead use a unique art style/theme, professional illustrations and a clear audience: he shows a hand-drawn kids’ book for ages 4-8, a cozy bold-and-easy book he says does $600-$1,000 a day at BSR 118 despite low $7.99-$8.99 pricing, and an intricate non-AI mindfulness book for adults. 3) Pure 100% AI-generated nonfiction/fiction — shallow, generic, error-prone and review-killing. Instead use AI as a tool with heavy editing, fact-checking and personal experience: he points to ‘Stop Overthinking’, a men’s overthinking book (‘Quiet Your Mind’) doing $98-$122 a day / about $3,000 a month, and a decluttering book with a satirical twist doing over $3,000 a month from hardcover. His bottom line: choose higher-barrier, higher-content niches, solve a specific problem for a specific audience, and prioritise quality over quantity.

Key takeaways

• Avoid niches defined by oversaturation, $1-$2 margins at $5.99-$6.99 prices, and no demand — low margins make Amazon Ads mathematically unworkable at ~10 clicks per sale
• Generic journals/planners fail; specialised guided journals for a specific recipient (e.g. ‘Mom, I Want to Hear Your Story’) can command higher prices and become a brand series
• Generic AI coloring books fail on sameness and uncolourable grayscale interiors; win with a distinct art style, professional quality and a defined audience
• Never publish 100% AI text: use AI for ideas/drafting, then heavily edit, fact-check and add personal experience or a unique angle like satire
• Move from low-content toward medium/high-content books with a higher barrier to entry — harder for you also means harder for competitors to copy

Episode details: published May 2, 2025 · 13:07 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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