Low-Content Publishing: What Is It and How to Make Money from It

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Most writers will spend weeks, months, even years to come up with a book that they’d proudly put up for sale. It’s no easy feat to get the mojo flowing, so completing an entire book is truly rewarding.

But there’s a different breed of writers who make money quickly at home. They don’t have to scramble for the right words to say, because, in the first place, they create books that don’t need a lot of words. For these writers or publishers, and their audience, less is more. I’m talking about people who are into low-content publishing.

What’s so great about low-content publishing is that it generates passive income. You just need to put in the work to get your book published, and you can make money from your books repeatedly each time you make a sale.

As you may know, I am obsessed with creating passive income. I’ve made it my goal to create multiple passive income streams so I can retire early. And since low-content publishing fits my idea of a perfect side hustle (that is low-cost, profitable, and requires minimal involvement after the upfront work,) I decided to interview Julie Coffman from Publish Low Content Books. 

In this interview, you’ll learn more about low-content publishing from her, what you’d need to get started, and more!

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If you are interested in other passive income ideas, this blog has a LOT in store for you! My favorite so far is blogging because it makes me a full-time income from home. 

Check out my in-depth guide on how to start a blog and make money as a beginner.

Related:

• How to Become a Bookkeeper from Home
• Low-Cost Stay-at-Home Mom Business Ideas
• How to Flip Money: 15 Ways to Flip Money
• How to Become a Virtual Assistant (Interview with Gina Horkey!)

Without further ado, I’ll let Julie take it away!

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Please give us a little background on yourself.

I’ve had my own business in one form or another since I was 9 years old and have always had an “entrepreneurial heart and spirit.” 

When I became a mom (I have a toddler and a teen now), I was determined to stay home with my kids but our little family needed a second income–I turned my sights to figuring out how to make money online.

I started by getting into niche-site building and learned the ins and outs of having my own online business. I make it sound simple but I failed a LOT. My sites have come and gone–with a few I’ve held onto–and I still have a burning passion for making a living online.

Now I combine what I know about online business with the very niche specialty of publishing low-content products like journals, workbooks, planners, etc.

How did you discover selling low-content books?

A Facebook friend posted that they were seeing a nice 4-figure monthly income from a side hustle they had started just a few months before. They were publishing “blank lined notebooks” and journals on Amazon, and it just called to me.

I began devouring any information I could find and just dove into it with a learn-by-doing mindset.

What exactly is a low-content book?

It’s kind of a vague phrase, right? And there’s really no standard definition because it’s a sub-niche of self-publishing that was coined by clever self-publishers who discovered that simple books with little to no words would actually sell. 

But a low-content book is typically a book with just a couple of thousand words or less. Sometimes even NO words and those are referred to as “no content” books.

Think notebooks, planners, journals, workbooks, sketchbooks, guest books, logbooks, and even coloring and activity books. 

Low-content books also vary wildly by niche and target market.

Think of coloring books. You can basically create coloring books with a good mixture of images, but there are kids who are into superheroes, unicorns, animals, and specific cartoon characters.

There are also budgeting workbooks designed for low-income families or productivity planners for remote workers. There are also planners and workbooks for blogging, saving money, fitness, and so on.

The world of low-content publishing is indeed vast—there are so many niches and groups of people you can create low-content books for!

How much can one earn from selling low-content books?

This is SO tricky and the less-than-satisfying answer is “It depends on the publisher.” 

People make enough to pay a bill or two, pay a car payment, pay the mortgage, or replace a full-time job. 

This type of self-publishing is very easy to scale so once you learn the process, your income will reflect the work you put into your business.

Who is this business for?

Low-content publishing is for someone looking for a way to express their creative talents and make a nice income from doing so. 

It’s for seniors who want to supplement their retirement income. It’s for the stay-at-home mom who wants to boost the family budget. It’s for the 9-5 employee who hates their job and wants to find a more enjoyable way to pay the bills. It’s for the blogger who wants an easy way to create a valuable asset they can add to their line of products.

I’d say that it’s important to have that entrepreneurial spirit, a sense of adventure about this journey, a willingness to learn, ambition, determination, and perseverance. 

What does one need to get started with this kind of business?

All you need is an Amazon account and a way to create your books. 

Side note from Jane:

I found that most low-content publishers choose Amazon as their platform of choice in selling their products. Amazon KDP, or Kindle Direct Publishing, manages all books sold on Amazon, whether these are print or paperback books, or digital or low-content books.

Amazon KDP is an amazing platform for both novice and seasoned writers. Since the program is under Amazon, listing your products on KDP gives you an opportunity to expose them to billions of visitors every month.

KDP is also super user-friendly, so it’s easy to figure out how to upload your first low-content book.

Also, KDP is print-on-demand, which means you wouldn’t have to hold inventory yourself (hence minus the extra expense of the books’ physical production). When an order goes through, Amazon will print your book and ship it to the customer’s address.

Finally, using Amazon’s KDP platform is free. Yes, as long as you have an active seller account, you can readily access KDP and upload your low-content books there, free of charge.

As for income, Amazon takes care of all expenses and pays you royalties for the books sold.

How much do you earn from this business?

I don’t give away specifics about what I earn because I just prefer to keep that part of my business private. But I make a full-time income for ME. What I make from low-content publishing pays bills, pays my car payment, pays for groceries, pays for entertainment, and pays for the things my kids need…with extra that I can put aside in savings.

 What are the perks that you love about selling low-content books?

I love that it’s FREE. You don’t have to spend a penny to open an Amazon account, it doesn’t cost you anything upfront to publish, and you can create your books with free tools and software. {Though there are some paid tools, resources, and programs I recommend because they save you time.}

I also love that what you make in royalties is as close as you can get to truly passive income – when you make a sale, your royalties show up in your bank account in 60 days.

I love that there is so much flexibility for low-content publishers. This is a business you can run as a side hustle in your spare time or work full-time hours as your full-time biz. 

And not only that, but part-time effort can absolutely produce a full-time income when you combine quality AND quantity, which is easy to do because these books are not difficult or time-consuming to create.

How much would one need to start selling low-content books? What are the necessary tools needed to get started and how much do they cost?

You can start with zero out-of-pocket costs if that’s what you need to do. 

At the very least, you’ll need a computer, an Amazon account, and software or a tool that lets you create your book.

You can use a program like PowerPoint, which is my favorite, or any other desktop publishing/document creation/graphic design program you like PhotoShop, Affinity, Canva, PicMonkey, Google Slides, etc. As long as you can create interiors and covers that have a quality of 300dpi, you’re good to go.

There are a couple of free Chrome extensions that can help you with keyword and niche research.

Once you’re ready to invest, you might consider paid keyword tools and software as well as time-savers like commercial-use interior templates.

How and where do you sell low-content books?

Once you have created your book, you can list it right on Amazon and that takes just a few moments. Amazon will take some time to review your book and listing, but filling out your listing details and uploading your files only takes a few minutes.

You can also sell physical and printable versions of your products via your own blog, Etsy, Shopify, Lulu, or any other e-commerce platform.

Please tell us about your course. Who is it for and what do we expect from this course?

In Low-Content Publishing 101, I teach you my exact step-by-step process for creating and publishing low-content books that people WANT to buy. 

This is for the absolute beginner who doesn’t want to spend time trying to figure things out on their own–I teach you what to do, when to do it, and how. 

It’s also for more seasoned publishers who might be spending more time than they want “learning by doing” and want a shortcut to help them level up their publishing process.

Low-Content Publishing 101

Wrapping It Up

Like most businesses, low-content publishing may not generate the income you desire from the get-go. You’ll have to put in the work to create content that sells. And since most low-content books are sold through Amazon KDP, your business will always have to adapt to the changes that the program rolls out.

But, overall, low-content publishing is a GREAT option if you’re looking for business ideas that you can start from home without extensive investment in time and money, and allow you to earn passive income.

Want to become a self-published author, but don’t have the confidence to come up with an entire book or novel? Try low content publishing and make money at home!

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