A Simple Side Hustle: Earning Money with Amazon KDP and Word Search Books
Are you looking for an easy, beginner-friendly way to start making money online? Whether you're in between jobs, looking for a side hustle, or considering a new career post-retirement, starting an online business is a great way to earn extra income. If you’re wondering where to begin, you’re in the right place. In this article, we’ll explore how to build a simple online business with Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), particularly by creating and selling word search books.
You don't need any special skills, and you can start for free. This business is accessible for anyone, even if you’re just getting started. The best part? You can start making money within the first month. Let’s dive in!
What is Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)?
Amazon KDP is an easy-to-use platform that allows authors and creators to self-publish books and sell them on Amazon. When most people think about publishing a book, they imagine writing a novel, but that's not what we’re talking about here. The beauty of KDP is that you can publish many types of books, and one of the easiest and most lucrative options is creating simple puzzle books like word searches.
What sets KDP apart is its simplicity. You don't have to worry about printing or shipping books yourself. Once you upload your content, Amazon takes care of everything—from printing to shipping to customer service. All you have to do is create the book’s interior (such as the word search puzzles) and design the cover. Amazon handles the rest.
Why Word Search Books?
Word search books are a great option because they’re in demand but have low competition. Many people love to do word search puzzles as a way to relax and unwind. In today’s world, where everyone is glued to their phones and digital devices, there’s a growing trend of people seeking non-digital forms of entertainment. This includes activities like puzzles, which are a great way to pass the time without being plugged into a screen.
Amazon is an ideal marketplace for word search books. The vast number of shoppers and the simplicity of KDP make it the perfect combination for earning passive income.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to get started creating and selling your very own word search books on Amazon KDP. You’ll learn everything from how to generate the content, design your book covers, and upload your finished product to Amazon.
The Business Model: How Does it Work?
The process of creating and selling word search books on Amazon KDP is surprisingly simple. The key components of this business model are:
Step-by-Step Guide to Creating and Selling Word Search Books
1. Create the Word Search Puzzles
Creating the puzzles might sound difficult at first, but with the right tools, it’s a breeze. Here’s how you can start:
Generate a List of Words: Every word search puzzle needs a list of words related to a specific theme. For example, if you're making a word search book about camping, you would need words like “tent,” “campfire,” “backpack,” and “hiking.” Coming up with hundreds of words manually can be challenging, but with a tool like ChatGPT, it becomes much easier. You can use ChatGPT to generate a list of related words for any theme you choose.
Use a Word Search Generator: Once you have your list, you can upload it to a word search generator like Book Bolt. Book Bolt’s Pro Plan offers a tool that automatically generates puzzles and solutions from the word list you provide. This tool makes the process of creating multiple puzzles easy and fast.
2. Design the Covers
A book cover is your first impression, and it plays a big role in attracting potential buyers. Thankfully, creating a cover doesn’t require any graphic design experience. Platforms like Book Bolt provide templates and design tools that allow you to quickly create a professional-looking cover. You simply need to customize the template with the title, subtitle, and any images you want to use. Once you create one cover, you can use it for future books by just changing the title and theme.
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3. Upload Your Book to Amazon KDP
Once your puzzles and covers are ready, the next step is to upload everything to Amazon KDP. This is a straightforward process:
4. Monitor Sales and Optimize
The great thing about Amazon KDP is that you don’t need to do any marketing yourself. Once your book is live, Amazon takes care of promoting it through its marketplace. However, it’s still important to monitor your sales and optimize your listings. This can include tweaking your book description, choosing better keywords, or adjusting your pricing.
5. Scale Up Your Business
After you’ve created a few books and made your first sales, you can scale up by creating more books. Since the process is relatively quick, you can upload several books in a short period of time. The more books you have available, the more opportunities you have to make sales.
The Cost of Starting
One of the best things about this business model is that you can start for free. Amazon KDP doesn’t charge any upfront fees. You don’t need to buy inventory, and you don’t have to worry about printing costs.
There are paid tools that can help speed up the process, such as Book Bolt, which offers both free trials and paid plans. While Book Bolt does charge a monthly fee for full access to their features, you can start with their free trial to test it out and create several books without spending any money.
How Much Money Can You Make?
The amount you can make depends on several factors, including how many books you publish, the quality of your books, and the demand for your chosen themes. The great thing about KDP is that it offers passive income. Once your books are live, they can continue to sell for months or even years. You earn royalties on each sale, and Amazon handles everything else.
In the first month of starting my own KDP account focused on word search books, I made $7.89 with just seven books. While this might not seem like a lot at first, keep in mind that this was without any advertising or marketing. As I continue to publish more books, that number is expected to grow. The potential for passive income increases as you upload more content and refine your strategy.
Why Now is the Right Time
The market for word search books is growing. People are increasingly looking for low-tech ways to pass the time, and puzzle books offer a great way to engage in offline entertainment. Additionally, the competition on Amazon KDP for word search books is relatively low compared to other genres, meaning you have a great opportunity to break in and start generating sales.
By starting now, you're tapping into a thriving market with minimal competition. If you can capitalize on trends and create high-quality content, this can turn into a profitable side hustle—or even a full-time business—over time.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Amazon KDP is an accessible and straightforward way to start earning money online. With minimal upfront costs and no need for special skills, creating and selling word search books is a great business opportunity for beginners.
By using tools like ChatGPT to generate word lists, Book Bolt to design puzzles and covers, and Amazon KDP to handle the printing and fulfillment, you can have a fully automated income stream.
Start small, scale up, and watch your side hustle grow. With a little bit of time and effort, you could be well on your way to building a successful online business that generates passive income month after month. Happy publishing!