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Thanks for the feedback! It feels a little strange to post videos to an invisible audience, so I appreciate the comments! 👍

Thank you, these are fun to do and I learn from them as well. If you have any competing books you'd like me to bring into the throwdown ring, let me know 👍

also - I agree, Peter is solid. So are Barry and Nelly. There's a lot of good info out there, but also a lot of hype!

Thank you, I truly appreciate the compliment. If I get to 100k subs then that's ok, but it's not my goal. We'll all probably be replaced by AI before then :) Let me know if there's a topic you'd like me to cover, I have a lot of videos planned for the upcoming weeks

Yes, and even more boggling is the fact that I'd probably buy one as a joke gift :)

Stupidity is the ultimate weapon 😂 get enough clowns and you'll be a millionaire 😂 hope this generation will prove this, daddy needs to make some dough 😂

People are willing to pay for all sorts of stupid things, you just have to find their stupid. To find their stupid, you have to think stupid :) Get it :P

Thanks for the compliment! Let me know if you see some contenders for the next throwdown!

@@SelfPublishing Well, gotta admit I looked up "Woof" to see if people had tried to copy the concept to other pets. The OG author of "Meow" published a copy, but I didn't see anyone else doing it. But I'll keep an eye out.

I've been thinking about it, quite a lot. There's a lot of info to pack into a video and I have a tendency to ramble, so I need to take some time to plan it. It's coming in the next few weeks, hopefully earlier. Stay tuned 👍

thanks for the comment. Keep publishing, learn from others, get good at the game and you'll make a profit.

thanks, hope it helps! I will cover market research very soon. The advantage of choosing one niche is that your marketing, book production and brand building become more efficient. But first you need to get some traction, so you need to test niches and find what works for you. I've published in multiple niches, but one of them really stood out and made me over 80% of my income.

thanks for the question. I use helium to check competitors' advertising, and not that often. I prefer to look at amazon a lot and get a "sense" for opportunities. I use DS quickview to quickly see other books' BSR, categories, and basic info. Beyond that it's the amazon search bar and a lot of manual poking around on amazon.

You re telling me you dont need helium or publisher rocket or … especially in my case im just a beginner and i dont know wich strategy should i focus on hence its june and i want to be ready for q4, i am motivated and i mean if subscribing on one of the these platforms would actually do impact the results i would do it, but again im just beginner, your thoughts 💭?

@@adnaneajana8949 What I'm going to say is easy for me to say, but maybe hard to hear. The number one skill you need to learn and develop is how to choose your niches and book concepts. I believe that's a skill you need to internalize, not rely on software to provide. You're right to think ahead to Q4. What broad niches do you feel most comfortable with and enthusiastic about?

@@SelfPublishing i am a medical student so anything related to Health or medical feald , i’m in. You right i dont have the skill of niche choosing , what can i do about it ?

Hi Veruschka - thanks for your comment. I'm glad you found something useful here. Let me know if there's anything you'd like me to cover. Stay tuned... 👍

Thanks Aiken(?). Actually, I show one of my KDP accounts in a few of my videos, you can see the numbers are real. I've also listened to several other "gurus" (for lack of a better word) like Peter, Barry and Nelly, and I have no reason to not believe their numbers. They seem legit to me, I quite like them. Everyone has their own approach which is a little different, there are many ways to succeed on KDP, and it is continually evolving. Ultimately, no matter the class or the coach, it comes down to the individual's resourcefulness. Thanks for the comment 👍

I see accounts and stuff too, but you know they can be manipulated using Photoshop, etc. I guess I am a bit cautious and try to keep my eyes open. Scams are so rampant in social media, it makes sense to question claims that seem a bit overstated. I have learned from everyone I have seen in the KDP CZcams space. They all have something to share. It is all good.

there's so much hype on youtube and other social media, it's hard not to fall for the promise of easy hacks. But that's a good thing too, because there are fewer of us who develop skills and therefore less real competition,.

@@SelfPublishing Agree. How do we avoid hype and scams and unrealistic expectations? One way, I think, is to build a community of trust. Get like-minded people to begin sharing experiences with each other and over time you build trust within the community. But watch out for wolves in sheep's clothing! 😁

Will definitely do more throwdowns, they're fun

definitely. Thanks for the comment!

thanks for reaching out. When I started I had similar thoughts. They key is to learn the skills and that takes time. I'll be posting more content over the next weeks, hopefully it can help you on your journey. Feel free to book a meeting with me, I'd be happy to look at your books and give you some feedback 👍

Merci! Allez les bleus! :)

@@SelfPublishing 😊

Hey, thanks for the question. The only software I use for niche research is ds amazon quickview, which is a free chrome extension. Sometimes I use Helium10 to check on a competitor's advertising, but that's rare. The best way to do niche research is directly on amazon in a private browser. Get to know your market, find ways to make something different but not too different. Software cannot give you the market insights you own brain can.

thanks for watching. I hope I can provide some value that will help with publishing poetry.

Hi Jennifer, thanks for the request. I'll definitely do one on amazon advertising. It will probably be in the next few videos.

Yes definitely

@@nazeefadam3778Agreed. I subscribed also.

thank you 👍

Thanks for the feedback. Those are coming soon. 👍

coming soon!

Thanks! I'll have more specific "how to" videos uploaded soon...

yes, soon. I'll be covering all aspects of running a KDP business successfully. Thanks for the question 👍

@@SelfPublishingYes this was an excellent question about advertising. I’ve heard some people say it is very difficult to make a profit in any KDP books without proper advertising. I know many people advertise organically using social media which is not something I would prefer. From a business perspective, I would rather understand how to most efficiently and cost effectively pay for the best advertising that would turn in a book into profits. I hope you can produce something like this soon

@@ksoonsoon I will cover advertising soon. It's more direct, and therefore simpler, on Amazon than off. But Amazon advertising costs have steadily gone up and it is becoming more competitive. Advertising helps organic sales on Amazon, and the ROAS (return on advertising spend) can still be quite good, especially compared to many other business models. I'll cover that in an upcoming video. Thanks for your comment.

first book is such a big icebreaker... congrats!

good to see you here! Let me know if you'd like me to cover any other topics 👍

thanks for reaching out. I'll try to produce 2 videos per week and will cover amazon ads soon. What kind of books do you have?

@@SelfPublishing Well, low content for now, looking to publish both medium Content and high content

@@inspiremenow5633Same here

thanks Elias!

Thanks for the question and nice to meet you! Excellent question. I will be covering this exact topic in a future video. Until then, here is an incomplete and generalized response: it depends. Costs depend on the book subject. For example, a nonfiction book on the topic of habit creation will be mostly text with simple formatting and probably the cover will be relatively simple. Compare that to a cookbook which requires much more effort to format (good cookbooks use Adobe InDesign or similar advanced layout software which is cumbersome and more costly than a simple book formatted in Word) and cookbook covers can be more complex, therefore cost a little more. So, it really does depend on the book subject. That being said, if we take a 30,000 word book and hire a ghostwriter for around 4 cents/word, then that's $1,200 for the text. Then, assuming the book is mostly text (not a cookbook or heavy graphics book) then formatting could be between free (if you do it yourself in Word) or a couple hundred if you hire a graphic designer (also working in Word). A good cover is in the $300 range, and I like to test covers so add another $100-$200 for variations and testing. Assuming you're doing your own market research, kw research, copywriting, that leaves A+ and advertising. I'd budget $100 for A+. You can find someone on fiverr who'll do it for $10, but it's usually crap (excuse the French). And Canva will eat up your time to get pro looking A+, so I opt to hire a good designer. It's always a dance between DIY and hiring professionals. One eats up your nonrefundable time, and the other costs money but advances your life. Then there's advertising. Depending on the book, I like to budget $500 to launch, then advertising will change into growth and maintenance mode, where the return should pay for the advertising. With your wife as a writer, your daughter as graphic designer, and yourself as the marketing genius, I think you're in a great position. Feel free to book a discussion call with me. I'd be happy to help you figure out a game plan,. Sign up on my website and I'll send you my calendar link. 👍

@@SelfPublishing Thank you for that thorough answer. I really do appreciate it. It helps me understand things better for sure. I will reach out to you through your website as you suggest.

@@two4.six8 👍glad to help

Helium 10 isn't necessary, you can do 90% of your research directly on amazon and with a couple free tools to speed things up. I'll be doing a video soon to show how. Let me know if there's anything specific you'd like to know...

Thanks Elias, they're fun to make! Let me know if there's a particular topic you'd like me to cover

​@@SelfPublishing I really enjoyed your book cover comparison video! The way you broke down the factors that made the outperforming product successful was great. The nuances of the book title's wording, etc. I'd love to see more content like this where you break things down, while sharing your insights and experiences. Anything you can share about what led to your success on Amazon would be incredibly helpful, as well as how to ensure or maintain the successful sales. Thanks for the valuable information you provide!

@@eliastahan2394 you got it! I'm planning to do another book smackdown on monday, and plan to produce "how to" videos on a regular basis. Thanks for your feedback!

I saved your video to watch later. A day or so later I am doing so. You seem to be talking “real” (the trust factor) experience in the first video about your experience. I am going to subscribe to your channel and see where it goes God willing. My short background: 71 years old, heart surgery in 2020, tried to start KDP in 2021, but health issues at that time wouldn’t allow it. More heart issues. But I am trying again at this God willing to see if it can be done. It seems more competitive at the low content level now, so I have to change my approach. I have not done anything except study videos and had purchased KDSpy in 2021 and am now trying to regroup. Although with the health issue plus, as mentioned. I just want to keep mentally busy at minimum and also make a little money if possible. Looks like I may have to farm out some of the work though for quality work. I am a finance person before retiring, but have been in business before too. I know P and L stuff…😎. Anyway, look forward to your contribution to my learning additionally. Thanks in advance for your support.

Thanks Elias, glad to help. I'll be publishing more soon :)

Thanks Shaun 👍 I use Helium 10 to view sales data over time. Hope this helps.

​@@SelfPublishing thanks, I edited the comment as I saw you mentioned the tool at the end of the video. Do you mind saying what plan you use of theirs to see that data?

@@ShaunLetang I use their chrome plugin. It used to be free, but I"m uncertain now if the historical data requires a subscription. The plan I have is Platinum for $99/mo. It's pricey, and ironically I use it mostly for historical data.

@@SelfPublishing Thanks, much appreciated. I'll look out for your future videos.

Thanks! Let me know if there's a book you'd like me to analyze