Featured Listing: Amazon KDP Business

About the business

Tell us a little about yourself. What’s your background? How did you start the business?

I trained and worked as a journalist before moving into digital marketing, where I held senior roles in several digital agencies in Melbourne, Australia. I have been successfully publishing on KDP since 2009, but saw a potential ‘loop-hole’ for low content books in 2017, prior to it being a popular thing to do. I studied graphic design during my time in digital marketing, so I used these skills, along with what I had already learnt about self-publishing to create Nifty Notebooks. It took off very quickly, but then my interest shifted to other projects. My income has been fully passive since 2016.

As an eCommerce business, where are your products made?

Print-on-demand through Amazon KDP.

What can you tell us about your Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

CAC is zero as I don’t run any form of marketing or advertisement. I have dabbled in Amazon Ads, social media and email marketing, but as I didn’t want to outsource, I focused my attention on creating more books. There are a huge amount of opportunities for someone who puts time into marketing. CLV is hard to say as Amazon doesn’t provide this data.

How have you marketed the product and where are your customers originating from?

All customers are found through organic search. All books are SEO-optimised.

Is the asset on your listing owner-operated, how much time does it take to run the business, who else is needed on the team, and what is automated?

I am the sole person working on the business. At its peak, I hired a VA to assist in the upload of books while I focused on the design and creation. All aspects of the business could be easily outsourced to accelerate growth. Hundreds of Photoshop and InDesign templates (designed by me) are included in the sale, which a designer can work with.

What does someone need to do to continue operating the business in its current form?

Nothing is needed to continue the business in its current form.

Growing the business

Can you list a few opportunities for a potential new owner to continue growing the business?

There are many opportunities for growth before needing to publish new books, including creating hardcover versions of the books, Amazon Ads, social media marketing, updating and publishing the hundreds of planners for 2022 (and beyond) and email list building.

What has been the evolution of this asset since its launch?

The growth of Nifty Notebooks was fast, as it was one of the first of its kind on the market. Since 2019, things have stabilised as the market becomes more saturated. However, sales are predictable and stable.

How does this business make money? What are the current revenue streams?

Amazon KDP.

What marketing channels are most profitable for the business?

In 2019, I found great success posting products in niche groups on Facebook. For example, I posted the ‘Vegan’ collection in very localised vegan groups and got a great response. This is a method that could be replicated.

How does the business currently acquire customers and what is your breakdown for marketing costs?

See above.

How big is your current team? How many people does it take to run this business?

1.

What’s the reason for selling your business on Flippa?

I have other projects that demand my time, and although I can see the huge potential of Nifty Notebooks I don’t have the time to dedicate to it.