Are you a student looking for passive income ideas? Look no further! Discover an exciting side hustle that involves your creativity and can generate extra income. In this article, we’ll explore the top passive income idea for students in 2023: creating coloring books with AI and selling them on Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). *Note: You must be 18 or over to have a KDP account.
Coloring books are considered medium-content books on Amazon, meaning they provide a balanced approach in terms of length and depth compared to low or high content books. Medium-content books are highly profitable because they don’t have as much competion as low-content books (e.g. lined notebooks). Compared to high-content books, which require extensive research and complex plot development, medium-content books are generally more manageable and less time-consuming to create. So you can create high quality work quicker. Coloring books are a great option. There are a few other options for HOW TO MAKE PASSIVE INCOME ON AMAZON with medium content books.
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Coloring Books: A Passive Income Machine
Coloring books have emerged as a lucrative passive income venture for students seeking to earn extra money. With some books bringing in thousands of dollars a month, it’s easy to see how this is one of the best passive income ideas for students in 2023. The immense popularity of coloring books among children and adults alike, means there is a consistent market demand. Students can tap into their artistic talents and unleash their creativity by creating beautiful illustrations that captivate their target audience.
The low cost and low risk nature of starting a coloring book business make it an ideal venture for students looking to generate passive income. By leveraging platforms like Amazon KDP and utilizing AI technology for design generation, students can publish their coloring books and enjoy the potential for continuous earnings for months or even years to come. This side hustle allows students to balance their academic pursuits while reaping the benefits of a profitable and enjoyable venture. And you can even do it from your couch!
Getting Started with AI-Generated Coloring Books
Incorporating AI technology into your coloring book creation process can add a whole new dimension of creativity and efficiency. Below are the general steps to get you started. To see the step-by-step guide, checkout our post on Creating Books That Sell Now.
Step 1: Conduct Niche Research
Before diving into the process of creating coloring books, it’s crucial to conduct thorough niche research. Niche research plays a pivotal role in the success of selling coloring books and maximizing your passive income potential. By understanding the market landscape and identifying profitable niches, you can create coloring books that cater to specific target audiences and stand out from the competition.
Utilizing keyword research tools like Publisher Rocket can provide valuable data on search volume, competitiveness, and market trends. By analyzing relevant keywords and search queries, you can uncover potential niches that offer a higher probability of generating sales and attracting customers.
By conducting comprehensive niche research, you can align your creative efforts with market demand. This enables you to create coloring books that cater to specific interests, themes, or age groups, ensuring a higher likelihood of success in the competitive world of coloring book publishing. Remember, understanding your niche is key to developing a profitable and sustainable passive income stream from selling coloring books. If you publish in an oversaturated niche, your book will likely get lost in the millions of books on Amazon.
Step 2: Design Your Coloring Pages
Once you’ve identified a profitable niche, it’s time to start creating your coloring pages. AI platforms like Midjourney can generate images based on text-based prompts, providing you with beautiful coloring pages. Need prompt inspiration? Check out our 11 EASY MIDJOURNEY AI PROMPTS.
Pay attention to the level of detail and complexity in your designs. Consider the target audience’s skill level and preferences. For younger children, simpler and larger elements may be more appropriate, while intricate designs might cater to older or more experienced colorists. Aim for a balance between creativity, aesthetic appeal, and usability.
Remember to maintain consistency throughout your coloring book by adhering to a cohesive theme, art style, or visual language. This will enhance the overall appeal of your book and provide a sense of coherence to your customers.
Step 3: Get the Dimensions for Your Book
After designing your coloring pages, the next step is to format your book properly for publishing on platforms like Amazon KDP. Proper formatting ensures that your coloring book looks polished and professional, attracting potential customers and enhancing the overall user experience.
First, create an account on Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) if you haven’t done so already. Familiarize yourself with the platform’s guidelines, requirements, and formatting specifications for coloring book uploads. These guidelines typically include information on page dimensions, file formats, image resolution, and margin settings. See our Step-By-Step Guide to get started.
Step 4: Create Your Book in Canva
Once you have properly formatted your coloring book, the next step is to bring your designs to life by creating the interior pages using Canva. Canva is a user-friendly online graphic design platform that offers a range of tools and templates specifically tailored for creating book interiors. You will need the Pro version to download your book with the appropriate format, but you can get a 30-day free trial.
Start by signing up for a Canva account if you don’t already have one. Once you’re logged in, you can begin the process of adding your images to create the interior of your coloring book. Follow our guide to see exactly how.
Pay attention to the overall composition and balance of each page. Ensure that the illustrations are centered, aligned, and properly spaced. You can also add additional elements like borders, frames, or decorative elements to enhance the visual appeal of your coloring book pages.
Consider adding text or prompts to accompany your illustrations. This could include instructions, inspirational quotes, or simple descriptions to guide colorists. Customize the font, size, and style of the text to match the theme and aesthetic of your coloring book.
Once you have finalized the interior pages, it’s time to create a visually appealing cover that grabs attention and entices potential buyers. Despite the saying, “don’t judge a book by its cover,” that’s exactly what potential buyers will do. So you want to make sure your cover is professional looking. Canva provides a variety of cover templates specifically designed for book covers. However, you want to make sure to make your design unique so it stands out amongst the competition. Alternatively, you can hire someone on Fiverr to create a cover for you.
Step 5: Upload Your Coloring Book to Amazon KDP
Once you have the interior and cover of your coloring book, you’re ready to publish it. Uploading your book to Amazon KDP is easy. Amazon walks your through the process with step-by-step instructions. Or follow our guide for some helpful tips. Set the pricing, choose your royalties option, and write a keyword-rich description. Also, be sure to take advantage of the 7 backend-keywords, as these help your book get discovered. You can use Publisher Rocket to find keywords that are easy to compete for. Publisher Rocket can be a bit pricey for students, but it’s a one-time payment for lifetime access. And pays for itself ten-fold.
Once you hit publish, that’s it! You can sit back and watch the royalties come in.
Helpful tips if you are on a tight budget
Midjourney can be expensive. So, I’d recommend doing all of your niche and keyword research before purchasing an MJ subscription. I do all of my research with Publisher Rocket. You pay once and have access for forever. It gives you a competitiveness score, so you don’t waste your time creating books that will never sell. I use Publisher Rocket to come up with 10-20 niches that I know I stand a chance with. Only then do I pay for the MJ subscription.
I would recommend getting the Standard Plan, which at the time of writing is $30 per month. It allows UNLIMITED images in “Relax Mode”. So change from fast mode to relax mode straightaway. Then you can spend the month generating the images for your 10-20 books. I then cancel my subscription until I’m ready to create another batch of books.
Lastly, you will need the Pro version of Canva to download your coloring book cover in the color profile “CMYK.” I talk more about that in our step-by-step guide. You can get a 30-day free trial for Canva. While you have the Pro version, take advantage of all of the Pro elements. You can add these to your coloring pages to make them even more fun for the user, which ultimately results in positive reviews and more sales.
Conclusion
Creating and selling coloring books is one of the best passive income ideas for students in 2023. I make a full time income with my KDP business and absolutely love doing it! Plus, once you get the hang of it… it’s so easy to do. You simply find a profitable niche, create your coloring pages with Midjourney, add the images to Canva to create the interior, design the cover, then publish on Amazon KDP. Then start making money while you sleep (or study).
