Do you love to read books? Do you love a specific genre like romance, mysteries, or nonfiction? Well, do I have a new income stream for you. Why not start a blog where you review the books you read?
I stumbled upon this passive income stream as I was starting my blog almost a year ago. I was running out of content to write, and I had just finished my first book, “I Will Teach You to be Rich.” I decided to write my five takeaways from the book (not a review) and post them on my blog.
Since then, I have amassed 58 book “reviews” in less than a year. Now, I just keep reading and writing book reviews as I finish these books. It is actually quite fun if I must say so. Reviews do not have to be too long, maybe 700 words, and you create your review criteria.
Have Blog, Will Travel
Now, to the good part, how do you make passive income? There is a three-pronged approach to earning passive income from book reviews. Let’s review them. They are very similar to creating an eBook series, but there are some artistic differences.
Ads on Blog: Your reviews will draw in readers from search, or you’ll have fans that like your work. Either way, with enough traffic, you will start to receive ad revenue from your blog.
Affiliate Marketing: As you review your books, you will have links to buy the book on your blog. People can use these affiliate links, and you will receive a small commission if they buy through your link. For Amazon, you get a commission on whatever they purchase within 24 hours of entering the website through your link.
eBook Review Bundles: You can bundle up your reviews into books for people to download. It may sound strange for people to read a bundle of reviews but think about it. How would I do this if I were new to fantasy books and want to learn what’s great from an excellent reviewer? I would go to their website and read as many reviews as possible. Your eBook would solve a need. Trust me, some of my best-selling books are bundles of book takeaways.
Pick a Content Niche: Health, Wealth, or Relationships
Together, this triangle would be completely passive, ONCE you build up your foundation of reviews. “But Josh, who is going to listen to me or read my writing?” Well, you are reading my writing now, and I am just a standard dude. Being unique sells, so having your spin on books will gain market share. There is room for everyone to succeed.
How to get started. First, open a blog (7 Pre-steps to starting a blog) and get familiar with the layout of how it works. It takes some time to figure everything out, but you’ll get the hang of it. I use WordPress, and I love it.
Read some books. There are some books you should read before starting your writing journey. I recommend “Mastering Your Mystery,” “How to Make a Living with Your Writing,” “Creating Income Streams,” and “How to Blog for Profit.”
These books will put you in the right frame of reference to get started in the world of writing. I love writing, but I was ignorant of everything in the beginning. By reading these books, my eyes opened to the possibilities of writing every day.
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The Grind. Now it is time to grind out your first reviews. I would say at least 100 reviews in your first year. That’s a book and a review every three days. That is more than feasible. You’ll just create a standard review format and a standard article cover, and you’ll be off. Grind, grind and grind some more.
Grinding early is how you genuinely build passive income. You’ll need a base of reviews and blog posts that draw people in. I grinded for a year straight. I wrote every day for over seven months, have 500+ blog posts, and 150+ books on Amazon.
I learned how to design book covers and article artwork, add affiliate links, and write much better over time. Now, after a year, my grind is slowing down. My goal is to release one article and one book per day. It is hard leaving the struggle and letting your creativity do the work. I guess that’s why they call it passive income.
Making money. It takes a while for the money to trickle in. Remember, the internet is like the solar system, and you are a newborn star. It takes time for Google to index your site, sometimes 6-9 months for each article.
6 Types of Income Streams
So don’t expect to see a ton of money upfront. You’ll see more luck by releasing an Amazon Kindle book on Kindle Unlimited. This will help you receive notice from readers that will bring them back to your website.
Eventually, one of your reviews will hit big on Google. It may be a small book that hasn’t been reviewed much, and that goes on sale. People then would want to read reviews on this book, and you’ll be the only one.
You may laugh, but I know of YouTube channels that made their name by reviewing small independent titles on Nintendo Switch games. They review small indie games upon release, and not too many people watch the review. The game is still full price, and people don’t like to pay full price for games they do not know of.
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However, every time the games go on sale, they are now interested. They need to watch a review, and lo and behold; there are these two small channels. These channels have exploded by doing what they love. So it is possible to succeed in content creation; you just need to know where you fit it.
Some of my mistakes. My affiliate marketing from book reviews is just starting to take off. It has taken a year because I didn’t read the fine print on Amazon. When a reader clicks a link to a digital ebook, it doesn’t count as a valid click—this means you won’t get paid even though you initiated the buying session.
So for a year, I watched as thousands of clicks were floating around Amazon (yes, I can see them), and I didn’t get paid. My solution; link to all paperback books. I have already had two sales in a week, with more to come as my new links permeate through the internet and books. It is exciting to see these passive income streams come to fruition.
Don’t Gamble With Your Retirement 3
Making BIG Money. Once you get the hang of it, then you can get creative. In the book world, writers will make massive; sometimes fancy collections called an Omnibus. If you can get into the world of reviewing these, then your profits would soar. Some of these collections go for $70-$100 or more. It is a fantastic world and one you will grow fond of.
The Grind revisited. Yes, the grind is what keeps most people from making passive income. You’ll have to learn how to stay motivated. I have learned to write during the magic hours and create during the day. In fact, this is my second article on the night, and it is midnight. I love the grind; whether I forced myself to love it, or I actually love it, I’ll never know.
Conclusion. Book reviews are a great way to build a passive income stream. You won’t have to worry about creating a never-ending stream of content because it already exists. You just need to read books and write reviews.
I Bought a Kindle Oasis
If you are adverse to hard work, then this won’t be up your alley. I am sure there is a job waiting for you somewhere. Set your goals and complete them without worrying about the money. My goal is to grind up to 1000 books. After that, I will worry about advertising and monetizing my books in other fashions.
As you grind, you will see sparks of greatness, and that helps. I have sold five books in one day multiple times; I hit the Amazon Free Book Top 110 list at 109 and watched as 1100 people downloaded my book in 24 hours. So the grind does have some great moments. It is truly about the journey, not the destination.
Do you think you have what it takes to build a passive income stream from nothing to something? I’ll be honest, not many people can. But those that can stay motivated, prevent limiting beliefs, and learn to become passionate about their new world, there is a wondrous world of wealth that awaits them. Enjoy and Happy Investing.
- Free PDF Downloads: Download FREE PDF books here
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- Everything plus way more: The Biggest Book on Passive Income Ever! (book)
- I bought a Kindle Oasis: Check it out Amazon
- Read My Books for Free: Free Kindle Books Schedule
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- My first Children’s book: A Child’s First Book on Passive Income (book)
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Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. I am an Amazon Affiliate. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
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