Why Won't My Coloring Book Sell on KDP

While reading Reddit recently, I came across a post that was 10 months old where someone shared their coloring book. A responder asked if it had sold, and that was it, no further responses. I decided to investigate and this is what I found

Book Sales

Sadly, the book had no sales. But why not? In fact, why are there sooooo many unsold books on Amazon? Let's face it, selling books, and especially coloring books is hard! But so is selling anything! Whether you are selling a widget or a coloring book, the same principles are going to apply. You need to know your target market, what pain point you are trying to solve for them and how you are going to communicate that you have the solution! When it comes to coloring books, that means you have to have a cover that makes them stop scrolling and click on your book! So let's look at a real book that had no sales at the time of writing this post and see what could be wrong.

	1. Book no Sales	2. Book with Sales	Observations
Cover Comments	Cat or kitten with a crown, castle in background. Could pass as cute but also has more of a fairy tale feel to it	Cute Kitten playing with yarn which aligns with cover title
Title	Cute cats coloring book for kids: adorable, cute and funny kittens and cats for girls and boys aging 4-8	Cute Kitten Coloring Book For Kids: 50+ Adorable Kitten Coloring Pages Featuring Cute Kittens in Fun Scenes - Perfect for Kids, Toddlers, and Preschoolers!	Book #1 text title diverges from the book cover, it uses cats instead of kittens as the subject and adds 'funny', so now I don't know if I am getting cats or kittens, if they are glam or cute or funny
Published	June 2024	July 2024
Description	Unleash your child's creativity with our "Cute Kittens Coloring Book"! Packed with over 50 adorable, purr-fectly illustrated kittens, this book is a whisker-twitching adventure waiting to be colored. Perfect for little artists, it encourages imagination, fine motor skills, and hours of fun. Every page offers a new furry friend to bring to life. Let the coloring fun begin!	The SuperHue Kitten Coloring Book takes your child on a delightful journey filled with adorable kittens in charming scenes. Perfect for kids, toddlers, and preschoolers, this coloring book fuels imagination and creativity while providing hours of entertainment. ...Much longer with bullet pointed list of features.	Book 1 title says 'Cute cats' which the cover says 'Cute Kittens', is it cats or kittens?
Designs	50	50
Pages	50	104	Printing on both sides of a page is not ideal for a coloring book. In addition, 50 pages for 50 images means there is no front or back matter making the book seem less professional
Interior Sample			If I'm purchasing for a 4-8 year old, Book #1 is waaay too detailed. It could possibly work for a 12 year old however, the lines are just not crisp enough with all that detail which would make it hard to color. That being said, it could be marketed more as a shading style coloring book.
Cover Text	Neon text with glow - doesn't fit with a coloring book for target market	Colorful text with think outline making it catch your eye when scrolling through listings. Style aligns with market
A+ Content	None	Yes with more interior images further strengthening confidence in making a purchase

Observations

First of all, this is a solid concept, who doesn't love cute funny kittens??? So let's dig in and see what levers we can pull that could maybe lead to more sales.

Listing Observations

• Title says ages 4-8 which contradicts the description which says 4-12. 🔑 Consistency between title / description / cover text.
• The images are too detailed for kids < 12 regardless. 🔑 Consistency between interior / exterior
• The images have too much shading and lines are not crisp, so likely this would turn off buyers unless you market it as a shading style coloring book. 🔑 Line style is important in coloring books
• The title describes the book as containing cute and funny kittens, but the images don’t display cats doing funny things. Yes they are cute, but when I think about cute (and especially for a younger audience), I would tend to think about Chibi or Kawaii style cats. 🔑 Cover image style is consistent with title / description / interior
• The description describes the book as being perfect for fine motor skills, but this book would be way too detailed for a 4-8 year old. 🔑 Know your audience
• It looks like there is printing on both sides of the page which is usually not recommended for coloring books because of bleed. Most coloring books print on only one side of the page. 🔑 Know industry standards

Cover Observations

A cover is the most important thing and is what is going to make a scroller stop to take a peak at your book. So, looking at the cover:

• The title is 'Cute Kittens Coloring Book', which doesn't match the text title which is 'Cute cats coloring book'. Is it about cats or kittens? 🔑 Consistency
• The cover design does not scream 'coloring book' to me. It feels more like a kids story book cover. There are no crisp lines in the cover image so it doesn't feel like a coloring book. 🔑 Style
• With book #2, the cover has a kitten playing with yarn (funny), and the kitten has big Chibi / Kawaii style eyes (cute), the image also looks more like it could be a coloring page.
• Comparing book #1 to book #2, if I am searching for a kids coloring book, I'd be more inclined to click on book #2 based on the cover.

Book Preview

Once you've hooked someone with an amazing cover design, what's next? Well they naturally want to scroll through a few pages to get a better feel for the interior. So here's what I observed when looking at both

• The designs in book #1 do not scream 'funny' to me. Yes they are cute, but not in the way I'd think about a 'cute' design for an < 12 crowd. 🔑 Consistency
• Book #2 has simple designs that feel like they align with the 8-12 crowd (maybe even younger)
• The designs in Book #2 also demonstrate some 'funny' scenes - who doesn't love a kitten with yarn?

So before designing your book, know your audience, know the market, who are your competitors and what is selling? Do some research and know what the difference is between a book for kids under 12 vs adults. Search amazon and take note of which books you gravitate towards, why did you click on that book vs another? Was it the title? Design? Colors? Stickers?

Don't give up, developing coloring books is a craft which takes time to perfect. Learn lessons from each book you release, learn from your observations and improve on the next one.

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