Like many other industries, if not all of them, publishing will always evolve and get innovated for the best.
Stepping into this industry, you have probably heard these two terms: High Content an Low Content. You might be wondering, what makes this important? Does it relate to me? Or most commonly, what’s the difference, and which is better?
Each of these 2 categories have their own strengths and weaknesses. However, when used strategically, both high and low content have large impacts on your book, business, and can gradually give you strategies to leverage both content types from niche to profit in your pocket.
What is High and Low Content?
High Content Books refer to quite literally, books that are content-dense. Some types of high-content books would be novels, textbooks, academic books, biographies or memoirs, and research-based non-fiction.
The ultimate goal with high-content books, is to extract as much time and resources from both you the author, and your readers.
Now, Low Content Books, are those with the most minimally written content. This type relies more on user interaction or contribution than information. Coloring books, journals, planners, notebooks, picture books, and puzzle books are some examples.
As a whole, low content books require less time and energy to create but they do, arguably, offer a more interactive and engaging experience for your audience.
Dissecting High Content Books:
High content should always be the focus when it comes to putting out your books and the only way to successfully put out high content, is by knowing the weaknesses behind it along with the strengths, so you know how to work around it accordingly.
Strengths:
Authority and credibility due to the books’ depth and density.
Long-term value as these books offer long-term value to readers, which can then be curated to sustain sales over a more extended period of time.
Given the amount of content poured into such books, high-content books as a whole will command higher prices, which as a result brings in higher profit margins for each unit.
Weaknesses:
An argument would be that the time to market may take longer than anticipated, particularly because it does take a great amount of time to research and produce.
There is always the risk of finances, if the book does not perform as predicted in the market, then a financial loss can be substantial, especially since there is a high production cost.
Weighing out Low Content Books:
Learning about low-content books, it may seem that it’s the easiest way to go but even then there are some points to keep in mind when incorporating this category into your business.
Strengths:
Given the amount of information needed to go into low content, producing them is a lot quicker and easier. Therefore, you would be able to publish A LOT more books in a shorter timeframe, while simultaneously being able to quickly respond to trends.
Since these types of books are typically lower priced, that also means they are easily accessible and more appealing to more customers, resulting in higher volume sales.
Countless low-content books are built for limited-time uses, which means it is naturally encouraging repeated purchases, and then gradually fosters secure customer loyalty.
Weaknesses:
Since low-content books are not meant to be pricey, there is a chance that they may generate less profits per unit sold.
Do also understand, that EVERYONE is putting out low-content books so we are dealing with a saturated market, and the challenge to stand out will be hard.
Strategize:
The good news is you can expand your business to a whole other level by leveraging both high and low-content books.
The best way is to consider High-content books as your primary income source and low-content as your secondary, it is there to add more to your already growing business.
First and foremost, you NEED to be settled on your niche, make sure you are both knowledgeable and passionate about it. There also should be a clear market and need/interest for it as well.
Working hand in hand with your niche, also settle on your audience. Figure out your target readers and what they find value in. Doing so will help you decide if high-content, low-content, or both is the best way to go for your business.
Never forget about diversifying, including a good mix of both high and low-content books will help against risk. If one type of book doesn’t perform how you wanted, there is a higher chance that the other will balance your revenue.
Also, use your high-content books to promote low-content and vice versa. If you have written a high-content book focused on mindfulness, then create a mindfulness journal to go with it and cross-promote them both. This way you bring both engagement and value to your books.
Going Forward:
The key to unlocking pure profit potential lies in having a clear understanding of the distinction between these two categories and strategically employing them.
Whether you want to do one of the two or both, ultimately you want to strengthen your skills in resources and the needs/preferences of your audience. That is the ultimate focus, regardless of the types, etc. Never lose sight of the value and quality you give your readers and target audience.