Selling ebooks online is one of the fastest ways to generate passive income in 2026. Authors report making $400 monthly from a single ebook, while others earn $1,000–$5,000 per month with minimal ongoing effort. The work happens upfront: after that, earnings continue with almost no additional time investment.

This guide breaks down five actionable steps to start selling ebooks and building income that doesn't cap based on your hours.

Step 1: Create Your Ebook (Or Skip This Entirely)

Write evergreen content that solves a specific problem for your target audience. The most profitable ebooks address topics that won't become outdated quickly: personal development, health strategies, marketing frameworks, or skill-building guides.

Focus on creating genuinely useful material rather than generic content. High-value ebooks generate consistent sales because they deliver real solutions.

The shortcut for beginners: Purchase ready-made ebooks with resell rights. This eliminates the writing process entirely. You buy a finished product once, then resell it unlimited times and keep 100% of the profits.

Ezy Learning offers done-for-you ebooks at $6.97 covering niches like ChatGPT, marketing, and personal development. Each includes resell rights: buy once, sell forever. Video courses with resell rights are available at $7.95.

This approach removes the largest barrier for beginners: content creation. You can start selling immediately.

Step 2: Choose Your Selling Platform

Your platform determines your reach, control, and profit margins. Each option serves different goals:

Your own website gives you complete control and 100% of earnings. Best for building a brand with an existing audience. Create a dedicated landing page with clear purchase links.

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) offers instant access to millions of readers with zero upfront cost. You earn 35% or 70% royalties depending on pricing. Amazon handles distribution, payments, and delivery.

Digital marketplaces like Gumroad or Payhip provide simple setup with built-in audiences. You keep 85–95% of sales after platform fees. These work well for quick launches with minimal technical setup.

Your own website combined with marketplaces maximizes both control and reach. Run your branded site while listing on Amazon to capture different customer segments.

Beginners typically start with Amazon KDP for immediate market access, then expand to owned platforms as their audience grows.

Step 3: Set Optimal Pricing and Royalty Structure

Pricing directly impacts your passive income potential.

On Amazon KDP, price between $2.99–$9.99 to earn 70% royalties. This range offers the highest profit margin while remaining affordable for readers. Pricing below $2.99 or above $9.99 drops you to the 35% royalty tier, cutting your earnings per sale by half.

Example calculation: A $6.97 ebook at 70% royalty earns you $4.88 per sale. At 35% royalty, you'd earn only $2.44 per sale: nearly 50% less for the same product.

KDP Select adds another income stream. Enrolled ebooks earn through Kindle Unlimited page reads: subscribers pay you per page read even without purchasing. This creates dual revenue: direct sales plus subscription reads.

For your own website or marketplace, set prices based on your target audience's willingness to pay and perceived value. Digital products typically range from $4.99 to $49.99 depending on depth and specialization.

Testing different price points reveals your optimal balance between conversion rate and profit per sale.

Step 4: Set Up Your Ebook for Publication

Technical setup takes days, not months.

For Amazon KDP:

• Upload your finalized manuscript in accepted formats (MOBI, EPUB, PDF)
• Specify publishing rights (select "I own the copyright" for original work or products with resell rights)
• Choose your royalty option (35% or 70%)
• Set your list price for each marketplace
• Click publish

Amazon reviews submissions within 24–72 hours. Once approved, your ebook appears in their global marketplace immediately.

For your own website or marketplaces:

• Create a sales page describing the ebook's benefits and what readers will learn
• Set up payment processing through Stripe, PayPal, or the marketplace's built-in system
• Upload your ebook file for automatic delivery after purchase
• Add purchase buttons with clear calls-to-action

If using products with resell rights like those from Ezy Learning's product catalog, you skip manuscript creation entirely. The content arrives ready for upload and sale: just add your branding and payment setup.

This drastically reduces time to first sale, often from months down to a single afternoon.

Step 5: Market Consistently to Drive Ongoing Sales

Passive income requires strategic marketing upfront to build momentum. Once established, sales continue with minimal intervention.

Create a landing page on your website with benefit-focused copy and direct purchase links. This gives you a branded destination to send traffic from all marketing channels.

Run Amazon Ads with small, controlled budgets targeting readers searching for similar titles. Start with $5–10 daily spend and adjust based on conversion data. Even modest ad campaigns boost visibility in Amazon's algorithm, triggering organic discovery.

Use free promotions and countdown deals if enrolled in KDP Select. Limited-time offers boost downloads, improving your ranking in category charts. Higher rankings lead to sustained organic traffic after promotions end.

Publish multiple related ebooks to compound earnings. Each additional title boosts visibility for your entire catalog. Readers who purchase one ebook often explore your other offerings, increasing lifetime customer value.

Build an email list by offering a free chapter or bonus resource in exchange for email addresses. This creates a direct marketing channel for future releases without paying for ads.

Real results from these strategies: one creator makes approximately $400 monthly from a single ebook. Another generated over $130,000 selling through Gumroad. Travel influencer Danielle Hu earns $1,000–$5,000 monthly from just two ebooks on her website.

The pattern is consistent: work happens upfront during creation and initial marketing, then income continues with minimal ongoing effort.

Getting Started Today

The fastest path to ebook income depends on your current resources:

Have writing skills and time? Create original content addressing a specific problem in your niche. Publish through Amazon KDP for immediate market access.

Want to skip content creation? Purchase ready-made ebooks with resell rights. Ezy Learning's ebook collection includes products at $6.97 ready for immediate resale: you buy once, sell unlimited times, keep 100% of profits.

Have an existing audience? Sell directly through your website to maximize profit margins and maintain complete customer control.

Most successful ebook sellers combine multiple approaches: they create some original content while leveraging resell rights products to expand their catalog quickly. This builds income faster than relying on a single method.

The key advantage of ebook passive income: your earnings don't cap based on your time. Create once, sell continuously. Add marketing systems that run on autopilot, and you've built an income stream that grows while you sleep.

Start with one ebook. Test your platform and pricing. Refine your marketing. Then scale with additional titles and traffic sources.

Your first sale can happen this week if you start today.