KDP Should Not Be Your Whole Business

5 Platforms Authors Are Ignoring While Chasing Amazon Visibility

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A lot of authors are still treating KDP like it’s 2016, and that’s a problem. Years ago, you could publish a good book, optimize your listing, maybe run a few promos, and Amazon would often do a decent job putting that book in front of the right readers. But today, Amazon is flooded with millions of books, ads are eating up more of the search results, and organic visibility is a whole lot harder to earn than it used to be.

And here’s where it gets frustrating: If Amazon wants you to bring outside traffic before the algorithm starts paying attention, then why send every reader straight to Amazon in the first place?

Why Indie Authors Are Losing Sales Overnight

Because when you do that, you’re doing the work. You’re building the attention and warming up the reader. But Amazon still gets the customer, controls the relationship, and if that reader buys something else while they’re there, Amazon still benefits from the traffic you sent.

So, if you’ve been trying to break through on KDP and it feels like Amazon just isn’t giving you the same love it used to, it might be time to look at the platforms authors are ignoring while they keep begging Amazon for visibility.

To be very clear, KDP is not the enemy here. I, and millions of other authors, still use the platform and do well through Amazon. The big issue is acting like Amazon is the whole business, especially when the platform keeps getting more crowded, more competitive, and more dependent on authors bringing their own traffic.

And that’s the part I want you to really think about. If you’re already building attention through your email list, YouTube channel, social media, podcast appearances, paid ads, newsletter swaps, or whatever else you’re doing to get readers interested, then Amazon shouldn’t be the only place that traffic can go. Some readers can still buy there, that’s fine. But you should also know which platforms give you more control, better margins, and a stronger connection with the people buying your books.

Before we get into the first platform, direct sales are only one piece of building beyond Amazon. If you want a simple way to map out where your books can go across ebooks, print, and audiobooks, grab my free Wide Publishing Checklist at DaleLinks.com/WideSubstack. I’ll tell you a little more about that later, but for now, let’s start with one platform a lot of authors miss.

#5 StoryOrigin

StoryOrigin is an author marketing platform built around reader discovery, email list growth, review team management, and collaboration with other authors. You can use it for newsletter swaps, group promotions, reader magnets, beta reader feedback, ARC delivery, universal book links, custom links, a basic author website, and direct ebook sales.

A lot of authors know StoryOrigin for swaps and promos, but they might not realize they can also use it to sell ebooks direct. StoryOrigin uses Lemon Squeezy as the payment processor, where they take 5% plus a $0.30 per transaction fee. From there, you can set up a landing page for your ebook and give readers a direct place to buy without automatically sending them to Amazon first.

To be clear, this covers ebook sales. If you want to sell paperbacks, hardcovers, or audiobooks, you’ll need to look into another platform in this list. But if ebooks are a core part of your author business, StoryOrigin gives you a way to have your direct sales and marketing tools in one dashboard.

That’s where StoryOrigin makes the most sense. The direct sales page is useful, but the bigger advantage is everything around it. Newsletter swaps let you work with other authors in your niche. Group promos help you get in front of readers who already like your type of book. Reader magnets help you build your email list. Then, once readers are paying attention, you have a way to send them toward your own sales page instead of training them to buy from Amazon every single time.

Right now, StoryOrigin is $10 per month or $100 per year. That’s a pretty reasonable rate if you’re using more than one feature. Simply put, it’s an author marketing tool that happens to include direct ebook sales.

While StoryOrigin isn’t my first choice for direct sales, authors already using it to grow their reader base should know it can help them sell too.

#4 Laterpress

Laterpress is a digital publishing platform where authors can sell text-based ebooks directly to readers through hosted landing pages and a personalized storefront. You don’t need to build a full website, install ecommerce software, or figure out a complicated checkout system. Just upload your book, set the pricing, create your sales page, and send readers directly to a place where they can buy from you.

Where Laterpress stands out is the royalty structure. If you send a reader to your book through a link you control—like your email list, website, YouTube description, or social media—you keep 100% of the sale minus payment processing fee through Stripe.

Right now, Stripe takes 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction. So if you sell a $5 ebook through Laterpress, the processing fee comes out to about $0.45, leaving you with roughly $4.55. Compare that to a traditional retailer taking 30%, where that same $5 ebook would leave you with about $3.50 before any other fees. That difference might not sound massive on one sale, but across 100 sales, you’re looking at about $455 through Laterpress versus about $350 through places like KDP. That extra margin adds up, especially when you’re the one sending the traffic in the first place.

Laterpress still has ways to earn if they help drive the sale. If another author refers a reader to your book through their community features, that author gets 5%, Laterpress takes 10%, and you keep 85%. If Laterpress drives the sale directly, Laterpress takes 10%. That setup makes sense to me because if you bring the reader, you keep the money. If someone else helps bring the reader, they get a small piece of the pie.

Another big advantage is reader access. When someone buys through Laterpress, they can join your email list, which means the relationship doesn’t end at the transaction. Compare that to Amazon, where you may or may not get the sale, but Amazon keeps the customer relationship. With Laterpress, you can build a real audience you can reach again later on.

Laterpress also works well if you want to publish a full ebook, release chapters over time, build a subscription model, or experiment with serialized content. Serialization is optional, not the whole point of the platform. You can use it for a normal standalone ebook if that’s all you need.

The main limitation is format. Laterpress is for text-based ebooks only. If your book depends on heavy graphics, children’s book layouts, workbooks with complex design, or fixed-layout formatting, this isn’t the right fit.

Side note: They’ve been teasing audiobooks for a while now, but there’s currently no ETA for when they’ll arrive. I, for one, am excited to see additional direct sales options for audiobooks.

More recently, they also rolled out a new premium tool called Laterpress AI, which adds optional brainstorming, plotting, drafting, and editing tools inside the platform. You do not have to use those features, but it shows they’re actively building beyond basic ebook sales.

Laterpress Review: A Step-by-Step Live Publishing Experience

#3 Gumroad

Gumroad is a creator storefront for selling digital products, including ebooks, courses, memberships, bundles, templates, and so much more. The publishing process is dead simple. You upload your ebook, create a product page, set the price, and send readers to a checkout page without building a full ecommerce site.

The biggest advantage, though, is the marketplace. Gumroad has a built-in marketplace where people can find products organically. I’ve had digital products continue to get sales and downloads there without me actively pushing traffic every single day. That doesn’t mean Gumroad will magically sell your book for you, but having a native marketplace gives it an advantage over platforms where every sale depends entirely on your own traffic.

Right now, Gumroad charges 10% plus $0.50 per transaction for sales through your profile or direct links, and 30% per transaction when a new customer finds and buys from you through Gumroad Discover, their marketplace. The good news is they don’t charge a monthly fee. Also, Gumroad acts as the merchant of record, which means they handle sales tax collection and remittance worldwide.

That tax piece is a huge benefit because international tax compliance can be a headache. Gumroad keeps the setup simple, handles the checkout, manages digital delivery, and gives authors a way to sell without getting buried in the backend work.

The trade-off is the fee. Of every platform in this list, Gumroad takes the biggest cut, especially when a sale comes through their marketplace. So you have to decide what matters more: keeping the highest possible margin or using a platform that is easy to set up and already has some organic discovery built in.

I still think Gumroad is worth mentioning because it is easy to use, supports several digital product types, and has a decent native marketplace. I don’t use it as much as I used to because I eventually pivoted to another option we’ll talk about in the number one spot. But Gumroad is still a strong starting point for authors who want to sell digital products beyond Amazon.

A Brief, Relevant Interruption

If you’re watching this and realizing Amazon probably should not be your only plan, that’s exactly why I put together the free Wide Publishing Checklist.

This checklist breaks wide publishing into three parts: ebooks, print books, and audiobooks. That way, you’re not guessing where to publish, accidentally overlapping platforms, creating duplicate listings, or sending the same format through five different services that all reach the same place. Because once you start looking beyond Amazon, things can get confusing rather fast.

You’ll also get a four-part email series that walks through setup steps, common mistakes, and platform guidance, so you can make smarter decisions without getting buried in research.

Direct sales are a big part of the conversation, but they’re not the whole picture. The bigger goal is building a publishing setup where Amazon is one piece of the business, not the entire foundation.

Grab the free Wide Publishing Checklist at DaleLinks.com/WideSubstack.

#2 YouTube

YouTube is different from every other option in this list because it’s not necessarily a storefront, more so a discovery engine. Readers can find you through search, suggested videos, Shorts, livestreams, playlists, and older videos that keep working long after you publish them. And because video gives people a chance to hear your voice, see your personality, and understand how you think, it can warm up a potential buyer before they ever click a link.

The first level is available to pretty much anyone. You don’t need to be in the YouTube Partner Program to start selling your books through the platform. You can mention your book in the video, put a link in the description, pin a comment, or place a simple URL on screen. That link can go to Amazon, but it can also go to your website, a Laterpress page, a Gumroad product, a StoryOrigin landing page, or a free resource that gets people to subscribe to your email newsletter.

The second level opens up once you qualify for the YouTube Partner Program. Right now, you can apply at 500 subscribers with three valid uploads and either 3,000 public watch hours in the last twelve months or 3 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days.

Ad revenue unlocks at 1,000 subscribers with either 4,000 public watch hours in the last twelve months or 10 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days. But the Partner Program isn’t just about unlocking ad revenue since it also opens up tools like channel memberships, Super Thanks, and YouTube Shopping.

YouTube Shopping is where this gets really interesting for authors. If you have a Shopify store, you can connect it to your YouTube channel and feature products below videos in product carousels, or as click able overlays in Shorts. YouTube also has an affiliate program with participating retailers, so if your book is published wide and available through supported retail partners—like Walmart or Target—you might be able to tag that book in your video and earn affiliate commissions for each sale. The big caveat is that this is only good for print books and physical products. You won’t be able to tag your ebook or audiobook.

But YouTube also now allows digital downloads for videos, which can be useful for resource-driven content, course-style videos, or member-only perks. That means authors can distribute ebooks, checklists, bonus materials, or other digital resources through channel memberships or as add-ons tied to a video or video series.

But the third level is the one I care about most. You can use YouTube to guide viewers off the platform and into your world. For me, that usually means sending people to a free resource, getting them onto my email list, and then using a relevant offer later when the timing makes sense. That strategy has worked in my business for over a decade now.

The limitation is that YouTube still owns the platform. You don’t own subscribers the same way you own an email list, and you don’t get the same customer relationship you can build through direct sales. But don’t dismiss YouTube because you’re starting small. I’ve had a channel with fewer than 1,000 subscribers still drive revenue. It’s not a fortune, but it’s real money from a small audience. With the right content, call to action, and enough consistency, YouTube can become one of the strongest traffic and revenue sources in your author business.

Side note: If you want a deeper breakdown of how authors can use YouTube to sell more books, build a brand, and create more revenue streams, I wrote an entire book on it called YouTube for Authors. It’s available at every major online retailer and through libraries, so check your favorite book platform or library app and grab a copy there.

#1 Payhip

Payhip is the strongest all-around direct sales storefront for authors in this list. It lets you sell digital products and physical products, so you’re not locked into ebooks only. You can sell ebooks, downloadable resources, print books, bundles, collections, courses, memberships, coaching, and technically even audiobooks if you’re delivering audio files like MP3s. The big win for authors is simple: you can build one clean storefront where readers can buy from you directly.

Payhip is free to start, which lowers the barrier quite a bit. On the free plan, Payhip takes a 5% transaction fee. The Plus plan is $29 per month with a 2% transaction fee, and the Pro plan is $99 per month with no Payhip transaction fee. All plans include the same features, unlimited products, and unlimited revenue, so the upgrade decision mostly comes down to your sales volume. If you’re making enough sales, paying monthly to lower or remove Payhip’s cut can make sense.

Here’s the simple math on when those upgrades make sense. On the Plus plan, you’re paying $29 per month to drop Payhip’s fee from 5% to 2%, so you need about $967 in monthly sales before that upgrade starts paying for itself. On the Pro plan, you’re paying $99 per month to remove Payhip’s transaction fee entirely, so you need about $1,980 in monthly sales before Pro beats the free plan. Until you hit those numbers, the free plan is probably the safest place to start.

You’ll still have to account for payment processing fees through Stripe or PayPal. Stripe is currently 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction in the US, and PayPal is 2.9% plus $0.49 per transaction (US). Processing fees vary per region, so check each payment processor for what applies to you.

Another major advantage of Payhip is tax handling. They can collect and remit EU and UK VAT—value-added tax—on your behalf automatically, and you can also set up other tax rules inside the platform. If you’ve ever looked into selling direct and immediately wondered how sales tax, VAT, or international tax rules work, this is one of those features that makes the setup a lot less intimidating and cumbersome.

Where Payhip really stands out for authors is how flexible the storefront is. I recently updated my own storefront at SelfPubWithDale.com, and it gave me a clean place to showcase free resources, paid resources, books, and other author-focused products without sending everyone straight to Amazon. That storefront gives people one central place to see what I offer, and from there, I can guide them into the right next step.

Quick side note: Since we’re talking about Payhip, you can see how I’m using it right now at SelfPubWithDale.com. I recently rebuilt the storefront so authors can find my books, free resources, paid resources, and other self-publishing tools in one clean place without getting bounced all over the internet. Use coupon code BEYONDKDP to save 10% while you’re there (expires June 26, 2026).

Payhip also works well with direct sales funnels. For example, someone can grab a free download through your email opt-in page, land on a thank-you page, and see a relevant one-time offer that you can fulfill through a Payhip checkout page link.

Or your customer can join your email list first, then receive a paid offer later in automation or regular broadcasts. That gives you more control over where customers go instead of relying on one product page to do everything.

The main limitation is discovery. Payhip launched its marketplace in July 2024, so it’s still relatively new to the online ecommerce world. I’m sure in due time they’ll have much better organic reach. For now, I’ve been getting some organic sales and downloads through their marketplace, but not at the same level as I’ve seen with Gumroad.

Also, Payhip doesn’t allow print products in its marketplace yet. I’d love to see them open this up, especially if it’s a Bookvault integration. One small workaround is to offer a free digital download in their marketplace, then use the Cross-selling feature in the checkout process. Or you can do some follow-up emails to point people toward your premium products, either is fine.

Payhip is where I eventually moved because it gives me more control over the storefront, the customer journey, and how I sell beyond one format. And if you pair it with a traffic source like YouTube, an email list, social media, or even paid ads, Payhip can become a solid home base for selling books and resources beyond Amazon.

Final Thoughts

Hey, now that you’ve got quite a few options to explore beyond Amazon KDP, I figured now is a good time to look deeper into one of these platforms in Laterpress. I did a full deep dive where I walk through the platform, show how publishing works, and cover the details you need before setting anything up. Check it out here 👇