Are you a seller looking to tap into a growing niche on Amazon KDP?
Hiking journals might just be your golden ticket.
As outdoor adventures gain popularity, so does the demand for personalized hiking journals.
But how big is this market, and is it worth your time as a seller?
Let’s find out by diving deep into the world of hiking to uncover key insights for your future sales strategy.
How big are hiking journals on Amazon KDP?
Deciding whether hiking journals are an opportunity-rich category to tap into shouldn’t be based on intuition.
Instead, it should be a choice made as a result of analysis and strategic decision-making.
To be able to achieve this level of precision, you’ll need real-time insights.
Luckily, Book Bolt offers everything you need to get to know any Amazon KDP category or niche in detail.
Using the tool, we identified some of the essential metrics related to the hiking journal space, including:
- Market saturation
- Keyword search volumes
- Average BSR
- Trending sub-niches
Here are our discoveries on each one.
Market saturation
Our research began with an assessment of the market saturation in the hiking journal segment.
The saturation is determined by the number of listings that rank for a specific keyword, like “hiking” in the journal category.
According to Book Bolt’s Cloud tool, there are a total of 70 bestsellers that rank for this phrase.
Compared to other niches, this is a domain that remains to be further developed as it is not fully saturated. This presents attractive opportunities for sellers as it signals less competition and easy entry into the space.
But perhaps Amazon shoppers aren’t interested in hiking journals, explaining the lack of competition.
Let’s find out if this is true.
Keyword search volumes
To understand more about the buyer search behavior related to hiking journals, we assessed the keyword search volumes behind niche-related phrases.
Through Book Bolt’s keyword research tools, we identified the following top searched-for terms:
- hiking journal trail log book – 4,377
- hiking journal trail log – 4,353
- hiking journal log – 4,049
- hiking journals – 3,581
- hiking journal – 3,460
- hiking notebook journal – 3,196
- hiking journal for kid – 3,178
- hiking journal for men – 3,178
- hiking journal for women – 3,170
- hiking journal for kids – 3,143
Next to each keyword, you can see its monthly search volume or the number of times it has been used to browse items on Amazon.
Right off the bat, we can see that hiking journals are in demand.
As the data from this list reveals, more than 4,300 shoppers search for “hiking journal trail log book”.
Moreover, the total search volume of all represented phrases exceeds 33,000. This significant result indicates a vast interest in this product type.
Most importantly, the information provides valuable ideas for niching down in this space. For example, it becomes clear that hiking journals for kids create waves on the platform. In addition, these journals are often positioned in other categories, like log books.
All of these findings are crucial as they can help you create a result-proven sales strategy for maximum performance.
Average BSR
So far, we’ve concluded that hiking journals are attractive to shoppers and are not very competitive as a category.
But do they generate sales?
The best way to find out is to evaluate the average BSR of the bestsellers.
According to Book Bolt, the average BSR of the 70 identified top performers is 281,595.
This is a relatively low number, which suggests that there is a high sales potential in this domain.
But if you’ve already made up your mind that hiking journals will be your next experiment on Amazon, don’t be quick to make decisions.
With a plethora of sub-niches to target, choosing the right one requires more data. Plus, we’re yet to discover if this product type promises profitability for sellers.
The trending hiking journal sub-niches
One of the most important aspects of gaining a competitive edge and turning your Amazon side gig into a success story is niching down.
The first step is pinning down the broad market you want to sell in. In this case, these are hiking journals.
However, it’s also fundamental to select a sub-niche or theme to position your low-content books in.
Using Book Bolt, we uncovered the following top-used phrases across the listing titles of bestsellers:
journal(231) parks(191) book(161) state(152) hiking(139) park(127) pages(113) travel(108) national(98) list(88) more(87) log(87) memories(81) gift(79) read(79) kids(75) adventure(74) page(73) will(69) guide(69) trail(68) bucket(65) nature(62) record(60) camping(59) every(58) adventures(56) trip(55) perfect(54) can(54) outdoor(51) size(48) hike(46) write(45) date(43) great(43) camp(42) notes(42) whether(41) weather(40) space(40) time(39) activities(39) prompts(39) experiences(39) summer(39) journey(38) information(38) favorite(38) track(37) get(37) visit(37) unique(36) just(35) way(34) create(33) details(33) friends(33) memory(33) passport(33) logbook(33) stamp(32) wildlife(32) order(32) like(31) family(31) make(31) natural(30) also(30) notebook(29) fun(29) companion(29)
Next to each word, you can see the number of times it has been used across product titles.
A closer look at the list reveals some interesting themes and topics worth exploring. These include park-related hiking journals, hiking journals promoted as gifts, kids’ hiking journals, bucket list hiking journals, camping hiking journals, and more.
All of these ideas present valuable opportunities for niching down into this vast and diverse market. As a result, you can target a narrow customer audience, attract more traffic, and land substantial sales.
Are hiking journals a profitable venture?
In essence, all of our findings so far lead to the conclusion that hiking journals are a great way to diversify your portfolio and tap into a new and exciting niche.
But the last piece of the puzzle that will determine whether this theory is valid is profitability.
What returns are authors in this space enjoying? Is the profitability in the market attractive?
One of the factors that indicate the profitability of a niche is market price.
Here’s how the most successful listings price their hiking journals:
- Lowest Price – $4.99
- Highest Price – $19.95
- Average Price – $9.55
This list clearly shows that these products range from $4.99 to $19.95. Most importantly, the average price is $9.55.
The average price is perhaps the most essential rate to be aware of, especially for new entrants. When competing against other, more experienced authors, one of the best practices to follow is pricing close to the average.
But let’s see what royalties top performers are scoring in real life.
The number one listing in the hiking journal segment is “Hiking Journal For Kids: Nature Journal with Prompts, Space to Draw & Write | 6″ x 9″ Travel Size | Kid’s Edition of the Hiker’s Log Book | Outdoor Guide to Wildlife Exploration”.
This low-content book sells for $7.99 – a price that’s just under the market average of $9.55. It has a BSR of 60,713 and lands 255 sales per month.
With $2.46 in royalties per sale, this book is earning monthly returns of $630. This revenue is substantial, especially considering that it represents profit from a single listing.
Combined with other niche hiking journals, it can help establish a satisfactory portfolio that can help you take your Amazon business to the next level.
Wrapping up
Overall, hiking journals are in demand on Amazon KDP. They’re part of a market that’s not yet fully saturated, making it easy to penetrate and exploit as a seller.
The profitability potential of the niche is good, especially for new sellers hoping to quickly gain popularity and establish a customer base.
However, if you plan to tap into this pot of honey, we strongly recommend utilizing Book Bolt in order to make strategic decisions and outperform others.
At just $9.99, the tool can help you discover promising sub-niches, spy on competitors, optimize your listings for the right keywords, and more.