The Mikkelsen twins, Christian and Rasmus, are two internet personalities who are hard to miss, with their self-publishing course plastered across ads and their content promising the dream of financial freedom.
Their pitch is simple: selling audiobooks is the key to earning passive income, and they claim to have the formula to make it happen.
But as with any bold claims, it’s natural to wonder: are they as good as they say they are? Can selling audiobooks really generate the kind of income they promise, or is this just another overhyped program? That’s exactly what I am going to explore in this review.
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Key Takeaways
- Christian and Rasmus Mikkelsen started as teens who moved to Denmark, then returned to New Jersey to live with their parents and briefly attended community college before pursuing online business.
- They initially found success through Amazon Kindle-publishing, with Christian earning his first $1,000 in January 2017, growing to $10,000 monthly by year-end.
- In April 2018, Amazon banned their accounts due to poor-quality translations of their books into foreign languages, forcing them to pivot their business model.
- They transitioned to creating online courses, launching Audiobook Impact Academy (AIA), now called AI Publishing Academy.
- The twins have built a significant online presence through their YouTube channel (PublishingDotCom) and various social media platforms, where they market their courses and share content about self-publishing and passive income.
- VERDICT: While not outright scammers and with some genuine student success stories, their program comes with significant caveats. The audiobook market is increasingly saturated, their course is expensive, and their personal wealth comes primarily from teaching rather than applying their own methods.
Who are The Mikklesen Twins?
Christian and Rasmus Mikkelsen, known as the Mikkelsen Twins, are entrepreneurs who have made a name for themselves in the online publishing world.
The twins market themselves as experts in the audiobook publishing business, but expertise doesn’t always translate into success for everyone who follows their blueprint.
They may have cracked the code for themselves, but does that mean you’ll see the same results? Beyond the polished ads and motivational videos, there are some hard questions to consider. Can audiobooks truly deliver consistent passive income?
Are the methods they teach practical, or are they padded with unrealistic expectations? Most importantly, are they worth trusting with your time and money?
They co-founded Publishing.com, formerly The Publishing Life, and are best known for their course, Audiobook Income Academy (AIA), which aims to teach individuals how to generate passive income by publishing audiobooks on platforms like Amazon.
Background
In high school, both brothers were notably shy and disengaged, often going unnoticed. After graduation, they moved to Denmark, where they spent a couple of years working odd jobs and indulging in recreational activities without a clear direction.
By 2015, they realized their lifestyle was unfulfilling and decided to return to New Jersey to live with their parents.
This period of self-reflection led them to enroll in a local community college, where they excelled academically, achieving straight A’s. This success boosted their confidence, reinforcing the belief that they could achieve their goals with dedication.
While attending college, they took up jobs delivering Chinese food. During their deliveries, they listened to audiobooks and self-help podcasts, which often emphasized wealth creation. Inspired, they decided to drop out of college and explore online income opportunities.
Their initial venture involved publishing e-books on Amazon. Christian wrote a 24-page e-book titled “How to Be a 4.0 Student in College, Like Me”. Rasmus followed suit with a cross-training manual that also sold well.
Self Publishing
The Mikkelsen Twins initially tested different business models to see what would work best. Rasmus tried dropshipping, while Christian delved into Kindle self-publishing.
When Christian’s self-publishing efforts began outpacing Rasmus’s dropshipping in profitability, Rasmus joined him, and together they focused on self-publishing as their primary business model.
In their early days, they would research market trends to identify topics that were in high demand but had little competition. After pinpointing a niche, they would create outlines and either write the books themselves or hire ghostwriters to produce content.
The books were initially sold as eBooks on Amazon’s Kindle platform. Later, they expanded their strategy to include audiobooks, hiring narrators to bring the written content to life and selling the audiobooks on Audible.
The self-publishing model they adopted was fairly straightforward but required diligence. They researched the market to identify profitable niches, analyzed competitors to refine their content, and outsourced tasks like ghostwriting and cover design allowed them to focus on scaling their business.
Their logic was simple: why produce subpar content yourself when you can hire experts to deliver high-quality work?
This strategy paid off. By January 2017, Christian had earned his first $1,000 in a single month from self-publishing. By the end of that year, his earnings had grown to $10,000 per month. Their portfolio of books covered a wide range of topics, including keto diets, CrossFit, programming in Python, and BBQ recipes. Essentially, they chose subjects with a strong market demand, regardless of personal expertise.
The Mikkelsens Get Banned on Amazon
In April 2018, Amazon shut down Christian’s primary publishing account due to policy violations related to low-quality translations for foreign-language editions. Rasmus’s account was also affected, likely due to shared account activities.
They got banned because as they were translating some of their books into multiple languages to increase revenue, the translations were poorly done (they used Google Translate). This resulted in a flood of low-quality strikes, which eventually got their account shut down.
With their primary income source gone, they faced a tough choice: return home and regroup or pivot to a new venture. They chose to stay and transitioned into online coaching.
Since they had been successful at self-publishing, they started teaching others how to replicate their success. This marked the beginning of their coaching programs, including Audiobook Income Academy and Publishing Life.
YouTube Channel
Their YouTube channel (PublishingDotCom), with its tens of thousands of subscribers, is a hub for discussions on self-publishing, building passive income, and their perspectives on lifestyle and success.
The channel garners thousands of views per video, proving their ability to attract an audience hungry for ways to earn online.
One standout video titled “Make $1,000/month by publishing ONE book on Amazon (without writing the book yourself)” lays out their core philosophy on why self-publishing is a prime way to earn passive income.
In it, one of the twins enthusiastically explains how you can outsource the writing to a ghostwriter, removing what many people see as a major barrier to entry. The video is essentially a quick-start guide to publishing on Amazon, painting a picture of a streamlined path to earning money without needing to be a writer yourself.
Beyond YouTube, the twins are active on Instagram, using the platform to share motivational content, promote their courses, and offer a behind-the-scenes look at their entrepreneurial lifestyle. Their posts are a mix of strategies for earning on Amazon, snippets from their personal lives, and promotional material aimed at driving more traffic to PublishingDotCom.
AIA Course
The twins’ broader business, Publishing.com, doubles down on this self-publishing approach. Their flagship course, AI Publishing Academy (formerly Audiobook Income Academy and before that, Audio Income Academy), has reportedly drawn over 20,000 students globally.
The course was well-received, generating $48,000 overnight during its initial launch.
Despite their success, the Mikkelsen Twins have faced criticism. Some people have dismissed their courses as scams, questioning the legitimacy and value of their offerings.
Discussions on platforms like Reddit and YouTube reflect a range of opinions, with some accusing them of promoting low-quality content strategies and others defending their methods.
This program doesn’t just teach publishing; it emphasizes a unique method that they claim makes self-publishing the fastest route to generating passive income. They push heavily for turning books into audiobooks, leveraging Audible’s platform.
According to Rasmus, audiobooks are an untapped goldmine, and he’s adamant that narrating your book—or hiring someone to do it—is a crucial step. He points out that professional narrators can be hired for less than $180, thanks to Audible’s extensive database.
The course is marketed as accessible to people from all walks of life, offering a personalized program that promises financial independence. It’s a compelling pitch, especially for those looking to escape the nine-to-five grind, though skepticism is natural when bold claims about financial freedom are involved.
The Freedom Shortcut
Let’s talk about The Freedom Shortcut, a book by the Mikkelsen Twins. If you’ve ever dreamed of ditching the 9-to-5 grind and living a life of true independence—whether that means traveling the world, spending more time with family, or just not being tethered to a cubicle—this book might catch your attention. But let’s unpack what it’s really about and whether it delivers on its promises.
The Twins, to their credit, start the book by admitting they once bought into the same dream many of us were sold: go to college, land a “good” job, and retire at 65. But that dream didn’t hold up for them. After just a week in their first full-time jobs, they realized they hated it. They couldn’t stomach the idea of spending decades helping someone else build their dreams while scraping by on a paycheck that barely covered the basics. Sound familiar? It’s a story a lot of us can relate to.
From there, they pivoted to the idea of making money online, and The Freedom Shortcut lays out their formula for achieving what they call true financial freedom—income that keeps flowing in even when you’re not glued to your laptop.
They promise you’ll learn how to generate money online in a way that’s scalable, sustainable, and, most importantly, doesn’t chain you to long hours behind a screen.
The book has six modules. They start with the basics, talking about passive income and their business model. They guide you through choosing a niche—because, let’s face it, not all online ventures are created equal. They then move into outsourcing, emphasizing how you can hire experts to handle the heavy lifting, so you’re not stuck doing everything yourself. The launch phase covers strategies to maximize your initial success, while the “multiply” section focuses on scaling your income streams. Finally, they share lessons from their experiences and from working with thousands of students.
But, if I were to look at the book with a critical eye, while the book claims to be a shortcut to financial freedom, there’s always more to the story.
The idea of passive income sounds fantastic, but it often takes significant upfront work—choosing the right niche, setting up systems, and learning the ropes of online business. And let’s not forget the risks. Not every venture pans out, and the road to success can be filled with trial and error.
They also put a heavy emphasis on outsourcing, which can be a double-edged sword. Yes, outsourcing can free up your time, but it requires an upfront investment—both in money and in learning how to manage those experts. If you’re not careful, it’s easy to overspend or end up with subpar results.
One of their boldest claims is that this book could be the equivalent of a college degree. That’s a huge stretch. While it may offer practical insights, comparing it to the breadth and depth of a degree isn’t entirely fair. Learning the skills to build an online business is valuable, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. What works for the Twins might not work for everyone, especially if you’re not coming into this with a strong understanding of the digital landscape.
Another thing to consider is that the Twins have helped thousands of students, but success stories are usually the exception, not the rule. The book highlights the wins but doesn’t focus much on the people who tried and didn’t make it. That’s not to say it’s impossible to succeed—just that you need to go in with realistic expectations.
So, is The Freedom Shortcut worth your time? If you’re curious about making money online and want a place to start, it might give you some useful ideas. But don’t expect it to hand you a foolproof formula. Building a business, even one that generates passive income, requires effort, strategy, and a willingness to adapt when things don’t go as planned.
The Mikkelsen Twins’ Net Worth
Their combined net worth is often estimated at around six million dollars, which would place them at three million each. But what’s interesting is how they’ve built this wealth.
The bulk of their income comes from their company, The PublishingDotCom, where they sell their flagship course, AIA. The lion’s share of their earnings now comes from selling this course.
In addition to their course revenue, the Mikkelsen twins benefit from affiliate marketing and upselling related services to their audience. These include tools and software they recommend as essential for audiobook publishing success.
Are the Mikkelsen Twins Legit?
This is probably the bigger question on your mind: are the Mikkelsen twins and their Audiobook Income Academy legitimate, or is this just another overhyped course promising the world and delivering very little? To answer that, let’s dig a little deeper.
Their course teaches you to create ghost audio-books, outsourcing the writing, narration, and editing. Once these are uploaded to platforms like Amazon Audible, they’re meant to generate passive income through royalties. In theory, this sounds appealing—who wouldn’t want a hands-off income stream? But in practice, there are several red flags you should consider.
First, the audiobook publishing market is becoming saturated. Add to this the fact that much of the content is outsourced, which can lead to quality concerns. Readers and listeners are increasingly savvy, and subpar content won’t hold up in a crowded marketplace.
Another issue is the high cost of the course itself. At several thousand dollars, AIA is a significant investment. While the twins claim you’ll make this money back through your audiobook royalties, that’s not guaranteed.
The twins are undeniably savvy marketers. They excel at painting a picture of financial freedom, using testimonials, and showcasing their own wealth as proof that their system works. But remember, much of their wealth comes from selling courses, not necessarily from the audiobook model they’re teaching.
That said, they’re not outright scammers. There are genuine success stories from people who have followed their methods and found some level of financial success. However, these stories are the exception, not the rule.
Conclusion
To wrap things up, Rasmus and Christian have certainly tapped into a unique corner of the Amazon ecosystem by leveraging ebooks and audiobooks. Their journey from publishing their first modest books to creating a well-known online education business speaks to their determination and understanding of this niche.
That said, it’s important for you to approach their program with realistic expectations. The twins emphasize that their methods aren’t a shortcut to instant riches but rather a pathway to building a business that requires effort, patience, and persistence. They’ve done a good job of communicating that this isn’t about publishing one book and watching the money roll in—it’s about learning a skill and applying it consistently over time.
At the same time, their marketing often highlights the potential for financial success, which can make it easy to overlook the challenges that come with self-publishing. The realities of outsourcing, managing costs, navigating Amazon’s policies, and competing in a crowded marketplace can be daunting. And while their program has worked for some, there’s no guarantee it will work for everyone. That’s just the nature of business.
Ultimately, the Mikkelsen Twins have built a compelling platform, and their success demonstrates that their model can work. Whether or not it’s the right path for you will depend on your willingness to commit the time and energy it takes to succeed, and your ability to critically evaluate their claims and weigh them against your own goals and resources.
If you’re prepared to do the work and see this as a long-term investment in a skill rather than a quick fix, their program might be worth exploring. But if you’re looking for something simpler or less risky, you might want to reconsider. It’s all about finding the approach that aligns with your vision for success.
Before you go…
If you’re tired of scams and want a real solution for making money online check out my no.1 recommendation.
This system helped me make over $27k last month alone.
Go here to see my no.1 recommendation!