One of first products I created to sell on-line was a ‘Management’ e-book.
I had 30 years experience of being a Manager and managing people so I thought that would be an easy and good start.
Thee years later, it still sells today.
“Create once, sell many times” is a motto I like!
I have updated it and added extra bonuses etc throughout the thee years but 90% of the work was the original creation.
I know that it can seem overwhelming and sometimes impossible to get started, however many people are making money on-line with e-books and you could be too.
As long as you have time to invest you can make some income selling e-books online. How much will depend upon the niche you are in, the demand for such a product and how much perceived value you add when selling your e-book.
Here are five tips that will help you be successful.
Be Honest
Be honest about the product you are selling.
Of course use the features and benefits of your book to sell copies but make sure you don’t over exaggerate.
You don’t want too many people asking for refunds.
Also many of the places you may be using to sell will allow buyers to leave feedback. You are going to find it much harder to sell copies if your feedback is in the minus figures.
Also word of mouth works wonders in the marketing world and if people are not happy they will tell others – losing you sales and hurting your reputation!
Be A Tease
Once your e-book has been created allow the 1st chapter to be downloaded as a preview. Make sure that this 1st chapter has everything in it to draw your customer in. You need to make sure that just by reading this one chapter they are so convinced that they have to buy your e-book.
With another e-book I created recently on the topic of Article Marketing, I give away several of the chapters as a free extract. By giving away several of the chapters it helps increase the conversion rate to buy the complete product.
Make It Multi-Media
You don’t have to just stick with text. Make your e-book different and stand out. An easy way to do this is to add videos and audios. Or add a bonus offering unlimited email access to you for help and advice. Adding these ‘extras’ will make your product stand out and increase the perceived value.
Pretty As A Picture
It is all very well and good having an e-book that is packed full of great and useful information that helps people overcome their pain problems but it needs to be easy on the eye. Make sure that your e-book has interesting, high quality graphics. If you are selling something, screen shots of your stats, etc., really help, but remember be honest.
Promotion
You need to get word out there about your e-book – after all people can’t buy it if they haven’t heard of it!
Social networking is a great, easy and simple way to promote your e-book. A fan page on Facebook takes just a few moments to set up and if you make your page interesting enough it will promote itself as people invite their friends to join. Twitter, Digg and MySpace are also great places to promote.
Believe In Your Product
If you are selling something you need to make sure that you believe in it. After all if some one asks you questions you need to be able to give positive replies to their queries and convince them it is what they need. You can only do this if you truly believe that your product is a great one!
By following these easy steps it really is possible to create and promote your own e-books and make money by selling them online.
There are many people already making their living online by selling e-books and you shouldn’t miss out just because you don’t know where to start.
What’s your experience of selling e-books? Share your views in the comments below.
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I have received a lot of information and education with free and purchased e-books.
I’ve been wanting to write an e-book myself just for list building but there seems to be a lot of bad press today that pooh poohs e-books. Do you find this true?
.-= jerry´s last blog ..Building A Relationship With Your Readers =-.
Twitter: andrewrondeau
Jerry,
No not at all. As long as the e-book helps solve people’s problems, it will be wanted. As suggested – make it different, if you can. Add videos/audios…perhaps even cartoons or something like that.
Andrew
Don’t have an e-book yet, but this post makes me want to put something together. I love to write, that’s all I have ever done. My field of writing and web/blog design is so wide, I should put something together. If memory serves (yes as soon as I’m done this comment I’m going to go do research) I don’t think I’ve seen an offer for an e-book in my field. I wonder, do technical writers and site designers not need one or are they like me and don’t think to put one together.
Well, this is the 2nd thing you have me digressing for today. Thanks. That oughta keep me busy for the rest of the week.
.-= CJ @ Online Technical Writing´s last blog ..A Blog is NOT A Website =-.
Twitter: andrewrondeau
CJ,
I’m sure there is a demand for technical writers to make things simple.
You could say, my free e-book is technical. But we add videos and screen shots to make it as non-technical as possible.
Andrew
P.S Sorry about the digression but hopefully it’s progression as well.
I am tossing up about writing my first ebook, but I always struggle with the thought of ‘why would anyone buy anything from me?’. I know this is just a lack of confidence in myself that I need to overcome, but I might leave ebook writing for a while.
.-= Tom@Free Squeeze Pages´s last blog ..Do I Need My Own Product Before I Start List Building? =-.
Twitter: andrewrondeau
Tom,
The only way to find out is to create one!
I understand your thinking, “why would anyone buy anything from me?” I thought the same when I created my ‘management’ product. Why buy mine when you can buy one from Tom Peters or Ken Blanchard?
But people don’t just buy one ‘management’ book. They buy many.
People who buy internet related products, don’t buy one they buy many.
Plus your product is different from everything else available. Yours is unique. It created by you and only you can do that.
Start off with a small type product which you could sell for $4.95 or something like that and grow from there.
You CAN do it.
Andrew
Thanks for the encouragement Andrew! I think I will have to just jump into it and start planning one. Did you start with a low price for your management ebook?
.-= Tom@Free Squeeze Pages´s last blog ..Do I Need My Own Product Before I Start List Building? =-.
Twitter: andrewrondeau
Tom,
You have nothing to lose!
My first Management e-book sells for $17.
Andrew
Jerry raised a really good point I think. Nowadays you need extra marketing mojo to get your ebook into the proper hands.
Newbies are coming in daily hearing about and reading so much garbage that they get turned off before the legit writers have a chance to change their mindset.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..Welcome Aboard Part 2! All The Info You’ve Been Waiting For… =-.
Twitter: andrewrondeau
Dennis,
The e-book is no longer just an e-book – it needs to be multi-media.
Andrew
I just started thinking about publishing a book. Right now I’m trying to decide if it should be an ebook, or print. Also, if I should go with a publisher or do it myself. Mostly, I’m just full of questions and 0 experience. I would appreciate any advice.
.-= Tom´s last blog ..Web Accessibility Seminar in Manila, Philippines =-.
Twitter: andrewrondeau
Tom,
Creating an e-book is much much easier than getting one published (and much cheaper!).
I would start with an e-book and see how the sales go that way. You can always then get it published.
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
The points stated are very timely as I am at the point of selling some e-books.
Honesty is very important and marketing is what will get the book to sell like it should – i assume it was written to meet the needs of a niche.
It’s been a while. I have been able to sort out my header-banner issues at last.
Cheers,
Twitter: andrewrondeau
Olusegun
Make sure your e-books are of a very high quality and help people overcome their pain problems.
Plus don’t have to high expectations on sales!
Andrew
I wrote an ebook some time ago and had mixed success. I sold enough copies throughout the year to more than pay for hosting, etc. but found that it was fairly difficult to generate enough traffic or interest to do it again.
And I think you’ve got to be passionate and knowledgeable about the subject, or else the quality will be too poor. That’s unfortunately the case with too many ebooks today.
.-= Joseph Smith´s last undefined ..Response cached until Sat 6 @ 20:59 GMT (Refreshes in 23.56 Hours) =-.
Twitter: andrewrondeau
Joseph,
Totally agree. A ‘standard’ text e-book is no longer good enough. It has to be multi-media nowadays.
Andrew
Great article Andrew, I am working on several e-book ideas I have, some will be free, others not so free, but I am enjoying the creativity of it a lot.
I am using word to create mine (which I can save a a PDF) are there other programs that work better, or is that fine?
.-= Keith@ Hot Blog Tips´s last blog ..A-List Bloggers =-.
Twitter: andrewrondeau
Keith,
The creativity will definitely make a difference!
I use Word and then convert to PDF. Just check, if you have any web links, they still work in the final PDF as sometimes the conversion software doesn’t convert the links.
Andrew
Hello!! Andrew,
You got a nice blog. How can I create a multimedia ebook? Are you talking about the exe ebooks? OR, If you are talking about the pdf books then how can I add audio and videos on them. Any help would be much appreciated.
Kathy
Twitter: andrewrondeau
Kathy,
To create the PDF multi-media book – simply host your video/audio and link to it from within the e-book.
Andrew
Stay away from .exe – old school and a virus magnet.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..Here We Go! Theme Construction Part 1 – Your Participation Is Wanted-Needed! =-.
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for this information!
I have two questions about selling ebooks — I just started selling mine a couple weeks ago. It’s called 73 Ways to Fire Up (or Just Fire) the Muse
Do you have any tips for writing a great landing page? Here’s mine, in case have specific suggestions…
http://theadventurouswriter.com/fireupthemuse/
And, do you think writers should convert their pdf ebook to Kindle friendly or other versions? (eg, .epub)
Thanks,
Laurie
Quips & Tips for Successful Writers
Twitter: andrewrondeau
Laurie
Re: Your landing page.
1. I would remove the links away from the right hand side. Why would you want to lose your customer by allowing them to click away from the page.
2. You mention many features like: “15 common obstacles that block a successful writing life”. What’s the benefit? People reading your page are wondering what your book will do for them – how will they benefit. For each feature – think ‘so what?’.
3. Your cart button is too small and blends too easily into the background – you want one that stands out.
And, do you think writers should convert their pdf ebook to Kindle friendly or other versions? (eg, .epub)
Yes – what do you have to lose?
Hope this helps and good luck!
Andrew
.-= Andrew @ Blogging Guide´s last blog ..Make A Blog Income Without Working Hard =-.
Oops, I forgot to click the “Notify of followup comments” box, had to come back…
.-= The Adventurous Writer´s last blog ..For Money Hungry Writers – 10 Tips to Make Money Writing =-.
Andrew,
Thanks for your help — I appreciate it!
Cheers,
Laurie
.-= The Adventurous Writer´s last blog ..Motivation for Writers =-.
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