This is a guest-post by Alexis Dawes. She earns six-figures a year selling information products.
What’s the #1 deterrent that keeps people from writing and selling their own eBook? According to the people who e-mail me for advice, it’s the so-called grandeur of the task.
Even though most people want to write a book, there’s something about it that rings of big, scary and un-doable. And actually this impression couldn’t be further from the truth.
I published an eBook back in 2005. Took me around 4 hours to write it. Another week to perfect the sales copy. And another few hours to create the ads.
That very eBook continues to generate sales today, even when I’m on vacation… sleeping… watching American Idol… you get the message.
It’s not that writing and promoting an eBook is difficult. It’s that most people don’t understand how small actions can snowball into profitable e-publishing ventures.
This post will show you five actions you can take to help assure success in your eBook sales future.
1) Always think “Is this an eBookable topic?”
I started teaching my daughter to read at the age of 3. Now at the age of 5 she’s reading at a second grade level. Plus, she’s writing 3-4 sentence stories based on picture prompts almost daily.
My teaching routine is an idea for an eBook. In fact I’m working on it right now.
Several years ago my cousin ran into some financial difficulties. A friend of hers happened to be a mortgage originator, and gave her some tips to help avoid the bad credit blues.
When my cousin told me about the advice, I thought it would make a good eBook. I ended up interviewing her friend for mortgage related tips and turned it into an eBook.
If you’re exceptionally good at a task you do at your day job, that’s an eBook. If you’ve ever done something exceptionally well (e.g.- created a $100K wedding on a $5K budget) that’s an eBook. Did you overcome a difficult time in your life? What were your coping mechanisms? That’s an eBook too.
2) Pick a passion and study it periodically.
I’m a photography buff. At one point I almost gave up writing to become a portrait photographer.
As you can see, I never did. But my love for the craft still has me buying photography books and magazines. I take pictures of my daughter. And if a friend stops by, they know to make sure it’s not a bad hair day, because at one point they might get snapped.
Even though I’m not a professional photographer, I’ve gleaned enough information about photography over the past 6 years to churn out several photography eBooks.
If you’re like most people, you may not have the time to devote yourself to a “this-is-what-I-do-in-my-free-time” type of hobby, but you can probably spend a few hours each month learning about something that you’re truly interested in. And that accumulated knowledge can eventually become an eBook.
3) Don’t hesitate to dictate.
In the summer of 2007 I sat down to write a series of eBooks. I was in Florida visiting my parents, which meant free babysitting and an enormous amount of time to write.
However after the first two weeks I found it harder and harder to type. My shoulders were tight. My wrists were applying for carpel tunnel status.
I’d been more-or-less nervous about experimenting with dictation software. (I just didn’t think I could speak what I wanted to type.) But I also knew that I had to at least try it for the sake of my aching arms, shoulders and back.
Well you could’ve knocked me over with a feather when I finally gave Dragon Naturally Speaking
I initially found myself speaking the words as if I were typing them. So there were a lot of pauses. But after a week the pauses diminished and my output increased by 20-30 percent easily.
I have no problem saying that if your goal is to write many eBooks, Dragon Naturally Speaking is essential. Period.
4) Read a sales letter a day.
If you’re going to sell eBooks, you’ll have to know how to write sales copy.
You can study copywriting techniques and practice writing sales letters, but you can ramp up your skills even faster by being committed to reading one sales letter every, single day.
So where do you find sales letters to read?
Clickbank.com and Paydotcom.com are popular payment processors for eBook authors. Looking through their respective directories will show you that the most popular titles are listed first. These are the eBooks whose sales letters convert the best.
Study them. Study the ones for topics you have no interest in.
What do you like the best? The least? Does it make you want to buy the product? Print the sales letter and make notes. Incorporate those ideas into your own sales copy.
5) Build name recognition before you need to.
I write eBooks on several different topics. Most of them are promoted on a set-it-and-forget-it basis, meaning I perform a series of marketing steps upon launching, then I let the eBook sell itself.
But there’s one niche where I constantly strive to build name recognition. That’s eBook creation and marketing. When I talk about it, it generates the highest level of excitement for me. Not to mention it generates excellent profits. (Just keeping it real!)
Whether you write about 1 or 100 different topics, there’s always going to be your favorite. That’s where name recognition is key. Especially when it comes to topics where there’s a significant amount of competition.
The more visible you are early on — even before you launch your eBook — the better.
That means putting up a lead generation web page before you even write your eBook. You can offer visitors a free report or white paper related to your topic, in exchange for their e-mail address and permission to e-mail them new articles periodically.
Once you do that, find blogs and forums where you can post comments. Commit to a minimum of two ‘quality’ posts a week. And be sure to use your lead generation page URL in the signature.
Once you’ve officially launched your eBook, you’ll already be looked upon as a trusted member of the community. And that’s a profitable position to be in.
Alexis Dawes is the author of “Desperate Buyers Only,” where she teaches the exact techniques that help her generate a 6-figure income writing and selling eBooks. You can get more information at (http://www.DesperateBuyersOnly
Photo by I have got the style.
20 Responses
It seems to me another deterrent would be the sheer size of the task of creating an eBook. It’s a great deal more writing than your average 500-word blog post. I can imagine that it would be hard for a lot of people to wrap their heads around the structure and flow that a good eBook should have.
I’m sure it’s similar, in this sense, to writing a traditional book, but can you give any tips on how to go about the logistics of writing an eBook?
Evan - Definitely. As I mentioned in the post, the size of the task is what scares most people away from the idea of writing an eBook.
But as a side note, eBooks don’t necessarily have to be as long as traditional print books. The eBook that took me 4-hours to write ended up at under 15-pages long.
Size just doesn’t matter in many situations. I’d written an eBook on a specific Google technique that was around 12-pages long. I sold it for $97, and got 3 refunds from people who said they thought it was too short. Out of hundreds of orders, and testimonials from satisfied customers, I can live with that.
Most buyers want solid, well-written content that helps them solve a specific problem. They don’t necessarily want an epic novel.
And that’s part of the beauty of an eBook.
@ Alexis: Thanks for responding to comments here — and I guess I don’t have to tell you that the post is up anymore ;-).
Thanks again for the wonderful article.
I didn’t realize eBooks could be that short. The eBooks I’ve purchased have been 50+ pages. How To Be a Rockstar Freelancer is 212, for example, which is a daunting length for someone starting out.
Thanks for the reply, Alexis!
I’ve written 100+ page eBooks, and I’ve written 10-page eBooks. And I’ve personally made money both ways. But I honestly can’t say that one page length is more profitable than the other.
Shorter eBooks certainly provide a way to test the waters without wasting a lot of time.
Definitely give it a go Evan!
I found this article really encouraging. (There’s nothing like the words “earns six-figures” in an introduction to make you pay attention to a guest author!)
I’m launching my first eBook in March and have designed a mini-site under its own domain. I feel rather uncomfortable at the thought of writing a sales ‘letter’, largely because I’m writing for graphic and web designers — the letter page format has always driven me away as a prospective buyer. Do they genuinely convert better than a well-designed mini site? Are letter pages an essential part of earning a successful living selling information products?
I personally couldn’t read a 200+ page eBook. Part of the reason I buy eBooks is because they are short and to the point. Even if an eBook is more expensive than a hardback book at Borders, I would rather pay a little more for short, to the point information.
Thanks for the post Alexis. I’ve actually come across some of your sites in the fashion world. While I can’t see myself writing eBooks for everything under the sun, I can definitely think of some related topics I want to write eBooks for. I started one last week as a matter of fact.
How do you determine the price of your books?
Hey Alexis - GREAT guest post! I have a couple of e-book ideas and one in particular about “escaping the cubicle” and pursuing personal freedom, which I think could do quite well. It is just trying to find the time to actually write it.
Too, funny you should mention Dragon Software, I just picked up a tapeless recorder a week ago and it is compatible with Dragon, so I might have to give it a try.
Do you have any pricing strategies?
Yep, Dragon Naturally Speaking rocks for sure. Even though I have an older version, it still is pretty decent. The only problem I have as I’ve begun using it only a couple of days ago is that I tend to pause every couple of sentences. I hope it’ll go away in a few weeks.
* NICK… I’m not a big fan of mini sites for the purpose of selling eBooks. I’d rather invest a little extra time and do a blog, which seems to hold a bit more weight, and works more efficiently for marketing purposes.
You might not need to do a full-blown sales letter a la direct mail style. But you must have some sales copy. And it has to offer convincing/compelling reasons why the customer should buy from you. You’ve gotta do some bullet points.
Not everyone’s a fan of the longer sales copy. And yes, I done shorter. I’ve just had far better results doing long. Prospects tend to need a lot more hand-holding than most sellers like to believe.
But feel free to test to see what works for your audience. A blog and shorter sales copy might work for you.
* SANDRA… I feel the same way about reading eBooks. I already need 30-hours in a day to do everything. So I rarely order eBooks that are over 100-pages long. Just tell me what I need to know and let me go.
As far as price, I like to see what other people have done first. I order my competitors products and compare my content to theirs. I try to stay within a stones throw of what they’re charging. (E.G.- I’ll charge $24.95, when they’re charging $19.95.) But then I use my sales copy to tell why my eBook has better info and therefore a higher price.
If there’s nothing else available like the eBook I’m selling, I tend to stay on the $50+ price range (depending on the audience of course). I don’t want to be known as the “cheap” seller. Ever.
* MARK and RUCHIR…. Dragon ROCKS. I’m utterly amazed at how my productivity has gone up because of it. And RUCHIR don’t worry about the pauses - it takes some time to get over it since you’re used to typing. They will lessen.
Thanks, Alexis. I’m planning to cross-promote using my blog, which is in the same niche as the book.
Bullet points I can cope with. 3500 word mega-sales pitches I can’t. The book is about simple solutions to complex problems, after all!
Thanks for your advice.
@Alexis - Ok so I have a blog and I’m already building an e-mail list (very slowly). I’m also working on a couple of different info products within my niche.
My question is this: I was going to setup a sub-domain of my blog for a sales letter that I could target PPC ads to and also refer people to from my blog. Am I on the right track?
@ BRADLY - I always fashion the URL after the title of the eBook. If your blog is similar to your eBook title, then a sub-domain is fine. But if not, get another domain. Separate domains just looks cleaner when you’re doing PPC ads.
Hi - Alexis - thanks for the great info. I’ve managed to write about 25,000 words of an ebook so far, so I’ll bear in mind what you say about length.
But, I’d also like to try to go the traditional publishing route too. Would it be worth writing a shorter version as an ebook and a longer version for print?
I did sell an 11 page info product years ago on the Internet, but I’ve never sold anything of book length before, so your advice has been useful.
And you are so right about Dragon Naturally speaking. I love it. It does take a little while to train it to get used to your voice but it really is worth it.
Very nice distillation Alexis. I’m a fan of proven practices and empirical evidence so thanks for sharing your insight on what works.
> I perform a series of marketing steps upon launching
What are the key steps?
> I always fashion the URL after the title of the eBook.
How do you efficiently and effectively manage hosting/URLs for your variety of eBooks?
Also, can you share your top 3 URL as examples of what’s working well?
@ CATHERINEL… Yes, you can use an excerpt of a traditional print book. I would choose the most enticing excerpt possible. Something that really gives buyers an incentive to continue on the buying journey.
@J.D… Key marketing steps: articles, online advertising, blogs, etc. It’s a lot to mention here.
For managing multiple URLs I have a $20 account at BlueWho.com. I can set up as many domains as I want. I’ve had it for 4 years and I’ve been very happy.
A client of mine is doing well following my formula - (http://www.showroomsecrets.com/).
And here’s one of mine (http://www.getcheckingnow.com).
Hi Alexis,
Great post!
What about marketing the same exact book as both an e-book and a traditional book version. I’ve even heard that some people buy both versions.
What do you think?
Great post. I’ve thought about doing this for ages, but keep putting it in the too hard basket because there’s so many e-books out there and loads of them are crappy. The bit I have troubel with the most is what should I write about? As an experienced copy writer I know I can do the sales copy (though I’m not a fan of the long sales letter generally), so I guess I just need to take the plunge.
Alexis, you’ve really inspired me to give this a go. Thank you for giving us all so much of your time answering questions. There’s a lot of simple, instructive advice here.
Cheers
Kelly
@ BRUCE… Yes people do promote both an eBook and a print book with the exact same content. I have customers who ask if sell my material as a print book, or at least a manual. The longer your eBook is the more you may want to look into a print version/manual as an option. I’d even say a higher priced option.
Seth Godin has done a free eBook, and then sold the print book, which has worked extremely well for him. But then again, he’s Seth Godin.
@ KELLY RIGBY… Glad I could be of assistance! I did a post on my blog yesterday (AlexisDawes.com) on how to find a topic within your own life. It’s a list of 10+ questions that may give you some inspiration. Good luck.
Alexis, I love writing ebooks. I am very passionate about them. I have been involved in writing ebooks for quite some time now.
One of the things that I have found about ebook authoring is that it is really easy to do. I have actually turned an entire blog into an ebook called, “Ebook By Blog”. You can download it from the link here below. It is free.
Click Here To Download Ebook By Blog
The reason why I had decided to use an entire blog as my ebook platform is because I had quickly discovered that in order to make an ebook really interesting, it had to be refreshable. That is, the content had to be updated almost on a daily basis, and you can definitely do that with blogs.
You can do this for any niche, and ti works really great. All you need is a simple HTML compiler program, and the ability to create a simple web page, and of course, have your own blog somewhere. I think that blogs make for great ebooks because not only does the content change, but people can actually add their two cents worth in it as well, thus becoming an instant author themselves, thus boosting their credibility and awareness online.
Also, this is a great way to begin building lasting relationships and building trust with others online. I honestly think that using blogs as an ebook platform is the way to go because you’re doing two things at once. First, you’re developing a web site through the blog, and secondly, you are quickly establishing yourself as the obvious expert.
Alexis, if you need someone to do some writing projects for you, such as create ebooks, I am interested. I would love to work for you to help your business to grow and prosper.
Writing is my passion, and it is what I do best.