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This issue is about ebooks. Whether
you run a child care centre, a travel agency or a training centre,
ebooks can be useful to promote you and your business. They are
cheap to produce and the return on investment, mainly your time,
is huge.
What should you write about in your
ebook? To find out, do this simple test: observe your entourage
when you talk about what you know best. Does their body knowledge
say 'That's
interesting, I want to know more'? If the answer is yes, you have
a topic for your ebook. Very often, we underestimate how much
people value our opinion and advice and how much
knowledge we actually have.
On a personal level, writing an ebook
will clarify your mind, boost your self-worth and give you the
pleasure of sharing.
Best of luck with your ebook and
please send me a copy!
Henriette
Writing
ebooks for your business
My audience never fails to be amazed
that my ebook '200 Marketing Ideas for Your Website' is sold for
almost double the price of its paperback version yet costs so little
to produce.
What's in an ebook that
justifies its high price?
- Convenience
I had a client located in the UK ringing me on Saturday afternoon
in Perth (Australia) for information. He was about to download my
ebook and couldn't wait to start experimenting with the marketing
ideas from the ebook.
Sending a book to the UK takes one
week to reach its destination and costs AU$15.50 for shipping. How
does the shipping time compare with a download taking 5 minutes?
And what's more, the customer has
no travel time to a bookstore, no parking fees and can order any
time of the day or night. That's what I call 'convenience'.
Can you put a price on the instant
delivery to your desktop of a product not available locally?
- Functionality
Hyperlinks add value to your ebook. Customers can access
recommended resources quickly at no extra cost. They save money
and time.
- Versatility
Customers can read the ebook on their computer screen and/or print
it.
Why should you consider producing ebooks for your business?
- High profit margin product
Once you have bought your software such as Acrobat
Professional, the production cost is the same whether you sell one
or 10,000 ebooks.
- Renewable resource
You can update your ebook and sell it as a revised edition. The
ebook remains up-to-date and appealing. The cost? Your time.
- Inventory savings
Calculate and compare for yourself the cost of storage
for:
- Ebooks: two copies (one on your computer plus a backup on CD)
- Books: a small print run of 3,000 books stored in a warehouse.
- Automated distribution
Compared to tangible products, ebooks are cheap and easy to
distribute: no packaging and no trip to the post office. Automate
your system and relax.
- New source of revenue
Repackage your web articles and case studies to produce a new
ebook from your recycled material.
- Access to new markets
You may reach unexpected markets. When I started selling
ebooks, I thought that my target market was the predominantly
English-speaking countries e.g. UK, Australia, US and Canada. But
to my pleasant surprise, I sell ebooks worldwide including
Germany, Sweden and India.
- Cost-effective samples
You can give a small ebook as a taster or attractor for your other
products- those that are not free. Don't skimp on the quality of
your free ebook: you don't want to leave a bad taste and lose
prospective customers!
- Viral marketing tool
Sprinkle affiliate links throughout your ebook and give away the
resale rights to your ebook. Let other web businesses advertise
your ebook and sell it at a profit. You will
spread your reputation as an expert and also earn referral
commissions on products featured in your ebook that you have
linked to your affiliates' web pages.
- Educational material
Produce and give away 'step-by-step' and 'how to' ebooks to
educate potential customers, promote your products and build your
database. Capture name and email address of people requesting your
ebook prior to the free download.
A little word of advice before you create and distribute
your ebook.
- Create a professional ebook
To gain recognition, you must invest time to create a worthwhile
ebook. A poorly formatted ebook with no interesting content will
not promote professionalism and expertise and could even have an
adverse effect on your reputation.
- Copyrights
Secure the copyrights of your ebook. Disallow the editing option
to avoid unscrupulous people downloading your ebook, making a few
changes and then republishing your work under their name.
- Use ClickBank
If you don't have a shopping cart on your website, use
ClickBank to sell your
ebook. They are specialised in selling digital products. It only
costs US$49.95 activation fee plus a small commission per
transaction. Once your have set up your sales page and download
page with them, you can relax. The sale of your ebook is automated
and you will
receive your cheque in the mail for your sales.
- Secure your download page
If you charge good money for your ebook, don't let people
access your download page unless they have paid. I found that
Linklok for ClickBank is a godsend to protect your download
page from hackers.
Ebooks are rewarding to produce and distribute. Give it a try!
© 2005 Henriette Martel-Lawson |
