Creating an eBook is a lot easier and cheaper than you think. Moreover, ebooks are product that do not need a lot of technical preparation and expertise to master.
Specifically, the creation of eBooks is perfect for independent authors or small publications just like you. The reason for this is as follows:
- You don’t need to be popular or an expert to write an eBook
- Massive marketing campaigns to sell is not a necessity
- You don’t need to tie up with networking agencies
- Creating an eBook does not require sophisticated machines and software
- Selling an eBook online is profitable because it is low cost
One of the greatest advantages of an eBook is it pose little risks for your part. On the other hand, it also gives you a lot of opportunities to earn.
The return of investment of selling eBook is huge compared to the actual capital that you spent. As we have mentioned, sophisticated programs and machinery are not a requirement when you do this type of business.
Moreover, the contents of your work can either be written by you or by a ghost writer. There are a lot of outsourcing companies today that you can hire a ghostwriter for a considerate amount of price.
Teaming up with a ghostwriter saves you a lot of money and time. Usually, you can hire these people on a project basis. This means that you don’t have to offer them any regular position. Once they are done writing the content, you can end the project immediately. You pay them properly, and you get the copyrights for the content.
And that is the deal. You don’t worry about any recurring fees. And the best of all, you can hire these ghost writers again for your next project.
By the way, here are the best outsourcing sites you can hire quality ghostwriters:
- Elance
- Craiglist
- UpWork (former Odesk)
Limitless opportunity
Products will not sell if you don’t have a market. The same applies to eBooks. But you don’t have to worry about this. There are two venues in where you can sell your eBook: Amazon and Kindle.
In the UK Kindle store alone, there are already around 650,000 titles that are for sale. Excluded on this are the one million eBooks that you can download for free! By these figures, you can already tell that eBooks titles are a hit for today’s mobile generation.
Aside from Kindle, the next big opportunity that is waiting for you is Amazon. Amazon, by far, is the boss of all online marketplaces. The scale and reach of Amazon extend to all countries around the world.
They sell virtually all types of brands and products (except for illegal and shady stuff). In regards to that, one of their most patronized products is eBooks.
Getting money from your eBooks is easier with Amazon compared to Kindle. The network of Amazon encompasses the entire web, thanks to their Affiliate Program. This online marketplace wants sales alone. Therefore, it is their job to sell your product. This means less effort and more opportunity for you.
How to Create an eBook (that can sell)
There are basic steps on how to create an eBook that people would love to buy. By following these, earning is a sure guarantee.
Research
You need to research what people want to read, not what you want people to know. The most common mistake publishers commit is that they are writing based on their interest.
Writing for passion and writing for profit are two different things. You may mix them up, but always make sure that your content is what readers want.
There are ways to know what people are thinking. The same applicable technique is applied to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in where optimizers are digging for most-searched keywords then rank it up.
For choosing a title, look for niche (topics) that have a lot of monthly searches. If you can notice that a certain niche has a lot of eBooks published, then that topic might be a point of interest. But as advice, take the road less traveled. Choose a niche in where competition is weak. That is where you will have a better of dominating.
Content Creation
Before writing, you need an outline for the entire content. An outline will help you not get lost in the process. Moreover, it will serve as a guide for you as you will know what and what not to write.
Usually, your content should be a reflection of two aspects: the things people hate and love about your competitors’ books. In this way, you can scrape out the things that readers despise and include only subjects that are relevant to them.
If you can do this, the time and effort of writing will drastically reduce. Moreover, your eBook would have a better quality that the rest.
Getting a Good Writer
To be able to complete your eBook faster, you need to hire one or two ghost writers. They should be capable of writing comprehensively, with as less mistakes as possible.
When you browse through outsourcing sites, you can spot a lot of candidate writers that are willing to work under your terms. But be careful. A lot of them may not meet up to your expectations. A screening test is a good way to filter quality writers from the rest. By doing this, you can save yourself from a lot of headaches and additional troubleshooting because of faulty writing.
Good contents usually gather more positive feedbacks and reviews from readers. This is your opportunity to make a rapport as a publisher!
Killer Title and Cover
Just like a beautiful woman, your eBook should be a head-turner. For it to sell, it has to catch the attention of the buyers.
A title should be short and straight to the point. Being creative is not a problem. However, you may confuse your audience if you put puns or idioms in your title. A short and catchy title is sufficient.
Example:
- 3 Easy Steps To Get Rich
- How to Rank in Google in Two Hours
- Best-kept Secrets of Successful Blogs
Any of these titles will surely get buyers.
Also, a great title should have a killer cover design. When we say killer, it should have high aesthetic standards that can easily topple all of your competitors.
In this process, you need to hire a quality graphic designer or a photographer (if you prefer to combine graphics and photos)
Publishing
If you find that your eBook is already complete, then it is time to take it to online stores like Amazon and Kindle. Each of these stores have a formatting standard that you should follow. Do not worry yourself any more about the details because these sites give step-by-step instructions.
Putting up your book on these sites is free, too. Uploading and formatting will only take a couple of minutes.
Before you save your eBook for the actual selling to start, please be careful that it is free from the following errors:
- Double or no spacing
- Page breaks errors
- Lack of table of contents
- No continuity of contents
- Bookmarks are missing
Usually, it takes 12 to 24 hours before your eBook is on the online rack.
Also, you have to set the pricing of your ebook and royalty fee at the lowest possible rates. In this way, you can build leverage to your product. Once you are starting to sell, you can increase these prices too.
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