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How to sell your book on the
webGet
a presence on the web
First
things first. You'll need some web space for your book. You can either pay a
host or you can get free hosting service. I recommend you pay (for an
inexpensive web host at least), and I'll tell you why.
There
are many providers of free web pages, and a quick Google on "free web
hosting" will illustrate that to the tune of page after page of providers.
However, some of the services are unreliable, have annoying popups or
other advertising, or have strict requirements on what you can and can't
sell.
If
you want something for nothing though, a good starting point is your own
Internet Service Provider (ISP). Some ISPs, such as AOL, MSN, EarthLink, or
RoadRunner may provide free web space as part of your monthly subscription.
What they do not provide free is a domain name for your web site, such as www.youexpert.com.
Likewise,
other free web hosting services do not allow you to use your own domain name.
Besides the annoying ads and rules, the domain name issue is a huge reason not
to use free hosts. If you want to be professional and maximize sales, you will
need your own domain, and not www.somecompany.com/withdistractingadvertising/yougetwhatyoupayfor.
Tip:
Even with the big ISPs, free hosting is not an ideal for you. It's just not
that effective to have a site called
www.personal/internetserviceprovider.com/home.html.
You
can purchase a domain name to match the title of your ebook or the name of your
business easily through any number of services. This should not cost you more
than $10 per year, so don't pay more than that. Some fee-based web-site hosts
will register your domain name for you as part of their pricing.
Pay
for web hosting service. First of all, it's pretty cheap these days. You can get
your own web page with tracking features for around $10 - $20 per month. You'll
get enough space to store a library full of your own ebooks if you wish. And
you can use your own domain name.
Designing
your page
Next,
you'll want to get your page set up. You can hire this out - there are
literally thousands of web designers out there - you'll pay $150 for help with
a page or two and up to $5,000 for a complicated set of pages with storefront
and graphics.
Finding
a web designer online is much of the same old same old. Do an Internet search,
or ask one of your technical friends for recommendations. Use the home-page
designing software provided by your web host, or just pay the web host's
fee-based designers.
Note:
Novice web designers use software such as MS Word or FrontPage. Experienced web
designers may use Macromedia Fireworks with Dreamweaver or other package.
Definitely
outsource your web page design, at least for your first ebook. This is worth
the money, in the same way that hiring a ghostwriter and cover artist is worth
the money. After you outsource your first web page, and some time down the road
when you have more time on your hands, you could learn a bit about web design.
Then you can copy the page you had designed professionally and use it as a
template to self-design additional pages for new ebooks that you create.
Format
your ebook
There
are two common ebook formats, EXE and PDF. These formats refer to the type of
electronic file your ebook will be. One type has .exe after the filename, and
the other has .pdf after the filename.
If
your ghostwriter already put your ebook into one of these formats, then you are
all set. If your ebook was delivered in a word processing file, then you'll
need to convert it to either EXE or PDF. You can buy software that will make an
.exe file, or you can purchase or use free software to convert the text to a
.pdf file.
I
recommend the .pdf approach for several reasons. First, of the two options,
.pdf results in a smaller file. This will allow buyers to have a faster
download of your book. Secondly, .pdf files can be read easily with free
software on either a PC or a Mac. Thirdly, .pdf conversion software is not
terribly expensive and there are even free versions you can use. Most of the
free versions work really well if all your ebook contains is text. However, the
free converters tend to contain popup advertising.
To
be able to convert every bell and whistle in your ebook to .pdf, you can
purchase Adobe's program to do so at a cost of over $200. This may be necessary
if your ebook is unusual, containing animated film clips or other technically
unusual features. Free or cheap converters will convert your text. Basically,
your .pdf file will end up looking like what your printed pages would look
like. Converters abound, and therefore you can use free or buy a converter that
will only do what you need for a fraction of the $200 you would pay to get
every bell and whistle.
Some
ebook authors prefer the .exe file because it can provide additional
flexibility, nice graphic conversion, and other features. Most .exe converters
or services cost a bit, and honestly, you probably won't need those features.
First of all, most ebook readers just want to read your book and are not
terribly impressed with extraneous details that would not be presented in a
paper book, with the exception of hyperlinks. Secondly, .exe files are only
viewable on PC's, so right off the bat, you lose potential Mac customers.
You
can, of course, put your ebook on the web as a MS Word file. This makes for a
cumbersome download and then your customer will need to have a similar program
to read your book. You can put your ebook on the web in .html format so that it
can be read just like a web page. Some word processing programs have html
converters that you can try. To me, this is going to extra trouble that you
just don’t need. Take the simpler road - .pdf.
Get
ready to accept credit cards
By
and large, your ebook buyers will want to pay by credit card. After all, the
benefit of ebooks is that they are terribly easy to get. Just type in your
credit card number and in a few moments you're reading through a great book!
Services
abound that will accept credit card payments and send you the money
Upload
your information to the web
You'll
want to upload all relevant ebook information onto your web page, including
your ebook cover art, the ebook itself, a link to order and pay for your ebook,
and your sales letter.
To
upload from your computer to the World Wide Web, you'll need an FTP program.
Most web host services will provide you with the software required to do this
and provide clear instructions. If your service doesn't provide you with FTP
help, you can purchase or use a free FTP program.
Create
a great sales letter for your book
The
web page for your ebook should contain a sales letter that is immediately
visible. In fact, your web page really doesn't need to contain much else,
unless you choose to use additional pages for other uses.
Here
are the components of a great sales letter.
1. a
catchy headline.
2. a
list of amazing benefits for the reader. Tell visitors what problems your ebook
solves or how it will improve their lives.
3. testimonials.
Quotes from people who have read the book or from people who know you and are
willing to write something great about you for your site.
4. a
guarantee.
5. a
link to a sample chapter.
6. a
link to purchase the ebook.
7. the
price.
8. about
four pages in length.
9. a
narrow page with wide margins for easy reading.
10.
dark text on a white or light-colored background, for easy reading.
Tip:
Get testimonials early in the game by offering your ebook free to those who
will in exchange, give you a one or two sentence testimonial.
Selling
strategies
In
addition, there are other techniques you can use to make money with your ebook.
One thing you can do is give your ebook
away free, and at the same time provide a link to a fee-based product or
service in your ebook. The thing about free ebooks is that there are web sites
where you can place free ebooks. It costs nothing or close to nothing to list
your ebook, and because people always love to get something free, the sites
generally have web traffic.
On
your own web page, you could also offer your ebook as a free bonus when a visitor buys some other product, service, or
ebook from your web site.
Get
your ebook listed in online bookstores.
The fee may be worth it to make many more potential readers aware of your book.
Here
are a few more shameless promotion techniques you can use.
· Add
a link to your ebook web site at the bottom of every email you send for any
reason.
· Submit
your ebook web page to the major search engines. Your hosting service may be
able to help you with this, you can purchase Internet marketing software to
automatically submit your information to a list of search engines, or you can
go to each of your favorite search engines and submit the site yourself.
· Pay
for clicks from pay-per-click search engines, so people will more readily
see your ebook. In this way, you buy traffic to your site.
· Buy
ad space in e-zines or newsletters that are reaching your target readers.
· Create
a monthly newsletter, and tout your book in it every month.
· As
you build your library, provide links to your other ebooks in each of your
ebooks.
· Use
your ebook as a business card. Send it to organizations or businesses where
you'd like to be hired as a speaker or teacher.
Make
online marketing work for you
You
will know the general market when you choose the topic, especially if you chose
a topic because of its target market.If you spend time getting to know your
market, then you will be even better poised to market your work. Get to know
your market by getting involved in online discussions, talking to people, and
looking at demographics or statistics. Most services that provide information about
how to reach people of certain income levels and such require subscriptions in
a price range that is only affordable by large corporations. At the bookstand,
check out magazines and newspapers related to the topic to understand your
market. Be sure to note who is advertising in the magazines. Some web sites
offer information to their advertisers about readership and median incomes.
Especially magazine's web sites.
Privacy Policy
Other Pages on Ebook Writing: Hiring
Ghost Writers Introduction Topic Ideas
Working with Ghost Writers Cover Art
Disclaimer:
The web site is for information purposes only. Readers would not get
the results that are talked about in this web site.The information provided in this web site may not be authentic. Readers are strictly advised not to act upon the information provided in this web site.
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