E-books are a powerful tool for original thinkers with fresh ideas to disseminate information to the millions of people who are struggling to figure out how to do a plethora of different things. Let's say you already have a brilliant idea, and the knowledge to back it up that will enable you to write an exceptional e-book. You may be sitting at your
computer staring at a blank screen wondering, "Why?
Why should I go through all the trouble of writing my
e-book, when it's so impossible to get anything
published these days?"
Well, let me assure you that publishing an ebook is entirely different than publishing a book in print. Let's look at the specifics of how the print and cyber publishing industry differ, and the many reasons why you should take the plunge and get your fingers tapping across those keyboards.
Submitting a print book to conventional publishing houses or to agents is similar to wearing a hair shirt 24x7. No matter how good your book actually is, or how many critique services and mentor writers have told you that "you've got what it takes," your submitted manuscript keeps coming back to you as if it is a boomerang instead of a valuable mine of information. Perhaps you've checked out self-publishing and found out just how expensive a
venture it can be, on a per-copy basis - and that's just the printing and binding. Once you add in distribution, shipping, and promotion, the costs really stack up. Even if you wanted to go this route, you may not have that kind of money to risk.
Let's say you already have an Internet business with a reasonable quality website and a some good product. An e-book is one of the most powerful ways to promote your business while educating people with the knowledge you already possess as a business owner of a specific product or
service.
For example, let's say that you've spent the last twenty-five years growing and training bonsai trees, and now you're ready to share your knowledge and experience. An e-book is the perfect way to reach the largest audience of bonsai enthusiasts. E-books will not only promote your business - they will help you make a name for yourself and your company, and establish you as an expert in your field. You may even find that you have enough to say to warrant a
series of e-books. Specific businesses are complicated and often require the different aspects to be divided in order for the reader to get the full story.
Perhaps your goals are more finely tuned in terms of the e-book scene. You may want to build a whole business around writing and publishing e-books. Essentially, you want to start an e-business. You are thinking of setting up a website to promote and market your e-books. Maybe you're even thinking of producing an e-zine.
One of the most prevalent reasons people read e-books
is to find information about how to turn their Internet businesses into a profit-making machine. These people are looking to the writers of e-books to provide them with new ideas and strategies because writers of e-books are usually people who understand the new cyberspace world we now live in. E-book writers are experts in Internet marketing campaigns and the strategies of promoting and distributing e-books. The cyberspace community needs its e-books to be successful so that more and more e-books will be written.
You may want to create affiliate programs that will also market your e-book. Affiliates can be people or businesses worldwide that will all be working to sell your e-books. Think about this? Do you see a formula for success here?
Figure out what your subject matter is, and then narrow it down. Your goal is to aim for specificity. Research what's out there already, and try to find a void that your e-book might fill. You don't have to have three masters degrees to write about your subject. People need advice that is easy to
read and easily understood. Parents need advice for dealing with their teenagers. College students need to learn good study skills - quickly. The possibilities are endless.
After you've writtten your e-book
Getting your e-book out is going to be your focus once you've finished writing it, just as it is with print books. People will hesitate to buy any book from an author they've never heard of. Wouldn't you? One simple answer is: give it away! You will see profits in the form of promoting your own business and getting your name out. You will find affiliates who will ask you to place their links within your e-book, and these affiliates will in turn go out and make your name known. Many famous e-book authors started out this way.
Another powerful tool to attract people to your e-book is to make it interactive. Invent something for them to do within the book rather than just producing pages that contain static text. Let your readers fill out questionnaires, forms, even crossword puzzles geared to testing their knowledge on a particular subject. Have your readers hit a link that will allow them to recommend your book to their friends and associates. You could even include an actual order form so at the end of their reading journey, they can eagerly buy your product. When people interact with books, they become a part of the world of that book. The fact is just as true for
books in print as it is for e-books. That's why e-books are so essential. Not only do they provide a forum for people to learn and make sense of their own thoughts, but they can also serve to promote your business at the same time - which can't be a bad thing.
More to come.
Effective Networking
