How to Create Ebooks That Sell

By Randy R on October 12, 2007 in Blogs

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As more people start to realize that blogging for ad dollars and other free content strategies might not be the best way to make money on the web, I’m getting more and more questions related to creating information products.

Producing information products is almost entirely an exercise in marketing. Everything from the topic you choose, to how you position it, to the copywriting strategy you use to sell it boils down to figuring out what people are willing, and even driven, to pay for.

As far as ebooks go, the first question you have to ask is whether or not the ebook is the format you should be using at all. The humble PDF seems to be the first thing that comes to mind when people consider developing a product, but it’s often the least useful and has the lowest perceived value—at least when you want to charge for it.

Is the Ebook Dead?

While the format is still alive and kicking, the basic ebook is a pretty weak alternative for a real book. It has none of the tangible attributes that make books the portable and convenient information vessels they are, and the only real advantage the ebook has is that it is instantly deliverable.

Plus, for any topic where there is already a “real” book available, you’re most likely going to lose the sale, instantly downloadable or not. People trust Amazon, and whether fair or not, they think about “real” authors to be those who are delivered in ink on dead tree material.

So if your goal is to write a 200-page book, you might just go ahead and try to get a publisher, or even have your work self-published. People who read books tend to love books themselves, so it makes sense to give book lovers what they want… a real book.

Ebooks That Sell Solve Problems

The good news for people interested in making money from ebooks is that the ones that sell ideal are nowhere near 200 pages. In fact, you can often turn a sweet profit from a document that is only 10, 20 and up to 50 pages long, as long as those pages solve a problem that people will pay to have the solution to.

Contrary to what you might think, it doesn’t matter if the solution to a problem can be found by even easy online research. “Normal” people don’t like to do in-depth research online and are often skeptical of free information sources. Do the work for them and demonstrate that you are a credible person (or partner on the ebook with someone who has the necessary credentials), and as long as the problem is real, you’ll make sales.

There are so many ebooks out there that try to tell you that the key to successful ebook creation is “write what you love” and the money will come. They use that angle because that’s what people want to hear, and it sells a lot of ebooks about ebooks. But that doesn’t make it true.

Desperate Buyers Only

There’s only one ebook that provides clear guidance on how to research, develop and sell these short problem-solving documents, and it’s called Desperate Buyers Only by Alexis Dawes. This no-fluff guide quickly dispenses with the biggest myths about ebooks, and then takes you step-by-step through:

identifying a potential profitable topic

researching the viability of developing the document

discovering buyer hot button issues, and

understanding how the problem is framed in the mind of the prospect

Alexis then walks you through her five-step variation of the problem-agitation-solution copywriting technique for creating empathy, demonstrating credibility and closing the sale. But it all goes back to the fact that you started with a highly motivated person with a problem, and therefore the “instantly downloadable” aspect of the short ebook becomes a strong selling point.

I once commented on a review of Desperate Buyers Only that this is the ebook about creating ebooks that I would have written had I been inclined, so I have no problem recommending it to you (and using my affiliate link). It not only tells the truth about what it really takes to make money, it reveals several concrete strategies that I’ve used for years to make a great deal of money.

Some of these strategies I still use; I just no longer use them to create ebooks.

Moving Beyond the Ebook

If developing brief information products that solve problems for people in dire situations isn’t for you, but you still want to explore creating content that sells, you’re in luck. There are huge opportunities, both now and into the future, for creative people who can effectively communicate ideas to others who are more than happy to pay for it.

But you’ll need to move beyond the idea of the ebook.

When you consider that 42% of college graduates never read a book again and that most people who actually buy a book never make it past the first chapter, books just don’t seem to be the answer these days. That’s especially true on the internet, where we have all this wonderful interactive ability combined with multimedia to create superior learning environments for buyers, and more lucrative publishing arrangements for you.

It will take more than a blog post to cover that topic, though. But since I haven’t released a longer white paper or report since Viral Copy back in the spring of 2006, I suppose I can’t let 2007 get away without doing another one.

Now, if I can only get it finished… but I think it’s nearly there. So, look for a free report with much, much more information on developing paid content in the very near future.

Sponsored By: Blog World Conference and Tradeshow November 8-9, 2007, in Las Vegas!

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