E-book marketing secrets revealed

By Bob Bly

Before the Internet, there was a niche in mail order marketing
that involved selling books on how to get rich in mail order,
the audience primarily composed of business opportunity seekers.

Now the Internet has created an equivalent market of people who
want to get rich on the Internet, and an equivalent niche:
selling e-books on how to make money writing and selling e-books.

Many of these e-books are specifically on how to make money on
the Internet, and deal with various aspects of selling
information online. A few are on more general marketing and
selling topics. Some deal with subjects outside of business and
business opportunities, such as how to buy a home with no money
down.

The e-book business model works as follows: You write an e-book
on a topic of interest to your potential buyers (Internet
millionaire wanna-be's) and format it as a downloadable PDF
file. A typical e-book is 15,000 words or 50 pages.

Next, you write a long, powerful sales letter to sell the e-book
and post it on the Web as a microsite. Unlike conventional Web
sites, which have a lot of buttons and clicking options, the
only thing you can do on a microsite for a single e-book is read
the sales copy and, if interested, order the product.

E-books are typically covered by a 30-day money back guarantee.
Even though the product can't be "returned," anyone who says
they are dissatisfied gets a refund.

Finally, you drive traffic to the e-book site through a variety
of promotional methods, including ads and articles in other
people's e-zines, announcements in your own e-zine, banner
advertising, co-registrations, cost per acquisition (CPA) deals,
affiliate deals with other online marketers, and sending e-mails
to your house file (renting a traditional opt-in list does not
typically work for e-book offers because of the high cost).

An "affiliate deal" involves arranging with another online
marketer to sell your e-book to his audience in exchange for a
cut of the revenue ranging from 30% to 50%. "Affiliates are my
most successful method of selling e-books," says Joe Vitale,
author of numerous e-books including the best-selling Hypnotic
Writing (www.hypnoticwriting.com). Vitale recommends searching
the Internet for online marketers who sell other people's
products on their site.

"Recruiting people who buy your e-book and love it is the best
way to get affiliates," says Fred Gleek, an online information
marketer (www.seminarexpert.com). Include a section in every
e-book explaining how the buyer can become an affiliate and sell
your e-book to his audience.

"With a new e-book, your own list represents the absolute best
way to sell a whole lot of e-books really, really fast," says
e-book author Jim Edwards, "People who have bought from you
before are highly likely to buy again."

What topics works best? "Topics that address an urgent need that
the prospect is aware of, and that you can market to pre-formed
Internet groups of prospects," says David Garfinkel. "These
groups are usually composed of e-zine subscribers who are in
affinity groups that spend a lot of time on a single Web site
or discussion groups that allow production promotion." He says
that e-books on marketing and big-ticket consumer item topics
(e.g., how to negotiate the best price for a car, or how to buy
or sell your house) work well.

What won't sell in the e-book marketplace? "Informative, even
valuable topics around which there is no pressing need most of
the time," says Garfinkel.

He recently advised another online marketer not to go forward
with a planned e-book for junior executives on how to sell their
ideas to others. The reason? He couldn't find an interested
community on the Web of junior managers that have spent money on
career-improving topics. "Also, except in rare situations, most
junior managers don't feel urgency about selling their ideas to
others," David notes.

A word of caution to the buyer: Some e-books are quickly
compiled, shoddily researched, recycled trash, and a rip-off of
their $19 or $29 selling price. Reason: The barriers to entry in
e-book marketing are so low, anyone can do it. And so the market
is flooded with thin PDF documents written by amateurs hoping to
make a quick book.

Your best bet if you want to buy and read marketing e-books: Buy
from the proven authors mentioned in this article: Jim Edwards,
David Garfinkel, Fred Gleek, Joe Vitale -- as well as other
known experts in entrepreneurial online marketing including
Terry Dean, Corey Rudel, Jeffrey Lant, and Jim Straw.

If you want more information on writing and selling e-books,
visit www.myveryfirstebook.com.
 

Bob Bly
Copywriter / Consultant

www.bly.com