I just posted a new traffic report for my blog – and whilst I’m pleased with the overall trends in traffic for my site, the subscriber numbers are woeful.
To try and redress that I’m going to create a guide to creating eBooks – and give that guide away free as an Opt-In Bonus.
I’ve emailed out my subscribers and asked what questions they have about creating eBooks and got some good answers. Those answers will help with the various topics involved. What I’m going to do now is generally throw the question out there – what question do YOU have about creating eBooks?
Please put your questions in the comments below – I’ll provide short answers in the comments section. But your questions will help me make sure that the Opt-In report I create contains really valuable content. (This series of reports will be aimed at bloggers and content marketers).
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Hey Paul, great idea!
I know a lot of people would like to start writing eBooks or free reports but they aren’t really sure how they should look, is there a particular way they should be set up, what should you include in the footers, how you can save them to a PDF, what types of programs can you create them in, those are a few that I’m aware of.
Dino Dogan recently shared with us in a post that people are leaving out their Twitter and Facebook information so those are things you definitely need to include so more people can connect with you.
How’s that for giving you something to work with! Thanks for this and I’ll be anxious to see what you share with us so I just might be joining your list. Watch out!
Adrienne
Adrienne recently posted..See How Easily You Can Start Building Relationships
Adrienne
Thanks for tweeting out this post – and thanks for the questions! There’s some good ones there!
Paul
My pleasure!!!
Adrienne recently posted..See How Easily You Can Start Building Relationships
Paul,
I would like to more about getting the ebook out there. Like where should I submit my ebook so it can be purchased or seen.
Sheila Atwood recently posted..Speedlinking to Sanity In a Chaotic Universe
Sheila
Thanks for the question -that’s a good one!
Paul
Hey Paul,
Excellent topic for an eBook. I’m always on the lookout for insight on this and how to make them quickly and more appealing. So…
-Tools of the trade (to produce them)
-Outsourcing: your thoughts on what parts, if any, to outsource
-Design / Layout tips
-Disclaimers and terms of sharing (guidelines)
-Length
-When to give away / when to sell them
-Where to sell (as Sheila mentioned)
-How to write it quickly (eh, not in an hour but you get what I mean)
I hope these spark some ideas for you.
Thanks,
Jon
Jon@Business Ideas recently posted..Enjoy Mother’s Day and Learn to Say “No” Like Mom
Hey Jon
thanks for stopping by and leaving some great questions….these will really help.
Paul
Could you cover how to get good photography and layout and what formats will be offering a greater feature set that EPUB?
Hi David
Thanks for stopping by and leaving some ideas.
The formats question is a good one – and I’ve already got some sketch notes on different format layouts.
The photographs/graphics question is a good one – and could take up a book on its own. I will cover it in a section though – but in a nutshell I either create my own graphics, use stock photographs or use screen capture images. Great question – and I’ll make sure I cover graphics.
Thanks. Please feel free to leave any more questions you have.
Paul
Hello Paul,
For e-books this is where I’m at. I’ve written the book, I’ve formatted it in InDesign. The book itself is ready to go. But I didn’t realize when I got started everything else that needs to be done to get an e-book out there. Here’s where I’m at:
1. Need to get the sales page done
2. Need to get testimonials
3. Need to finalize the bonuses for the premium package
4. Need to make a video to explain one of the bonuses available
5. Need to make an audio recording for one of the bonuses
6. Need to know how to add the final product to kindle, ibook, Amazon, etc.
7. Need to know how to use e-Junkie for selling the product
All of the above are new areas for me and that’s where I’ve hit a wall of resistance. It seems like a huge mountain of stuff to do. And I feel silly as I’ve got the book written. All I need to do is get the above done and I’m ready to go.
Honor Dargan recently posted..Apr 29- Best Spanish Immersion Schools in Uruguay
Great questions Honor!
Thanks very much. Have emailed you some thoughts for your particular project…
Paul
Paul thanks so much for the email. That was loaded with good advice and I’ll be following the steps you outlined for me. I’ll also feedback on how it goes and happily share how it works out if you like. I really appreciate the depth of your answer!
Honor Dargan recently posted..Apr 29- Best Spanish Immersion Schools in Uruguay
All of the above questions are excellent ones that I have as well. How about adding “how to format an ebook so that it can be read on a kindle”
“how to effectively sell an ebook on amazon”
I’d go with Joyce’s question. Plus… Maybe a part where you can share the only tools needed to make an ebook, or much like “How to build an ebook with limited resources and time”
Marco Lee recently posted..Claim Your New Life!
Marco
A section on creating an eBook with limited resources could be a good one – it might not be in teh course itself, but the research could lead to a detailed post which acts as what i call a ‘tangential’ post.
Thanks for stopping by.
Paul
Hi Joyce
Formatting for Kindle will DEFINITELY be published. Maybe even with a word template….
How to effectively sell an ebook on Amazon is an eBook in its own right! I may get space to include some thoughts….
Paul
Market research is very important, getting feedback from others on this area is critical, good luck
Dan Lew recently posted..Keyword Winner 24 – Country Specific Search PageRank
Getting feedback and learning from it is often the difference between success and failure. Thanks for stopping by, Dan.
Another short post Paul! You’re starting to get the hang of this
About your subscriber numbers, don’t worry. I have a subscriber count that’s been floating around the 55-65 mark for the past 6 weeks now, yet it doesn’t bother me. I’ve made some awesome connections, met some awesome bloggers, and had a great time. I’m loving where I am right now, and consider myself truly blessed.
Now, I have one question about the first e-book: should you charge for it, or give it away for free? I know both approaches have worked in the past, and I’m interested to hear your thoughts on this Paul
Stuart recently posted..Guest Post At ProBlogger!
Stu
Thanks for dropping by – yeah I can do short if i need to! (I just prefer to ‘go long’ to use American Football terminology!)
The subscriber thing is interesting – it kind of relates to the answer to your question. So I’ll answer first and come back to this….
Whether you should charge for your first ebook or give it away for free depends totally on what your blogging goals are. Done right, giving an eBook away for free can build your audience, spread the word about you and your website, and work for you 24/7 to bring potential subscribers/clients etc.
But selling ‘free’ can be hard. Often if people get something for free then they tend to value it less. (After all, it’s free right? That psychology is sometimes difficult to get around). I think Chris Anderson (The Long Tail guy) wrote a book on ‘Free’ – if memory serves you can get the Audio version for free at iTunes. He’s a clever guy – definitely worth getting. But here’s the thing – I’ve got it, it’s ‘free,’ it’s a subject I’m interested in, and I’ve barely touched it. That’s the psychology of free. (Whereas I read the Long Tail a couple of times, and I’ve read The Longer Long Tail once – both of which I paid for.).
Having said all that – you can use ‘free’ ebooks to help build a subscriber base.
Now onto paid eBooks. Most of my eBooks will be for sale. That’s because that’s the way I’m setting up my business model. I have some great information that I want to share – but I’m also in the business of creating a business. So from June/July you’ll start to see paid eBooks appearing. (The first three are essentially written – they need maybe a couple of days work each to tidy up, add graphics, etc, before they go live – also there’s a particular confluence of events that I’m waiting for that will trigger them going live).
But the paid model doesn’t suit everyone – again, it comes back to your goals and what you are trying to achieve. That has to be the ultimate determination.
Now, back to subscribers.
For me, it’s important to create a subscriber list – because my experience with my other online business tells me that 90% plus of people who will become clients will come from that list. And once I’ve got that list then I don’t have to worry about Google bringing me traffic. Or Facebook. Or Twitter. Or YouTube.
That’s why I want to ‘goose’ my subscriber list – and that’s why I’m creating this course to attract more subscribers. I’m going to create something of value that I could charge for – and I will put it on Kindle and charge for it! – but I want people to go: I’ve gotta have that. I’m subscribing.
Getting that reaction is hard in the “IM” space – my current opt-in report isn’t generating that reaction. So it’s getting replaced. To me it’s a no-brainer.
Be interested in your thoughts?
Paul
Crikey, I thought you were only giving short answers in the comments section?
First off, thanks for answering my question in so much depth. I do want to charge for e-books ‘eventually’, but I’m unsure whether or not to charge for the first one. Should I offer it as a ‘taster’, or set up my ‘business system’ straight away and run with it? Decisions to be made, and I value your feedback.
Now, about subscribers. I’ve often heard “the money is in the mailing list”, and it seems that applies to your other online venture. You can get something from a mailing list that can be very hard to find from social media or standard comments, and that’s ‘loyalty’. Loyalty to your product, to your brand, and to you. The worst thing you can do is do something that loses that loyalty.
Also, you say you want your people to go: “I want to have that, I’m subscribing.” Cool, in that case, think like them. If you want them to want it, you have to shape your product to their wants, not the other way around.
I recall reading about a marketing campaign somewhere (I forget where, sorry) where the campaign manager, a very smart and highly qualified guy, produced an award-winning campaign for shoes. It looked and sounded great. The shoes looked and sounded great. People predicted big things. But they never came. The campaign was a flop, and that manager was let go by the company.
Why? Because that manager, for all his prowess, didn’t tailor the campaign to the common public. The manager was rich and wealthy, and so based his campaign on having rich and wealthy shoes, proper first-class affair. The campaign felt ‘up-market’, ‘expensive’, and the majority of the public can’t afford that. They just want cheap, affordable shoes that doesn’t break their budget. But the manager didn’t realise this, he assumed that everyone was as well-off as he was. So he failed to connect with the public, and he flopped.
So, to sum up, you have to go from what the public wants, not from what you want.
Hope this helps Paul
Stuart recently posted..Guest Post At ProBlogger!
Stu
Can’t remember if you’re a subscriber or not – but I emailed my 60 odd people a month ago to gauge reaction…and most people seemed interested in this.
It also fits in with where I’ve been going recently on the blog – talking about writing and stuff.
Happy to act as a sounding board for your ideas….probably something that could be better done on the phone…and with a bit more privacy. Skype maybe.
Let me know – later in the week probably works for me!
Paul
Paul, I’ve checked my subscriptions, and I am not. My apologies, this has now been rectified
Also, I’ve been meaning to get Skype up for some point, but never got round to doing this. I feel bad really, but a lot of people (Danny Iny, Mark Harai, Marcus Sheridan) have asked about it, and now so have you. So I must take action, so people can hear my voice if nothing else
Stuart recently posted..Guest Post At ProBlogger!
Hi Paul,
My question isn’t really about the process of creating a ebook but instead, how long do you think a ebook should be? How long should a free report be and how long a book that you charge for?
Daniel M. Wood recently posted..Podcast- Sales Management With Kelley Robertson
Hey Daniel
Length is an interesting question – and I don’t believe there are hard and fast answers. The publishing industry is responsible for creating and fostering the belief that length equates to value – and that’s nonsense.
Which would you rather pay $30 for – a 10 page report that gives you 3 actionable strategies that will say double your traffic within a week. Or a 250 page hardcover book that talks about the theory behind increasing your traffic, but due to its length (and the way that ‘commercial’ books are often presented) doesn’t allow you to transfer that theory into actionable items?
I do have some thoughts though – whether you’re giving away a free ebook or report, or charging for an ebook, you should be creating valuable information. That’s the bottom line – create value for your clients and subscribers.
(I’d normally expect a report to weight in around 10 to 15 pages though – and en eBook to start at around say 25 to 30 pages).
I realize I’ve not specifically answered your question – but hopefully I’ve given you enough information to work from?
Paul
I know what you mean about commercial books and the value you are actually giving away.
My free reports have been 17 and 34 pages long. I think that could be considered a fair length.
The one I plan on charging for will probably be about 100 pages. Do you think that is reasonable, I will be charging 12.95 at least to begin with.
Daniel M. Wood recently posted..Podcast- Sales Management With Kelley Robertson
Daniel
eBooks in many ways tend to have higher ‘perceived’ value than print books. That’s being challenged somewhat by the success of Kindle….as an example I have an eBook package on my Bass website that sells for $77. (it’s about 300 pages).
Now I don’t have to justify my prices to anyone – but the ideas in that book if implemented could totally transform someone’s practice habits. I state in the intro to this ebook that I would have gladly paid £1000 for it 20 years ago because it would have allowed me to achieve a goal that I seriously valued.
So it’s possible that $12.95 might be cheap. It depends mainly on what market it’s in, and what ‘answers’ it gives to problems in your market. (Another example I just thought of, there’s a guy who sells a 20 page eBook on how not to get jet lag – he sells it for around $60 and I bet his refund rate is low! If I was going to Australia to see my brother in law I’d gladly pay $60 for that info!).
HTH
Paul
Thanks Paul.
But needs to be done.
You always make me think and rethink my strategies, it is awefully frustrating
Thanks, I’ll ponder my pricing and let you know what I come up with.
Daniel M. Wood recently posted..Podcast- Sales Management With Kelley Robertson
Please do so! And thanks for stopping by – sorry to be frustrating!
Paul, I’ve got two questions:
1 Any advice for people keen to write an e-book, but who are unsure whether they really have the expertise necessary to produce something people want to read?
2 Is there a known market for ‘ghost writers’ to produce an e-book for someone?
Hey Yvonne
Thanks for stopping by – and a couple of great questions.
With your second question – are you asking if you can get ghost writers for YOUR eBook. Or are you looking to be a ghost writer yourself?
The answer to either question is Yes. If you’re looking for a ghost writer you’ll get what you pay for – i.e. to get someone really good will cost a lot of money (and may not be commercially viable) and the scale slides down from there.
Having seen your writing I’m guessing that you’re asking more how to go about getting work as a ghost writer…I’m not really the guy to answer that question because I don’t think anyone will ever hire me as a ghost writer (because I would charge a fortune because of the opportunity cost of spending that time writing for someone else). But I know a guy who does write and blog in this area who may be able to help – he’s called Sean Platt and his blog is called Ghostwriting Dad. If you Google him, you’ll find him.
The first question is interesting – the analogy I’ve seen used (by Sean D’Souza) with the ‘expertise’ factor is to imagine the people in your chosen market on a sliding scale from 1 to 10. 10 represents the experts. 1 represents the newbies.
Let’s say you are a 5 or 6 – whilst you are not qualified to teach anyone higher up the scale than you, provided you know the principles of good teaching you are perfectly capable of teaching the 1,2 and 3s. And that teaching may push you to be a 6 or 7 too – so there’s another benefit there.
Also – in a lot of fields the people who are 9s or 10s are rarely interested in teaching 1s and 2s, or have forgotten what it’s like to be a beginner so their teaching doesn’t resonate with newbies.
All my teaching in the bass guitar field bears this out exactly – I’d describe myself as a 5 and I teach 1s and 2s. And there are people out there who toast me as bass players – but when it comes to teaching the positions are reversed and I toast them!
So you definitely can do it. eBooks and other content marketing strategies are the way to get you in front of the 1s and 2s. Hope that helps.
paul
Paul, thanks for the clear and well-thought out reply. As a newbie to blogging, you’re a role model worth following.
I appreciate the comment about my writing – having done Sean’s Article Writing Course twice, I’m getting pretty comfortable! In spite of the fact that I’d been writing for a few years (commercially) beforehand!
Having done the AWC twice then you know the value of daily practice. The best thing you can do for your writing is to keep at it – the worst thing you could do is stop writing!
Write On!
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