Do People Really Buy Ebooks Online?
If you enjoy writing, or if you enjoy creating things, such as websites, then you probably have wondered about this. Those ebooks that you see on the web. Do people really pay money for them?
The answer is YES. They really do!
I know this because I sell ebooks. People really DO buy them.
I also know that if you're not inclined to buy ebooks yourself, this may seem hard to believe. It took me a long time to get comfortable making online purchases. But now, pretty much everyone knows that PayPal is fast, easy and safe--especially if you don't want to type your credit card into a website that you're not familiar with.
(So if you're planning to sell ebooks via a blog or website, then choose PayPal as your method of payment. Your website visitors will appreciate this, and be more likely to purchase your info product).
What types of ebooks do people buy?
They buy all kinds of ebooks, really. However, I tend to think that you'll sell more copies of your ebook if it covers a problem that people really want to solve in a specific way.
Problems can be about relationships (How to Stop Arguing With My Partner, How to Get Kids to Listen Without Yelling), health (How to Go Vegetarian for Hormone Balance, How to Get Rid of Skin Tags Naturally), DIY (Build the Perfect Backyard Sanctuary Using Upcycled Items, DIY Kitchen Sink Replacement) or pretty much anything people want to know.
Next questions...
What's the best way to sell ebooks online?
I recommend creating a niche site. A niche is not broad, but specific. Some people create niches that are very specific, i.e. skateboarding chihuahua owners who sing in rock bands. The thing about being this specific is you'd probably attract all of the people who fit this niche, since nobody else would have created a website that hits all of these details. But I digress.
Thinking about niches from a practical standpoint: I try to zoom into a specific audience and what they'd want to know.
If you're not sure where to start with this, then think about what you yourself know, what you're good at. What sorts of topics would you be able to expound on almost effortlessly? If you enjoy writing, you might consider what life experience you've had that qualifies you as an expert or near-expert in something.
For example, suppose you've become a real pro at hosting garage sales. Not just setting out a few things in the driveway, but really purging your home, categorizing all your for-sale items, pricing them all to sell, and cleaning up, financially speaking, as you clean house.
There's an audience of people out there who have never held a garage sale but would like to. These people have questions. Sit down and list each question one by one. Then, give a thorough answer for each.
Each question and answer becomes a section of your ebook.
When you're done writing out the answers, you'll likely have enough information to fill an ebook. It doesn't have to be a 100-pager. Your ebook on garage sales, or whatever it is, can be 12 pages, 30 pages, or however big or small you want. You can adjust the price of your ebook according to how much information you've shared.
What if I don't like to write?
If you want to create an ebook but you don't enjoy writing OR you don't have the time, there's an economical option. Look for Private Label Rights content to use in your ebook.
Since we're using garage sales as an example, I just headed over to Google and the answer is YES. You can buy pre-written PLR content on how to host a garage sale. Private label rights articles typically cost only a few dollars apiece, AND often the content pack will contain niche-relevant images for you to use on your website.
So, garage sales is turning out to be the perfect example of a specific niche that you can create an ebook for, then sell it online.
What's the quickest way to build a niche website that you can sell ebooks and other info products from?
My method is to first write the ebook, then create the website. I don't do this all at once, but rather I treat it as a project that will take some time to complete. I take sanity breaks in between, and so should you if you want to retain quality in your work.
If you're working with a team, you can split up essential steps and tasks for quicker production.
Your hypothetical reader's questions become keyword-specific website pages.
As in the garage sale ebook writing example from earlier, your site should consist of individual pages that each answer one question your target audience might have. So there'd be a page on your site titled "How to price garage sale items," and another one on "obtaining a permit for your garage sale," among many others.
To launch the initial site, publish a whole bunch of pages that address specifically searched terms that people would type to find you. So, maybe your site would start as a 20-pager, 50-pager, or whatever you feel like you could create.
Later, continue to add new pages to your website as you think of different searches your target reader might be typing into Google.
How can I promote my ebook?
If you've already written the ebook and published the site, you have plenty of material to work from. Make it a daily ritual to pluck tasty tidbits from the existing content. You can either re-write each snippet of content, OR you can get a little lazy and just copy and paste it into Facebook etc. with a link to read more.
Just be sure to keep things transparent. If the content you publish is quoted directly from your ebook, then say that.
I'm just going to be very clear about how the ebook sales experience will be for your website visitor.
Step 1: they do a Google search and stumble upon a page of your website.
Step 2: they notice your ebook, which has been strategically advertised in both the right sidebar and at the end of the article you wrote, WITH a mini cover graphic AND the link for them to read a sales page AND a link to a shopping cart button where they can buy now. They buy! Ebook sale made. Money in your PayPal account. Mission accomplished.
Alternate step 2: Your visitor is interested, but not ready to buy. In this case, you want to grab them on their way out so you can reconnect later. So, set up everything with a list management service such as Aweber. Then, create a sign-up form that you place at the end of the article OR in a popup that comes up before they leave.
Step 3: plan to email them helpful information on the topic in question. Yes, an email marketing campaign. In the same way that you've attracted people to website pages that give them info and share a link to buy your ebook, you'll do the same by way of your emails that you send out on a regular basis.
I could talk endlessly about ebook selling, and in fact I could probably write an entire ebook about it. But I'll save that for another day.
For now, why not begin your ebook selling adventure by checking out all of the content packs we sell or share here on Wordfeeder that can potentially be made into an ebook?
No time to shop for content? Then sign up for a Wordfeeder Basic PLR membership.
You'll see a list of FREE PLR content packs that come with your membership, when you click the button below.
Signup opens to a new window so you won't lose this one.
Hope to see you on the other side!
