By Robert W. 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.
Most oŁ 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. Hardly any deal with subjects outside of business and business
opportunities.
The 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.
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-tine, banner advertising,
co-registrations, cost per acquisition (CPA) deals, making 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 oŁ
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."
The "model" for this
genre of "how to get rich online by selling e-books on how to write and sell
e--books" is eBook Secrets Exposed (www.ebooksecretsexposed.com) by
Jim Edwards and David Garfinkel
(www.hypnoticwriting.com).
Edwards makes a handsome living
writing and selling e-books; he has sold 5,000 copies of various e-book titles ranging
from $29 to $49 over the last 12 months. Keep in mind that the manufacturing
and shipping costs for e-books is zero, which is what makes them such an
attractive, profitable information product.
"I have two e-books
that each generate $10,000 to $12,000 gross each per month," says Edwards.
"Another does $3,000 per month in sales, and two others generate $1,200
per month each. One e-Book sold $43,000 in 30 days."
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
Garfinkle. "These groups are usually composed of e-tine subscribers are an
affinity groups that spends a lot of time on a single Web site or discussion
groups that allows 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.
And 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 Garrfinkle.
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 S 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.
About the author:
Robert W. Bly is a freelance copywriter and the
author of more than 50 books including The
Complete Mot's Guide to Direct Marketing (Alpha). His e-mail address is
rwbly@bly.com and his Web site address is www.bly.com.