Become an Infopreneur With Ebooks

Become an Infopreneur With Ebooks
By Monique Rider

What is an Ebook

An ebook is an electronic digital product designed to be read online or through a hand held device. Some people print them but due to technical reasons or size sometimes they do not print well. Ebooks are a quick, easy way to get your information out to the public. It is a publishing method that allows you to be in control of your product.

Creating Ebook Content

When creating content make sure you identify your audience. Who are you trying to reach with your information? Once you've done that use your own experiences to create the content for your ebook. What do you do well? What topic excites you? Choose a topic that you know well or one that you enjoy enough to research.

When you are clear about your topic create an outline or a top ten list of the things you want your readers to learn. Remember that you are creating this product for the end user - not for yourself. So clearly outline the objectives in order to stay on track with your writing.

Many people enjoy learning 'how to' information or a step by step method. Take your readers through a process of how to do something or how to achieve something. Add in a personal testimonial if that is appropriate or a case study.

It is usually helpful to list resources within the ebook so that readers can access additional information if they choose. Just make sure the resource web links are active once they are posted in your ebook.

Formatting Your Ebook

There are different philosophies about the type and size of font to use when writing online material. Some widely acceptable fonts are Times New Roman, Veranda and Arial. Usually a size of 10 or 12 point is appropriate for an ebook.

Look at the format of a hard cover book. You can easily mimic this format by creating a table of contents, introduction, author bio, index and numbered pages.

You can also look at other ebooks to see how they are laid out. You will see a large variety of styles. This clearly shows that you are free to take creative license with your ebook. So don't be afraid to let your personal style come to life.

Since ebooks are designed to be read online use a lot of white space. This means keep your paragraphs short and allow several spaces between them. The length of your ebook will vary. Ebooklettes can be very short, as short as twenty pages or less. Or you may have an ebook that is sixty pages or more in length.

The most widely recognized format for an ebook is Adobe PDF. This is recognized by both PC and Macintosh systems. The Adobe program is expensive but may be well worth the investment. You may also turn your ebook into an Executable file. This is cheaper but is not easily recognized on many computer systems.

Ebook Title and Cover Design

The trick to drawing attention to your ebook is a snappy title. Your title should convey what your readers will gain from reading the book. So think about the objectives or what you want them to walk away with after finishing the ebook.

Be sure to create a unique front and back cover design for your ebook. If you are creative and have the technical knowledge you can do this yourself. There are various design programs available to aid you.

Another option is to have someone do the design work for you. If you are hiring this task out to a designer be sure to check their references, look at their portfolio and ask specific questions about their copyright policies.

Editing Your Ebook

It is very important to have your material edited. Initially, this can be done by you but eventually it should be passed on to a second set of eyes. You can have your material edited by an experienced editor or you can use other options.

Your ebook can be edited by those in your writer's group, family, or groups of people interested in your topic. You can create a focus group to look over your material and offer suggestions about it. The important thing is that you pass it on to others for feedback before releasing it to the public.

You should have your ebook edited for both content and technical aspects. Content editing involves making sure the sentences make sense and flow properly. Technical editing means that grammar, spelling and punctuation are evaluated.

Do not overlook this step in the creation of your ebook. Remember you are trying to establish yourself as an expert on this topic. The smallest spelling or content error can cause readers to question your credibility.

Gathering Ebook Testimonials

Prior to releasing your ebook to the public, send it out to friends, clients, or your writer's group ahead of time. Ask for feedback that can be used as testimonials within the book or in your promotional material. You can also barter for this type of feedback by offering a free copy of the ebook, or by mentioning their name in the acknowledgement section of the book. Testimonials lend credibility to your product.

Distributing Your Ebook

Once your product is finished you need to decide how you will make it available to the public. You have several options. If you are expecting very little demand for your product then it may be possible to send the file via email to the buyer and have the buyer pay you by check through regular mail.

However, large files do not transfer well through email. Also, it means that you must make the time to do this for each request and deal with waiting for payment to arrive. So it is not the optimal choice.

Another option is to partner with online distribution companies who do the promotion and distribution for you. This method is more efficient but these companies also expect to be paid a percentage of sales.

To be in complete control of your product you can create your own online store and promote and distribute the product yourself. You will need a web site and an online payment method. Paypal is commonly used for accepting online payments. Their web link is included in the resource section of this ebook. It is fairly simple to set up your online store but you may decide to hire this out to someone else.

The down side to using Paypal to send out digital goods is that the link to your product is not secure and can be easily sent on to someone else. So your digital product can be passed on to others for free. To be sure this does not happen integrate Payloadz into your Paypal html code.

Payloadz allows you to have a free account for your digital goods. One of their best features is a secure link that goes to buyers. It cannot be passed on to others and therefore your product is protected. The link to Payloadz is also included in the resource section of this ebook.

Promoting Your Business with Ebooks

One you have written an ebook you become the expert on that topic. You can use that to your advantage. Promotion activities should fall in line with the marketing plan for your business. For example, structure the ebook promotion activities around other business promotions that you are doing.

Use the ebook as an excuse to distribute online announcements or press releases. There are many free web sites that allow the posting of these press releases. You can also send out announcements to your email contacts or post the information on your web site.

An ebook can be offered as a free giveaway or a promotion for contests. This is fun to do at local events, workshops or presentations. An easy way to do this is to download it to a CD and offer it to your guests. Your ebook can also be offered to clients as an informational tool.

Whenever you promote your ebook be sure to promote your business at the same time. Your business name and contact information should always be on the ebook as well as your biographical information.

Using Ebooks for Additional Income

Your ebook will take time and patience to create. Get as much mileage out of it as possible by creating other products from it. You can divide up your ebook and create a series of articles or reports from it. Or you can use that same topic and expand on it to create a series of ebooks.

If your ebook is short consider creating an ecourse out of it. An ecourse is a series of five to seven emails that go out automatically to subscribers. Each email gives a bit more education about your topic.

Use the topic of your ebook to do a local workshop or a virtual teleclass. And by recording either of these presentations, you then end up with an audio product. You can sell your audio material and your ebook together as a package.

Another option is to sell your written material to a print magazine. Many times magazines will offer an attractive fee for permission to print your material. You can even negotiate to retain the copyright.

One other option is to reformat your material for printing and have it bound into a hard copy book. If you choose this option remember to increase the price so that you will be reimbursed for your expenses. There are numerous ways to create additional income from your ebook. All it takes is a little creativity.

Monique has over 15 years of business experience in areas such as healthcare, corporate training, teaching, management, and IT project management. She has been a certified personal trainer for fourteen years, an executive and business coach for seven years, and has vast experience in the areas of wellness, fitness and nutrition, life coaching services, transition coaching and other professional services.

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