Archive for October, 2007

7 Strategies for Finding Best-Seller Ebook Ideas

One of the biggest difficulties facing people who are getting
into the ebook business for the first time is finding the right
subject ideas for their ebooks.

It’s important that there’s a market for the book. It’s also
important that you stick to the things you know, the things that interest you or the things you would enjoy researching.

Here are 7 strategies you can use for finding that perfect
subject. Try them out…

1.) THINK ABOUT THE THINGS YOU KNOW

One piece of knowledge or one experience is all you may need to create a top-selling ebook.

For example, we’ve all had negative experiences during the
course of our lives (ripped off in a scam, serious illness,
death of a loved one, addiction, backache, etc). Perhaps you
can show others how they can prepare for - or cope with -
a negative experience that you’ve already been through.

Do you know a great way to lose weight? Do you know a way to get through the working week without suffering from stress? Do you know a way of saving $200 on taxes? Do you know how to wallpaper a bedroom? Have you recently bought a house and learned an important lesson that can benefit others?

Imagine the title "Buying a home? This one tip will save you
over two thousand dollars!". If I were buying a home, I would
spend $20 or $30 no problem to find out what that tip is.

There’s an infinite amount of simple ideas you can turn into
great products. You just need to identify them.

2.) TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR HOBBIES AND INTERESTS

You probably have ten potential books inside you just based on
the things you enjoy in life - cars, sport, cooking, gardening,
beer, Spielberg movies, jazz music, pets, computers,…

The fact that you’ll be writing about something you enjoy will
make researching, writing and promoting your book much easier
(and much more satisfying than tackling a subject that you know well, but don’t enjoy).

3.) RESEARCH SPECIAL OFFERS OR SERVICES

People are always looking for ways to save money or save time.

Provide information that will help them save money on their
insurance, their mortgage, their vacation, their shopping, and
so on. Do you know some great research techniques for quickly
finding information on the Internet? Provide people with
information that will save them time with their work, their
surfing, their housework, and so on.

If you know a computer company that’s offering quality PC parts at bargain prices then that could be the basis for a valuable ebook.

Okay, you’re effectively giving great advertising to those that
offer the product or service, but at the same time if you’re
making $10 on every sale and your customers is getting the
information you’ve promised, then everyone’s a winner.

The Internet is a great place to research just about anything
and, as long as you’re giving people something of value, you can find the basis for a great ebook online.

=====SIDEBAR======
This idea can also be used to make free ebooks. Imagine you are selling an ebook related to dogs. You could put together a
simple ebook that catalogs dog-related books that sell online.
Tie the idea in with a few affiliate programs (like Amazon.com)
and you can earn a little extra income as well as get free
publicity for your site.
=====SIDEBAR======

4.) ASK YOURSELF WHAT INFORMATION PEOPLE WANT

The fact of the matter is, there are tens of thousands of books
waiting to be written. Every minute of every day people search
for information they can’t find. Think about those things you’ve
searched for and had difficulty finding. Locate a gap in the
market and fill it.

Identifying peoples wants, needs, goals and desires, and then
responding to them, is a sure route to success.

A great place to start is online newsgroups, forums and so on.
Visit forums on topics that interest you and see what people are talking about. What are the common questions? Identify the common problems experience by people interested in the topic.

Leave very specific questions like "What’s the hardest thing
about…?", "What would you most like…?". Solve the common
problems these people encounter.

Follow these links to find forums, newsgroups and discussion
lists on a vast range of topics:

-Topica: http://www.topica.com/
-Google Groups: http://groups.google.com/
-Delphi: http://www.delphiforums.com/

Another way to find out what people are interested in, is by
finding out what they’re searching for on the internet. Follow
these links to see what surfers are looking for:

-Search.com Top 100 Searches: http://www.search.com op
-AskJeeves: http://sp.ask.com/docs/about/jeevesiq.html
-Overture Suggestion - see how many people have used Overture search in the past month for the keywords you enter:
http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

5.) BRAINSTORM

Brainstorming is about getting a group of people together to
share ideas. This technique works best when all rational
judgement is suspended. Nothing should be ruled out, every idea
and contribution should be welcomed. Even ideas that, at first,
might appear useless may lead to other ideas or further trains
of thought.

The more thoughts that are introduced the better the
brainstorming will work and the better the chances of coming up
with really good ideas. Do this with family or friends and you
may find yourself wondering which book to start first.

Also, ask family and friends to tell you the things that
interest them. Is there a particular problem that they would
like to see solved. Could you solve it?

Often this questioning will provoke joking responses like "a big
house, loads of money and a flashy car". Don’t disregard
flippant responses like these. They can tell you a lot about
people hopes, dreams and aspirations.

If you can tap into people’s dreams and make a product that will
help them (even in a small way) to realize those dreams, you’re
on to a winner.

6.) LOOK AT THE BESTSELLERS LISTS FOR ‘REAL’ BOOKS

Go to your local bookstore and browse the non-fiction sections.
Take special note of which books are displayed most prominently
(especially in the "how to" and "self-help" sections).

This will tell you a lot about what people are interested in.
You can also explore the bestsellers on the Internet at these
websites:
-Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/
-Barnes & Noble: http://www.bn.com/

Try taking a look at the headlines in glossy magazines. Those
guys know how to push all the right buttons to get people to buy.

You’ll probably find ten things you could research and write
about just by browsing through magazines that interest you
(health, beauty, fitness, money, sport etc). The most inticing
lines are always written on the front cover.

7.) MAKE A DIFFERENT VERSION OF AN EXISTING PRODUCT

There are some areas of knowledge that are already well covered
by numerous authors (real-estate, for example).

Perhaps, however, you can identify a specific aspect of a given
subject that hasn’t been covered (real estate in a particular
state or region, real estate aimed at a particular type of buyer,
and so on). No matter how specialized, the marketing power of
the internet can be used to reach almost any niche market.

And there you have it! Seven ways to go about finding the
perfect ideas for your next ebook.

Have fun!

About the Author

Michael Hopkins is owner of BizzyDays Ebook Publications.
Visit now to download original ebooks for FREE at:
http://www.bizzydays.com
This article first appeared in Michael’s newsletter ‘Ebook Times’.
To subscribe visit: http://www.bizzydays.com/free_newsletter.htm

Electronic Publishing Explained

An eBook is basically a document in the form of web pages that are put together, using special software, which is released in the form of a file that can be downloaded onto your computer’s hard drive. Many people may think it is no different than a web site, but there are important differences.

You may happen upon a site that is offering a free eBook download you are interested in. When you actually download the eBook you are downloading an ".exe" file, which is the most common format. Some eBooks are also offered in PDF format as well. When you double click on this file it then opens the main page, which is in HTML, web page format. There may be many pages included in the eBook but you cannot access them unless you open the eBook itself. When you download the ".exe" file that is all you see until you activate it by clicking on it. From the main page the author gives you access to what they want you to have access to.

One important feature of an eBook is that you can choose to not allow printing or copying. This may be very important to you if you have material that you want to protect. You may have written a book on "How To make A Waterfall Mirror" and give the reader snippets of the book in your eBook, but you don’t want them to be able to print or copy any of the material. Not that the material is completely safe, after all there are people out there that are going to copy or steal your work if they get a chance, no matter what steps you take, but it gives the reader the idea that the information is valuable to you.

On a web site, to get the some of the same protection, you would have to include directory or page protection on your site and have the visitor register for a password, which many will not. Then even if they do register, they may loose their password or not come back at all. If you don’t know much about CGI scripts or how to set password protection through your server’s control panel then this becomes difficult, unless you can afford to hire someone to do it for you. Even with that once the visitor is into your site, using a password, they can still copy as much of the material they want. With the eBook, once you set the "No Copying" and "No Printing" option, the reader would have to actually copy the material by typing it out him or herself. This offers more protection for your material. One of the challenges of a web site is keeping the visitor on it as long as possible so that they find something that they are actually interested in. Even if you have material that the visitor is genuinely interested in, many things can happen that may cause you to loose that visitor forever. The power may go out while they are on your site, they forget to bookmark your site, they may get distracted and shut the computer off, etc. With the eBook, once downloaded, the information is on the reader’s computer until they decide to delete it. I’ve come across eBooks and files that I have downloaded months before and forgotten about but have stumbled across on my hard drive while searching for something else.

You can even set the eBook to include an icon on the reader’s desktop to remind them to read your eBook. If the reader sees your icon each time their desktop loads you may get a few more visits, maybe even a sale or two.

You can include links back to your site, or any other site in the eBook to direct the reader to more information or to a sales page. Keeping with the same idea above you may want to have a page on other woodworking or fountain books for example that goes to Amazon.com or to other sites. You may have affiliate programs that you are associated with that you can earn commissions from any sales resulting from people clicking through from your eBook.

You can have your readers personalize it themselves. People get excited when they see their name on something. Most eBook software allows you to setup the eBook so that people can actually put their own personal information in the eBook, and give it away themselves on their web site. This is called "Regrinding". If you see a free eBook download and it states that you can "Rebrand" it, that is what it means, you can personalize it. You can even run your own affiliate program and have others personalize the eBook and have the opportunity to earn some money. That’s a great incentive for people to advertise your products or services.

We will have more information on how you can develop your own eBook, distribute it, run your own affiliate program and have others selling your products and services in later articles.

In conclusion eBooks maybe seen by some as just glorified web sites but in fact with the option of protecting your material, the ability to allow others to personalize it, and the chance that viewers will add it to their desktop and view it at a later date, eBooks give you much more flexibility in your online business marketing efforts.

Read more articles by this author, about this and other subjects, here.

About The Author

Bob Power has been an Internet entrepreneur for longer than he would like to remember. He is currently on a voyage of learning, thanks to his readers, who have asked him to answer questions about topics they want more information on. You can see some of the surprising, and at times exciting results, and variety of topics and paths this has taken him on, or to contact Bob Power please click here.

These articles may be reproduced exactly as shown above. No revisions or changes are permitted.

20 Totally Easy Ways Increase Your Traffic With eBooks

1. People love to get free stuff. A free eBook is perfect. They will visit your web site to get the free valuable information.

2. Give away the full version of your eBook in exchange for testimonials. You can use these customer statements to improve your ads’ effectiveness.

3. When you write and give away a free eBook you will become known as an expert. This will gain people’s trust and they will buy your main product or service quicker.

4. Publish your web site in eBook format. Put the eBook on a disk or CD-ROM then include it with your direct mail packages. This can increase the number of people that buy your product or service.

5. Offer your eBook as a free bonus for buying one of your main products or services. People will buy the product or service more often when you offer a free bonus.

6. Allow people to download your eBook for free, if they give the e-mail addresses of 3 to 5 friends or associates that would be interested in your eBook. This will quickly build your e-mail list.

7. Create a directory of web sites in eBook form. List peoples web sites in the directory that will agree to advertise the eBook on their web site or e-zine. This will give them an incentive to give away or advertise your eBook.

8. Allow other people to give away your free eBook. This will increase the number of people that will see your ad in the eBook. You could also include a mini catalog of all your product or services that you offer in the eBook.

9. Gain new leads by having people sign up and give you their contact information before they can download your eBook. This is a very effective way to conduct market research.

10. Make money selling advertising space in your eBook. You could charge for full page color ads, classified ads or banners ads. You could also trade advertising space in your eBook for other forms of advertising.

11. Give away the eBook as a gift to your current customers as a way of letting them know you appreciate their business. Place an ad in the eBook for a new back end product you’re offering

12. Get free advertising by submitting your eBook to freebie and freeware/shareware web sites. This will increase the number of people that will down-load your eBook and see your ad.

13. Make money by selling the reprint rights to those that would like to sell the eBook. You could also make even more money by selling the master rights. This would allow other people to sell the reprint rights.

14. Hold a contest on your web site so people can win your eBook. You’ll get free advertising by submitting your contest ad to free contest or sweepstakes directories.

15. You will gain valuable referrals from people telling others about your eBook. Word of mouth advertising can be very effective.

16. Make money cross promoting your eBook with other people’s products or services. This technique will double your marketing effort with-out spending more time and money on your part.

17. Increase your e-zine subscribers by giving away your eBook to people that subscribe to your e-zine. This will give people an incentive to subscribe. Allow your e-zine subscribers to also give it away to multiply your subscribers.

18. Give away the eBook to people that join your affiliate program. This will increase the number of people that sign-up. You could also create an eBook for them to use that will help them promote
your product or service.

19. Give away the eBook in exchange for people leaving their contact information. This will help you follow-up with the prospects who buy your main product or service.

20. Offer a free eBook that contains a couple of sample chapters. If they like it, give them the option of ordering the full version. It would work just like a software demo or shareware.

About the author:

Lisa M Cope - Creator of http://Find-1.com an online directory of information, products and services and http://flipidy.com a premier source for online business information. Contact Lisa@flipidy.com

Make Your Own Ebook… It’s Fast, Easy, And Free

Yes, there is a way to create your own pdf ebooks for free, and it is a lot easier than you might immagine. In fact, it is so simple that I am going to explain the whole process, right now in this small article. You ready? Good, cause here we go…

Open up the content you want turned into a pdf file, or just copy and paste your content into Microsoft Word. If you don?t have Word, you can use a plain text editor such as Wordpad or Notepad.

Open up an e-book that you have that was written by someone you know and trust. Using this as a general reference, resize the font of your heading. Then go on to do the same with the body of your content.

Now change the font of any links you might have to "underlined" and "blue", this way people will know they are links and will click on them. I will explain this in just a minute.

Next, you need to click "file" then "print preview". Take a look at what your pages look like. Your e-book will be created using a free printer driver, so the ?print preview? is what your e-book will actually look like.

At the bottom of every page, you are going to want to put a small, one-line note… ie:

? 2005 Your Name Here www.yoursitehere.com

Also, make sure you have the link to your site blue and underlined too. This will help plaster your name and website all over the Internet, and as I will explain, will allow those interested to just click their way to it.

Now you will need a free piece of software called pdf995. Get it at www.pdf995.com. While you are there, also download the free converter, pdfedit995 and signature995.

Open the pdf995 file you just saved, and it will guide you through the installation process. If your system requires, you might need to open the pdf 995 converter first. Either way, when it is installed, you will be sent to a welcome page that says "setup has successfully installed the pdf995 printer on your system".

Open up your content, if you don’t have it open already, and click "file" then "print preview again. When you are sure everything looks good, click "print", then select "pdf995" as the device to print with, and follow the instructions to save your new pdf document to your computer.

Now make a list of each link in your content, then go and open the pdfedit995 file you downloaded. You will need this to make your links active. Once you open this file, it will guide you through the installation process. When it is installed, you will be able to access it through your start bar, and then clicking on "programs" then "software995" then "pdfedit995".

When you have it opened, click the tab that says "links", and then enter the text that you want to turn into a link in the first box, and the actual url of the site you want it to link to in the second box, then click the box to the right that says "convert this text to a link". For example, if you want the words in your content that says "click here" to link to your website, you would enter "click here", without the quotation marks, in the first box, and then enter ?http://www.yoursite.com?, again without quotation marks in the second box. Then click the "convert" box to the right.

Do the same thing with each of your links, and when you are done, you can go ahead and close the software. Just a note to keep in mind… pdfedit995 will be making the changes to the last pdf file you created with pdf995, so make sure the one you are trying to set-up the links with is the last pdf file you created.

And that’s all there is to it! Now you can use Signature995 to make your pdf more secure. It?s just as easy to use as their other free products.

About the Author: Like this article? For more highly informative articles from Matthew Keith, join his free newsletter at: http://www.dogsnoop.com/newsletter.html

Source: www.isnare.com

Why eBooks Are The Most Overlooked Path To Online Prosperity

-By Jim Edwards and David Garfinkel
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The ebook revolution is here! The Internet now makes it
possible to come up with an idea, turn it into an ebook,
distribute it over the Internet, and start making money - all
in 30 days or less. In the offline world, 30 days wouldn’t
typically even be long enough to start getting rejection letters
back from publishers. We say this with confidence because
we have both gone from book idea to book sales in a matter of
weeks - not once, but many times. Between us, we have 10 ebooks currently selling on the Net. Several of our books have brought us five figures in income. Jim holds the record between us with one release that made an astounding $43,000 in 30 days.

Here are two discouraging myths you should be aware of:

Myth #1 - It takes a lot of money to promote an ebook.
Fact: It doesn’t. Despite what anyone says to the contrary,
online information publishing is still the fastest, cheapest
and easiest way for the "little" guy to earn a nice living
online with virtually no risk and very little money (less than
$100).

Myth #2: You have to be a writer to make money with ebooks.
Fact: You don’t have to be a "writer" in order to create a best
selling ebook - and it often helps if you’re not!

Maybe you’ve heard that ebooks don’t sell. That’s not entirely a
myth; in a way, that’s true. What sells in bookstores will
generally not sell well on the Internet. Although author
J.K. Rowling has sold more than 100 million copies of her "Harry
Potter" books worldwide, it’s unlikely she would do well selling
her stories in ebook form.

But ebooks sell like hotcakes when they contain PRACTICAL information in ready-to-use form. Not pages of pages of long, flowing prose like you find at Borders and Barnes and Noble. On the Net, people buy step-by-step, cut-to-the-chase information they can use to solve problems in their everyday lives.

eBooks on how to negotiate the best price on a car, how to sell
your home without paying a real estate agent, how to build muscle mass quickly, and other narrowly focused topics that solve a problem, are selling VERY well - at this very moment!

Why is this so? Because the main reason people are online in the first place is to find information - 9 times out of 10, according to a landmark survey.

So if you can interest people in extending their search past
looking for free information into purchasing an information-rich,
well-organized, ready-made SOLUTION to a pressing problem, you can sell ebooks… You can sell a LOT of them.

Jim has sold more than 5,000 ebooks in the last 10 months.
David’s publishers have asked him not to reveal how many ebooks he’s sold, but just type his first and last name into Google and you’ll find more than 20,000 Web pages where his name appears. The vast majority of those pages have something to do with one of his ebooks.

One more thing: It doesn’t need to take very long to write an
ebook. Why? Because many "book books" are like encyclopedias in prose form - they cover everything imaginable about the topic.

eBooks aren’t like that. They go right to the meat of what people need to know to solve a problem. They have information about everything necessary to solve a problem, but no "filler"
information that takes so long to write - and takes readers so
long to sift through.

Here are four mistakes ebook authors make that typically reduce or prevent sales:

1. They don’t write to a specific, target audience.
The biggest mistake most ebook authors make is they don’t clearly define, identify and visualize who they are selling their ebook to. On the Web, to be successful, you must write to a specific group of people who have specific interests. Make sure that you know exactly who is going to buy your ebook, and where you can find them online.

2. They don’t automate as many of their business activities as
possible. Selling ebooks, though it is highly profitable, is not
a business where you make hundreds of dollars per sale.

Automate everything you can - credit card processing, ebook
delivery, as much technical support as possible.

3. They don’t have a compelling title for their ebook.
Use words that convey the benefit of what’s in the ebook, as
well as words your audience is familiar with.

A bad title for an ebook: "Online Marketing for Newbies." A good
title for the same ebook: "97 Ways to Promote Your Website - No Experience Required."

4. They try to cover too much ground.
Many ebook authors convey a lot of information but don’t cover
anything in-depth. As a result, they never fully explain anything
in enough detail to provide any useful value to their readers.

As long as you are aware of these mistakes and put in a little
effort to avoid them, your chances of success are VERY high.

So, if you know a lot about something - or even if you don’t -
you can put together and market an ebook quickly, and make a lot of money quickly as well. The large traditional publishers may
never understand or agree with this, but that’s actually to your
benefit. It keeps the playing field level and offers you, the entr
epreneurial author, unlimited opportunities for many years to come.

About the author:
Jim Edwards and David Garfinkel are co-authors of "eBook Secrets
Exposed - How to Make Massive Amounts of Money in Record Time
With Your Own eBook (whether you wrote it or not!)," the
authoritative guide to publishing ebooks on the Internet.
Guerrilla Marketing author Jay Conrad Levinson says, "If there
was ever a ‘must read’ for this century, it is this book." For
more information, visit eBookSecretsExposed.com

Simple "Traffic Machine" brings Thousands of NEW visitors to
your website for weeks, even months… without spending a
dime on advertising! ==> http://www.turnwordsintotraffic.com

20 Ways To Increase Website Traffic and eBook Sales

Here’s a fast, easy list for you. Use it as checklist to see what you need to do to increase traffic. Or use it as a review list if you have already been working on improving your website traffic. It will help you find ways that you might have known or forgotten.

1. People love to receive free or win free stuff, whether they really need it or want it. A free eBook is perfect to satisfy those needs over the Internet. They will visit your website to get the free valuable information.

2. Give away the full version of your eBook in exchange for testimonials. You can use these customer statements to improve your ads’ effectiveness.

3. When you create an eBook, you change your image to "Expert." This will gain people’s trust and they will buy your main product or service quicker.

4. Publish your website in eBook format. Put the eBook on a disk or CD-ROM then include it with your direct mail packages. This can increase the number of people that buy your product or service.

5. Offer your eBook as a free bonus for buying one of your main products or services. People will buy the product or service more often when you offer a free bonus.

6. Allow people to download your free eBook, if they give the e-mail addresses of 3 to 5 friends or associates that would be interested in your eBook. This will quickly build your e-mail list.

7. Create a directory of websites in eBook form. List peoples websites in the directory that will agree to advertise the eBook on their website or e-zine (electronic newsletter). This will give them an incentive to give away or advertise your eBook.

8. Allow other people to give away your free eBook. This will increase the number of people that will see your ad in the eBook. You could also include a mini catalog of all your product or services that you offer in the eBook.

9. Gain new leads by having people sign up and give you their contact information before they can download your eBook. This is a very effective way to conduct market research.

10. Make money selling advertising space in your eBook. You could charge for full-page color ads, classified ads or banners ads. You could also trade advertising space in your eBook for other forms of advertising.

11. Give away the eBook as a gift to your current customers as a way of letting them know you appreciate their business. Place an ad in the eBook for a new back end product you are offering

12. Get free advertising by submitting your eBook to freebie and freeware/shareware websites. This will increase the number of people that will download your eBook and see your ad.

13. Make money by selling the reprint rights to those that would like to sell the eBook. You could also make even more money by selling the master rights. This would allow other people to sell the reprint rights.

14. Hold a contest on your website so people can win your eBook. You will get free advertising by submitting your contest ad to free contest or sweepstakes directories. Just make sure you publicize the winner’s information — they love the acknowledgment.

15. You will gain valuable referrals from people telling others about your eBook. Word of mouth advertising can be very effective.

16. Make money cross promoting your eBook with other people’s products or services. This technique doubles your marketing effort without spending more time and money on your part.

17. Increase your e-zine subscribers by giving away your eBook to people that subscribe to your e-zine. This will give people an incentive to subscribe. Allow your e-zine subscribers to also give it away to multiply your subscribers.

18. Give away the eBook to people that join your affiliate program. This will increase the number of people that subscribe. You could also create an eBook for them to use that will help them promote your product or service.

19. Give away the eBook in exchange for people leaving their contact information. This will help you follow-up with the prospects that buy your main product or service.

20. Offer a free eBook that contains a couple of sample chapters. If they like it, give them the option of ordering the full version. It would work just like a software demo or shareware.

You will want to print this list and keep it in your website improvement file if you aren’t quite ready. Or add it to your planning list.

~~~~~~
Catherine Franz, a Business Coach, specialized in writing,
marketing and product development. Newsletters and
additional articles: http://www.abundancecenter.com
blog: http://abundance.blogs.com

Source: www.isnare.com

6 Tips To Create Your Own Fortune With “How To” eBooks

It’s one of the biggest challenges to getting your
business started.

Finding products to sell online that you enjoy working
at and that attract an ongoing stream of "hungry"
buyers is THE most important success factor to doing
business - period!

For those of you that want to create their own infoproducts,
it’s even more important since you will be investing time,
energy and your emotions into your products.

Thousands of subscribers to my "Online Marketing Success
Secrets Revealed"
(http://www.infoproductcreator.com/ezine1.html) Newsletter,
experts and aspiring infoproduct creators struggle with the
same 6 questions…

Do these questions keep you awake at night?

1. What do I like doing enough that I would spend a few
weeks developing a product, and years marketing and
supporting them?

2. How do I know if ENOUGH people will purchase my product
to achieve my goals?

3. Will people pay for my knowledge - even if I’m not an
expert?

4. How do I test for demand BEFORE I spend weeks or months
developing my products?

5. Do I have to write a 150-page book to make money?

6. What topics sell - it seems like only "Making Money"
type products are selling.

Listen - you are NOT the first to wonder about these
questions.

In fact, your success depends on getting PAST these doubts
- so let’s take each one and work through them - OK?

1. DO I HAVE TO REALLY LOVE MY TOPIC?

Two answers to this question - you CAN develop a winning
product about a subject that you are not completely
passionate about.

Professional writers do it all the time.

Here’s the catch.

A great deal of your success marketing infoproducts online
will depend on MORE than just selling 1 product. It will
depend on…

a) Your ability to market additional products - yours and
others.
b) Your ability to create great publicity campaigns,
partnerships, follow up sales campaigns, loyalty with your
readers
c) Your ability to support and ADD-VALUE to your
prospective and
existing customers
d) Your ability to gain MOMENTUM in your business by
tapping into your customer base and continuing to provide
them high-value, back-end products

Are you seeing it?

Yes, you can develop an article, book, booklet, eBook or
whatever infoproduct you favor about a topic you are less than
thrilled about - BUT…

You MUST be willing to live with that market for years to come!

For that reason alone, it’s worth finding a market and
subject that both interests you AND has great potential.

Here’s a real-world example.

Just over 1.5 years ago I developed my own eBook aimed at
empowering product developers with proven ways to tap into
a flood of market demand, test their ideas and quickly
generate products that sell like wildfire.

The original ebook - "The Ultimate Information
Entrepreneur’s Success Package" at:

http://www.infoproductcreator.com

took me 4 weeks to develop - start to finish.

Not bad.

It’s because I knew my topic so well that I was able to
produce a 110 page eBook and accompanying interviews within
weeks.

Since that time I have written well over 60 articles,
published a regular ezine, updated my product 3 times,
written several special reports, created hard-hitting
websites, press releases, ads and added hundreds of pages
of content to my websites.

All of that is not including more than 40 interviews, reviews,
publicity events and other projects I’ve been involved in -
ALL ON THE SAME TOPIC.

Add to that hundreds of hours of email and phone conversations
with joint venture and affiliate partners who sell my product
for me each and every week.

Now - all of this activity has put tens of thousands into my
hands, from this one single book, not to mention other products
I sell.

POINT IS: Marketing The Product YOu Create Will Mean Living With
Your Product Each and Every Day As You BUild Your Business. You
Can Make A Fortune, But It Takes Some Effort Each and Every Day.
You MUST Be Passionate Enough About Your Topic To Stay Motivated
and Focused - That’s the Secret To Building Your Own Infoproduct
Empire Online.

2. HOW DO YOU ESTIMATE DEMAND FOR YOUR INFOPRODUCT IDEA

Now we’re into the details that will skyrocket you into
the top 5% of infoproduct developers online - that will set you
aside from 95% of others who do NOT consider demand for their
topic.

Just for sake of argument - I’m going to use an example of a
hobby that some of you may have, model airplanes. You know,
those little scale airplanes that get so many hobbyists out
of bed at ungodly times of the morning - addicting to the smell
of Naptha gas.

Here’s a few ways you can can estimate demand for your
proposed market…

a) Use online tools to seek out demand. The three best
tools (and they are completely free) to use are:

- Overture keyword search tool:
http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

A search for model airplanes brings up some interesting
information -

- Over 55,000 searches on this topic in less than 1-month
(Not Bad!)
- Second most searched topic RELATED to model airplanes is
Model Airplane News - OK, so people want information.
- Several search categories include searches done on various
products, evidence that this market is willing to spend
money.

b) Now if you had a tool such as Adword Analyzer —

http://www.infoproductcreator.com/part/adwanalyze

Then you would see that the supply of websites that come up
when searching for model airplanes is quite small - relative
to other keyword searches.

In addition, with this incredible tool, you would see that
there are very few current Google Adwords or Overture.com
campaigns being purchased. What’s that mean?

It means that you can use one or both of these tools to generate
almost INSTANT high-quality traffic to your site for a fraction
of what most other high-demand keywords would cost.

All good signs that point to a strong market demand for your
hobby and area of product interest.

c)A third method you can use is to seek out what is already
selling. A great way to do that is to look at
http://www.amazon.com and http://www.zdnet.com top
movers op sellers in various market niches.

This will tell you ALLOT about what people are spending money
on right now!

3. WHAT WILL PEOPLE PAY ME FOR?

Now that you have picked a niche market and an area of focus, you
need to find out what people want BADLY within that niche.

Here are a few ways to find out…

a) Search google for "model airplane discussion forums". You are
looking for active and reasonably good quality forums to TAP INTO
ongoig discussions - this will offer you a goldmine of information
on what people are looking for.

In a 5-minute search, here’s what I found –

http://www.indiarc.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi

http://www.rcorlando.com/modules.php?name=Forums

http://www.flightlines.com/cgi-
bin/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro&BypassCookie=true

You will find TONS of active discussions that will lead to product
ideas, allowing you to tap into what this market wants.

b) Get involved in Chat’s - many of the sites above also run live
chat sessions periodically, another great way to find out pockets
of demand

c) Check offline - read RC Modeller magazines and books, find out
consistent topics, gaps in information or ideas that you could
expand into a different medium.

For example, a common topic is flying techniques or flight patterns.

Why not travel to your local model flying club and video tape
both flight paths and techniques used by flyers, converting them
into digital files and selling them on CD-ROM?

You get the idea.

d) Listen to your fellow model airplane buffs - find out what their
frustrations are, what their spending patterns are and what else
they are looking for, but can’t find.

4. TESTING FOR DEMAND

Here are 3 quick methods of testing for demand - BEFORE you spend
days, weeks or months on creating your infoproduct.

a) Surveys - using a free trial from http://www.surveymonkey.com
you can find out whether your target market seems as passionate
about your idea as you are. NOTE: Be sure to ask them IF and
HOW MUCH they would be willing to cough up to get answers to
their questions.

b) Special Report - Use this often overlooked technique to put
together a few pages (from 5-20 pages) that you can either give
away or sell for a low price to test the popularity of your
idea. You WILL need to market this report, so it will take
some time BUT, it’s a great way to setup your marketing channels
ahead of time, preparing them for your full product which comes
later.

The best resource I’ve come across on writing Income-Generating
Special Reports is "The Special Report Bible" - you will be
amazed at what you can put together in a matter of hours or
days.

ANOTHER IDEA is to run an interview or teleseminar on your
topic with a topic expert. Judge the popularity of the call
can mean you will roll out new products later.

An example of this strategy is Yanik Silver’s recent Public
Domain Riches teleseminar
(http://www.infoproductcreator.com/part/pdomain) which turned
out to be such a hit that he quickly put together a $1,000+
personal coaching course on the same topic.

c) Articles - Write articles on your topic directly addressing
the same desire you hope to fill with your full product. Submit
your article to the various article directories on Yahoo and
many others out there. Request a courtesy notification from
publishers who publish your article so that you get a feel for
how popular the article proves to be. Of course, you should
also have a link to either a website or autoresponder email
address at the end of your article. Clicks on your link
following the article will also give you a sense of how popular
the topic is.

What should you expect?

You don’t need to have HUGE numbers, a few publications and approx
a 1% clickthrough on any published articles tells you there is
enough response to continue - or at least do additional testing.

5. eBOOKS AND WHAT ELSE?

If you haven’t asked the question - WHAT ELSE and you are
considering writing a typical book or eBook then you may be
missing out on product opportunities that will both make
you more money AND take far less time to create.

Here are just a few formats that many successful infoproduct
developers use today…

- Audio files (telseminars, interviews, commentary)
- Special Reports (5-20 page treatments)
- Videos (It’s easier than you think)
- Software (Software applications or scripts can be developed
by starving professionals on Elance.com or Scriptlance.com
for far less than you might imagine.
- Physical booklets or courses/binders
- Bundled products

6. THE INTERNET MARKETING MARKET FALLACY

It has to be the biggest un-truth floating around the internet.

Contrary to what most people say, developing products targeted
only at the internet marketing crowd is NOT the only OR the
most lucrative market out there.

It IS the most competitive - so that’s why you tend to see
products everywhere, leading most people to believe those are
the only products selling.

In fact, there are products selling in many niches including…

- health and wellness
- hobbies (models, crafts, collectors, music, sports, etc…)
- relationships
- parenting
- career and business
- business opportunities (ie. home business)
- technology
- pets
- and many, many others

Each week I continue to be AMAZED at the incredible opportunities
out there in niche markets - our society is more information
hungry than ever.

Don’t make the common mistake of ignoring a market you are
interested in because you don’t THINK products will sell.
Instead, test and find out what products will sell
to a given market.

With those obstacles out of your way - NOTHING stands in the way
of you creating that lifestyle you’ve always wanted by creating
and marketing information products.

About the Author

Jeff Smith is the author of the top-selling "Ultimate Information Entrepreneur’s Success Package" helping thousands package their knowledge into profitable eBooks, special reports, ezines and audios. Visit his site here:
http://www.highertrustmarketing.com

20 Ways To Boost Your Traffic And Sales With eBooks

1. People love to get free stuff. A free eBook is
perfect. They will visit your web site to get the
free valuable information.

2. Give away the full version of your eBook in
exchange for testimonials. You can use these
customer statements to improve your ads’
effectiveness.

3. When you write and give away a free eBook
you will become known as an expert. This will
gain people’s trust and they will buy your main
product or service quicker.

4. Publish your web site in eBook format. Put the
eBook on a disk or CD-ROM then include it
with your direct mail packages. This can increase
the number of people that buy your product or
service.

5. Offer your eBook as a free bonus for buying
one of your main products or services. People
will buy the product or service more often when
you offer a free bonus.

6. Allow people to download your eBook for
free, if they give the e-mail addresses of 3 to 5
friends or associates that would be interested in
your eBook. This will quickly build your e-mail
list.

7. Create a directory of web sites in eBook form.
List peoples web sites in the directory that will
agree to advertise the eBook on their web site or
e-zine. This will give them an incentive to give
away or advertise your eBook.

8. Allow other people to give away your free
eBook. This will increase the number of people
that will see your ad in the eBook. You could
also include a mini catalog of all your product or
services that you offer in the eBook.

9. Gain new leads by having people sign up and
give you their contact information before they can
download your eBook. This is a very effective
way to conduct market research.

10. Make money selling advertising space in your
eBook. You could charge for full page color ads,
classified ads or banners ads. You could also
trade advertising space in your eBook for other
forms of advertising.

11. Give away the eBook as a gift to your current
customers as a way of letting them know you
appreciate their business. Place an ad in the eBook
for a new back end product you’re offering

12. Get free advertising by submitting your eBook
to freebie and freeware/shareware web sites. This
will increase the number of people that will down-
load your eBook and see your ad.

13. Make money by selling the reprint rights to
those that would like to sell the eBook. You could
also make even more money by selling the master
rights. This would allow other people to sell the
reprint rights.

14. Hold a contest on your web site so people
can win your eBook. You’ll get free advertising
by submitting your contest ad to free contest or
sweepstakes directories.

15. You will gain valuable referrals from people
telling others about your eBook. Word of mouth
advertising can be very effective.

16. Make money cross promoting your eBook
with other people’s products or services. This
technique will double your marketing effort with-
out spending more time and money on your part.

17. Increase your e-zine subscribers by giving
away your eBook to people that subscribe to
your e-zine. This will give people an incentive to
subscribe. Allow your e-zine subscribers to also
give it away to multiply your subscribers.

18. Give away the eBook to people that join your
affiliate program. This will increase the number of
people that sign-up. You could also create an
eBook for them to use that will help them promote
your product or service.

19. Give away the eBook in exchange for people
leaving their contact information. This will help you
follow-up with the prospects who buy your main
product or service.

20. Offer a free eBook that contains a couple
of sample chapters. If they like it, give them the
option of ordering the full version. It would work
just like a software demo or shareware.

If you don’t have an ebook of your own that you can
use for the techniques listed above then a great
resource for hundreds and hundreds of ebooks that you
can give away or sell can be found at:
http://69.44.170.93/free-to-sell-software-sales.htm

Chris Towland 2005

About the Author

Chris is the zookeeper at http://www.Elephant-On-Toast.com
A haven of no-cost and low-cost software and help for anyone
who runs (or wants to run) an online business.

How to Select a Graphic Designer for Your eBook Covers

10 Ways To Make Money With eBooks

Ask any internet marketing ?guru? and they will tell you the same thing:

?Sooner or later you will have to have your own product to sell.?

The fact is, the easiest product to make and sell is an ebook.

Even if all you do is sell affiliate products, at some point you?ll need to write your own ebook, such as ?How to Make Money as an Affiliate?.

However, the purpose of this article is not to show you how or why to write an ebook. If that is what you want then read Jim Edward?s ebook ?How to Write and Publish Your Own Ebook? in as Little as 7 Days?

The purpose of this article is to teach you how to make money once that ebook is written.

Here are 10 tips for making money with ebooks:

 

1. Allow newsletter publishers or web site owners in your niche market to print excerpts from your ebook with your byline included. Just be careful with this, you don?t want to give away so much information that customers don?t feel they need to buy your ebook.

    

2. Increase profits by selling monthly updates of your ebook, or the ?never released? chapters of your e-book.

    

3. Purchase reprint rights to other people’s ebooks and combine them with yours in a large package deal or as a bonus for buying your ebook.

    

4. Change the benefits on your ebook ad copy into links. When people click on the link it will take them right to the order page. It’ll give them an urge to buy your ebook.

    

5. Offer freebies that are related to the ebook your selling. It could be free monthly ebook updates, free newsletter, free consulting, free software etc.

    

6. Show your prospects a sample page out of your ebook. Just black out some of the important info. This will make your prospects curious to buy.

    

7. Offer the reprint rights to your ebook. You can sell the rights with the regular purchase price or as a separate higher price.

    

8. Make your ebook available in other mediums. For example, you could turn it into a video or audio ebook, etc. There is plenty of easy to use software out the market that can do this.

    

9. Redesign your ebook for specific niches. You can create multiple ebooks with very little work. For example, turn a business ebook into a craft business ebook. Or, turn a Job Interview Tips ebook into several ebooks geared to specific job markets.

    

10. Give your prospects discount coupons on other products when they purchase your ebook. Discounts could be for your products or others that you made deals with.

     

Remember, ebooks are a great way to start earning money online. However, once your ebook and web site are created, you still need to find ways to increase your sales.

Copyright 2004 Adam Waxler

Adam Waxler owns and operates The Money Teacher web site and publishes The Money Teacher?s Home Business Tips Newsletter teaching others how to reach online success. To get your free newsletter subscription send a blank email to: newsletter@money-teacher.com or visit our web site at http://www.money-teacher.com.

3 Special Text Effects for Web Headers and eBook Covers

10 Ways to Increase Your Traffic And Sales with eBooks

Wouldn?t it be great to boost your income?
Here are some quick tips to bring more visitors to
your website ? and increase sales opportunities.