Chapter 10: Your Marketing Start-Up Guide
Developing a marketing plan is an essential part of your ebook's
success. You must develop and implement a strategic plan that
includes both short-term and long-term strategies in order to
succeed.
Short-term marketing strategies are those that bring you a
temporary boost in traffic. Although these techniques are very
important to your over-all plan, they are only a temporary traffic
source and must not be solely relied upon.
Short-term marketing strategies include:
Purchasing Advertising
Although there are many forms of advertising that may be
purchased on the Internet, the best form is ezine advertising.
Consider purchasing sponsor ads within a publication that targets
your specific audience.
Forums (Discussion Boards)
Participating in forums that target your potential customer is a
great way to share your expertise and make more sales. Although
blatant advertising is prohibited, most forums will allow you to
include your signature.
Search Engines
Listing your ebook's sales page with the top Search Engines and
Directories will provide you with some additional traffic. However,
ranking within the top twenty or thirty search results is very
difficult. You may want to consider paying for a higher ranking.
There are many Search Engines that will enable you to bid on
keywords and pay a specified amount for each visitor you receive.
The "grand daddy" of them all is Overture.com.
Long term marketing strategies are those that bring you a steady
stream of targeted traffic over time. These strategies will continue
to produce results even years down the road.
Long term marketing strategies include:
Opt-in List (Ezine)
An ezine, also known as an email magazine, online publication or
opt-in list is simply a newsletter available via email and/or online.
Having your own publication will enable you to build a list of
targeted potential customers.
Free Trial
A great way to increase your ebook sales is to create a trial
version of your ebook and freely distribute it. This will provide
your potential customers with a sample of your ebook and
encourage them to purchase the full version.
Articles
Writing articles is one of the most effective strategies you can use
to increase your ebook sales. Write articles that target your
potential customer and allow them to be freely published.
By creating and implementing a balanced marketing strategy,
using both short-term and long-term strategies, you will increase
your sales considerably.
To further increase your sales, list your ebook at various ebook
sites.
Listing your ebook with a number of ebook sites will increase your
sales considerably. Each site will pay you a specified percentage
for each sale. This payment is known as a royalty. The royalties
paid will vary at each site and will depend on your selling price
and format.
No matter which ebook sites you choose make sure that you
retain all of the rights to your ebook. This will enable you to sell
your ebook wherever you'd like and not be limited to just one site.
Here are a few ebook sites to get you started:
InfoPost
http://www.infopost.com
InfoPost will enable you to upload your ebook to their site, set
your selling price, and provide a description of your ebook. They
take care of the rest. They'll host and deliver your ebook and
process your payments. They pay 80% royalties and you can
withdraw your earnings in cash, use it for merchandise at their
sites, or even donate it to your favorite charity. You retain all
rights to your ebook.
BookLocker.com
http://www.booklocker.com
Booklocker provides you with a web page for you to refer your
customers. They handle all of the transactions and delivery. They
pay 70% royalties on ebooks priced at $8.95 and higher and 50%
royalties on ebooks priced lower than $8.95. You retain all the
rights to your ebook. In addition, they offer of great print on
demand option. They'll print your ebooks one at a time, accept
payment and ship your book directly to your customer (usually
within 48 hours). They pay 35% royalties on POD orders.
1st Books Library
http://www.1stbooks.com
1st Books Library is an online publishing company that will turn
your manuscript into an ebook formatted in PDF and a number of
other formats. You retain all rights to your book. They provide
your book with worldwide distribution and make it available in
more than 25,000 bookstores such as Barnes & Noble and
Amazon.com. They pay 100% royalties for ebooks up to the first
$300 in sales and 40% thereafter. They pay 30% royalties for
paperback and hardcover versions.
Take your time and plan your marketing strategy carefully. Track
your response rates for each strategy and concentrate your efforts
on the strategies that work the best for you. If you've developed a
quality ebook and have followed the steps outlined within this
series, you'll be well on your way to self-publishing your way to
Internet success.
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