All About Selling Your E-Book

[Tools 4 Webs: Webmaster & Internet Marketing Resources]

Home Webmasters Web Site Design Internet Marketing e-Books e-Book For Sale

Selling Your e-Book

Once your e-book has been written, compiled and published you will probably want to sell it!

The easiest and least energy-consuming way is to sell it on your web site. Since the e-book is already converted into an electronic form ('program') it can be easily downloaded via the internet, onto your customer's computer, at NO COST to you!

However, VERY FEW people 'surf the net' with the intention of buying! They are usually looking for something specific, especially information. Therefore, it is ESSENTIAL that you 'sell' your products effectively AND make it EASY for your visitors to become customers.

NOTE: You can get your own FREE SUMMARY REPORT on Writing, Compiling, Selling and Storing e-Books, by sending a blank e-mail to ebooksummary@tools4webs.com (or use the link).

On THIS PAGE you will learn about ...

Creating Interest In Your Product
Converting Visitors To Customers
Gaining Customer Loyalty

(How to market your products is discussed on the Internet Marketing page).

Click on a link and go straight to your section of interest, or simply scroll down the page.

Creating Interest In Your Product

Getting someone to visit your site is only part of the story ... You must then arouse interest in your products.

The following will help you to achieve this.

Think about your visitors ...

What type of people will they be?

- Business-orientated
- Technophiles
- Leisure seekers
- Specialists
- Generalists
- The 'General Public'

Each will have a DIFFERENT set of expectations, AND use different types (and levels) of language. IMPORTANT NOTE: You will NEVER PLEASE EVERYONE!

It is IMPORTANT that you decide WHO will be your target audience and then aim to attract these people to your site. (Find out the BEST way to construct and present your site on the Basics of Web Site Design & Construction page).

Most visitors who arrive at your site will have either done a search or used a link from another web site. They will expect to find what they are looking for! The correct choice of keywords and title is important to attract the type of people who will be interested in what you have to offer.

Think about Copy ...

Once you have attracted your target audience to your site, you need to present them with something which will really get them interested in your product. This is called 'copy' (and is actually the first step in converting visitors to customers ... more about that later!).

Most visitors will only be looking for information. Therefore, your copy will need to present your product in such a way that your visitor will see the benefits and become curious enough to find out more.

MAKE SURE that you address the basic question, 'What's in it for me?'!!

Show HOW your visitors can BENEFIT from your product e.g., how it will help them to improve their lifestyle, or save money or reduce stress ... etc. Show simple demos of your product onscreen, or pictures/diagrams if possible.

EXPLAIN the ADVANTAGES of your product. Make sure that any comparison to existing products is factual and constructive. NEVER launch an attack on competitor products. They have probably been around longer and built up a big enough 'client base' to stand-up to your challenge and win! IF the only way you can sell your product is to pull others down, it can't be that good. Your credibility will be lost before it's been established!

AVOID direct selling wherever possible. Lead your visitors to ask themselves, 'What will I be missing by not owning this product?' The skill is to lead them to the point of sale through your ad copy, without actually selling your product. By asking the right questions your visitors will come to the conclusion that they will 'miss-out' if they DON'T buy. In other words, they will sell it to themselves!

Writing this type of copy takes skill, practice, testing and revision. There are some excellent resources written by experts on the subject which will help you along the way. For example, the e-book 'Webvertising' by Terry Dean is a great start.

You may provide links within your copy which give your readers opportunity to buy. However, NEVER push the issue.

Make your copy INTERESTING! Use language which is appropriate and stimulates interest.

Here are some tips to help you to get started writing good copy:

- Ask yourself the question, 'What would I be looking for?'
- Highlight the problem and then offer a solution
- 'Invite' your visitor rather than 'lecturing/telling' them
- Talk 'to' your visitors, not 'at' them
- Use stories
- Use testimonials from people who already have/use your product
- Don't try to sell your visitors products, HELP them.
- Get visitors to ask themselves questions, then provide them with answers
- Develop confidence and trust (and make sure you can honour it!)

Converting Visitors to Customers

A visitor becomes a customer when they make a purchase.

Notice that we use the term, 'make a purchase' rather than 'decide to make a purchase'.

Why?

Because even when a visitor decides to make a purchase there are still barriers which can stop them from paying!

The following sections will help you to overcome these barriers:

Think about accepting credit cards online ...

DID YOU KNOW that you can lose more than 75% of your customers if they cannot use their credit card to buy at your site? Most people like the convenience, ease and security of buying by credit card. IF don't have the facility, you lose the sale, and your visitor remains 'a visitor'!

Several companies specialise in the needs of 'online' ('over the internet') businesses. The range and cost of the facilities offered varies greatly. WHO YOU choose depends upon the service you need and the products you sell.

If you sell products which must be shipped to your customer, you will need a Merchant Account before you can accept credit cards online. Merchant Accounts are beyond the scope of this site. However, you may find the following links helpful:

- Total Merchant Services (TMS)
- Web Developers Virtual Library (WDVL)
- Evolve Internet Design Solutions (EIDS)
- WorldPay

If you intend to sell products over the internet, a range of companies specialise in this type of business. Use the following links to find out more:

- PayPal
- Verotel
- iBill

If you sell EXCLUSIVELY DIGITAL ('electronic') information products which can be downloaded over the internet e.g., e-books, then CLICKBANK is a great option.

ClickBank accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and Eurocard, plus Visa-Debit, MasterCard-Debit, and Novus cards.

You only pay a 'one-off' set-up fee of $49.95. NO monthly charges. ClickBank charge 7.5% + $1.00 per sale. Find out more.

ClickBank's sophisticated tracking software allows you to either be part of someone else's, or set-up your own AFFILIATE scheme. Affiliates link to a seller via 'Hoplinks'. When a customer uses one of these Hoplinks from your site to another ClickBank merchant site and makes a purchase, you receive a sales commission of up to 50%. Visitors who sign-up as YOUR affiliates earn commission for selling your products, or referring new customers to your site. ClickBank handles the sale and the commission, and your cut is guaranteed i.e., no "lost" commissions. Find out more.

We offer you a FREE e-book download, called 'Working with ClickBank' which gives you all the information you need on how to set-up your links and pages, and set-up an account (a 'PDF' version will be available very soon).

Download your FREE copy ('.EXE') ClickBank e-Book HERE.

Alternatively, CLICK HERE to download the e-book in 'PDF' format (bundled in a ZIP file for which you will need Winzip™ (Click HERE to download your free copy of WinZip). Use the following link to download your FREE copy of Adobe® Acrobat® Reader® to read the book.

Think about offering bonuses ...

If your visitor receives a 'bonus' when they buy your product, the perceived value of the purchase is increased. BE CAREFUL that any bonus you offer is of value to your buyers and is something which will actually enhance the value of your product ... if you sell a car wash product which adds a protective coating to your car's paintwork, an e-book on 'How to help your car survive the winter roads' would add real value. A book on keeping tropical fish would not!

If you offer a 'free bonus' make sure that it is FREE! Do NOT have any hidden or extra costs. 'FREE' means 'at no cost' ... make sure it stays that way!

ALWAYS make sure that the VALUE of your bonus offer is REALISTIC and in keeping with the value of your product. If it is too big your visitor will become suspicious ... if it is too small they will not be attracted. Either way you lose the sale.

A simple bonus can be the item which converts 'visitor' to 'customer'.

Think about time limited offers ...

One way to stimulate a sale is to offer your product at a reduced price, or with a particular bonus for a LIMITED TIME. If your ad copy has worked, your visitor will NOT want to miss-out on buying at a reduced price!

However, how often have you visited sites whose 'one-off time limited offers' ALWAYS end at midnight on the day you visit! It's funny, the same limited time offer ends at midnight on the next day too! In other words, they are a con. If you try this type of 'hoax' your visitors will see through it and not visit you again. You will also lose any trust you have worked so hard to gain. It is NOT worth the loss for the sake of trying to gain a couple of extra sales.

So, BE HONEST ... tell your visitors UP-FRONT WHAT the offer is, WHEN it finishes, HOW MUCH they are saving and what the NEW PRICE will be; then stick to it! Everyone wins in the end, and you build trust for a long term relationship with your visitors and further sales in the future.

Think about selling other people's e-books ...

We are NOT all authors! For some of us, the thought of writing our own book fills us with horror or is a total turn-off.

AND YET, e-books represent such an excellent product to sell! So, why not sell e-books written by other authors, especially if they are well-known or leaders in their own field?

This IS POSSIBLE through a great service provided by Tom Hua at eBookWholesaler.net.

For a $27 monthly subscription, you receive e-books by TOP authors with a value of AT LEAST your subscription (usually, significantly greater) which you can sell on your site. You also get the sales pages and the opportunity to personalise the books with links to your own site and other favourites. This means that the books continue to work FOR YOU even after you have sold them. You can sell them on your site and KEEP ALL OF THE MONEY. The web site is also a real MINE of information and Tom is always a great help. Does this sound attractive? Why not find out more from eBookWholesaler.net?

Gaining Customer Loyalty

Loyalty arises when your customers know that they can trust both you and your products.

This takes TIME and EFFORT. There is no 'short-cut' to gaining loyalty; it is the fruit of sustained hard and careful work. And, once you've gained loyalty you must be VERY CAREFUL not to undo all the good work through careless marketing or unfounded claims.

THE KEY here is to BUILD RELATIONSHIPS with your visitors ...

Offer good, solid, well-researched information and advice.

Provide a contact address and telephone number, and help your visitors to 'get to know you' by including a photograph of yourself or a short biography. Once they know that they are dealing with real people and not just a 'faceless web site', confidence will grow (and so will your sales).

Offer e-mail links so that visitors can contact you if they need to ask questions. A well designed site that offers well-researched information will help to reduce these. If you DO get questions, take note of the subject (is there a 'gap' in the information you're offering?), summarise the questions and add appropriate answers and produce a page of 'Frequently Asked Questions' (FAQs). These will answer a lot of subsequent enquiries and also help to build the perception of a well-used site and a 'caring' business.

Consider AUTOMATING your site...

An autoresponder is software which automatically replies to an incoming e-mail. So, the problem of having to respond to every e-mail instantly is solved.

By directing e-mails with a particular addresses to individual autoresponders you can set-up specific replies to enquiries etc. You can also use them to let your customers know that their e-mail has been received and that you will reply soon. This gives you real credibility and shows commitment to your customers.

Autoresponders 'free-up' your time so that you can focus on answering the important e-mails/enquiries, and invest the necessary time and effort in improving your services and developing your business.

They can be used to provide summary reports (such as the ones available on this web site) ... INSTANTLY! The fact that you've taken the time to provide these reports for your customers demonstrates commitment to their needs. Also, remember that the people who download your free reports are those who are interested in your subject and therefore, those with whom you stand a better chance of developing a long term relationship. This is valuable to both your business and customer confidence.

You can discover more on how to use AutoResponders in the e-book AutoResponder Secret Courses, written by Teresa King & Patty Baldwin.

Host4Profit is a great web hosting company providing unlimited autoresponders (plus loads of other extras such as shopping cart, unlimited POP mail accounts and e-mail aliases ... plus more!) as part of their STANDARD package. You get 300MB of web space for just $24.95 a month, but you have the opportunity to EARN $10 COMMISSION per month for EACH new customer you refer to Host4Profit who opens an account. That means you only need to refer 3 paying customers and you make a profit each month of $5.05 i.e., Your monthly rental becomes FREE and YOU make money! You also gain access to Internet Warriors, probably one of the MOST sought after marketing groups on the Internet today. Their site is PACKED with HIGH VALUE, in-demand web marketing resources. Why not find out more?

FINALLY, ALWAYS be prepared to invest extra time and effort EARLY in the development and running of your site ... it will pay dividends later.

Remember to get your own FREE SUMMARY REPORT on Writing, Compiling, Selling and Storing e-Books, by sending a blank e-mail to ebooksummary@tools4webs.com (or simply use the link).

SPECIAL OFFER! ... Don't forget that we offer a range of e-Books written by experts on a range of different subjects. We are pleased to offer you a FREE BONUS package (worth more than $134) with EVERY order from our range of e-Books, each written by experts in their field. CLICK HERE to find out more!

Compiling & Publishing Your e-Book Arranging & Storing Your e-Books

Writing Your e-Book

Top of Page

Home Webmasters Web Site Design Internet Marketing e-Books e-Book For Sale

Site Map Contact Us Your Feedback

Privacy Terms & Conditions About Us

PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHT LAW.

Part of the Waywood group

Page Last Revised: 23 Nov 2007 21:56:39 -0000

Web site designed and constructed by Stuart