Welcome to Part Three of the Best Book Ever series!
In Part One of this four-part series, I demystified manuscript critiques and developmental editing, and in Part Two, I shared how to become a better writer.
And now, we’re diving into eBooks.
If you’ve ever written a traditional book, or if you’re working on one right now, you know that it can be a long process.
Not only does the writing and editing often take months—or even years—to complete, but the production process can also lengthen the time it takes to get your book into readers’ hands.
But you don’t have to wait all that time to reach your audience, share your message with them, and make sales. You can do it all right now with eBooks.
There are basically two types of eBooks: one type is a traditional book that’s been converted into electronic format (like Kindle books), and the other is a book that exists only in an electronic format that can be downloaded or sold online.
For purposes of this discussion, I’m going to focus on the latter—eBooks that are in the electronic-only format that you can sell directly through your website as a digital download.
Convenience and Popularity of eBooks
I probably don’t have to tell you that we’re living in the digital age. And for that reason, many people prefer digital content over other formats now. And that makes eBooks convenient for them. People can read an eBook anywhere on a mobile device or computer without lugging around print books.
Also, more and more people are Marie Kondo-ing their lives and reducing clutter. So anyone striving to live the minimalist life probably doesn’t want tons of books filling up their space. That makes eBooks perfect for them because they don’t take up any physical space.
Launch Faster, Make Money Now (And Save Money Too)
Most eBooks are shorter in length than traditional books, which means you can write one quickly and move it through the editing and formatting processes much faster. And the sooner you’re done, the sooner you can launch and start making sales.
So instead of waiting a year or more to launch a print book, you could launch an eBook in a matter of weeks.
Since you’re not going through the entire production process of getting a paper book printed and distributed, you’ll save money on printing, packaging and shipping costs, which means your path to profits just got a lot shorter.
And if you sell your eBook exclusively through your website, you’ll get to keep all of the profits without paying any third-party distributors. You’ll likely only pay standard processing fees to your payment processors like Stripe or PayPal when someone purchases and downloads your book.
And you aren’t the only one who gets to save money—your readers get to save money too, since eBooks are often lower priced than traditional books. For people who are looking for ways to save money but still want to read books, eBooks offer a great lower-cost option for them.
Low Commitment
While buying a print book may not seem like a big deal, for many people, it’s a significant commitment. The reality of print books is that they represent a commitment of time to wait for it to arrive by mail and then read it, and time is something a lot of folks feel like they don’t have.
But an eBook represents a lower commitment because it’s shorter in length, lower in cost, and immediate in delivery. And all of those factors lower readers’ inhibitions and make them more likely to buy.
And since instant gratification is important to a lot of online shoppers today, having the ability to get an eBook by instant download makes people more likely to buy because they can start reading immediately without waiting for shipping.
Grow Your List and Test Your Concepts
If you’ve already written a full-length book, you can take excerpts from the book and turn those selections into an eBook that you can use as a lead magnet to build your email list.
And once you have people on your email list, you can offer them the full-length book, bonuses, upsells, merchandise and future offers.
And if you’re planning to write a full-length book, you can write portions of it as an eBook to validate your ideas before you invest tons of time in writing the complete book.
Release the eBook to see if readers like it, and ask for reviews and feedback. Then, you can use that information to confirm whether you should move forward with your full-length book or use the data to rethink your concept.
Getting Started
You’re probably wondering how to write an eBook at this point. The great news is that it’s easier than you may think.
Remember: the idea is to write something relatively quickly so you can launch it and start making sales, so start by looking at what you already have. Do you have content that you can repurpose? You can start with your existing content, build on it, and flesh out your eBook.
Look at your blog posts, social media posts and email newsletters. You’ll be amazed by how much content there is that you can sort through and group together by topic. If you create video content, like YouTube or Facebook videos, get the videos transcribed using a service like Rev.com to convert the audio to text quickly.
For your first eBook, keep it short—aim for under 30 pages. And don’t make a fuss about formatting because you can find simple templates through Canva or Creative Market to take the guesswork out of that process.
And once you’re ready to launch, sell your awesome new eBook directly through your website so you can maximize your profits and grow your email list with each sale.
If you don’t have a website, be sure to read my Website Essentials series to learn the key components your website needs to showcase your brand and make sales.
Conclusion
So there you have it—a bunch of ways eBooks can grow your audience and start making sales right now, and how you can get started today.
If you’re ready to start writing eBooks but don’t want to take the journey alone, I’m here for you. Get in touch with me today so we can talk about how I can help you start cranking out some amazing content that your audience will love instantly (and pay you for it instantly, too).
by Jennifer Westbrook | JenWestWriting
