Someone told me the other day that they had heard that e-books were dead – no one was buying them any more. Is this really true?
There are millions of e-books for sale online. There are also digital courses and physical products for sale. The information found in many e-books is often available for free on the Net, if someone wants to spend the time looking for, locating and verifying it.
Even so, some bloggers, information marketers and online biz owners have made quite a good living selling the electronic version of the traditional, physical book. You probably know this, and are considering writing an e-book yourself.
The problem is, you don’t know if e-books sell anymore.
Has their heyday come and gone, or are e-books still a viable online income source?
As an online marketer, you will most likely be creating an e-book that passes along information and knowledge that you have obtained. Even though these books are generally short in length, between 5,000 and 20,000 words, you’re going to have to devote some time and energy to the effort, and you don’t want that work wasted.
Simply put, you don’t want to create something no one will buy.
Don’t worry, people still buy e-books. They buy them from bloggers and online business owners they trust, admire and respect. As long as you develop a strong relationship with your audience first, and provide them lots of usable, free value, you will have a marketplace that will willingly pay you good money for more information that solves a big problem in their lives.
Notice I said solves a problem in their lives. Your e-book should offer the solution to a problem that you know your potential customers have.
So, instead of asking if people still buy e-books, ask “Why would someone buy an e-book from me?” In other words, give someone a reason to purchase information from you.
When you earn their trust first by improving their lives with your blog or website, you create interested prospects that will definitely be interested in paying for your knowledge or expertise.
Success here is all about understanding your market intimately. You must also know your potential customers inside and out. The topic you write about should be something you do extremely well, or can research exhaustively. You should make the delivery process painless and instant.
When someone decides to purchase an e-book from you, they are hungry for that information “right now”. Make sure your sales delivery process is smooth, safe and secure, and gets your information into their virtual hands instantly. Do all of these things, and you will have personal proof that e-books still sell extremely well.
Just ask Clickbank!
Stay tuned for more on digital product creation in my next post!
Barb
