How to Write And Sell E-Books
In terms of genius ideas to make money, I think there are good ideas, great ones…and e-books. I have to say the e-book is probably as old as the Internet itself. Way before the Kindle, Sony Reader, Nook…whatever else they’ve came out with – people have been downloading e-books. Every topic you can think of (and invent)…there’s been an e-book written about it.
If you search on Google, “make money online ideas” – there will be countless websites about writing e-books, selling them via affiliate marketing…and every tip and trick you can think of. What about doing the entire process yourself? Write the book, own the site, market…and profit!
Let’s take a look:
Diligent Research: Like I said before, you can write an e-book about anything…but developing one people are looking for, I would say, is your best bet. I’m going to hold your hand and walk you through this process. Pick your favorite keyword research tool, and let’s go exploring. In this example, I’ll be using Google’s Keyword Research Tool…start by searching, “how to.” This will give you a general idea of instructional materials being searched for. Check out the example: how to broil.
This phrase is searched nearly 50,000 x’s / month. What does this tell me? People want to know how to BROIL! It only gets better. More users are turning to the Internet for answers (not just information) – I’m not going to start whipping out stats to prove this…just trust me. Search queries are getting longer and being formed using question words, such as….drum roll please, “how.” Did I mention it gets better? Check it out.
There’s a reason why I used the example of “broiling.” You’ll see shortly. Some who can’t cook end up eating Broiled Everything, but that’s not the point.
Pick a GOOD Domain Name: There are some who will disagree with me on the next approach of picking a name for your site. My response is found in the following steps: If possible, find a name that includes your search phrase. Why I picked “how to broil?” Because this name is AVAILABLE! 
It may not be in about five minutes…however, best of luck to the non-loyal readers 
. Here’s my point: there’s no reason to make life harder than it is. Again, Google “how to broil.” There are only 863,000 competing websites for this phrase (one more after you start yours). This is a relatively low number to rank against – especially if you own a domain with the exact phrase. With a little related content, Google will automatically give your site preference. I’ve done it for phrases with millions of competing sites.
Start Writing: The length of the book really doesn’t matter. The goal is to establish yourself as an authority on the topic. Whether you want to write 12 pages or 112 pages is totally up to you. Keep in mind: you can charge more for a longer book. It all depends on the topic. Broiling isn’t rocket science so don’t write a novel…research some specific questions being asked about the topic. How to Broil Grilled Cheese? How to Broil Steak (if that’s even possible)? Go back to your trusty keyword tool. Instead of, “how to,” expand the search: “how to broil.” This will create an infinite amount of ideas. Just try it; people want to know how to broil everything. On a side note: this also creates an open market for new e-books and topic specific domain names.
Build an outline with all of these questions and answers in mind. This is basic High School English stuff. Build a dang outline so you stay focused. I might be crazy, but you should be able to get the book done in three days.
Day 1: Outline & Research.
Day 2: Writing.
Day 3: Revising.
If you’re not a great writer…it’s not hard to hire one for cheap. However, when hiring a content writer…keep in mind – you get what you pay for. I recommend several online freelance sites below.
Building The Site: Once you register your killer name, it’s equally important to have a good site. Good News. There are a variety of ways to accomplish this:
1.) You can create a simple site in the form of a sales letter. Such as Michael did with MonsterClicks.com.
2.) Create a blog – this will increase your chances of pulling in organic traffic. Either way, even if you use a blog, you can still set up a one page sales letter. Just start a blog on your Broiling Site, and link to the e-book.
Design: In the case of a blog, there are a couple of resources..
You could choose a free template: Google, “free wordpress templates.” I’m not giving you a choice between Word Press and other platforms.
Or, if you have the funds, turn to a Freelance portal such as, www.Elance.com, www.ScriptLance.com, www.ODesk.com and open a project for a custom design. (This is where you can hire a content writer like I mentioned above.)
Marketing Your Book: Now that you’ve done the work…you have to make money. That’s the point right? Again, there are many of resources to do this.
1.) Affiliate Marketing: ClickBank.com provides an excellent market place to sell e-books. They are the pioneers in this industry…and provide a simple turn key marketing solution.
2.) Market your site via Pay Per Click. When someone Google’s “how to broil,” and they see an Ad for www.HowToBroil.com…you’re already a step ahead because you own the keyword specific domain. (If you disagreed with my domain selection approach…I hope you’ve hung on this long.) Pay Per Click is a quick and easy way to get your product out the door. Google Adwords is an excellent place to start.
3.) Pure SEO. It will take longer to get sales…however, this marketing method is essentially free. I won’t give an SEO class right now, but, again, there are a number of ways to do this.
Offer Updates & Revisions: There’s nothing better than a Version 2 or Sequel from your favorite author. The same goes with e-books. When a user lands on your site, and they see an updated version is available it accomplishes a number of things:
1.) Adds credibility to your book. Coming out with “Even More Tips to Broiling,” shows you are here to stay and not just a “one hit wonder.” You can expect to be around longer than Robert Van Winkle, but this method really helps.
2.) The die-hards will come back to you. When a customer refers your e-book to a friend…the friend will hear about the book and tell the other friend there’s a new version available; which will result in two sales (assuming they don’t share it…there are laws to scare them into not doing this.)
Write Another Book: Since How To Broil sold so well…why stop now? Leverage the traffic from your existing site and write another book based on a similar topic. People love being referred to other topics of interest…especially if they have money invested in your first one – assuming they liked it. Using the advice from the side note I gave above; write a book on How To Broil Chicken. When you’re done with that one, expand the topic of broiling chicken. The point is, your options are limitless.
This is my standard answer when someone asks, is online traffic still growing?
Until every PRINT newspaper and PRINT magazine has either,
A.) Went solely online.
B.) Gone Bankrupt..
The internet will only continue to grow, it has not peeked. This is great news for you and your e-books.
Let me know how it goes.
Hi Michael,
After reading this post, I became inspired at the thought of creating my own product in the form of an ebook, which I previously had not created.
Based on your post I bought the available domain howtobroil.com and created an ebook on broiling. Thus far, I have placed it on Clickbank and started to build links to generate organic traffic.
I have not yet made any sales, but I am inching closer to the top of the search engines for the term “how to broil”. On Google, the term rose 3 pages, while Yahoo also saw a significant jump. Bing is the slow mover and has yet to show up in their results.
I’m currently looking at other ways to advertise the product (such as Amazon), but hope that some of the super affiliates can pick up on it and make some sales.
In short, I’d like to thank you for giving me the idea in creating my first information product online.
Please continue with your great posts, as I find that you provide worthwhile information to your readers.
This is wonderful news!
The biggest thing you did was take action, most internet marketers are paralyzed by analysis and thus never actually get to part of building a site or listing it with an affiliate network like click bank.
Congratulations!
Michael