You no longer have to wait for some big publishing company to tell you that your stuff is worth the marketing investment. E-Books have exploded within the past year; subjects range from fiction to how to non-fiction — there’s a book for every niche. But first, um.. what is an eBook? An eBook is pretty much an electronic version of a physical book that can be accessed through apps or web browsers online.
When you write a book, it makes your audience believe that you know your stuff. It shows your readers that you’ve experienced what you’re talking about, come out of it with a positive outcome, and now have tips to share with others; this boosts your overall expertise as a thought leader within your industry. Given the endless amounts of topics you could write on, you’re bound to make sales if the content you create fulfills your audience’s needs or desires. Need a hint on what those needs are? Check bestseller lists in your niche or industry to figure out what it is that your audience is willing to shell out money for.
In addition to the upgrade of your authority, eBooks offer a convenient path to your content for your audience. Most content these days are consumed via the internet. And if your target audience loves the convenience of an eBook, they’ll love your brand even more.
1. Decide on your topic
Before you just decide that you want your book to be a memoir all about you, let’s think about who’s going to be reading this thing first. When it comes to choosing a topic it is important to think about your audience first. Don’t get hung up on the word “audience”. If you don’t have a blog, YouTube channel, or popping Instagram page, your audience is simply the people who resonate with your content and can benefit from what you produce. But if you are a blogger, influencer, etc, you can check your own stats for what pieces of content people are most engaged in on your site. Speaking of already produced content, did you know some bloggers create a compilation of posts and use it to create their eBooks? With some editing and added details, a book can be easily produced. Now I didn’t say make a “the best of my blog posts” book, but you can defintely come up with a way your blog posts can be put together in developental chapters towards a certain subject that could help someone. You could also conduct a survey for more insight on what your audience needs. Decoding the myth: you don’t need to be a stellar genius to write a book. You need experiences, wisdom, and a passion to share.
In order to do this, you definitely need to write about something you know about. You want to write confidently so that your audience can believe that you’re a credible source
You’ll also need to come up with a catchy title, but that can be done before or after you’ve written the book. You can choose it before to set the tone for what you’ll write, or after you’ve written the book and can come up with a title cohesive to the content. Whatever the title will be, make it seem enticing to your audience. So enticing they feel as if they’re missing out on a life-changing compilation of words if they don’t purchase it.
Lastly, you’ll also need to establish a deadline. GULP. Yes, you need to have a date to finish the book if you’re focused on profit. But if you want to gradually develop the book whenever you have the “feels” and are in no rush to publish, you can skip this step.
2. Producing your eBook
Writing a book can place a ton of pressure on you if you’ve never done it before. But, there is a simpler method of writing a book that can make the process easier. As long as you look at book writing like a project you can break it down into simpler steps.
After your deadline is set, you can then begin to break your book production down project style. You should set to have a certain amount of words/chapters completed daily, weekly, or monthly. With everything you produce, make sure you are creating quality, in-depth content that provides a solution for your audience’s needs. If you don’t, it’ll be hard for your eBook to attract readers or potential customers.
When it comes to writing, it can be a bit intimidating if you don’t feel like a superstar writer, but it’s still possible to publish an eBook even if writing isn’t your thing. Don’t let any negative thoughts make you fall back from writing your book, because there are many resources out there to help you write it. You could hire a freelancer to ghostwrite your eBook for you or hire an editor or proofreader to help you with the process. If you don’t plan on making the investment, then just stick to the simple writing guidelines; research, outline, draft, edit, publish. Write simply and concisely so that it’s simple to understand. Writing doesn’t have to be flowerly and poetic, it can be simple and straight to the point. You could also use editing tools like Grammerly to help you with the editing process.
3. Convert and format your eBook
Formatting simply means establishing the font for your text, fitting the pages for your eBook, and placing images inside or outside the book. When it comes to all formatting needs, I recommend Canva for this task. This platform provides a free eBook template already established for you to design the front and back pages of your eBook (and you can even put your entire eBook into pages on Canva while you’re formatting for an even easier process). Canva pricing is also pretty decent if you’re in need of a team set up for design reviews. You can also use Createspace.com for formatting and direct selling on Amazon.com. It’ll automatically link your book to Kindle and fulfill any orders for paperback if you’d like.
4. Monetize your eBook
The biggest benefit for any BAUCE woman is that eBook sales are passive income, and if your stuff is good, you can always benefit from it. You write the book, publish it, and after its placed on the platform of your choice, it can generate repeat checks into your bank account over time. As long as there’s a market, you can monetize. You can use this guide to sell your ebook and learn brilliant ways to monetize your eBook. The real trick is getting smart on how you can market your eBook to garner sales. When you are “self-publishing” or using your own cash money to get the word out, you’ll want to create sales funnels that get you a high-level of traffic and qualified conversion (people that buy your book because they are your spot-on target audience).
One smart way to do this is by leveraging as many speaking opportunities to showcase your expertise as a lead-in for why people should buy your book. See if you can get an interview with a podcast or radio station. You should also pitch yourself for local panel talks within your industry to promote your brand and book. Not a people person? You can always utilize Facebook ads, your own blog, Pinterest, and other advertising methods to create a buzz around your book to create sales. You can sell your eBook directly from your website or through third-parties like Amazon.
Given the endless amounts of topics you could write on, you’re bound to make sales if the content you create fulfills your audience’s needs or desires. Need a hint on what those needs are? Check bestseller lists in your niche or industry to figure out what it is that your audience is willing to shell out money for.
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