Have you decided to take the plunge into self-publishing? There’s no better time to get started than right now, but it’s important to explore all your options so you can make informed decisions about launching your career. Some of the more popular options can seem perfect at first blush, but may not be the best fit for you and your business in the long run. You need to make a strong start, but you also need to focus on the longevity of your self-publishing career. Learning what you don’t need in order to sell books is almost as important as understanding which tools and services are actually necessary.

Common Misconceptions: What You Don’t Need to Sell Books Online

On a very basic level, you know what you need in order to successfully sell books online: a strong product. Still, you can’t make a strong showing if you’re relying solely on the strength of your work. You also need to secure a handful of tools and service partnerships to support your venture. This is where a great number of authors new to self-publishing make decisions with the potential to negatively affect their success in the future.

Partnering with a mass eBook marketplace may seem like the best option, but it certainly isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. There are some drawbacks which might be a dealbreaker for you, but they’re not always obvious to the beginner. For instance, plans which offer you the greatest share of your earnings often come with caveats that limit your control over pricing, and prohibit you from making your work available through any other outlets. This means your audience reach is inherently limited to owners of a single device or mobile device app. You’ll also sacrifice the ability to run promotional pricing periods, or giveaway contests to boost your visibility in a crowded marketplace. The obvious solution is to start your own web store, a prospect fraught with its own set of misconceptions and myths.

The most important fact for new authors to understand about choosing to sell books online through a personal web store is that an expensive, complex website loaded with custom sales features simply is not a necessity. In fact, it can be a hindrance. Complicated features require more attention to maintenance and more upkeep funding, and the substantial investment up front means reaching profitability will take much longer. The truth is, a high-quality eCommerce platform, like PayLoadz.com, is the best and most effective option in almost every situation.

Sell Books Online with the Right Tools for Success

Your customers need to feel confident in the safety of each transaction, so working with a trusted service like PayPal or Google Wallet is vital. Missing an order or making a buyer wait for their eBooks can have serious repercussions from a customer service standpoint, so automating content delivery is equally important. Finally, you can’t sell books to readers who aren’t aware of your work. No-risk marketing, like affiliate network programs, are the safest choice for new authors with limited funding. Your eCommerce platform combines each of these tools and services under a single virtual roof, even integrating PayPal and Google Wallet seamlessly. Best of all, you can use cut-and-paste HTML linking to turn a free blog site or a social media profile into sales portals, bypassing the need for expensive websites.

Get started today, and find out just how rewarding it can be to sell books online.