Have you decided that the traditional publishing route is too restrictive? If you want to earn more than mere pennies from each sale, retain creative control over your brand and keep the publishing rights to your work, self-publishing is the best possible route. Fortunately, it’s easier and more cost-effective than ever to release eBooks for sale. While acting as your own publisher required an enormous amount of startup capital in the years before widespread adoption of eReader devices and dedicated smartphone apps, there’s no longer any reason to fund an expensive first print run of your work. You can release digital copies in your very own web store, keep your profits and reinvest them in your brand as you see fit. All you need are the right tools and services.

Releasing eBooks for Sale in an Independent Web Store

While proprietary marketplaces tied to the most popular eReader devices are a common choice for authors new to self-publishing, they’re not the only or even the best option. These systems do give you some built-in exposure and the convenience of managed sales, but you sacrifice a considerable amount of control in exchange for these perks. Most of these systems will require you to maintain exclusive sales agreements in order to collect the highest percentage of your profits, and often don’t allow you to set your own prices. Since you can’t sell through any other avenues, you’re also immediately restricted in your audience reach. Setting up your own web store doesn’t mean sacrificing the convenience of managed sales, though.

Dedicated eCommerce platforms like PayLoadz.com give you all the perks of managed sales with none of the drawbacks. You’re able to seamlessly integrate trusted payment systems like PayPal and Google Wallet, along with secure file hosting and automated content delivery. You never have to manually process a credit card or send out a download link, so the margin for customer service error is negligible. Choose the right system, and you won’t even have to invest in an expensive custom website. If you can cut and paste simple HTML, you can turn a low-cost template site you build yourself or even a free blog site into a functioning sales portal.

Marketing Your eBooks for Sale

You can’t make a sale if you can’t reach your intended audience, because your potential readers won’t even know your brand exists. Prepaid marketing through sponsored social media posts and banner ads is costly, and comes with no guarantees. Whether you get a single sale or a thousand off your prepaid ad, you invest the same amount of money. This is where the convenience and cost-efffectiveness of affiliate networks can make all the difference.

Essentially working on a commission basis, your affiliates promote your eBooks for sale in exchange for a small portion of the proceeds from each sale they generate. You never pay for marketing that doesn’t work, and you don’t have to have a sizable startup fund. Best of all, high-quality eCommerce platforms include these systems as part of their seller toolkit.

Start your career as an author today. List your eBooks for sale in your very own webstore, and stay in control every step of the way.