Top 10 Tips for Selling Ebooks Online

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These days, becoming a published author doesn’t necessarily have to include working with a traditional publishing house. More and more authors are breaking into the business via self-publishing, and selling ebooks online. While there are plenty of self-publishing success stories to be found on the Internet, there are also a plethora of authors whose ebooks aren’t enjoying blockbuster sales. Becoming the next superstar in the self-publishing world requires planning and dedication, and an understanding of proven sales methods. Before you start offering your wares and selling ebooks online, these are a few of the things you should consider in order to maximize sales, profits and product visibility.

  • 1.) Write What You Know – You brand reputation will have a significant impact on your sales power, so it’s imperative for writers of any genre to be authoritative sources. Whether you’re a fiction writer or the author of instructional ebooks, write what you know and establish yourself as a credible voice within the industry.
  • 2.) Invest in Editing – Poor formatting, grammar issues and typos all come together to make even the most interesting ebook seem unprofessional. Selling ebooks online in a significant volume requires you to invest in editing, be it through an investment of time or a financial expenditure by hiring an outside editor to polish your content.
  • 3.) Consider Free Giveaways – If you spend time browsing popular ebook markets, you’ll find the top performers all have one thing in common: they offer ebooks for free. While giving away content you intend to sell can feel counterintuitive, offering your ebook free of charge for a limited time can boost sales by increasing visibility and powering marketing efforts.
  • 4.) Set Reasonable Prices – When you consider the amount of time which goes into crafting the perfect ebook, it can be tempting to set high prices which reflect those efforts. Still, selling ebooks online requires authors to price their books reasonably, as the market leaves little room for expensive ebooks.
  • 5.) Make Time for Marketing – Your work doesn’t end when your ebook becomes a finished product. This is when you’ll become a marketing professional, as well as an author. Selling ebooks online is impossible when no one knows your product exists, so invest in a great marketing plan and consider the benefits of an affiliate marketing network.
  • 6.) Choose Reliable Ecommerce Solutions – Ebook buyers want their books immediately after their transaction completes, and they want to conduct that transaction via secure payment processing options. Working with a content delivery service like PayLoadz.com allows you to offer these benefits, along with many others, to yourself and your customers.
  • 7.) Judge Your Ebook By Its Cover – While the old adage may admonish those who judge a book by its cover, your ebook will be judged based on this image and your product description. Take the time to design a professional-looking cover, or to hire a reputable graphic designer to handle the job.
  • 8.) Offer Several File Formats – Some ebook buyers read on their computers, but most use dedicated ereader devices or smartphone apps. Each ereader and app will support a proprietary file format, so it’s imperative for authors interested in selling ebooks online to offer those products in a variety of formats.
  • 9.) Boost Your Inventory – To sell more ebooks, you have to write more ebooks. Consider turning your tale of fiction into a series, or breaking your non-fiction offerings up into pull-outs. The greater your inventory, the more books you can sell. Also, prolific authors can be seen as a more credible source.
  • 10.) Maximize Available Outlets – There are dozens of avenues through which authors can start selling ebooks online, but you don’t have to choose just one. Maximizing outlets through which your ebooks are available increases your potential audience, so consider selling not only through ebook retailing giants like Amazon’s Kindle Store, but also your own website with proven ecommerce solutions like PayLoadz.com.

 

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