You’ve finished writing, editing and formatting your book as a digital product. Now what? Figuring out how and where to sell books can be a daunting task, especially with so many options available. With a bit of research, you may find that getting started can be simpler than you ever thought possible. Too many authors new to online self-publishing give up before their files ever make it to market, never realizing there is an easier way to jumpstart their sales success. Before you decide the process is too complicated, take some time to understand how one decision can make all the difference when it comes to online book sales.

The Million-Dollar Question: Where to Sell Books?

When you look at all of the different tools and services offered by a multitude of online providers who promise big results, creating your initial business plan can be overwhelming. Isolating the most pressing needs can help you to make better, more informed decisions. For instance, one of the single most important decisions you’ll make is where to sell books. Once you’ve decided how and where your books will be sold online, you’re able to build the rest of your sales plan around this point.

Of the many options available for online book sales, the two most common are either placement in a proprietary device marketplace, or managing your own web store. The former does provide the opportunity for greater visibility in some cases, but this increased visibility can come at a high cost. Marketplaces like the Amazon Kindle Store, for instance, offer several different plans for store placement. In most cases, the plans which offer the greatest share of the profits to authors also come with exclusive placement agreements. This means that, in order to keep the largest share of your earnings, you will not be able to offer your books through any other sales portal. You’ll be limiting your customer base to only those readers who own a specific device, and will still be sharing a substantial portion of your profits.

The other option, running your own web store, offers the most flexibility and control. You’ll have fixed business costs, rather than profit sharing. While many authors feel like this would be the most expensive and complicated option, this does not have to be the case.

Easy Web Store Management

The perceived costs and time requirements of running an online store can discourage many new authors from choosing this route when considering where to sell books. The truth is, there’s no reason to spend a small fortune in start-up costs or invest all of your time into maintaining your online store. When you choose a dedicated eCommerce platform, you’re able to reap all the benefits of outsourced sales management with none of the drawbacks. Services like PayLoadz.com make it easy to streamline your entire business operation, with automated content delivery, trusted payment processing systems and secure file hosting.

Before agreeing to exclusive store placement, take the time to consider all your sales options. You may find that blazing your own path is less complicated, less expensive and more rewarding.