Have you published your book?
Whatever your answer is to the question above, this article is for you. If you are yet to publish one, this will inspire you to get your hands on the keyboard, and publish your ebook. And if you have published one: print or ebook, join the ride and let’s make some cool money.
The 21st century is the most interesting and engaging age so far. With the progressive development in technology, science and other fields, many are becoming more inquisitive, eager to know and learn more. Though Africans are believed to have a poor attitude towards reading, the tides are changing now.
Nothing has ever been proved more wrong in recent times than the common saying: “The best way to hide something from Black people is to put it in a book.” The question now is not whether Blacks read, but where they read. Guess what? ‘Mobile reading revolution’ has taken over many developing countries, boosting the reading culture in the region.
A UNESCO research report has revealed that adults and children are increasingly reading multiple books and stories on their phones. About 5,000 people in seven countries – Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan and Zimbabwe – took part in the research, the largest study of its kind to date, which found that 62% of respondents are reading more, now that they can read on their mobile phones. One in three said they read to children from their mobile phones, and 90% of respondents said they would be spending more time reading on their mobile phones in the next year.
The study found that “people read more when they read on mobile devices, that they enjoy reading more, and that people commonly read books and stories to children from mobile devices”. Download the report here.
Enough Data! Let’s Make Money
Smart authors have given up gazing at their navel thinking “Who will read my book?” to get their minds on how to publish their books in eBook, widen their reach and, of course, make more money.
So, is your book printed? It’s high time you got it reviewed and published as eBook. And here is why you should put your book in eBook format.
- You won’t be dealing with printed books, for one.
- It eliminates the expense and hassle of actually creating books, storing them, and delivering them.
- No fear of not selling.
- It’s going to be all digital.
- It can be read on devices like Amazon’s Kindle, on another tablet or smartphone, or even on a computer.
- Your reach is not limited by borders
- You make more money
How to Sell Your eBooks Online
There are many ways to sell your eBooks online.
1. Set up your own website and sell your eBook directly online. You might make a PDF available to your readers for example. A simple shopping cart or PayPal link and you’re all set. A reader visits your site, they order, and they get a download link and get your book. It’s pretty much all automated, and you simply keep an eye on things to make sure the site is running smoothly.
This is vital. You need a sales page for your eBook stating the benefits of the product to your potential buyers. Do you have an eBook already? If yes, you can hire us to create a sales page for you.
Meanwhile, other benefits of owning your website are that you control the entire process, get all of the customer information (so you can promote additional products, services, or books), and you can charge higher prices.
2. Sell through a third-party site like Iwe, Payhip, Amazon Kindle Direct Publish, Blurb, Lulu, Tradebit, Kobo Writing Life, and so on
The benefit of this is that you can leverage on the online stores to reach the millions of people visiting the sites and browsing for a new book. It could be your book they find when doing a search on a related keyword.
However, while you may not make as much money as you would sell direct on your own site, you’ll have the opportunity to reach audience who you wouldn’t otherwise have access to.
3. Market your book. A multi-channel approach is key in successful marketing. Leverage your Facebook page, Twitter, LinkedIn contacts, and more to get the word out. When the book is published, post it on Facebook with a link back to your website with more information and a way to order. The major task is finding a way to get your book title(s) out into the world and grab the attention of potential readers. TRW Consult is an award winning communications and marketing agency. They are world-class experts when it comes to setting up websites, online marketing and social media campaigns for eBook.
4. But it’s not enough to send out one announcement. You have to build buzz around your eBook. Thinking book marketing? YOU SHOULD BUILD YOUR TRIBE.
Building your tribe means seeing your book beyond a product that you need readers to buy. It is positioning yourself as a writer, as a writer who values the author-reader relationship and whose writings impact the lives of your audience.
So now you understand why selling eBooks can be such a money-maker, it’s time to get started. Figure out what type of eBook you want to sell, where you’ll get the content, and then where you’re going to sell it — and how you’ll market it online.
It’s a low-cost, low-risk business opportunity that has a huge upside!
