The book publishing industry is extremely competitive, so many authors turn to self publishing to market their books to potential readers. However, self publishing can also be a time consuming and expensive endeavor because it requires printing fees, shipping, handling, storage and marketing costs. That’s why it’s a great idea for authors to take a closer look at another option—Ebooks.
Most people who write a book and are successful with it are already experts and have also established credibility in their fields. But if that’s not you, you can still enjoy tremendous success with an Ebook. In fact, Ebook sales have been consistently rising, while traditional book sales have been on the decline. So, if you choose to author an Ebook, you’re already one leg up on the competition. It can bring you a great deal of exposure and success, but only if you known what not to do.
That’s why I’m sharing with you the most common mistakes people make when writing and marketing Ebooks.
1. They think their Ebook is going to bring them wealth. Actually, it can, but most Ebooks don’t have that measure of success. The success and revenue don’t come mainly from the Ebook itself. They come from using the Ebook to market yourself and your product or service. Let the Ebook be the window that opens the opportunity for more people to want to hear, see, or buy more of what you teach and know. The Ebook can do that if it’s a subject that you’re passionate about, includes knowledge about your skills and authority, appeals to your market, gives them the information they want, and tells them what they want to know.
In short, don’t expect the Ebook to make tons of money (although this has been done) —let the Ebook be your business card so that people come to you for other products, services, or insight.
2. Being afraid to market or sell their Ebook because they’re worried that it need work or isn’t very good. Obsessing over whether or not your Ebook will appeal to people and sell is one of the biggest reasons most authors don’t do well with their Ebooks. Do your best, but don’t waste time on the ‘what if’s’. Timeliness is a factor in Ebook sales. If you want any measure of success, you’ve got to get it out there.
3. Being worried about perfection. Nobody’s perfect, even bestselling authors. They have editors and proofreaders, too. So stop obsessing over every word in your book. Quit letting your need to create perfection stifle your productivity. Just pound out that book. Then if you’re still worried about those things, hire an editor or proofreader to look it over and correct the obvious errors before it hits the Internet. Every delay is a lost sale and additional time which might affect your book’s relevance to today’s market.
4. Not using a proven system to write your Ebook. Nobody said you were an author, experienced in writing books. Nobody expects you to be. But if you’re not, writing an Ebook can be a laborious task. Not knowing how to go about it can make the process unpleasant and painstakingly long. Get a quick education in writing effective Ebooks by investing in a system that really works and provides you with real, credible information on how to compose an Ebook that flows and contains valuable content. That system is like a blueprint or a step-by-step guide that takes you from start to finish in a painless way.
5. Not knowing what you want your Ebook to do or teach. If you don’t know the purpose of your book and ultimately what you want it to accomplish, how can you write it? It’s like building a house, but not yet knowing what you want the final structure to look like. You have to have the end in mind before you can start with the beginning. Then, you can connect the dots between the start and finish lines.
6. Delaying writing an Ebook, even though you know that you and your business need one! There are many excuses—I don’t have the time, I’ll start next week, I don’t have a large enough following yet, etc. No matter what your excuse is, it delays your success! You end up focusing your energy and time on a lot of other things that are less effective. The Ebook will bring you the customers and clients you don’t have…so don’t put it off.
7. Not understanding the benefits of leveraging their book. If you want your book to market you and your business, you have to leverage the tools you have. Give away a chapter or two—whet their appetite, if you will. Use it to build your client database, offer another product or service for free or at a discount with the purchase of your Ebook. There are so many things you can do, but your Ebook shouldn’t stand alone—it should be a tool to create further business and interest in you and what you have to offer.
Your Ebook will sell. It will create interest and bring in new clientele. But it won’t do any of that if you don’t take the time to write it, delay its release, or use its potential to the fullest by leveraging your final product to bring in even more speaking events, clients, or sales. It’s potential can be unlimited, but you’ll never know unless you start writing!