Even though I’ve been selling e-books for several years now, I’m constantly learning new things.
Sometimes I have nice, happy surprises. Like when I accidentally discovered a strategy for getting a high rank in Google a couple of years ago.
And other times I get a arctic splash of water to my face. This article reveals three of those cold water surprises.
I’m not giving you this information to deter you from participating in this industry. On the contrary, I just want you to be aware of what can and does happen.
1) E-book theft DOES exist. (eeeeek!!!!)
I really wish this one weren’t true. But it is. And it’s not just happening with e-books. Popular print books (that aren’t published in e-book format) are also being distributed freely online.
The truth is there are ’secret societies’ where you can find every e-book and software product imaginable.
You literally have to know an existing member to get into these groups. They don’t openly advertise. And they don’t accept just anyone as a member. But once you get in, it’s like you’ve opened an infoproduct encyclopedia.
And just because you’ve got some new fangled e-book locking software doesn’t mean you’re protected. Not even by a long shot!
If these groups are blatantly stealing e-books and software, it goes without saying that they’ve got the tools to unlock anything you throw at them.
Now that’s not to say that you should stop being protective of your work. You should however be aware that it does happen. And if your e-book is good, it will probably happen to you. (And you’d never, ever know about it.)
And in case you’re wondering, yes… it has happened to me. And I sill make a very good living selling my e-books.
2) There’s no ‘magical secret’ to ebook writing and marketing.
You succeed in this business by selling great information… writing great salesletter copy… and marketing your products well.
It’s a very basic three-part formula. And when one of those parts is out-of-whack, it’s like trying to build a stone castle on quicksand.
The problem most people have in this business is that they want to sell bullshit information and write mediocre sales copy. So it doesn’t matter if you’re a whiz at marketing if the first two components aren’t doing their job - especially the sales copy.
3) E-books are easy to sell - but most infoproduct millionaires also do print products.
As someone who travels a great deal, I love the efficiency of selling e-books. I can be surfing in Hawaii, and not have to worry about running to the post office everyday.
But if you take a good hard look at who’s making the millions in the infoproduct business, you’ll find that more money is generated from those selling print manuals, CD’s, DVD’s and the such, than those who just sell just e-books. Not to mention that you can usually charge far more for a printed set than you can for an e-book.
A friend of mine (who prefers to remain unnamed) makes $1,000-$1,500 a week worth selling print manuals. She sells one set of manuals for $149, and that’s it.
Will 2008 be your year to branch out beyond the e-book?
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