How to Write an eBook: Step-by-Step Plan, Step 8

8. MARKETING
The final step to writing your eBook is once you’ve finished writing it, producing it, and getting ready to deliver it, you need a marketing plan to sell it. There are numerous ways to go about it, and some are more effective than others based on your subject and market. Follow the path of successful marketers, track your activities and results, and make adjustments along the way. Here are some strategies to get you started:

Offline
• Speaking: talks, seminars, book signings
• Writing: articles, columns
• Networking: organizations where target market is
• Promotion: press releases, events, trade shows
• Direct Mail: postcards to bookstores, target market
• Advertising: classifies, display
• Media: radio, TV
• Joint Ventures: get endorsements, share marketing ventures like booths at trade shows

Online
• Speaking: virtual conferences, teleclasses
• Writing: articles, columns, e-zine
• Website: sales page, sell products on your site, other sites like Amazon
• Networking: social networking such as Linked-In, Ryze, MySpace, Yahoo groups
• Promotion: press releases, directory listings
• Direct Mail: build e-mail list for e-mail blasts
• Advertising: Google adwords, ads in e-zines
• Media: online radio
• Podcasts, video
• Blogs: advertise your products, link to your site
• Affiliates: sign up affiliates to sell your products
• Joint Ventures: use others’ e-mail lists; swap bonus offers, endorsements

How to Write an eBook: Step-by-Step Plan, Step 7

7. DELIVERY
The nice thing about eBooks, e-courses, podcasts and other electronic information is that you can deliver them to the buyer instantly. No waiting for a book to arrive in the mail. No printing or mailing costs for you. Your products can be delivered as a download over the Internet, or an attachment to an e-mail. You can sell your products off your website or have others sell your products through affiliate programs. When someone pays for your product, they receive a confirmation email with a link to go to a site or an immediate link to download the eBook, CD or other product. With tangible products such as CDs, books, and manuals, you can either ship them yourself or find a fulfillment house.

How to Write an eBook: Step-by-Step Plan, Step 6

6. PRODUCTION
Should you publish your eBook as a Pdf or .exe or as a web page? The most popular is Pdf as everyone can read them and they look nice.
You’ll need graphic artist to design cover of eBook and the interior. You can go as plain or fancy as you want, but remember people will see the cover and not see the inside when they purchase it. So in this case you can judge a book by its cover. You’ll also want to get the eBook edited because even though many people offer unedited eBooks that are almost embarrassing, you want to have people come back for more products, so always give the highest value.

Creating Your Own Informational Product

Wow, what a great webinar we had last night. Take a listen to the audio and, please, feel free to leave your comments below.

How to Write an eBook: Step-by-Step Plan, Step 5

5. DECIDE HOW YOU WILL GET THE INFORMATION OUT OF YOUR HEAD

Tape it or type it! You can talk into a tape player. Or you can hold a teleclass, record it and have it transcribed? I created an eBook in 48 hours this way. You can type your notes directly into a word processing document. Or if you still write on a yellow legal pad, have someone type up your notes. If all else fails, you may want to hire a ghostwriter or editor to help with the process.
Where will you get the material from? Some of it is in your head, some you will need to research from other sources that you will you cut and paste put your own slant on. Do you have existing material from your Website content, newsletters, articles, classes, reports, speeches, brochures, blog posts.
You might want to start out small by creating a “Top Ten Tips List” each day for 10 days and then you’ll have 100 tips to start working into an eBook. Or you can start out with a 5-10 page report or booklet which will be the start of your eBook.

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How to Write an eBook: Step-by-Step Plan, Step 4

4. SET UP YOUR STRUCTURE

The basic structure of most books is the same. It’s similar to a hard copy book, but most eBook authors set up their books more simply. Here are some common elements, and you can include as many as you want. Do check other eBooks you’ve bought and see which sections you want to incorporate in yours.

Introduction
You’ll want to explain what your book is about, and maybe why you wrote it. What can the reader expect from reading your eBook?
Copyright page
This will include the “legalities” like the copyright information, guarantees, trademarks, permissions, and contact information. Make sure to protect your book by displaying your copyrights, like this: copyright © 2006 by Magic In Words. All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this eBook may be copied or sold. You may however wish to have your book given away as a viral marketing strategy.
Table of Contents
This helps you outline the book and know where you are going. Then you need to fill in the blanks. It also enables readers to navigate easily through your product. They can locate the material that’s important to them quickly. If you’re unsure of everything you want to include in the contents, consider conducting a survey either with friends, associates, clients or through an online ad campaign where you ask what questions people have about the subject. Then you formulate your table of contents around the answers to the most common questions. This is a common practice of many successful eBook publishers. I did this when I wrote an eBook for a client on bowling and on selling crafts.
About
If you are writing a “how to” book, you’ll want to create an about page so you can tell your readers of your experience, your company, your website and other pertinent information. You’ll want to position yourself as the expert and include any awards or positions you hold on organizations.
Resources & Links
You may want to list resources with important links at the end of the eBook or sprinkled some links throughout so you can direct your reader to information on your website.
Graphical Elements
Graphics can spice up your products, but be careful because they can slow the load time too, particularly on eBooks. Don’t use Flash or anything that requires a plug-in. You can create a graphic that matches the theme of your eBook. You can use your company logo or any photos or artwork in the design of your book or other product.

How to Write an eBook: Step-by-Step Plan, Step 3

3. NARROW YOUR NICHE

Who is the market for your book? Is it big enough? Can you easily find this market? Take your subject matter and focus on a specific group of people with specific needs. What is the problem you are addressing and how your book will solve that problem? This is the foundation that will keep you focused while you write your eBook. Remember: all chapters must support your focus. If they don’t, they don’t belong in your book. For example, your focus might be: Most people have experienced insomnia at times in their lives, but there are 20 proven techniques and methods to give you back a good night’s sleep.

I often ask people I’m ghostwriting for if they have a goal for the reader, that is, what do they want the reader to get out of the book. The answer is usually that they want the reader to get the solution to a problem. So make sure by the end of the book you have offered ways to solve the problem that are easy to understand and apply.

How to Write an eBook: Step-by-Step Plan, Step 2

2. CREATE A KILLER TITLE

Make sure your title creates curiosity and excitement about your eBook. Some ideas for titles include:

How to…
A “how to” title will grab your reader’s attention because they see they are about to learn something that can benefit their lives or the lives of the people they care about. This title should also explain how they can get the benefit of your information faster, easier and cheaper.

An example would be: “How To Make Money with eBooks”

Unlock…
What if you could unlock the secrets for them? Also, when you think of something being locked up, don’t you perceive it as having more value, because it’s locked? Of course, your eBook is the one to unlock the benefits for them.

Example: “Unlock The Magic Of Information Products”

Discover…
Using discover…in your title not only grabs attention, but can also hint at a sense of adventure. Think of it like a story when the adventurer discovers a lost artifact or hidden treasure.

Example: “Discover 4 Ways To Market Your Business Online For Free”

Magic…
I used this word in one of my eBooks to help people develop content for their eBooks. My title is “There’s Magic In Publishing!”

Make sure your title is clear, clever and concise. Offer a benefit or create mystery. With a little creativity and some well-chosen words, you’ll have a title that creates attention, excitement, curiosity, and lots of benefits!

How to Write an eBook: A Step-by-Step Plan

The hardest part of writing an eBook is getting started. When you look at the whole project, it seems like an impossible task if you’ve never done it before. That’s why you have to break it down into manageable tasks. Think of climbing a mountain. You are standing at the foot of it and looking up at its summit vanishing into the clouds. How can you possibly scale such an immense and dangerous mountain?

There is only one way to climb a mountain, step by step.

Now think of writing your eBook in the same light. You must create it step by step, and one day, you will take that last step and find yourself standing on the summit with your head in the clouds.

The first thing you have to do, as if you actually were a mountain climber, is to get organized. Create a plan to take you from start to finish, from concept to completion. In the next few days, we will present some of these steps for you and you can follow along until you have your own plan mapped out.

1. CHOOSE YOUR SUBJECT

Because you want your book to share your wisdom and expertise and expand your brand and credibility, the topic should be about your specialized knowledge. If you are a massage therapist, write about how to keep your body healthy with regular massage. If you are a coach or consultant, write about your business know-how pertaining to specific businesses. Niche your subject as narrow as possible yet wide enough to have a substantial market for the book. I’ve seen successful eBooks on Jack Russell terriers and parakeets. However, keep in mind the 3 universal bestselling topics: money/wealth/marketing, relationships/love/sex; health/diet. If you can cover any of these, you’ve got a winner!

Look for the next step in our next blog!