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Content:
2 Killer eBook Marketing Tactics!
by Larry Dotson
1) SELLING CREATES TRAFFIC
You probably know that by including your ad in a free ebook, then allowing others to give it away is a great way to spread your ad all over the internet. That worked good in the old days because hardly anyone knew about it, but now there are free ebooks almost everywhere. Because of this your free ebook ad has to be extremely persuasive and you must present it so people perceive it as valuable. I have a solution for this free ebook problem.
Write an entire ad for the ebook, as if you're selling it, and actually set up an ordering option for your free ebook. You just give your prospects the option of getting it at no cost if they refer three of their friends, family members or associates to your web site. Another option would be to ask them to place your banner ad on their home page.
It's very persuasive because they'll get a product you're selling for free, what a bargain! You could always sell it for an extra high price to increase it's perceived value. So you'll either make a huge profit or get a link on their home page.
2) CONCENTRATE ON THE TOP
Create an ebook full of tips relating to the theme of your web site. Type keywords into search engines that your web site would fall under. Contact the top
twenty related web sites and ask them if they would like a tip ebook they can give away with their own ad place inside it. Just include your own ad inside it.
The web sites that agree to the deal will give you a lot of traffic. You can either put your promotional ad inside the ebook or have them link to your web page to give it away. Of course, on that particular web page would be your product ad. It's a win/win situation.
These tips are excerpted for the "E-Info Into Cash
Private Site" at http://www.ldpublishing.com/kia.html
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Power Promote Your eBooks, Part One.
Everyone is taking advantage of free eBooks as a promotional tool to drive traffic to their site as well as boost sales (or even as educational tools). Other authors are writing eBooks in a variety of genres ranging from science fiction to romance to "how to" books.
So, after you have created your eBook, how do you go about promoting it? Some ideas include the following:
- Signature Files
- Announcement Lists
- Ebook Reviews & Interviews
- Search Engines
- Directories
- Download Sites (free ebooks)
- Press Releases
- Affiliate Programs
- Resources (study epublishing)
- Web Sites
- Awards
- Contests
- Ebook Clubs
- Autoresponders
- Email Courses
- Chatrooms
- Bulletin Boards
- Radio Shows (Online and Offline)
- Join a community
- Link Exchanges
- Ezine Publishing
- Bookmarking
- Post cards
- Flyers
- Conferences
- Web Rings
- Newspapers
The first thing that you can do to promote your ebook, is offer it to people who you are in contact with via email. Include a mention of your ebook in your signature file (examples here) in your email discussion lists, especially those active groups that are geared towards eBooks such as:
AnEbookChat-subscribe@onelist.com
Ebook_News-subscribe@onelist.com
ebook-community-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Upload your free ebook or excerpt to your site using an FTP program such as CuteFTP at http://www.cuteftp.com or WS_FTP. Then either give it away free to all your visitors to increase your traffic, sell it for extra profits, or give it away as prizes to your ezine subscribers.
Get reviewed:
Offer reviewers a free copy in exchange for an eBook Review on their site. Several review sites include:
http://www.ebook-reviews.net
http://www.midwestbookreview.com
http://www.inscriptionsmagazine.com
http://www.wordweaving.com
http://www.blether.com
http://www.scribesworld.com
http://www.sharpwriter.com
http://www.heartlandreviews.com
http://www.mcquark.com (for kids ebooks)
Comprehensive list of review sites at:
http://freereads.topcities.com/bookreview.html
Create a page specifically for your eBook with appropriate Meta Tags and submit the page to the top search engines and directories.
Top Primary Search Engines:
http://www.altavista.com
http://www.google.com
http://www.alltheweb.com (Fast)
It would also be worth your while to submit to Inktomi’s paid submission service since it powers the searches at MSN Search, AOL Search, Overture, iWon, Canada.com, Anzwers.com. and About.com
http://www.positiontech.com
Have a tough time choosing keywords? Here are 3 sites that reveal the Internet's most popular keywords:
http://www.goodkeywords.com
http://www.wordspot.com
http://www.wordtracker.com
Pay Per Click Search Engines (PPCs):
PPCs allow you to pay per visitor visiting your site and can provide a low cost method of promoting your ebook. There are dozens of these types of PPCs available and here is a list to get you started (full list is at http://www.payperclicksearchengines.com)...
http://www.Overture.com
http://www.7Search.com
http://www.FindWhat.com
http://www.Kanoodle.com
http://www.Ah-ha.com
http://www.Bay9.com
http://www.SearchHound.com
http://www.ePilot.com
Pay Per Click Promotion provides targeted traffic from all major search engines with rates as low as $0.07 per click.
Directories:
Submit your eBook to as many major directories as possible in order to have a positive impact on your link popularity in Search Engines such as Google. First, you should purchase the paid submission for Yahoo! and LookSmart. Then submit your site for free to the Open Directory Project since it provides results for AOL.
Yahoo.com (costs $299 per year!)
Looksmart.com (costs $199)
Dmoz.org (Open Directory Project, free)
eBook Directories:
Here are a few directories that you can start off with if your eBook is free:
http://www.ebooksnbytes.com
http://www.free-ebooks.net
http://ebooks.searchking.com
http://www.ebookdirectory.com
http://www.e-bookdirectory.com
http://www.mcpromotions.com/e-books.htm
http://www.web-source.net/free_ebooks.htm
http://writers-bbs.com/inkspot/?forum=ebookpromo
http://www.ebookpalace.com
http://www.ebooksearchengine.com
http://www.ebookjungle.com
http://www.infopost.com
http://www.yaga.com
Download Sites:
http://www.zdnet.com
http://www.download.com
http://www.upload.com
http://www.tucows.com
http://www.davecentral.com
http://www.shareware.com
Download FTPPro or CuteFTP to help you manage your downloads.
Please note that many of the above sites are more for software than eBooks, but you can still submit your free eBooks to them. Check out the next site for many more places that may display your eBooks: http://www.euro-share.com/uplinks.asp
If you sell your eBooks, you can also apply to sell them at the following eBook sites for a share of the profits:
http://www.booklocker.com
http://www.ebookhome.com
http://www.ebookad.com
http://www.mypublish.com
http://www.ebookmall.com
http://www.amazon.com
http://www.borders.com
http://www.bn.com (Barnes & Noble)
Most of these sites charge fees or percentages of your sales and it is just a sample of the virtual bookstores available (see http://www.ebooksnbytes.com/publishers.shtml for a larger list. Read the fine print on any contract or terms of service since some sites may require their publishing services for lower listing fees.
Don't forget to create a press release on your new eBook.
Press Release Services:
Press Release Submission Software/Services:
Press Release Articles/Resources:
How to Get the Press on Your Side by Shel Horowitz
http://www.frugalfun.com/press.html
Media Contact List: http://www.gebbieinc.com
You are welcome to refer to an article that I wrote on planning your press releases at http://www.ebookbroadcast.com/resources/ as well as the The Publicity FAQ - questions and answers about getting media coverage found at www.yudkin.com/prfaq.htm.
Set Up An Affiliate Program
You could also create an affiliate program, if your eBook is for sale and there is a brand new service out that will get you set up very easily at: http://www.simpleaffiliate.com You could even use Clickbank, since it automatically comes with an affiliate feature as a benefit of using their third party payer services to accept credit cards. Once you have your affiliate program set up, you can list it in the top affiliate directories such as:
You can keep up with the latest news on revenue generatoring affiliate programs at http://www.revenews.com.
A special thanks goes to everyone from the excellent email discussion called AnEbookChat on the many ideas for where to promote your ebooks. Another special thank you goes to Johannes Garrido of KillerClassifieds for his helpful list of sites to submit ebooks to.
I hope this gives you some ideas on how to promote your eBooks since this electronic medium is very effective! Part Two of this article discusses other methods of promotion including resources, web sites, and awards.
© 2002 Eva Almeida
Eva Almeida is the owner of eBooksnBytes.com and is the publisher of eBooks N' Bytes Informer. Subscribe to her newsletter by sending an email to ebooksnbytes-subscribe@topica.com.
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Power Promote Your eBooks, Part Two.
We have previously discussed methods of promoting your ebooks using review sites, search engines, etc.... to recap our advice from Part One of this article, after you have created your eBook, you can promote it using the following ideas:
- Signature Files
- Announcement Lists
- Ebook Reviews & Interviews
- Search Engines
- Directories
- Download Sites (free ebooks)
- Press Releases
- Affiliate Programs
- Resources (study epublishing)
- Web Sites
- Awards
- Contests
- Ebook Clubs
- Autoresponders
- Email Courses
- Chatrooms
- Bulletin Boards
- Radio Shows (Online and Offline)
- Join a community
- Link Exchanges
- Ezine Publishing
- Bookmarking
- Post cards
- Flyers
- Conferences
- Web Rings
- Newspapers
Now, we will discuss some resources to examine to help you promote your ebooks as well as other proven methods.
Resources
How to Publish and Promote Online by M.J. Rose and Angela Adair-Hoy available at Amazon.com (Excellent!)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312271913/
e-Lectrify Your Sales: A Writer's Guide to e-Publishing $uccess by Leta Nolan Childers from DiskUs Publishing
http://www.diskuspublishing.com/electrify.html
Practical Tips for Online Authors 2001 Edition by Lida E. Quillen from Twilight Times Books
http://www.twilighttimesbooks.com/practical_tips.html
Electronic Publishing, The Definitive Guide. The 2001 edition by Karen Wiesner's book (available at the end of this month.)
http://www.avidpress.com/wiesner.htm
"Marketing and Self-Promotion" by Astrid Cooper is enlightening
http://www.twilighttimes.com/ACooper4a.html
The July issue of eBook Ecstasy contains an article by Charlotte Boyett-Compo on "How Not to Promote Your Book." She suggests some ideas on how to advertise on the net. First and foremost, always include info on your books in your "sig" line. Send press releases to ezines, appropriate web sites, newsgroups and to your online friends who in turn will post the info other places you might not think of. Submit articles to paying and even non-paying e-zines and newsletters, especially if they will include the url to your website. Join online communities such as SFF Net if you write SF/F at http://www.sff.net
Web Sites
Authors Den offers great promo opportunities.
http://www.authorsden.com
No doubt you have submitted your web site url to a number of search engines and web sites. If not, check out Virtual Promote.
http://www.virtualpromote.com
Lorna Tedder's "Your Free Book Promotion Countdown Checklist"
http://www.geocities.com/~lorna_tedder/virgins.html
AWARDS
Here is a small list of ebook awards that you can apply for...
Independent E-Book Awards
http://www.e-book-awards.com/indie-intro.shtml
Eppie Awards
http://www.eclectics.com/epic/
More awards are listed at:
http://www.ebooksnbytes.com/awards.shtml
Contests:
You could host your own contest of your ebook, by giving away a free copy of your ebook each month in your ezine. Offer the contest as an incentive for subscribing to your electronic newsletter (another effective method of promoting your ebook.)
Clubs:
http://www.Bookclubs.org: free hosting of Book Clubs on eBooks often by new authors and small publishers.
Special thanks goes to Lida E. Quillen, publisher and author of Practical Tips for Online Authors www.twilighttimes.com/practical_tips.html for all of her contributions to this article.
I hope this gives you some ideas on how to promote your eBooks since this electronic medium is very effective!
© 2002 Eva Almeida
Eva Almeida is the owner of eBooksnBytes.com and is the publisher of eBooks N' Bytes Informer. Subscribe to her newsletter by sending an email to ebooksnbytes-subscribe@topica.com.
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20 Ways To Increase Your Traffic And Sales With eBooks.
by Larry Dotson
1. People love to get free stuff. A free eBook is perfect. They will visit your web site to get the free valuable information.
2. Give away the full version of your eBook in exchange for testimonials. You can use these customer statements to improve your ads' effectiveness.
3. When you write and give away a free eBook you will become known as an expert. This will gain people's trust and they will buy your main product or service quicker.
4. Publish your web site in eBook format. Put the eBook on a disk or CD-ROM then include it with your direct mail packages. This can increase the number of people that buy your product or service.
5. Offer your eBook as a free bonus for buying one of your main products or services. People will buy the product or service more often when you offer a free bonus.
6. Allow people to download your eBook for free, if they give the e-mail addresses of 3 to 5 friends or associates that would be interested in your eBook. This will quickly build your e-mail list.
7. Create a directory of web sites in eBook form. List peoples web sites in the directory that will agree to advertise the eBook on their web site or e-zine. This will give them an incentive to give away or advertise your eBook.
8. Allow other people to give away your free eBook. This will increase the number of people that will see your ad in the eBook. You could also include a mini catalog of all your product or services that you offer in the eBook.
9. Gain new leads by having people sign up and give you their contact information before they can download your eBook. This is a very effective way to conduct market research.
10. Make money selling advertising space in your eBook. You could charge for full page color ads, classified ads or banners ads. You could also trade advertising space in your eBook for other forms of advertising.
11. Give away the eBook as a gift to your current customers as a way of letting them know you appreciate their business. Place an ad in the eBook for a new back end product you're offering.
12. Get free advertising by submitting your eBook to freebie and freeware/shareware web sites. This will increase the number of people that will download your eBook and see your ad.
13. Make money by selling the reprint rights to those that would like to sell the eBook. You could also make even more money by selling the master rights. This would allow other people to sell the reprint rights.
14. Hold a contest on your web site so people can win your eBook. You'll get free advertising by submitting your contest ad to free contest or sweepstakes directories.
15. You will gain valuable referrals from people telling others about your eBook. Word of mouth advertising can be very effective.
16. Make money cross promoting your eBook with other people's products or services. This technique will double your marketing effort without spending more time and money on your part.
17. Increase your e-zine subscribers by giving away your eBook to people that subscribe to your e-zine. This will give people an incentive to subscribe. Allow your e-zine subscribers to also give it away to multiply your subscribers.
18. Give away the eBook to people that join your affiliate program. This will increase the number of people that sign-up. You could also create an eBook for them to use that will help them promote your product or service.
19. Give away the eBook in exchange for people leaving their contact information. This will help you follow-up with the prospects who buy your main product or service.
20. Offer a free eBook that contains a couple of sample chapters. If they like it, give them the option of ordering the full version. It would work just like a software demo or shareware.
*FREE* eBook! "Hypnotic Sales Letters: 92 Hypnotic Sales Letter Templates!" Just add your product info and...BAM! You've just written a hypnotic sales letter in a few minutes! Visit my site to download it: http://www.ldpublishing.com
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