THE FIRST STEP TO A BEST-SELLING EBOOK
By David Garfinkel
(c) David Garfinkel - All Rights
reserved
Why do some
ebooks sell off the charts,
while other ones can barely get off the ground?
You'd be surprised.
The other day, I was having breakfast with a friend who is a
world-famous, best-selling "bookstore book" author. I asked
him, "Hey - how's your ebook doing?"
His answer: "I've... sold... four."
We talked for a little while about what he was doing. I saw
his problem - he was applying his success formula for "bookstore
books" to ebooks. Andit wasn't working very
well on the 'Net.
I told him, "People don't buy ebooks to stimulate their minds or
indulge their imaginations. Harry Potter would never make
it as an ebook. Authors you see on Larry King or Oprah don't
write the kind of books that sell well as digital products on the
Net. If he were alive and writing today, even Ernest Hemingway would
fall short."
Me, I'm what you would call a best-selling ebook author. But, unlike
the New York Times bestselling authors, I don't write any
groundbreaking, "brilliant" material to sell on the Web.
What I write is intensely *practical* -- simple, step-by-step,
problem-solving, time-saving stuff. With ebooks like that,
my sales really do go off the charts.
Now you might accuse me of bragging. But now that I
have
your attention, how would you like to know
my secret for a
bestselling ebook?
It's simple.
The ebook must...
1) make a big
promise
2) to solve a
major, nagging problem
3) for a rabid market.
To show you what I mean, here are three examples of ebook
ideas.
First, a lame example:
An ebook on creating a more pleasant living environment for
yourself by choosing the right wall hangings. This could
possibly work as a bookstore book, but it's a TERRIBLE idea for
a bestselling ebook.
Why? Because there just isn't a large, rabid group of people
laying awake at night, tossing and turning, tortured with the
thought, "If only I had the right paintings and tapestries on my
walls, then my life would be perfect."
Now, let's move on and look at an OK
example:
An ebook on keeping an old junker going without spending a lot of
money. This is "OK" because there are always a lot of people
who have old, broken-down cars and need to keep them going without
putting tons of money into repairs. This problem really does keep
them awake at night.
Why is this only an "OK" idea?
Because even though it would make sense from your point of
view for these people to spend $19 or $29 on your ebook to
save hundreds of dollars in repairs, they are probably watching
their pennies and won't be super-likely to buy your ebook.
Sure, they should.
But that doesn't mean they will.
Finally, an excellent example:
An ebook on a how to save A LOT of money selling your own
house without using a real estate agent, thus holding onto
thousands of dollars you would have otherwise paid in
commissions.
This is an "excellent" ebook idea because in America, one in
five people move every year - so there's a large market.
They're "rabid" because many of them really resent paying real
estate agents a large commission, and that commission is a major,
annoying problem for these people.
By the way, I have a friend who wrote such a book, and the
sales of his ebook have given him and his wife enough money
to cover their own mortgage and two car payments every
month for several years. I'd call that a
best-seller -- wouldn't you? :)
So, to wrap up, before you dive into your new ebook, ask
yourself these three questions:
1. Who is my Rabid
Market? 2. What is my Big
Promise? 3. What Major, Nagging
Problem does it solve?
Answer those questions, and you're well on your way to creating a
best-selling ebook on the Internet!
David Garfinkel
is a leading Web sales copywriter who helps
authors market and sell ebooks. He is co-author of "eBook
Secrets Exposed: How to Make MASSIVE Amounts of Money
In Record Time With Your Own eBook (Whether You Wrote It Or
Not!)" For more information, CLICK HERE
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