It’s easy to become inspired when you read about a first-time digital product maker who made $2,000 and think, “I could do that.”
Within minutes of imagining yourself rich, your brain begins working on ways to make money from your ebook. However, instead of getting answers, you end up with more. How do I go about creating an ebook? There is no way to sell it online. For how much do I charge?
Your heart was optimistic, and your mind was dancing with dollar dollars only a second ago. The “ka-ching” could be heard. A rain cloud is gathering, and you’re trying to convince yourself that your 9-5 isn’t all awful.
In order to solve this problem, “little, uncomplicated activities” is the key ingredient. One step at a time, turn to the authors who have gone before for inspiration, and soon enough, you’ll have a finished product.
How much will you put in and get out of this endeavour? How to Create and Sell Your First Ebook Without Spending a Dime is here for you.
Here are the three phases of creating the content for your ebook:
1. Choose a topic
For the greatest ebook subjects, there are a few requirements. Firstly, it must pique the curiosity of your readers. Second, you must be eager to write about it. Using these pointers might help you locate the sweet spot in your subject
Finding similar threads between your job and the problems and worries you come across can help you discover your book concept.
To save time, use material you’ve previously made.
Consider the path taken by your customers. Where do you want them to begin, and what product do you want them to end up with?
Send out a survey to see what kind of ebooks your subscribers are most interested in, and then use the results to create a list of interested subscribers who will be sent launch-related emails.
2. Determine your structure
You may begin arranging your information after deciding on a theme. You should consider why someone would download or purchase an ebook on the topic and what readers want from it. Examine similar ebooks to understand what works for other authors in your field.
As you write, consider how you may arrange your ideas and make the information more interesting by planning for readability and utility. Readers benefit from a well-structured table of contents and well-descriptive headings.
No, I don’t want readers to become engaged. Your ebook will be more engaging if it contains templates, worksheets, questions, and tasks.
Before you begin writing, know how lengthy you want your ebook to be. The length of free material should be less than the length of premium content, if at all possible.
3. Write compelling content
In order to keep readers engaged, the information in an e-book is often far lengthier than a typical blog post. Keep emphasizing the issue and utilize headings or bullet points to bring out important information. The following are some more pointers for writers:
Your most popular content might serve as a guide for what kind of material connects with your audience.
It’s better to get comments on your first draft now than wait until you’ve already published to make necessary revisions.
If readers want to scan your information quickly, break it up into digestible chunks using descriptive headings.
Don’t feel compelled to add extra material only to meet a predetermined word count goal. Quality is always superior to quantity.
The importance of proofreading cannot be overstated. Check your final document with a spouse, friend, or coworker to see if you’ve overlooked any little mistakes.
Self-publishing your ebook, step by step
The actual document your readers will receive will be created after the content of your ebook has been finalized. Don’t worry if you’re not a graphic designer. You’ll have access to helpful materials and tools every step of the process.
1. Choose a design tool
Most ebooks have some amount of design, and there are a wide variety of methods to do this. InDesign or a drag-and-drop editor like Canva are the best options if you’re accustomed to working with these kinds of tools.
It is possible to create an ebook in Pages using our ebook template.
2. Add your content and visuals
If you don’t want to offer an ebook that’s nothing more than a wall of text, Break up the text with photographs, screenshots, or drawings. Stock picture websites like Unsplash, Pexels, and Pixabay may be used to add visual flare if you lack your own photographs.
3. Create an ebook cover
You’re not alone if you’ve ever been taught not to judge a book by its cover. It’s a good idea to look at other ebook cover designs in your area to gain ideas for your own.
4. Save the ebook as a PDF
Depending on where and how users want to access them, ebooks may be delivered in various file formats. The MOBI format is the most common with Kindles, and Amazon has its own book formats (AZW and AZW3). In terms of ebooks, an EPUB file is widely supported and a viable solution. For your first ebook, we advise you to save it as a PDF.
5. Pick a price
You’re not alone if the prospect of setting a price for your e-book causes you anxiety. If you’re a newbie in the digital product market, assigning a value to your work might be challenging. Keeping in mind that you don’t have to come up with a random price and that you won’t be trapped with it for the rest of your life is a good reminder.
These are a few tips to make pricing your book less daunting:
• Check your e-commerce platform for minimum costs. There is a $5 minimum product price for ConvertKit Commerce and a $0.99 minimum price for Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (commonly abbreviated to KDP).
• It’s a good idea to check out what other producers in your industry are charging since certain subjects tend to cost more than others.
• Take into account the length of your ebook as well as any additional goodies it includes. Each ebook might come with an audiobook recording, for example.
6. Choose an ecommerce platform
Now that you’ve completed your ebook and determined a price, it’s time to sell it.
Even if you don’t currently have a website, ConvertKit Commerce product pages allow you to offer your ebook in minutes.
An ebook landing page and an ecommerce platform will be necessary if you have an existing website. In addition to Amazon, you may sell your e-books via your website builder, such as Squarespace or Wix.
Using a service like ConvertKit Commerce that interacts with a variety of your business’s resources, such as your website and email marketing, is the ideal way to sell an ebook. Your customers will no longer be able to contact you if you opt to sell your ebooks on Amazon.
