Create Passive
Income with eBooks and Special Reports
By Stephanie Chandler
Information products are a hot commodity in the online
marketplace, transforming traditional entrepreneurs into
infopreneurs. Ebooks and special reports are two of the
most basic forms of info products. They are relatively
easy to create and distribute and best of all, these
products can generate passive income—money you make
while you sleep.
An ebook is an electronic book that can be downloaded to
a reader’s computer or hand-held device. Special reports
are similar, but typically shorter in length. Some savvy
internet marketers sell special reports ranging in size
from two to twenty pages. Ebooks tend to be more
comprehensive, with page counts from twenty to three
hundred.
If you’ve been thinking about cashing in on this trend,
then follow these simple steps to get started.
Establish Your Expertise
Everyone is an expert at something. Whether you are
great at writing financial reports, organizing a home or
training hamsters, you have something to offer the
public. Sure there may be other people out there with
similar qualifications, but that doesn’t mean that there
isn’t room in the market for another expert. If you have
a unique approach, you can compete with the best of
them.
Building your expert status takes some effort. If you
have special degrees in your field, a popular website,
have published articles, been quoted by the media or
given presentations on your topic, you are on the right
track. If you don’t yet have these qualifications on
your resume, start working on adding as many of these
credibility-builders as possible.
Find Your Audience
You could write the most fascinating ebook on the
planet, but your parents and friends will not be enough
of an audience to make it worth your while. To be
successful at selling ebooks and special reports, you
must be able to reach a broad group of buyers. The best
place to start is with a content-rich website.
For example, if you want to become an expert on dog
training, your website should appeal to dog enthusiasts.
To attract an audience, offer resources and articles
that appeal to the dog-loving community. You can write
your own articles or ask others to contribute content to
your site. You can also locate articles available for
reprint from sites like ezinearticles.com and
ideamarketers.com. The key is to offer as much valuable
information as possible. When your site visitors find
value, they will be more interested in investing in the
products you have for sale.
Communicating With Customers
One of the most effective ways to reach potential buyers
is with an ezine. By sending a monthly or even weekly
electronic newsletter, you accomplish several things at
once: you get your name in front of your website
visitors, you establish your credibility as someone who
provides valuable information, and you can get your
products in front of readers repeatedly. Studies show
that the average consumer must be exposed to a product
six to eight times before making a decision to buy. Your
ezine can become a powerful tool for your information
product business.
To capture subscribers to your ezine, provide a
subscription link on every page of your website. You may
want to offer a bonus, such as a complimentary special
report or ebook, to entice visitors to sign up.
Create Your Products
Once your website is drawing traffic and your ezine is
going out on a regular basis, you’re ready to create
your first information product. First you must decide
what topic to cover in your ebook or special report.
Consider what information your site visitors want to
know. Do you receive the same questions over and over?
Answering those could be the basis of your first
product. You could also survey your customer base to
find out what interests them.
Once you know what your subject matter will be, then get
to work on writing your first ebook or special report.
It would be wise to have your content edited by either a
friend or a professional so you can ensure you are
delivering the best output possible. Don’t forget to
include your website and contact information along with
a copyright statement similar to the following:
Copyright © 2006 by Annie Author
Once your work is complete, you will want to convert it
to a user-friendly format. Adobe PDF Creator software
allows you to convert your document to PDF format which
can be viewed on personal computers, Macintosh
computers, and numerous handheld devices. You can also
choose security settings to protect the contents of the
document. If you don’t already own this software, you
can visit
www.adobe.com to convert up to five documents at no
charge.
Automate the Sales Process
Once your finished product is ready to go, you will need
to automate the sales process. You could add a link to
your website and attempt to process payments and deliver
your info products manually, but this will only leave
you and your customers frustrated. One of the benefits
of info products is the instant gratification. When a
customer makes a purchase, he wants to access the
product immediately instead of waiting for you to check
your email and deliver the goods.
There are a variety of online merchant systems available
and one such solution is offered by
www.payloadz.com. This service manages the sales and
delivery of electronic products. You can upload your
file to Payloadz and create shopping cart buttons that
can be placed on your website. When a customer makes a
purchase, Payloadz will handle collecting the payment
(which is processed via Paypal), and will send the buyer
a link to download the product from their server. All
you have to do is sit back and wait for the cash to hit
your bank!
Market, Market, Market
Once your product is created and the sales and delivery
process automated, your focus should be on marketing.
Few businesses can be successful without marketing, and
information products are no exception. Here are some
ways to market online without breaking the bank:
*Publish articles in related industry publications and
websites.
*Publish articles through content sites such as
ezinearticles.com.
*Write a book. Being an author is an instant boost to
your credibility and a book can open the doors to a
variety of opportunities such as media appearances and
speaking engagements.
*Form strategic alliances with website owners in your
industry. Trade links to each other’s sites, swap ads in
your ezines, or partner on a project or event.
*Be everywhere. Participate in teleconferences, internet
radio interviews, blogs, and industry-related forums and
chat rooms.
As your business grows, continue to evaluate what your
customers want to know and develop products to meet
those needs. Remember that it’s much easier to fill a
need than to create one. And if you can do just two or
three things each day to market your business, it
shouldn’t be long before your website traffic and
product sales exceed your wildest dreams.
About the Author:
Stephanie Chandler is an author of several business and marketing books
including "LEAP!
101 Ways to Grow Your Business" and “From Entrepreneur to Infopreneur:
Make Money with Books, eBooks and Information Products.” She is
also founder and CEO of
http://AuthorityPublishing.com, which
specializes in custom publishing and internet marketing
services, and
http://BusinessInfoGuide.com, a directory of
resources for entrepreneurs.
For author and speaker details, visit
http://StephanieChandler.com.
*This article can be reprinted
provided the author bio is included.
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INFOPRENEUR ~ CREATE EBOOKS ~ SELL EBOOKS ~ INFORMATION
PRODUCTS
