You might have come across a website that talks about the profitability of creating your own information product and then selling it on the Internet. The idea that it can be one of the most profitable business that anyone can start with very little capital to begin with have definitely caught the attention of many.

I personally have created a few digital products in the form of ebooks in various niches. And I can say that it really has its advantages..

What I like about selling information products is that that there is no inventory to hold and you are practically selling digital files.

Of course lots of effort and thought goes into every information product that I produce. I too suffer from something that a lot of entrepreneurs suffer from, that is the need to make something perfect before selling any of it. Right now I try to overcome that perfectionist mindset with the awareness that it is equally important to push out a not perfect but good enough product out fast and improving it to make it better as time goes by.

Nevertheless, do not think, that once you have done your market research and created the product, you can sit back, relax and not do anything more. You must remember that you still need to drive targeted traffic to your offer and the people who land on your sales page must see value in what you have to offer. If they do not think that your product is going to help them in anyway, they will just move away from your site and not purchase anything.

For the sake of this article, let’s just say that you have done your market research and you are now on to your second part of the journey which is to create the information product for the people who need a solution to their problem.

What are the things that you need to bear in mind when creating an information product?

Below, I have provided some powerful tips that you can use before and during the process of creating the ebook. 

Powerful Tips on How to Create an eBook that Sells

1. Is there Demand for ebooks?

You might be wondering who buys ebooks anymore? Surprise! Ebooks are currently being sold at a speedier pace than it has ever been before. With the advent of mobile technology in the form of mobile phones, tablets, kindle, etc ebooks are becoming ever more popular as readers can gain access to their ebooks anytime and anywhere.

Another surprise is that you can in fact produce an ebook in less time than it takes to learn how to ride a bicycle. Let’s just say that you would need a week to really learn how to ride a bike. Know that you can write an ebook in less than 72 hours. Yup, in three days flat.

=> Should I cover everything in my ebook?

No, you shouldn’t. Just remember not to choose a topic and go wide and try to touch every single issue surrounding that topic. Choose a single topic or a main key problem from that topic and go in deep.

At the same time use this opportunity to also recommend tools to your readers so that they can reach their objectives and meet their goals (don’t forget to insert affiliate links as well in the products and tools that you recommend).

Remember that most of your readers are busy people (aren’t all of us?) and they would really appreciate it if you could also have at the end of the book an action oriented plan that they can carry out when they are ready to take some action.

2. Finding Topics to Write About

There are a few ways to find topics to write about. One of the things you can do is go find out through Google keyword research tool and find out the keywords people type in the search engines to look for something. Also analyse the number of searches users make per month to look for information on a set of keywords that are related to a particular topic. You can also find variations of the the keywords and find out the long tail keywords that people use to search for something.

Another way to find out whether a topic is worth writing on is by conducting a simple survey using survey tools such as survey monkey and typeform. Email to your followers the survey questions and let them tell you what their main problems are and what kind of help they are looking for in order to reach a certain type of goal.

Find out your reader’s pain points and fill in the gap with the information they need in your ebook.

=> What else can I do to look for ideas?

Another good method to look for ideas to write on is to go to the library and head down to the magazine section. The magazine section will show you the various types of interests that people have. Magazines exist because there are people who are interested in those topics and they are willing to pay for the information on that topic. Jot down the various magazine titles that you can find in your local library and use them to search for your next killer topic that is going to make you the bucket loads of money.

3. Hiring Writers to Write the ebook For You

Some internet marketers are good at carrying out marketing campaigns but are just bad at writing. You could be someone who just cannot write a single paragraph without spending many hours on it. This might not be productive and doesn’t do good for your business.

You might then want to go the route of hiring writers to write your ebook. You can provide the writers with the ideas and the content headers of each chapter and let them write the book for you, at a fee of course.

You can find good writers at Upwork, freelancer or elance. Make sure that you do some background research on the Writers and look at their profiles and job experience. Ask them for past articles that they have written and from there look at their writing style and their ability to communicate a certain idea. Don’t forget to look at the reviews that other hirers have left behind and see whether they have gotten rave reviews or more complaints than praise.

You might want to also think through whether you would like to hire a native speaker of the language and engage Writers from the US and UK or writers from English speaking countries such as India and Philippines. The rates that the writers charge might differ according to where they are located, their writing experience and also their turn around time. Some of the writers that are available for hire are professional writers with advanced qualifications and they write for a living whilst there are others who are students and undergraduates, trying to make some extra change.

Bear in mind though that writers who ask for a lower rate doesn’t make them lesser all the time. I personally have come across writers who charge a cheaper rate but can come up with quality work as well. If you hire them, you might often realise that they can be actually be proficient writers and at the same time do not cause you to go over your set budget.

4. Using PLRs to Create Your Own ebook

PLRs stands for private label rights and they are a type of right or rather license that you buy over an article which allows you to use the article and edit it and use it as your own. You can even insert your name at the bottom of each article and post it on your blog or use the collection of articles and turn it into an ebook.

The issue with PLRs is that the PLR seller could have sold the PLR articles to so many other content marketers that the content becomes unoriginal and can even be perceived by the search engines as duplicate copy. This will affect the SEO of your site and doesn’t bode well for your business in the long run.

As such, it is advisable that you edit and make the PLRs uniquely yours. Give it a touch of your own so that it can be differentiated from the other content that uses similar PLRs.

I personally will not use PLRs on my blog but I would consider using them if I was starting a new blog and needed content fast. What you can do is that that you can time stamp the articles to run live in your site on a daily basis. This will signal to the search engines that your blog is active and is producing fresh content on a daily basis. You can also use the PLR articles to come up with your free ebook that you can offer to people who visit your website in exchange for their emails.

If you execute the steps above properly, you could even make some money from the site by putting in affiliate links and offering your subscribers offers from affiliate products and services. If you want to use the PLRs as content for your ebook that you are going to sell on your site, do try to add more uniqueness to the ebook. Provide more examples and case studies and try to make the information relevant to the current times. Also, try to write in such a way that your followers can identify with and know that it is your voice that they are hearing when they read your ebook.

Hopefully, the PLRs can help you to get started and get you going forward. Many writers do not even complete their books due to writers block and a myriad of other reasons. You can use the PLRs to jumpstart your ebook project and therefore help you overcome the problem faced by other writers. Continue to persevere and develop your information business. Don’t give up.

5. Using Graphics in ebooks

Graphics will definitely give your ebook a more interesting look. If used correctly it can even enhance the readers experience. You need to use appropriate graphics for the type of book that you are creating. If you are writing a book that talks about more serious stuff, you wouldn’t want to put in pictures that are not related to the business. Most business books have little images to start with and contain more text than images and graphics. If you are writing a fitness book, having pictures of people exercising will be appropriate and reflective of what the book is trying to help the readers achieve. Most New York Times best sellers book contain very little graphics and are more text based. Children’s books might require more cartoons and colourful images and graphics. Use what is appropriate for the book that you are writing. Use images sparingly as you do not want a book to be filled with unnecessary clutter in every single page.

6. Designing the ebook Cover

An ebook cover needs to be attractive and catchy. Have you been in a Book store and noticed that you pick up certain books while you leave the others on the shelf. There must be a reason for you to pick up that book even though you do not know the author and have no intention of looking for that book in the first place.

Two main reason come to mind when people pick up random books in the store.

• One is because the book has an eye catching headline and another reason could be because
• the design of the ebook cover is too attractive for you to resist picking up that book.

A book cover gives out visual cues to the contents of the ebook itself. It can lead a potential reader to eventually become a buyer. In fact that half a second glance could be the only chance that you might get from a reader to become your customer.

No one can argue that books are yup judged by its cover. A messy looking ebook cover would reduce sales of the ebook even if it has some of the best content in the world. Look through the books in Amazon and you will know what I am trying to say here.

One thing you must take note of when designing your own ebook cover is that ebook and print book covers are not the same. Yup, they are different and have different conventions. It is recommended that before you go on to design your own ebook cover, get some inspiration from all the great ebooks out there. Look at the colour schemes that they use. Jot down the type of images that are often used for certain types of books. Take into account the typography and the negative space that they use for their ebook cover design. Think why certain books have certain titles and what the author is trying to achieve with that type of title. Look at the information being presented and analyse why that information is on the ebook cover. There must be a reason why the author is giving out certain information on the most important part of the book. It is done with an intention. You can use the information gleaned from your research and analysis and use the information to make yourself a good ebook cover.

7. Finding a Joint Venture partner

You might want to look out for a joint venture partner who is producing content that is similar to yours. Of course you need to build a relationship with potential partners first and establish a certain level of trust between you and the potential joint venture partner before you discuss on doing something together.

A joint venture partner who have been around in the business for some years and with a sizeable list will definitely be a good candidate for a joint venture partner. You can offer to give your joint venture partner a commission or a percentage of sales if he or she can help to promote your ebook to their list. Such leads are expensive to buy in the first place as these subscribers are “warmer” and have given the trust to your joint venture partner.

Having partners in your business goes beyond the monetary aspect of the whole thing. Partners can act as your motivators and can also offer you great feedback on how you are doing with your business and what you need to do in order to scale up. Partners will also make you more accountable to what you have set out to do. However, do take note that strategic partnership is like going into a marriage. It is not something that you go into head on without much thought and reflection. There need to be shared values between you and your joint venture partner and at the end of the day it can also all boil down to WIIFM, what’s in it for me? You need to be able to answer that question on behalf of your joint venture partner first before you can even approach him or her with an idea.

Conclusion

I hope that the above information have given you a good idea on how to crate your first ebook that will sell. Use the tips and insights provided to plan for your next ebook and avoid the mistakes made by others who go forth without doing the necessary groundwork for an ebook to sell. All the best!

– Ardy