Thursday 11 November 2010

How do I Market My Ebook and Make Money?

The author epublishing a novel on the internet may be disappointed in the amount of traffic going to the book and sales might be slow. What can the writer do to increase traffic to the ebook and land more sales?

Ebook Marketing Solutions

Plug Your Book! Online Book Marketing for Authors, Book Publicity through Social Networking
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The novelist may find that publishing a digital novel is quite simple, as free publishing tools on Amazon, Smashwords or LuLu make sharing a novel with the world possible. However, with so much competition out there, the enovel could well be buried beneath millions of other enovels.

The Trouble with Book Search for Ebooks

The potential reader may often have a specific title in mind during a search, such as books by and about celebrities, well-known crime writers and similar JK Rowlings of the world, leaving the obscure self published author high and dry.

However, some readers are not sure what they are looking for, and may put in a general search term for a book genre. This provides opportunities for a lesser-known digital novel to get found. In such cases, the novelist may ask the honest question if the novel fills a gap, is original or offers something most other books of the same genre do not. If not, the novel may need revising. If so, it is time to emarket the book.

Money Word Matrix for Digital Books

Keyword research really is the bread and butter of getting traffic to an ebook, but is quite an exact science. I have therefore dedicated a separate article on how to use keywords for strategic marketing of an ebook (to be found at the foot of this article). Great opportunities for using keywords are in the blurb, write-up, synopsis or story tagline. Creating a blog or website and linking it to the ebook is a must. Write about influences, writing tips, the creative journey of the book and include excerpts from the book to create interesting content for potential readers.

Other free space for authors to sell their books can be found in Amazon’s CreateSpace, My Space, AuthorNation.com; Writearoundtheblock.com and good old Blogger.

Getting an Ebook Noticed

Needless to say, as with any piece of writing on the web, be it article, advert, short story or poem, something that is well-written or original will get discovered in time. Other webmasters will provide backlinks or readers will give good customer reviews, helping the book to get noticed. In this vein, it is just a matter of time. But what else can the writer do to market the ebook in the meantime?

The Best Ebook Cover Design

It is true that most readers judge a book by its cover. Sadly, most authors are not graphic designers and may not afford to commission an artist, but fear not, most epublishers provide free software for the ebook design cover. The following pointers might help the writer with finding the best design cover for an ebook.

Tips for Great Ebook Covers

Although some books mimic the look and design of other successful novels, it is often best to find an original design. This will help make the book stand out from the crowd. Allow the color scheme to reflect the feel of the book. Bold punchy colors might suit a thriller or crime novel. Subdued moody colors might suit a book about family relationships or a sombre thriller.

Images for Ebooks

Avoid cluttering the book cover with too much detail. Less is often more when it comes to a professional finish, which is why many ebooks have plenty of space around the illustrations and text.

Text for Digital Novels

ePublish: Self-Publish Fast and Profitably for Kindle, iPhone, CreateSpace and Print on Demand
click to buy from Amazon
It is never too late to change the title if the author has misgivings. Avoid hackneyed or generalised phrases that does not evoke an image, or those that remind the reader of another book. Original use of words will make the book title memorable or whet the potential reader’s appetite, ask questions or wonder what the book is about. A thesaurus is invaluable for this purpose.

Best Price for Enovels

The customer will expect the ebook to be cheaper than the hard copy version. According to Writer’s Forum, £2 (or around $3.50) is a good price to aim for. This falls within the higher royalty option threshold if the book is published with Amazon.com, which is 70%, a tidy profit for the author.

How to Market Research for the Enovel

Before deciding upon the final look of the book or the blurb, look for any other ebooks that have a similar theme or cover. Watch out for similar titles or use of words. Provide a link back to the personal blog or website that allows customers to leave feedback on the look of the book or any issues that might hamper sales.

Links to Novel Writing Solutions

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