Ebook Marketing Magic

About Me

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Coan) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 02:01:00 +0000

My name is Julie Coan.

I’ve been writing books since I was about five years old and my mom let me type on her Smith-Corona typewriter.

I earned a Bachelor’s Degree from California State University, Fresno and I’ve been teaching writing for more than twenty years.

I’ve been coaching authors on a one-on-one basis for the past several years. It’s been exciting to see the progress my authors have made and I’m happy that the internet is helping me take that coaching to a whole new level.

My Goal
Writing ebooks has opened up a whole new world of publishing for every writer. My goal is to provide you with the best information and products available on writing ebooks, and selling ebooks on the web.

My Promise to You
I promise not to promote a single product on this website (including books) that I have not tried and found useful. I’ve read a ton of books on writing and selling ebooks. I found about a half dozen to be useful. Don’t waste your money or your time on the rest.
I promise to constantly update this website with the newest techniques for publishing and selling your ebooks.

Use a Keyword List for e book Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Coan) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:15:00 +0000

Keywords are the words or phrases that people use when they are searching for things on the internet. I have mentioned a keyword list in some of my articles, but I’m not sure if I emphasized its importance. Every time I discover a new tool for internet marketing, I rediscover how vital a keyword list is to success.

Before you choose a topic for an e book, make a website, write a blog post, write an article, or write an internet ad, you need to make a keywords list. You don’t want to waste time writing about topics that people aren’t searching for. Now, this seemed real obvious to me when we were talking about e books and websites.

However, what I didn’t understand fully was that the search engines treat each page as a separate entity. That means that each article and each blog post are indexed separately. Before you write a blog post or article for your website, you should search keywords to see what keywords and keyword phrases people are searching for. You can use the Google keywords tool or a tool like Traffic Travis to search keywords.

Type in the main word and see what comes up. Don’t put in a phrase because you want the suggested results to guide you, not the other way around. For example, I was going to write a series of articles on how writers’ critique groups can help you write a novel. I knew that this was of interest because it was being talked about in writers’ forums. When I searched keywords for writers’ critique groups, though, there were no hits. No one was searching for that term. So I searched using the keyword writers. There I found “writers groups” and “writers clubs” were getting lots of searches. Guess which keywords I placed on my keyword list?

Also sometimes misspellings can affect your keyword choice. This article uses “e book marketing” as a keyword phrase instead of “ebook marketing”. Many people are searching using the spelling “e book”, so I need to make sure that I use both spellings in my articles, because the search engines treat them as two different keywords.

When you write your blog post or article, you need to use your keyword list. Make sure that you use the main keyword in the title. That keyword should appear 1 or 2 times per hundred words. You need to be careful not to use the word too many times or the search engine won’t like it.

As always, I am dedicated to your ebook success!

Julie Coan

Using Yahoo Answers to Get Traffic and Build Links

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Coan) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:56:00 +0000

Using Yahoo Answers has been on my "to do" ebook marketing list for a while now, but I just tried it for the first time this week. It was actually kind of fun and a little bit addictive.

If you go to http://answers.yahoo.com/ you will get to the main screen. You need to sign in and do a profile.

The site has the questions divided by categories. Choose the category that best fits your ebook. Then view the various questions (there are hundreds each day) and choose those that you can provide a great answer for. It only takes a few minutes for each answer. Leave your website address at the end of each answer. This is just another great way to market your ebook.

Ebook Marketing Using Web 2.0 Sites

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Coan) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:50:00 +0000

What is a Web 2.0 Site?
Web 2.0 sites are another important tool in your ebook marketing toolbox. Web 2.0 sites are mini websites that you can create for free. Someare a single page long and some allow you to add more pages. They have a unique URL, but it is rather long and tedious. You wouldn’t want to use one as your primary website.

They have the advantage of being super simple to assemble. If you’ve already written the content, you can assemble them in about twenty minutes. If you need to write content, it will take a bit longer.

How does a Web 2.0 site help with ebook marketing?
Creating Web 2.0 sites serves two purposes. First, by definition, each 2.0 site is its own community. Other people within the community will see your page and hopefully follow your link to your blog site.

The most important purpose is to create incoming links into your blog site. The more incoming links a site has, the higher you will rank in search engine lists.

Tips for Creating your Web 2.0 site

Tip #1 Write Quality Content
The most important thing to know when you begin to develop a 2.0 page is that your topic must be very specific. It’s almost like a single article or blog entry that’s broken into smaller, simpler pieces. For instance one of my Web 2.0 pages is about developing a writer’s platform. The first module is “What is a Writer’s Platform?”. The second module is “Why should you have a Writer’s Platform?” The third module is “8 Ways to Build a Writer’s Platform”.
•Write one main text module of maybe 400-500 words.
•Write at least two related text modules of 200-300 words.

Tip #2 Monetize your page

•Although this site may not draw a ton of traffic, every little bit helps. Use every money making component they will allow.

•Many 2.0 sites offer an Amazon module. Sign up as an Amazon associate, if you haven’t already and choose some books and other items related to your topic.

•Some sites will place Adsense ads to your page automatically. If they don’t, check to see if you can add them.

Tip #3 Personalize the page

•People are more willing to buy from someone they can relate to. Be sure to place your picture on your site and fill out your profile.

•People are attracted to pictures. They distinguish your site from every other site. I spent about $20 for a selection of photos from Pixmac and I keep them in a file on my desktop. I can use them over and over for Web 2.0 sites, blogs, etc. To get the most images for your money, choose the smallest size available.

Tip #4 Link to Your Blog

Absolutely make sure that you place a link back to your blog site. One of the most important reasons to create Web 2.0 Sites in the first place is to get those all-important incoming links to your blog.

Which mini websites do I use?
There are probably thousand of these sites. I use Squidoo, HubPages, eHow, Weebly,
Webon, and Tripod.

My ebook Marketing Story: Week #2

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Coan) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 01:36:00 +0000

So far, so good. In spite of many family obligations, I managed to finish most of my tasks for week #1. I ran into some problems with my adwords campaign. Read more about what I learned about that in my blog about marketing with Adwords.

Tasks for week #2

1. Write 3 more articles and post them to at least 3 article directories.
2. Submit website to at least 5 web directories
3. Submit blog to blog directories
4. Write and post 2 blog entries
5. Finish text for free report.
6. Get Aweber activated
7. Go to at least 3 writer’s interactive sites and post an entry
8. Blog on at least three other related blogsites (see blog on blogging on other people’s blogs)

My ebook Marketing Story: Week # 1

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Coan) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 17:43:00 +0000

I am just launching my new ebook Write Your Way to a Million Dollars. It’s a book that teaches writers of novels how to write, publish, and sell their novel. As I was getting ready to start a serious marketing campaign, I thought that you might want to tag along with me.

Each week I’ll tell you what marketing steps I’m doing and how successful they are. I will do my best to make sure that there are blog articles on my site that explain each step in detail.

Of course, there are some pre-marketing things that have already been done.
Here's what I've done already:

• I did my keyword research.
• I’ve created a blog website and I’ve been adding content for about a month (see my blog on creating a blog website).
• I’ve added a mini course that will be delivered automatically through Aweber (see my blog on using an auto responder).
• My sales letter has been written (see my blog on writing a successful sales letter).
• I’ve copyrighted my ebook.
• My sales and download software is in place. I’ve tested it multiple times to make sure it’s functional.
• I created an ebook cover.

Goals for Week #1

• Write 3-5 articles and submit them to at least 5 directories.
• Post at least two blog entries.
• Write at least 3 Web 2.0 pages (see blog on Web 2.0 pages).
• Write and submit Adwords ads (see blog on Adwords ads).

Day 1 Starting Point
Website position: not in the first 10 pages of Google
Number of sales: 0

I hope this helps you with your own ebook sales campaign. I wish you the best of luck with your ebook marketing campaign. You can find my website at Writing Book is Easy. You can purchase the book by clicking this link Make Money Writing Books.

Ebook Marketing: Using Article Directories

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Coan) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 03:08:00 +0000

Article marketing is a great way to market your ebook. Basically, the way this works is that you write articles that are related to the topic of your ebook. You take the articles and post them on article directories. Anyone can go to the articles directories and copy the articles and place them on their websites and in their ezines. This way the articles spread around the web.

Your articles do not need to be long. 400-600 words is a good length. Start your article with an eye-catching headline. Then write several information-filled paragraphs about a topic related to your ebook.

At the bottom of these articles, there is an author’s biography box. This is not the place where you write your life story and tell everyone how much you like chocolate. This is a place to introduce yourself and a place to market your ebook. Write a brief ad for your ebook, and place a link to your sales page. When someone copies the article, they must include this author bio box with the link to your ebook.

Article marketing has two important affects. First, it spreads information about your ebook around the web. Second, it increases the number of links coming to your website, which helps your website move up in the search engine ratings. This, in turn, will help more people find your website.

Post your articles on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday between 3-4 p.m. Research has shown that more articles are read if they are posted during this time. I’m not sure why. If I had to guess, I would guess that the day’s work is done and people are browsing the internet. So if you post your articles in the middle of the week late in the afternoon, you’ll probably get more readers.

Consistency is important. You will not see the effects of article marketing immediately. It takes a week or two for you to see traffic from your articles. Once you get the momentum going, you want to keep it up. People will begin to regard you as an expert in your field. Write and post 2-3 articles every week.

You can submit these articles to the many article directories on the web. Here are a few article directories you can use.

Ezinearticles.com
Goarticles.com
Articledashboard.com
Searchwarp.com
ArticleBase.com
iSnare.com
Buzzle.com
ArticleCity.com
ArticleAlley.com
IdeaMarketers.com

I wish you ebook success!
Julie Coan

Marketing your ebook using Clickbank

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Coan) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:55:00 +0000

How would you like to have hundreds of people selling your ebook on the internet? With so many people selling your book, you’d easily sell thousands of copies. Now you’re probably wondering how to find hundreds of people who are willing to sell your ebook.

One way is to become a vendor on Clickbank. You can find Clickbank at www.clickbank.com. Clickbank is a site that connects affiliates with people who want to sell digital products. People will go to Clickbank and they will sign up to be your affiliate. Every time they sell one of your ebooks, they will receive a commission and you’ll make money!

Placing your ebook on Clickbank is easy. First, you will need a sales page (sometimes called a pitch page), a thank you page, and a process that will allow the buyer to access your ebook. Once you have those things finished, sign up as a Vendor on Clickbank. It will walk you through the process of setting up your book for approval. The approval process is not terribly difficult. There is a list of things they do not allow. However, if you aren't trying to rip people off, there shouldn't be a problem getting approved.

Clickbank allows buyers to use any credit card or paypal. They process the transaction for you and process any returns. You don’t need to worry about getting a merchant account or setting up an online store.

Clickbank does charge some fees. First, there is a one-time charge of $49.95 to list your ebook. Second, Clickbank will charge 7.5% + $1 for each ebook sold. In addition, Clickbank will also charge $2.50 each time they write you a check.

You must place your contact information on your sales page and your thank you page. This seems like a no-brainer to me. You want your customers to be happy with the service they receive so if there’s a problem, they need to have a way to contact you. You should include an email address. You may not want to use your personal email. It will be much easier to keep business emails separate from personal emails if you get a separate address for your ebook.

You can choose to pay your affiliate any commission you wish, but if you really want to make a lot of sales, you will need to keep your commission rate high. Most affiliates (especially the active ones) won’t choose any product that offers less than a 60% commission. While that seems like a large percentage, you will make up for it by attracting more affiliates. Offering a larger commission also attracts those affiliates who really get out and sell products. So many affiliates sign up and never sell anything.

It is important to empower your affiliates. The more they sell, the more you earn. So provide them with some ready-made advertising. Create 5-10 Adwords ads that your affiliates can simply copy and use with their affiliate link. Provide several emails that they can copy, insert their affiliate link, and then send to their friends and contacts. You can also create some banner ads that your affiliates can place on their websites.

Marketing ebooks: Building A List is Essential

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Coan) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 06:35:00 +0000

If you ask any business person, they will tell you that building a large client list can mean the difference between success and failure. This is also true when you are selling your ebook.

The main reason you should build a client list is because the marketing research says that most people will not purchase anything during their first visit to your website. It typically takes between six and eight contacts to make a sale. If you don’t have a client list, how will you contact them so that you can make a sale?

Another reason to build a list is that people who have made one purchase are more likely to purchase again. If you build a client list, you will already have people who will be interested in your next ebook. You can also use your list to sell products related to your ebook. If your ebook is about camping, you can sell books about hiking, maps, and other camping gear. You would do this using affiliate marketing (to find out more about this, see my article on Affiliate Marketing).

A client list can help your business grow faster. If you had to sell every ebook you write from scratch, it would be like building a new business from the ground up each and every time. Maintaining that level of energy would be exhausting. A list will let you make more profit with less work.

So how do you build a list with your website. You can’t just send out sales pitches to random people on the internet, because that’s called spam. You have to get people to opt in. They need to say that it’s all right for you to send them information.

There are several ways that you can get people to opt in. You can write a monthly newsletter. You can offer a free report or series of reports.

Then you use an autoresponder to automate this process. You put a form on your website where people can sign in. An autoresponder will automatically confirm the fact that they’ve opted in to your website. It will then send out a series of sales pitches or newsletters or whatever you choose to those email addresses. You can set the delivery interval from a day to a couple of weeks. The autoresponder collects the email addresses and keeps a list for you.

Aweber is my choice for autoresponder. This is a subscription service. The price starts at about twenty dollars a month and goes up depending on the number of people opting in. Click here.

Marketing ebooks using a Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Coan) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:39:00 +0000

If you are going to market your ebook online, you will want to have a website. This is like having a store in the real world. Your website lets people know that you are serious about your business.

One of the best kinds of websites to use when marketing your ebook is a blog website. If you are marketing ebooks on the web, a blog website is a great choice. A blog is a kind of public journal that you write online. There are several advantages to having a blog website.

A blog website is designed to be updated often so it is usually very easy to update it—even if you don’t speak HTML. Because your blog changes often, it also encourages people to come back to your blog to see what’s new. Encourage your readers to bookmark your site. It generally takes six to seven contacts with someone before they actually make a purchase. Blogging can bring them back to your site over and over again.

A blog allows you to connect with your readers. It will give them a chance to get to know you and find out whether you’re for real. You can provide them with some information so they’ll know you’re knowledgeable about your subject. People that know you and trust you will want to buy your ebook.

Another reason to use a blog when you are marketing your ebook is that search engines like blogs. If you put new information on your website regularly, the search engines will rank you higher. When you rank higher in the search engine results, it will be easier for people to find you. That, in turn, will bring more potential buyers to your website.

If you have no money in your budget, you can create a free blog at www.Blogger.com. It is very budget friendly because there are no registration fees and no web hosting fees. It is also super-simple to use and requires minimal computer skills.
There are several disadvantages to using Blogger. First, your design possibilities are limited. It may not be able to do everything that you want it to do. The second disadvantage is that you won’t have an independent domain name. In other words, your domain name will be something like www.yourwebsite.blogspot.com. It’s longer and more difficult for people to remember.

Another popular blogging platform is Wordpress. Wordpress software is free. It has a lot of flexibility in design. You will also have an independent domain name. The disadvantages to Wordpress are that it takes a little bit more tech ability. You will also need to pay for your domain name and hosting.

There are many techniques for bringing customers to your blog. You will find some of them elsewhere in this blog, but if you want them all in one place, then this is a great resource for you. It’s called Blogging to the Bank.
If you are going to market your ebook online, you will want to have a website. This is like having a store in the real world. Your website lets people know that you are serious about your business.

One of the best kinds of websites to use when marketing your ebook is a blog website. If you are marketing ebooks on the web, a blog website is a great choice. A blog is a kind of public journal that you write online. There are several advantages to having a blog website.

A blog website is designed to be updated often so it is usually very easy to update it—even if you don’t speak HTML. Because your blog changes often, it also encourages people to come back to your blog to see what’s new. Encourage your readers to bookmark your site. It generally takes six to seven contacts with someone before they actually make a purchase. Blogging can bring them back to your site over and over again.

A blog allows you to connect with your readers. It will give them a chance to get to know you and find out whether you’re for real. You can provide them with some information so they’ll know you’re knowledgeable about your subject. People that know you and trust you will want to buy your ebook.

Another reason to use a blog when you are marketing your ebook is that search engines like blogs. If you put new information on your website regularly, the search engines will rank you higher. When you rank higher in the search engine results, it will be easier for people to find you. That, in turn, will bring more potential buyers to your website.

If you have no money in your budget, you can create a free blog at www.Blogger.com. It is very budget friendly because there are no registration fees and no web hosting fees. It is also super-simple to use and requires minimal computer skills.
There are several disadvantages to using Blogger. First, your design possibilities are limited. It may not be able to do everything that you want it to do. The second disadvantage is that you won’t have an independent domain name. In other words, your domain name will be something like www.yourwebsite.blogspot.com. It’s longer and more difficult for people to remember.

Another popular blogging platform is Wordpress. Wordpress software is free. It has a lot of flexibility in design. You will also have an independent domain name. The disadvantages to Wordpress are that it takes a little bit more tech ability. You will also need to pay for your domain name and hosting.

There are many techniques for bringing customers to your blog. You will find some of them elsewhere in this blog, but if you want them all in one place, then this is a great resource for you. It’s called Blogging to the Bank.
Click Here!

Marketing ebooks using the Power of Business Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Coan) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 20:10:00 +0000

In this day of high technology, we sometimes underestimate the power of the business card. Although internet socializing is useful, it’s not quite the same as meeting someone and talking to them in person. When you meet people, of course, you’ll tell them all about the ebook you’ve written. Unfortunately, by the time they get home, they’ll be asking themselves, “What was the name of that ebook?” “What was that website address?” Your business card can help them remember.

Here are some tips to help you make the most of your business cards when you are marketing ebooks:

1. One of the most common mistakes people make with business cards is that they only put their business name and contact information on the card. Think about this card as a miniature sales letter.

2. Start with a short, punchy, attention-getting phrase that will sell your ebook. Focus on how your ebook can benefit the reader. For example: Discover the Secret of Losing 10 Pounds in 10 Days!

3. Make sure that you include your name and website address. You want to send people to your website because that’s where you’re selling your book.

4. Marketing ebooks means never giving out just one card. You want the word about your ebook to spread. If the person that you gave your business card to is interested in the topic of your ebook, there’s a good chance that he has friends that are interested also. If you hand him five or six cards, the next time he’s talking to one of his friends, he can pull out one of your cards and give it to him.

5. You don’t want to look cheap. People will equate a cheap-looking business card with a low-quality product. Business cards are relatively inexpensive, so don’t choose the cheapest, flat paper design. Pay a little more and get glossy ones that people will pay attention to. Put a memorable picture or graphic on it.

6. Use both sides of the card. It costs a little extra, but it is worth the price. What do you put on the back? Start with the name of your ebook. Then write and a one or two sentence sales pitch. If you have a book review or a testimonial from someone who has read the book, that is also very powerful. Offering a discount will encourage people to buy now.

7. Make it easy to read. Business cards are small so you need to make sure that people don’t need to squint to read it. Use a san serif font (like Verdana, which I’m using here). Once you’ve designed your card, make sure that the colors or graphic you’ve chosen don’t make the text difficult to read. The color of your text should contrast sharply with the background.

I like Vistaprint. I have used them many times. I like that you can experiment with different designs and preview them online. Their prices are great and the quality is excellent. Just click this link:
Business Cards

What are ebooks and Why Should You Write One?

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Coan) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 00:23:00 +0000

Ebooks are digital books that are meant to be read from a computer screen or other digital reading device. Nothing is written on paper. A person generally purchases them online and then downloads the file to their computer.

Ebooks are primarily used to present information. Although some people are selling fiction in ebook format, they don’t sell very well. I read and write online all the time, but I am one of those people who likes to read my fiction on paper. I just don’t find reading off a computer screen relaxing or enjoyable. And most readers seem to agree with me. However, as the next generations grow up with computers, this might change. For right now, though, consider ebooks primarily as an information tool.

Why Should You Write an ebook?

As a writer, writing ebooks has a lot of advantages over traditional books. I have listed just a few here.

There is no publisher. When you publish an ebook, you are your own publisher. You don’t have to submit it to anyone for approval. You don’t have to worry about rejection letters. You don’t have to someone telling you to make changes to your book that you don’t want to make.

You can start selling an ebook so much more quickly. The time from start to publication can be less than a month. There can be up to a two-year wait time between the time a traditional book is accepted for publication and the time it appears on bookshelves. Even if they move quickly, you can expect it to take six months to a year.

Selling Ebooks allows you to keep earning money forever. Traditional books have a shelf life of four to six weeks before they are remaindered (sold at deep discount). You can keep selling your ebook forever. If necessary, you can update it periodically or produce a new version.

Selling ebooks requires little overhead. You don’t need to pay for printing, storage, or shipping costs; there are none. You will need to spend some money for website maintenance and some sites will charge you to place your book on their site. You will also need to pay for any marketing, but you would have to pay for that even if you were published by a conventional publisher.

You own the rights to your book. You can decide how and where to sell it. You decide how to market it. You decide when, if ever, you want to take it off the market. You can decide to turn it into a powerpoint presentation or a video download or an audio disc.

Selling ebooks allows you to keep more of the money your book earns. You will have a few expenses. You will need to pay to have a system to manage the payment collections, but you will probably end up keeping between 80 and 95% of your earnings. In a traditional book publishing contract, you may get between 5 and 10% of the sales price of the book.

You can learn more about writing ebooks by reading this book about writing ebooks. It was my first introduction to the world of ebooks.
Click Here!

Chapter Titles are a Great Ebook Marketing Tool

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Coan) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 01:21:00 +0000

When I started writing ebooks, I barely paid any attention to the chapter titles. In fact, most times, I simply numbered the chapters and didn’t title them at all. After all, the title didn’t provide any information. I didn’t realize that those chapter titles could be a marketing tool.

Think about the last time you went into a bookstore and picked up a non-fiction book. The first thing you probably did was to read the back cover. The second thing you probably read was the table of contents. You based your decision to buy on whether those chapter titles were interesting or useful to you. So will the person that buys your ebook.

To turn your chapter titles into marketing tools, start by writing standard titles. Then put yourself in ebook marketing mode. Ask yourself, “What does the buyer want?” Then re-phase the title by answering this question.

For example:

Standard: Chapter Titles

Ebook Marketing: How Great Chapter Titles can Help you Sell Ebooks

Standard: Auto Insurance

Ebook Marketing: How to Save Thousands of Dollars on Your Auto Insurance

Standard: Putting Tips

Ebook Marketing: Four Great Putting Tips that Will Change Your Golf Game Forever

Policy Page: Ebook Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Coan) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:09:00 +0000

This site is designed to provide you with information on writing, publishing, and marketing ebooks.

There is a lot of information about ebooks online, but it is scattered all over the place. I want to help you by putting all the important information in one place.

My goal is to provide you with the most accurate, the most up-to-date information on marketing ebooks. I'll show you how easy it is to write and sell an ebook, even if you're just starting out.

You'll find simple, step-by-step instructions on how things like white space and chapter titles can make the difference between selling 5 copies and 105 copies.

You'll learn how to locate a profitable niche before you write.

There will be lists of locations for selling your ebook and unique ways to market it.

In short, if you want to find out anything about ebooks, this is the place to come!