Recently I was talking with one of my favorite Internet information marketers, and he brought up a point that I’ve noticed before and perhaps you have, too.
It’s this: People pay more money for fewer pages — fewer words — with ebooks. And the smart ones do so gladly.
In this article, I’ll show you how to cash in on this trend yourself as an information marketer, while at the same time providing your customers with FAR more value than they have paid for.
Let’s get one thing out on the table. On the face of it, paying more money for fewer pages sounds like a paradox, at best — or a scam, at worst.
But I am convinced the high-priced information I have purchased has been some of the best money I’ve ever spent. And I bought a lot of this kind of high-priced information long before I ever heard of ebooks, or other kinds of Internet-marketed information.
Today, I feel the same way. Here’s why:
Ebooks (good ones, anyway) provide something you just can’t get in a traditional printed book. Often, you’ll find an “expensive” ebook (at, say, $97) is a bargain, compared to any other way of getting the same information: $500 an hour for a consultation from the handful of people who know the information; $1300 for a seminar; or even more to get into an exclusive mentoring program with the author.
How can it be that information is worth so much?
It’s because systems of specialized knowledge that help you solve a problem and/or achieve a goal — information and techniques that really work – are as rare as a four-leaf clover, and will bring you at least as much good fortune.
Books you find in the bookstore often have good information in them, but rarely do they go into enough depth, or have a narrow enough focus, to give you what you really NEED to solve a difficult problem.
In plain terms, there are few “real books” that can make you money, or save you money, time, or effort, in a unique and highly valuable way.
That’s where ebooks come in.
Successful ebook authors don’t “cover the waterfront” with their information the way bookstore-book authors do. Ebook authors narrow their sites and aim at high impact solutions.
They go in-depth and they unearth a path that leads to results for the reader.
Some examples from my and other authors’ works:
1) How to easily write headlines that boost your Web page sales (“Advertising Headlines That Make You Rich”) – my ebook
2) How to sell your house without a real estate agent and keep the commission for yourself (“Selling Your Home Alone”) – Jim Edwards’ ebook
3) How to protect your Web site from legal problems without hiring a lawyer (“AutoWebLaw”) – Bruce Safran’s
ebook/software package
4) How seniors can buy prescription drugs legally at sharply reduced prices (“Saying No: How to Stop Paying for Outrageously Overpriced Prescription Drugs”) Michael Woo-Ming, M.D.’s ebook
5) How to get the best price on a car and save needless expenses on repairs and maintenance (“Car Secrets Revealed”) – Corey Rudl’s ebook
Now I am sure that you can find books in the bookstore on many or all of these topics. I am also certain that in most, if not all, cases, you’ll get better information from ebooks like these than you will from most books in print.
If you’d like to write and sell such an ebook yourself, here are some suggestions:
· Write about something that a large group of people are interested in and would be willing to spend money to learn about…
· Don’t write about a “subject” — offer a point-by-point, workable SOLUTION to a problem…
· Give information that you know from experience has actually worked – not only for yourself, but also for others…
· Make your writing as clear, simple and practical as you can…
· Don’t use your ebook as an excuse to preach, point fingers, or philosophize. Those things fit better in print books — and, if you’re in a hurry to get your important opinion out to the world, there’s always talk radio. 
By the way, the ebook revolution is just beginning.
The “revolutionaries” who have discovered and applied the ideas reviewed in this article have helped a lot of people and profited handsomely along the way.
Fortunately, as the Internet grows and public acceptance of buying information online grows with it, opportunities are expanding. Help yourself… there are plenty more valuable ebooks to be written and sold.
David Garfinkel is author or co-author of five best-selling ebooks, including “eBook Secrets Exposed: How to Make Massive Amounts of Money in Record Time With Your Own eBook (Whether You Wrote It Or Not!)” For more information, go to http://hop.clickbank.net/?writersman/ebksecrets.
Hello Writersbreak,
Thanks you for your post, I am an author, and have already a novel series bending publication through print.
I do, however, have also a large collection of short stories I have created.
Now, I am only a young and unknown author, and – not intending to sound pompous – I am very good. I focus on mainly on fantasy, science-fiction, romance, philosophy and socio-political criticisms and parodies.
It is difficult to professionally publish short stories like mine – at least, while I am an unkown. I’ve yet to find a reputable agent in Australia without a “no short stories” notice.
Taking a look at Smashwords, it seems a decent solution.
But, it also appears as though – and no offense to any authors already published on Smashwords – it appears as though a large portion of books published through that service are there only because they were not good enough for mainstream.
I fear that if the expectation of quality is low, my stories would get very little circulation regardless of their own quality.
So, my question is – and please, only answer if you have experience with Smashword publishing – if my short; for example a serious sci-fi romp of about 17,000 words priced between $2.99-$3.99 and available as Premium were floating around and could genuinely claim the high quality I do, would I ever see any money?
I don’t mean mega-money of course, and the site itself cautions against high expectations, but I have other projects, and converting to or writing new ebooks takes time from them.
I need to know if it’s reasonable to expect sales at all – say, even as low as roughly $30-$50 a week, but if I’d only make $7 in three months – remember, the example is supposedly a very popular piece – I could find better uses for my time.
Thanks for reading, and thank you to any who answers my question seriously and honestly.
Wishes
Although there are no guarantees, there are many authors out there who are making much more than that. (See my interview with HP Mallory.) Having said that, there are many more authors who aren’t. It all depends on promotion and market acceptance. If you’re good at promotion and you can find a market for your work, you can stand to make decent–and even great money–with your work. Also, I’m not sure what the market is like for short story collections. I’ve only researched novels. Good luck with your work & thanks for writing.