Forums and Your E-book

When it comes to promoting your e-book on forums you should be mindful not to push the hard sell. Pushing the hard sell on Internet forums will not attract more readers for your e-book. In fact, pushing the hard sell will actually drive readers away.

Forums are places for topical debate, not for selling items. With this in mind you should develop a low key strategy that does not involve promoting your e-book directly to forum members. Instead, go with a strategy that will build your credibility as an authority in your chosen niche.

One way to do this is to engage in a topic of debate that is closely related to the content of your e-book. Thereafter, your participation in the forum should focus on demonstrating your expertise on the topic of your choice. The key here is to engage those participating in the discussion process with your knowledge rather than with the idea of selling them something.

At the end of every post you can leave a signature file directing readers to your e-book’s landing page. But make this as subtle as possible.

Although controversial posts can make for an interesting and lively debate, you should try to avoid posting opinions that will alienate others. Remember, the idea is to engage potential customers with knowledgeable and informed discussion, not make enemies.

The great thing about participating in forums is the fact that they invariably save all the information posted to them, effectively acting as a repository for your opinions on a given topic. Posting to forums will not only help build your credibility as an expert, it will also help you to create and maintain a relationship with potential customers. Done correctly, posting to forums can increase the flow of quality traffic to your e-book’s landing page.

Writing E-books: How to choose a topic

The biggest problem facing e-book authors is in knowing what to write about. It is also a problem that perplexes most newbie e-book authors when it comes to launching their writing career.

The ability to write well is one thing, but to write with authority on a given topic is something else. Simply plucking a topic from thin air and writing about it is not an option if you want to be a successful e-book author.

Knowledge is the key when it comes to choosing a topic for your e-book. As my old professor once told me many years ago, if you want to write well, then write about what you know. Writing from a depth of knowledge allows the words to flow from your finger tips onto the screen in the same way that water flows from an open tap.

For example, you might be a keen gardener who specializes in growing roses in an urban setting. If this is the case, then you should write about your experience of growing roses in confined spaces. Your e-book may not reach the New York Best Sellers List, but you can be assured there will be plenty of gardeners willing to buy your e-book just for the information you can impart on the topic of growing roses in an urban setting.

Alternatively, you could be an experienced DIY motor mechanic with a penchant for doing up old cars. There are plenty of DIY motor enthusiasts who would love to read about your experience of breathing new life into an old Chevy 57.

Whatever your specialty, there are plenty of potential customers ready to buy your ‘KNOW HOW’.

Once you have identified your chosen specialty, you will need to define the extent of your knowledge so that you can transfer it into print. Mind mapping is a simple but useful aid for revealing your strengths and weaknesses on any given topic relative to your specialty.

To mind map, you simply take a large piece of paper and write in the center of it, in big bold letters, your specialty. Working from the center out, you fill your page with what you know or do not know about the specialty you are going to write about. The secret to a good mind map is to use single descriptive words or short phrases to describe the extent of your knowledge. You can even use pencil drawings if you are so inclined. The idea behind the mind map is to create a set of reference points for generating ideas for your e-book.

You can further enhance your mind map by carrying out research. Research will not only plug the gaps in your knowledge, it will also lend credibility to your work. Moreover, research will help you to define your e-book topic when it comes to writing on your specialty.

When writing your e-book you should always bear in mind that people want answers to questions and not generalizations. E-books filled with generalizations hold little value for readers and will not sell. In short, there is no market for generalizations. Markets are broken down into demographics of age, interests, income and, more importantly, needs. Answer your market's needs in relation to your specialty and you will quickly find a demand for your e-book offerings.

Writing for Cash – The Myth and the Reality

If you are reading this article, then you are clearly interested in writing for money, or least given some thought to the idea. You have also no doubt researched the idea of writing for cash on the Internet and downloaded a handful of e-books or reports telling you how to turn your writing into a source of income.

Many of the e-books or reports you have read probably waxed lyrical about the hundreds of thousands of dollars that newbie and established writers are making from publishing their work on the Internet. Moreover, amongst all the hyperbole you will have come across testimonies testifying to the magic of a particular writing system. Some of these testimonies may contain an element of truth. However, what these testimonies fail to tell you is the fact that a majority of wannabe writers will not make a penny from their writing, no matter how great the writing system might be. This is understandable since the promoter of the writing system wants you to buy the product. So let us dispel the myth right now: not everyone can or will earn money from their writing.

There are several reasons why many wannabe writers never cut the mustard when it comes to turning their writing into cash. The most obvious reason is the lack of effort on the part of the wannabe writer to write effectively.

I recently came across several e-products where the author was trying to promote him or herself as a marketing or writing guru. Each of the texts that I read had potential but sadly most of them were littered with grammar and spelling mistakes. And whilst no one is perfect when it comes to the written word, I expected something a little better from those who were promoting themselves as leaders in their field.

Although not everyone can be a Hemmingway or a Stephen King, the least an author can do when they are trying to sell their writing for cash is to run a grammar and spell check over their work. Better still, they should learn a little about the art of writing before going to press.

If you are serious about making money from your writing, then be prepared to invest time, effort and energy to improve your skills as an author. It takes practise and a willingness to learn in order to become a proficient writer. The writing process merits respect from all those who are planning to make money from publishing their work.

The key to becoming a profitable writer rests in your ability to entertain and to captivate the reader through eloquent prose. If the reader is distracted because of too many spelling or grammatical errors in your work, then the reader will almost certainly go elsewhere for their reading material.

Once you have lost your reader because of bad spelling or grammar, then it is unlikely that he or she will come back to read the other material you have on offer. In short, to become a profitable writer you must approach the task of writing as you would any other profession – with due care and attention to detail.

Writing, like other professions, requires an understanding of your tools. Furthermore, you need to be proficient at using these tools if you want to become a successful author. You need to know how the written word works in terms of communicating ideas, excitement, tension and passion. Without this knowledge and the skill to use it you will fail to gain an audience for your written material.

At an elementary level, if you want to earn money from your writing, then you need to know how a sentence is constructed. You will also need to know how to use verb tenses to convey the appropriate sense of time and place. Once you have mastered the art of sentence structure, then you will need to learn how to stitch paragraphs together so that your writing comes across as a clear and coherent message.

There are plenty of resources on the Internet and in local libraries to help the budding writer master the art of writing. The local writing club or circle is a good place for writers to begin their career, not to mention a great place to exchange ideas with more experienced writers.

Writing clubs or circles present the wannabe writer with an opportunity to test their work and to gain feedback on what they have written. Constructive criticism from those in the know is always useful to anyone who is serious about improving their writing skills.

Learning to write is a lifelong process and one that should be encouraged. While there is money to be made from writing, not everyone can hope to make the grade as a profitable writer. However, this should not prevent you from trying, so long as you are willing to put in the effort.

Writing is an enjoyable pass time even if you do not make money from what you have written. You do not need to be a bestselling author to benefit from your prose. Writing is a skill that can enhance the quality of your life both at work and at play. So whilst you might be considering a career as a profitable writer, try to think of the other benefits that come with improving and developing your writing skills.

Why People Fail to Make Money from E-books

There are many reasons why people fail at writing and publishing e-books. But most of those reasons are related to the individual’s disposition rather than any problems associated with the e-book publishing industry.

First, most individuals entering the e-book publishing industry do so without fully understanding what it is they want to achieve.

Second, developing an e-book publishing business takes time and energy. Impatience is probably the biggest contributing factor towards people giving up on e-book writing and publishing as a possible source of income.

If you decide to become an e-book author/publisher, then be prepared for a lot of hard work over a long period of time. Even though there are no guarantees that your efforts will be successful, determination and hard work will swing the odds in your favor.

Third, becoming an e-book author/publisher is about learning the tools of the trade
The world of e-book publishing is very different to the one most of us encounter at the shopping mall where glitzy packaging entices us to buy the book. The Internet does not have that touchy feely experience about it most of us have become accustomed to when we go shopping. On the contrary, e-book publishing requires you to get your message across in a sincere and direct way that convinces prospective customers to purchase your e-book offering.

Learning about what works or does not work in the world of e-book publishing is imperative to your success as an e-book author/publisher. And the best way to learn about what works or does not work is to use the tried and tested methods employed by the more successful and experienced members of the e-book industry. Taking note of what the professionals do will give you a solid base of knowledge from which you can develop your own ideas.

Fourth, choosing the right e-book niche is vitally important if you are to succeed as an e-book author/publisher. You do not want to enter a market already saturated by competitors. You are a newbie and will soon become overwhelmed by the size of the competition. Survey the e-book landscape before you take the plunge. Choose something that matches your talent and your demeanor. Market research will prevent you from making the wrong, and perhaps costly, decisions.