To many people, the idea of writing a book or ebook is such a monumental decision in itself, there is barely any room left to even consider where that ebook or book may take them in the future.Â
The most common question I get asked over at InfoMarketer’sZone is “How long will it take to make $X with my ebook?”Â
Typically the $X is somewhere between a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars a month.Â
Having dozens of e-books and diigital information products on the market, let me assure you there can be significant income generated from your own e-books or online training programs…but there are other positives that you may not have even fathomed.
1. A Follow-Up Training Program, Course or Home Study Program. Since information products (by design) help people have, be or do something they badly desire – there tends to be significant opportunity post-sale to help those who initially bought your e-book. Whether these requests come from 5% or 25% of your buyers, the fact is there IS opportunity to follow up with more detailed, hands-on, and in some cases, personalized training. Often this is really just an elaboration of what is in your e-book or book, but can often fetch you in excess of 10X the price of the ebook or book. Launch an e-book on stress relief that sells for $27 and you will get 10-20% of those who buy your ebook willing to pay you for a more involved, back-end course for $100-$300 depending on the content and format.Â
2. Coaching – Personal or Group. This one is your call, not everyone wants the direct contact with your market that 1:1 or group coaching demands, but for others this can turn into a very profitable, exciting and effective way to grow their business. For many topics, 1-hour of consulting can range from $150-$350/hour and beyond. Personally, I limit my coaching, but do find it both profitable, as well as a great way to keep close to my market AND test new products, tips and ideas.Â
3. Leverage Publicity – If you have something else to sell, an existing business, an e-commerce site, an offline business, a software product or a partnership where you link up with another product creator to help market their product, then books are great ways to gain publicity. With a good hook, you can gain speaking engagements and really take your marketing to the people
4. Additional info-products. I’ve had some students decide to roll out 2-3 ebooks or books each year and to keep their business humming along with just those products. Not only can this make you a very good living, but over time amasses a huge amount of content that can be delivered in other formats for added profits…or even licensed to more ambitious people while you sit back and collect ongoing royalties.Â
5. Sell A Service: If you are a lawyer that specializes in helping businesses with legal issues as they relate to the internet, an accountant that specializes in a certain niche of business, a search engine optimization expert, or any other service imaginable, you can turbocharge your web marketing by writing a book and selling it online. Suddenly you become more visible, gain crediiblity and become a top expert in your field that previously had no knowledge of you or your service. Â
I have yet to come across anyone who has spent time writing their own ebook or book and regretted that decision.Â
The fact is the benefits far outweigh any risks, at least in our experience. What about yours?
