12 Lessons I Learned – and You’ll Learn too – from Self-Publishing My First eBook

August 18, 2014
You can't stand alone - like this coconut tree in Savusavu - and expect to sell your eBook.
You can’t stand alone – like this coconut tree in Savusavu – and expect to sell your eBook.

 

I finally had it with my share of eBook failures. I’ll call these hiccups, or “practice.”

 

I released a few inspirational eBooks 2 years ago and a blogging-themed bomb earlier this year. Each experience was positive; when I chose to learn from my mistakes, and to take the lessons with me going forward.

 

I recall asking for feedback a number of months ago.

 

Stinging, was the word I remember or more accurately, the feeling I recorded after hearing some criticisms of my failed eBook.

 

Good thing; I needed the feedback to start Blogging from Paradise – the eBook – more intelligently.

 

Blogging eBooks and You

 

Hey, I’m not above receiving criticism/feedback/opinions. I dig feedback. Even if my ego feels a bit hurt by getting blown out of the water here and there.

 

Assess your blog right now. Do you offer an eBook? Is it good? Helpful? Inspiring?

 

Now, here’s one kicker of kickers: can readers download it within seconds or minutes?

 

I recall visiting a blog recently. Anybody who wanted to buy an eBook had to go through a series of steps which ensured, that after the steps were taken, the individual would receive a message from the blog owner within a few days.

 

That information led to another exchange.

 

The eBook may arrive in a day or 2 after that.

 

Nobody will wait to make payment using such approaches. Or if 1 person does, that’s one out of 100. We’re impulse buyers. You’re an impulse buyer. If you can’t whip out your credit card or debit card and buy an eBook within 1 or 2 minutes, or 5 minutes tops, after opening an account through a merchant, you’re gone for good.

 

Sometimes, you may not think clearly or logically when it comes to addressing your blogging fears, or life fears, and this lack of logical, common sense thinking can torpedo your blogging success, or your eBook sales.

 

It’s like the common sense train has just left town sometimes when I think about my eBook history, up until my current successful release, Blogging from Paradise.

 

When you do release an eBook intelligently you may:

 

  • Gain an endorsement from a New York Times Best Selling Author
  • Gain endorsements from million dollar earners
  • Gain endorsements from some of the more successful community builders in the blogging niche
  • See a nice increase in sales as soon as you release the eBook
  • Build a strong branding tool through a successful, well-thought-out, eBook

 

OK, on to my – and your – lessons.

 

Make it Easy for People to Buy Your eBook Quickly

 

My current digital stores – Selz and Amazon – make it easy to buy my eBook. Users can whip out their credit card or debit card and buy in a minute. Customers see the MC and Visa icons, as well as a trust icon, and bingo, they can purchase and satiate their urge to impulse buy.

 

My prior eBook was sold through a vendor which only accepted Paypal payments.

 

Ouch. Good luck with that. Folks had to click the buy button, log in to Paypal, pay through Paypal, and if they didn’t have a Paypal account…..you get the drill.

 

Which is exactly why a few folks – literally – bought my prior eBook.

 

People buy on impulse. Even if they trust you, they’re likely to forget to buy your eBook if they can’t purchase it within seconds or minutes.

 

Make your eBook easy to buy.

 

Pick a Clear Topic

 

My current eBook teaches you how to retire to a life of island hopping through smart blogging.

 

That sounds clear to me. Blogging from paradise. People see the title, and tagline, and know what they’re getting. You gotta deliver clearly for your eBook to be delivered to people’s email inboxes.

 

My old eBook was vague. The topic was a hazy mystery. So no clarity, no sales….or a few sales.

 

Get super clear on tackling one blogging topic, or heck, any topic, through your eBook. Make sure the topic is easy to see, or easy to visualize.

 

You think in pictures. We all do. So if it’s easy for you to clearly see yourself blogging from paradise, and retiring to a life of island hopping through smart blogging, you’re more likely to buy the eBook.

 

Get clear.

 

Make a Delicious Promise

 

Few people I know would be bored, or unimpressed, with an eBook that teaches you how to blog from paradise. Few would be blasé about how to retire to a life of island hopping through smart blogging.

 

If I told you that I’m typing these words from Savusavu, Fiji, you’re likely gonna dig it, right? And if I promised you an eBook that would explain how you too can blog from Fiji, or Bali, as a pro blogger, island hopping all over the place, you would be likely to buy into the promise, I believe.

 

I promised big on this one. I promised a big old, spectacular, HOW, which is how to retire to a life of island hopping through smart blogging.

 

My old eBook had no real promise. Blah.

 

My new eBook promises something pretty darn sweet.

 

Make a delish promise.

 

Over Deliver on the eBook

 

My new eBook breaks down, soup to nuts, how to blog from paradise, as a pro blogger.

 

Here’s the deal, if you make promises you don’t keep, people won’t trust you. If you keep your eBook title/tagline promise, via a scintillating eBook, rife with spectacular imagery, and practical, easy to follow tips, to make the promise come true, you’re golden.

 

Your sales will increase and more importantly, you’ll gain the trust of your readers.

 

Trusted authors sell future eBooks with ease. Trusted authors attract blog subscribers.

 

Why? You just know that when they promise big promises, they follow through on the delivery.

 

Johnny our landscaper over delivered. This is next week's dessert. He cut down the red bananas and hung them for us. A Fijian treat!
Johnny our landscaper over delivered. This is next week’s dessert. He cut down the red bananas and hung them for us. A Fijian treat!

My old eBook actually delivered fairly well but my promise was muted. My promise was small potatoes. So I did over deliver but wasn’t able to capitalize, as my promise was weak.

 

As for my new eBook, my intent was pure in writing the piece so naturally, I feel that I over delivered.

 

I rocked it out, I believe at least, because it felt so enjoyable to write the eBook and I see many of my readers/reviewers/endorsers feel the same way.

 

Over deliver.

 

Ask People to Buy the eBook…..a Lot

 

OK, public service announcement time. I’ve had a bunch of respected, successful, professional bloggers buy my eBook, and they’ve offered me such positive feedback.

 

So if you’ve already bought the eBook, thank you!!!

 

Please tweet this post to your buddies, to share with them, and of course if you chat about your take on my eBook, on your blog, I will be indebted to you here and now, and through my next 3 after lifes….whether I come back as a banana slug, Egyptian Pharaoh, or fine, vaporous mist…..I’m yours, my amigos.

 

Anyway, if you haven’t bought my eBook, pick it up here.

 

It’s an inspiring read for pro bloggers, newbie bloggers, office workers, college students, and the like, because it teaches you how to engineer a freeing lifestyle by running a blog….such a freeing lifestyle, that a broke, unemployed security guard on government assistance, could start a blog and then travel for the past 40 months, using said blog to fund his trips, hopping from tropical paradise to tropical paradise.

 

I asked people to pick up this eBook a bunch because I believe in it, for sure, but more than anything, I want to take you with me.

 

If you ask people to buy your eBook in a nice way, persistently, more often than not, people will buy it. Of course you must prove your worth by offering serious value on the front end….through your blog.

 

My old eBook; hell, I barely asked people to buy it, and when I did, I felt desperate, and conflicted. Naturally, they stayed away.

 

Persistently ask folks to buy your eBook. In a nice, entertaining way.

 

Purify Your Intent

 

I just finished my like 10th interview – or 11th, or 12th??? – over the past 5 weeks, and wow do I feel grateful. Never have so many folks wanted to hear my take on blogging, or on my eBook, or on blogging from paradise.

 

When folks ask me my blogging intent during these interviews I share a simple answer: I want to take everybody with me.

 

“Everybody” may be a bit broad but I want to take as many folks as possible with me. I want you to come along for the ride. I want you to enjoy the life I’m enjoying.

 

I carried this intent through my new blog. I wrote my eBook with this intent.

 

I want to take you with me.

 

My old eBook was written with about 10 intents, none all too pure. The end result was poor results.

 

I honestly believe that the purer your intent, the more fun the ride. Purifying your intent before publishing an eBook detaches you from outcomes. Purifying your intent also makes your eBook flat out rock.

 

Why?

 

Virtually all of your energies can be devoted to creating, not focusing on making money, or trying to get more readers, or trying to reel in more customers. A light, fun, airy nature pervades your being while you write.

 

How to Start a Blog: Buy this Course

 

You’re not writing to get famous or to generate sales. You just want to free people.

 

I want to free you. I want to take you with me, through Blogging from Paradise.

 

Purify your intent.

 

Get Your Cover, Covered

 

Cover your cover. Like, make sure your cover is eye-catching. Attention-grabbing covers inspire readers to pick up your eBook.

 

My old eBook did quite well in this department.

 

My new eBook also does really well in this department.

 

I have to thank my designer Phil Dews for this one; the guy designed both covers brilliantly. He inspired, and remained true to my brand, and my vision.

 

People just love eye candy too darn much to not be captivated by an attractive, inspired eBook cover.

 

Make sure your cover game is tight.

 

Don’t Over Think the Price

 

One introductory price vibed with me. I thought about the price once or twice. That was it.

 

No worries. No over thinking. I just charged a price because my intent is to take you with me. The price is an afterthought.

 

After releasing the eBook with an introductory price I since changed the price. Again, I picked a number.

 

No worries, no stress, no wasted energy. If I just want to inspire folks, and have over delivered, then I’m golden.

 

People will pay for the eBook because my energy has been clean around the price, and clear about the price because I barely thought about the price.

 

I snapped this stunning Savusavu, Fiji sunset photo from the front deck.
I snapped this stunning Savusavu, Fiji sunset photo from the front deck.

My intent was to take people with me, so folks like Chris Brogan, and Yaro Starak, and Adrienne Smith, and Matthew Capella, and Marc Andre, and Kevin Duncan, and Andrew Spence, they were on board, and endorsed my eBook.

 

When your intent is to free people, and you deliver a fun, inspired product, and get endorsements, the price takes care of itself. Meaning, you think about a price once or twice and set it, spending virtually no time worrying about the price, so people will just buy the darn thing.

 

If you do need a bit of guidance look around for people in your niche who are offering similar eBooks. Charge accordingly, then get back to creating fab content and connecting with niche authorities.

 

Endorsements Count….Get Them

 

I noted in the prior tip that I received eBook endorsements for Blogging from Paradise from:

 

  • Chris Brogan
  • Yaro Starak
  • Matthew Capella
  • Marc Andre
  • Andrew Spence
  • Kevin Duncan
  • Adrienne Smith

 

Each blogger is accomplished, with huge communities of folks supporting them.

 

Chris Brogan is a New York Times best selling author. He’s a world renowned public speaker. The man gives advice to people like Paulo Coelho and Tony Robbins.

 

When you visit my eBook sales/testimonials page, and see that he tweeted his buddy Ryan Biddulph’s new eBook, it certainly makes one do a double take.

 

Yaro Starak is a leader in our niche. He’s earned millions online and he’s coached many people, helping them earn fortunes.

 

Matthew Capella is a leading digital marketer, teaching people how to grow prospering ventures while bootstrapping. He’s built a monster network of friends and supporters around him and has seen stunning success.

 

Marc Andre is an authority blogger, and he’s sold websites for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

 

Andrew Spence is another super successful blogger who runs a Facebook Page with tens of thousands of ENGAGED, RABID fans. The man is a case study in inspiring your readers, Fans and customers to engage, which builds trust.

 

Kevin Duncan has seen massive success developing websites, and through his new blog. He has built a large, loyal following, and is a well-respected, smart, entertaining blogger who I deeply admire.

 

Adrienne Smith is the queen of engagement, the maven of networking, the wizard at building a huge, engaging, loyal, tight-knit community, and she runs a highly successful consulting business.

 

If people support you, and those people are pros, you better believe folks will buy your eBook because it’s a trusted commodity.

 

My old eBook had a few strong endorsements.

 

My new eBook has a bunch of rousing endorsements from influential people, with Chris Brogan being a New York Times Best Seller.

 

We’re all swayed by peer pressure, and when the peers have some serious clout, we tend to buy in, pronto.

 

Get endorsements.

 

Your Outreach Campaign Will Make or Break Your eBook

 

How do you get endorsements? Through blogging outreach.

 

Chris Brogan sent out a tweet for his buddy Ryan Biddulph because RB probably left 10,000 word’s worth of comments on CB’s blog, and RB tweeted his latest posts for months, and RB also chatted with CB about his newsletters, through email.

 

I built a bond, made a friend, and here we are.

 

I’ve built bonds with each person who endorsed me, so naturally, when I asked them, more than a few responded with a kind endorsement.

 

I didn’t even ask Chris Brogan to tweet my eBook link; he did it on his own.

 

Adrienne Smith freaking proof-read my ENTIRE eBook! How amazing is that? Kind friends will do kind things, that will make you feel all warm and fuzzy, if you help them out as much as humanly possible.

 

Endorsements are gold, and blogger outreach sets up endorsements.

 

My outreach campaign for my old eBook was damn weak.

 

My outreach campaign for Blogging from Paradise has been ultra aggressive.

 

After making like 13 appearances on other blogs last month, through guest posts and interviews alone, and being referenced through another 5 or so posts, I’ll be interviewed on the wildly successful blogging site, Successful Blogging (ironic, right?) today.

 

Tomorrow, my guest post goes live on Daniel Scocco’s HUGE authority blog, Daily Blog Tips.

 

Sometime soon, I’ll be featured on wildly popular The Guy’s travel site, Flights and Frustrations. I just completed the 2400 word, in-depth, fun interview a few hours ago.

 


 

This has been a massive blitz, to get the word out about my eBook, and the endorsements, the guest posts, the interviews and the mini features have been the product of helping out a ton of folks, through promoting them and posting long, in-depth, helping comments on their blogs.

 

I made friends. I helped friends. I enjoyed the heck out of it. More folks trusted me, and learned about my eBook, and bought my eBook, all because I engaged in some major league blogging outreach.

 

Outreach folks. Your friends will make your eBook successful by spreading the word for you.

 

Craft a Hella In-Depth Sales/ Testimonials Page

 

My current sales page is the result of writing a really sucky sales page for my old eBook, and learning my lessons from that sucky sales page.

 

I decided to go above, and beyond, lacing my in-depth, informative, beneficial as heck copy, explaining why you should buy the book, with powerful testimonials from everybody, from celebrities, to some of the more inspiring bloggers in my niche.

 

The more you give up on the front end, the more likely people are to buy in.

 

If you’ve given folks 40 inspiring, convincing, all powerful reasons to buy your eBook, and you explain why you wrote the eBook, and list out more benefits, and share your pure intent, folks will buy it.

 

Go above and beyond, then, a bit beyond, when you build your sales page.

 

I’m talking, REALLY beyond. People want to know why they should invest their money and a few hour’s worth of their lives, to buy and read your eBook.

 

I made this sales page say….”This is worth your while!”, by being thorough, comprehensive, and just plain all-encompassing, when building my Blogging from Paradise eBook sales/testimonials page.

 

Go above and beyond on your eBook sales page.

 

Stop Promoting Anything but Your eBook

 

Every 20 minutes I see a commercial for the upcoming elections here in Fiji. Fiji First has been on an advertising blitz for the 8 weeks we’ve been here.

 

That’s why it’s called a “blitz.” All Fiji First, all the time, which will probably help this party win the elections in September, in a big way.

 

4 weeks ago I started promoting 1 thing on my social networks; my eBook. I promoted my latest posts of course, but in terms of products or services, my freelance writing services and my hootsuite affiliate sales promotion have both taken a back seat to the book.

 

I want people to hire me, and buy my affiliate product, but 9 out of 10 of my promotional tweets, and blogging calls to action, will focus on selling my eBook.

 

On a subconscious level, you program someone through repetition. Buy Blogging from Paradise, buy Blogging from Paradise, etc, etc…repeat, repeat.

 

As for my old book, let’s not even go there. I promoted 10 or more products, services or ventures back then. I’m not kidding. Epic, epic fail.

 

Lesson learned for my new eBook. All Blogging from Paradise, all the time, because that’s how an eBook promotional blitz is done.

 

Promote your eBook and put your other products or services on the backburner, at least for a few weeks, or for a few months.

 

The eBook

 

If you want to become a full time blogger you can buy my eBook here:

 


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Ryan Biddulph

Ryan Biddulph is a blogger, author and world traveler who's been featured on Richard Branson's Virgin Blog, Forbes, Fox News, Entrepreneur, Positively Positive, Life Hack, John Chow Dot Com and Neil Patel Dot Com. He can help you become a full time blogger with this eBook.
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48 Comments

  1. I’d say Marios the best thing to do is to sit down, open a Word document and create your outline, The toughest part is usually writing the eBook because folks trip up over the details – uploading to KDP Select, formatting for Kindle, etc – and avoid writing the sucker. Sit and write and all the other steps go smoothly.

    This resource can help you my friend:

    http://www.bloggingtips.com/2015/03/13/5-steps-successfully-write-format-ebooks-amazon/

  2. Hey Ryan,

    One of the niches I am serving is the self-publishing niche, and I have to say that because I’m still learning, I found your post very helpful and insightful. I’m thinking of writing an ebook about… writing ebooks, and posts like yours or Lisa’s on my blog are always welcome!

    Where do you think I should start if I want to publish an eBook (besides writing it, of course)?

    Thanks!

  3. Jessica Says:

    Endorsements are important – point well taken. Blogger outreach is so important, and only this year have I ramped this up through blogging communities and getting to know more folks in my space. It’s so beneficial.

  4. Jesse Says:

    Well, to start with I wanted to confirmed that it was a breeze to get your book all downloaded right after payment, and that’s of the extreme importance, indeed. Who in this day and age would want to buy any eBook online that they will get in a few days? No one!

  5. Shawn Says:

    What I really enjoyed about this post is the tip that you made about endorsements. Basically creating a buzz around your product. That’s greatly important. Look at what it’s done for you. You were able to get Chris Brogan to mention your eBook absolutely free

  6. Yessir….thanks Ray!

  7. Raymond Says:

    Get super clear on tackling one blogging topic, or heck, any topic, through your eBook. Make sure the topic is easy to see, or easy to visualize.

  8. Simon, that is awesome! Congrats on your release and hey, on the very same day. We are aligned for much success. Thanks for reading and see ya soon!

  9. Simon Says:

    As luck would have it, I just released my very first ebook today! (It’s no fluke; I looked you up on Google.)

    Thanks for the excellent tips about approaching other bloggers and people who may be able to review my book.

  10. Hmmm weird Leena….I’ll check the spam and see what we have. Sorry about that and thanks again!

  11. Leena Shah Says:

    Hey Ryan,

    Firs This is a Great Post ,I know I commented here days ago, but when I checked to see if you had responded I couldn’t find it. Gremlins must have taken it, I guess. Oh well. Take two… Thanks a lot For Sharing me Keep it up

    Regard
    Leena Shah

  12. Awesome Sanjay, so exciting. Thanks again buddy.

  13. Hi Ryan. Thank you for your advice. I understood every thing from your article without any doubt. I’m a beginner in blogging, but i plan to publish an Ebook. These advices and tips will help me when i prepare my Ebook. Keep doing this Ryan

  14. Hi Kevin, That’s really strange. I was having comment disappearing issues a few days into starting this blog….I’ll do some digging to see what’s up. Thanks for letting me know. My pleasure! I feel so grateful for your backing and yep, for Chris’ Yaro’s and everybody’s support. Thanks buddy and have a fun weekend.

  15. Kevin Duncan Says:

    Hey Ryan,

    I know I commented here days ago, but when I checked to see if you had responded I couldn’t find it. Gremlins must have taken it, I guess. Oh well. Take two…

    THANK YOU for the mention and the kind words. It was an honor to endorse your eBook, and I really hope you’re having lots of success with it so far. And kudos on getting endorsements from Brogan and Yaro. That’s big time!

  16. Hi Steve, Oh yes, please do keep me in the loop about your eBook. So excited to see it when it goes live. Trump is the man, and like you said, when others say good things about us and our products we really are golden. Outreach is that critical to our success. Thanks so much for sharing Steve, great to see you 🙂 You too…

  17. Hi Ryan,

    This is an excellent post and comes to me at the perfect time. I am about 70% done with my eBook and totally agree with your points.

    I haven’t yet but I will focus a lot on the cover. I see so many generic ones and I want to come up with something that will stand out and look professional at the same time.

    Make a delicious promise! I like that one and honestly didn’t think of that for my eBook. I had a list of points as to what one will get out of it but not a delicious promise I will come up with that one for sure.

    I am not going to sell my eBook though. I just want to build a loyal following and this will help increase those numbers.

    I heard this quote from Donald Trump years ago and it always stuck with me. “Marketing is the engine that drives your business”. Outreach is huge and obviously worked extremely well for you.

    We will absolutely say good things about our stuff but when others say good things, people tend to notice!

    I really enjoyed this read and will keep you up to date on my eBook!

    Have a great weekend Ryan!

  18. Hi Adrienne, Wow, so excited for your new product. I know it will be a success because you pay such meticulous attention to detail and have such a loyal, loving group of friends around you. It will rock I know. As for the pricing, I felt so clear on it but with old eBooks, well, I know that feeling so darn well I will say that; based on the quality of your work, and the strength of your endorsements, and the sheer monster size of your network, I’d go on the higher side of things. One of the toughest things I ever had to learn, to do, was not to short change myself. As for my introductory price it was super low. Now I’m at around $10, which I feel is very reasonable, yet affordable for folks. Based on the prices of eBooks, and kindle downloads, that works for me. As for your product whatever you’re thinking, knowing your attention to detail, and inspiring story…people will pay. No doubt in my mind! Thanks so much Adrienne for sharing, and for your kind words 🙂

  19. Adrienne Says:

    Hey Ryan,

    These are absolutely fabulous lessons you learned and I for one appreciate you sharing them with us. I might not be putting out an eBook but I do have an upcoming product to release soon and I have over thought everything until I’m about to shoot myself. I don’t even know if I’ll get it released by when I want because of these things but I’m just really over thinking everything and it’s making me a nervous wreck.

    I guess it’s because my audience wants something so bad from me that I’m afraid of disappointing them. I know what you’re going to say, how could you but it’s just the pressure that I put on myself.

    So I can honestly take some of the lessons you’ve learned and just now shared with us here to apply for my product.

    I know for me if I purchase something yet things don’t go smoothly for me to instantly download or have access to it then I definitely get very frustrated. Everyone worries about that right! Things can always go wrong.

    Now I might not have a cover to get created but I’m working on my site right now. I hope it will be appealing enough but time will tell.

    The thing I’m dealing with right now is making sure I’m just concentrating mostly on the topic I promised to deliver. I share a lot of my story because I think it can help those people who will purchase this that don’t know me but I don’t want to get stuck on that. I want to get to the meat of it all so I’m still working through that.

    I’m getting hung up on the price because so many people have given me their opinions that I’m just not sure what to do. I think it would be easier if I were doing just an eBook but I want this to be more than that.

    I’ve had people stepping up telling me they want to promote me and they’ll help so that’s the beauty of having built such an awesome community. They truly care about me and want to help so it will be up to me to turn around and reach out to them all again. I guess with this being my first time I’m just a nervous wreck.

    So comparing my issues to what you did I can just applaud you that you got this all done and in such a timely manner. You are such the pro and by the way, I didn’t mind proofing that for you. Heck, I was going to read it and write a review for you anyway right! Why not just point out a few minor and I mean minor errors along the way. I was happy to do that for you and I’m so glad that it’s been such a huge success. I’m very proud of you Ryan. You are truly an inspiration.

    Congratulations on the success of your eBook and I know that everything you do moving forward will be very well received. 😉

    ~Adrienne

  20. Hi Tim, thanks so much 😉 I felt offering a compare/contrast with my last offering would be helpful for folks, to avoid the mistakes I made. So happy to inspire you too. I’m looking forward to seeing your eBook down the road. Have a fun day Tim.

  21. Hi Andrew, actually, the Paypal thing is a clarity thing. I want prospering, confident folks to buy my eBook. People who can whip out there credit and debit card and buy in a minute. If someone is struggling financially, and has no bank account, or fears using their credit or debit card, getting over these struggles and fears is the tuition one must pay to blog from paradise. From my personal experience, if someone isn’t willing to make these sacrifices, or overcome these fears, the eBook is not for them because things will get WAY more uncomfortable along the way, on this journey.

    Wow, awesome points overall Andrew. As for the endorsements it’s so, so true. We’re swayed left and right by the opinions of heavy hitters so making friends with influencers by helping them out. Thanks so much my friend, for the wonderful comment. Likewise Andrew.

  22. Hi Emebu, I appreciate that, so happy to be of service. See you soon 🙂

  23. Hey Ryan,

    Great post.

    Let me start off by asking a question. Did you not want to go with paypal at all with your ebook even though they now have the option for people to purchase your ebook even if they don’t have a paypal account? Just wondering.

    Onto your points.

    1. Over-delivering is completely, 100% accurate. When you over-deliver, subconsciously, your customers will be thinking about that and may be even more inclined to purchase from you again based on you over-delivering in the first place. I’m a big believe in that.

    2. Getting your cover, covered, is good advice. Not all of us can design an eye-catching ebook cover, and even though there’s free software out there, is it worth trading your time to try to figure things out? Or is it better to pay an expert to do it. I rather have the expert do it because they can more than likely make it 500 times better than I ever could.

    3. Price will always be an issue no matter what type of product you put out there. Even I have problems trying to come up with a suitable price for the products I sell on another site, and even for my newsletter I put out. Sometimes it’s hard NOT to over think it.

    4. What I really enjoyed about this post is the tip that you made about endorsements. Basically creating a buzz around your product. That’s greatly important. Look at what it’s done for you. You were able to get Chris Brogan to mention your eBook absolutely free … Adrienne Smith to proofread the entire thing … whoever says that outreach ISN’T important is surely lost.

    5. Salespage is important. Sales copy is ultra important. If you don’t have the magic words to entice people, they won’t be inclined to read your message and purchase your products.

    Overall great post Ryan.

    I agree with all of your lessons and will hopefully be using it for my own eBook that I’m writing for my Shade Of Info blog.

    Hope you have a great rest of the week.

    – Andrew

  24. Emebu Says:

    Hi Ryan,
    I am always happy whenever i visit your blog, this is because you always have something yet another tutorials, i enjoyed reading every bit of these 12 lessons you posted herein.

  25. Tim Bonner Says:

    Hi Ryan

    Congratulations on your eBook! It’s fantastic the endorsements you’ve received.

    It’s interesting to hear the experiences you’ve had with this eBook compared to your last one. Things just seem to have fitted into place and it’s great from an inspirational point of view to hear about it.

    I haven’t written an eBook as yet, at least not one that isn’t a free giveaway. It’s not something that’s on my radar at the moment but definitely something for the future.

    You’ve given me some motivation for the day Ryan! Thanks :-).

  26. Hi David, Awesome. Go for it. I learned from my errors to help out anybody who’s starting their journey. Thanks for reading and thanks for sharing 🙂

  27. David Pheng Says:

    I never have experience on writing eBook before. I planning to make one but i don’t know where to start form. Thank so much for 12 tips. This can fix my mistake for my first time writing an ebook.

  28. Hi Catherine, I’d probably put that up on Selz and Amazon. Selz is a piece of cake; so easy to upload the PDF. Amazon a bit more challenging because you need to format the eBook for Kindle, but not too complex….just time consuming….thanks again for picking up my eBook Catherine, and when you can, feel free to leave a review on Amazon after you’ve read it: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MSZ3ZZ2 Enjoy your day 🙂

  29. Hi Don, Congrats on your speaking engagement. Awesome, you must be so excited. As for your eBook it will be published at the perfect time. Tending to pressing/time sensitive commitments now helps you naturally write and publish the work in due time. Thanks so much for sharing Don. Have a fun week.

  30. Hi Sylviane, Happy early birthday! Yep, I too had a similar incident and chalked it up as part of my learning curve. I also decided to do the next one by myself, save the design part which Phil Dews handled. We can learn so much from eBook releases or life if we commit to learning. It just benefits all of us. Thanks so much Sylviane and enjoy your special day. Just to let you know, you can share feedback/reviews here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MSZ3ZZ2

  31. Hi Ryan,

    Another great, great post.

    Well, to start with I wanted to confirmed that it was a breeze to get your book all downloaded right after payment, and that’s of the extreme importance, indeed. Who in this day and age would want to buy any eBook online that they will get in a few days? No one!

    We live and learn. Me too I’ve learned so much from previous eBooks I sold, I even learned from one that I wrote in supposed partnership with someone, and now the guy is selling the book on Amazon and I guess he forgot to tell me 🙂

    The eBooks that I have live now are freebies and the next one will be a real book as well as a pdf version available too I guess. That one will be about personal development, and probably be a great drive for my coaching business. I’ve got to work on it.

    Gosh I haven’t dug into that book of yours yet, but tomorrow is “do what you want day” for me because it’s my B-day and I have planned to print it in order to take it with me and read it already 🙂 I will definitely give you feedback.

    Have a wonderful day!

  32. Don Purdum Says:

    Hi Ryan,

    Isn’t if funny how things have a way of coming to you? My wife and I own another business where we work with business owners and their spouses to help them learn how to have a happy marriage and successful business.

    We are working on a book right now. Unfortunately, I speak in Dallas, TX on Sept 18th and 19th and it’s not even close to ready right now.

    With that said, I have a plan to connect with the audience and give them a small free ebook and get them on my list so that I can promote it to them when it’s finished.

    I may write one in the future about my experience of ten years as a business owner… my failures and how they turned into successes. I want to show people that it’s okay to fail; and to even fail miserably. We only learn through failure in the end and that’s what improves our businesses.

    With that said, this is the second article today I’ve seen on the subject of ebooks and now I’m getting anxious and excited to get going!!!!

    Thanks for putting this out here just when I needed it!

    ~ Don Purdum

  33. I have written an ebook, not for my blogging site, but for my party site. And I know that I have not marketed this well. I have it in my Etsy shop and I have it displayed on my site, but that’s about it. I did not go all out with it’s promotion and I hardly ever (ok, I never) refer to it! Seriously need to go over your tips again here!

    And yes I did buy your ebook, because I kept reading to do so….lol. But not yet had the chance to read it ….. opps. I am missing out on a Gem, so must rectify that soon too!

  34. Hi Carol, thanks so much for your insightful comment!!! You add SO much value to this community I can’t share how much I appreciate you. Thanks again too for your kind words. Really, outreach, endorsements and simply doing your best job possible can help you shine bright in your niche. Just help a ton of people, daily, and keep on creating, and hyper target that niche too, to see the best results. Thanks again Carol, you really rock. Oh, and if you wanted to write a review on Amazon I’d so appreciate it. Here’s the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MSZ3ZZ2

  35. Hi Brittany…maybe….I’m 39 years old….pushing 40 but not until February 😉 Hmmm….writing about your passion helps most, especially if the passion aligns with your niche. This is probably the best way to go as far as generating solid sales and more importantly, helping your target market. Hope this helps….thanks so much Brittany.

  36. Ryan,

    You’re such an inspiration. I want to be more like you when I grow… down… since you’re probably younger than me! I recently released my own ebook but I’m still trying to figure out the right bloggers to reach out to about it. I’m so confused. My passion is helping mommy bloggers turn their hobby into a career, and the blogs I love to read are all about blogging, but I’m not sure if those are the people who my target market is listening to.

    I’m not not really sure who they ARE listening to! You know what I mean?

    Any thoughts?

  37. Carol Amato Says:

    Hey Ryan,

    So this is a case study of sorts about you pulsing and promoting your eBook – awesome!!

    First things first, I bought your eBook, and loved it and highly recommend it to anyone that’s interested in blogging as well as anyone interested in travel because you can get a lot of enjoyment from the book even if you’re not interested in online business, in my opinion.

    Yep fully agree on the low barrier to entry with the downloading eBook point… Have seen placed that make you jump though so many hoops it’s ridiculous.

    When I bought your eBook it was it easy, and flawless process for which I’m very grateful.

    I absolutely love your section on”make a delicious promise” – excellent and oh so relevant.

    Yes, you absolutely did over-deliver, my friend – way to go on that – you definitely stand out. 🙂

    Asking for the sale is a good thing yet so many are timid and whatnot..What in the world for? You believe in it don’t you? You think it’s good enough to spend money on, don’t you? Yep! Passion will drive you, and the quality of work you did can give you confidence in being passionate about it.

    Love your point on Don’t overthink the price – I analyze to a fault sometimes, which is a time waster most of the time.

    Endorsements are important – point well taken. Blogger outreach is so important, and only this year have I ramped this up through blogging communities and getting to know more folks in my space. It’s so beneficial.

    Repeat, repeat messages do work because most people don’t buy something the first time they hear about it.

    Selling is the oldest industry alive and is honorable!

    Thanks for a thought-provoking and inspiring post, Ryan – loved it that you shared your journey with us. 🙂

    Have a good evening.
    – Carol
    P.S. Will be sharing this post with my friends.

  38. Hi KC, We have so many life lessons to share when we open up, and address both our mistakes, and our success. I’m loving the stories you’re telling over at Live Life Make to Order….thanks so much 🙂

  39. Hi Tim, congrats on your new site and eBook! Just pick 1 topic for your new blog, and always stick with it. Build the blog around 1 reader. Think of meeting that person’s needs, and solving their problems, and you’ll be beyond golden. Thanks my man, appreciate it.

  40. kelli Says:

    Hey Ryan
    You give some excellent advice here, and I like how you were open about what you did wrong with previous projects–in many ways, people can learn more from other people did wrong than what they did right. Anyone thinking about publishing an e-book can learn tons from this post!

  41. I released my first eBook literally a couple days ago and then I was hit with the urge to delete it and create a more specific eBook. But the good news is that I wrote an eBook, even if it sucked, which means writing a better one won’t be difficult.

    I have made up my mind. http://www.timothytorrents.com is going to be added to the list of learning experiences, and I’m going to make something new – better – and targeted. Hopefully I’ll get it right this time. Excellent article. Hard to believe this website is just a few weeks old!

    Hope that I can have that kind of success with my new website!

  42. Hi James, Thanks so much for the feedback! I feel good knowing that a seasoned Amazon vet like yourself is giving me a hearty thumbs up; I wanted to add the endorsements to Amazon but am still in that 12 to 48 hour publishing period, where I can’t edit much. Once it inspires, I am adding for sure. Amen on that; I wanted to make this easy, and I’ll likely add to Barnes and Noble soon too. Thanks so much James. Have a fun week.

  43. Congrats Ken! eBooks are fun to create and awesome authority builders. Keep writing, keep connecting, keep helping pros and that backing you accurately describe becomes easier to obtain. That’s the key; giving freely, and then you receive easily. Great spot for wrapping up your eBook too on the shores of Bali. Thanks for reading buddy, and sharing.

  44. Ken Kai Says:

    Ryan mate, very glad to see the success of your eBook. I am in the process of writing one up at the moment in Cairns and finalizing everything over in Bali. Something about the sunsets glow over there and the waves crashing into the shore.. No better way to finish the thing off!

    Some big names you got backing up the eBook. That’s the way to sell anything and your eBook was a great example of that. People back things they’re confident in.

    I’ll bookmark this and go over it again as I’m finishing it up.

    Cheers,

    Ken

  45. James Thurn Says:

    Hey Ryan,

    I enjoyed reading this post. I have several eBooks on Amazon Kindle Publishing (under pen names), and I can relate to getting your eBook in front of readers.

    I noticed your eBook is on Amazon too, and I think it would be beneficial to add your endorsements to the description of your eBook. I exclusively sell on Kindle because Amazon’s platform gets my books in front of millions of potential readers.

    Speaking of endorsements, you did an excellent job connecting with the right people. Just reading the names of the bloggers who recommend your eBook is enough to make the decision to buy.

    Also, I’m glad you talked about making it easy for readers to buy your eBook. Many people seem to miss this point and make you jump through hoops to pay! I love Amazon because there’s a 1-click buy button. Talk about an impulse buy.

    Keep up to good work. I’ve been following your blog for over a month now.

    James
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