The ebook revolution is here! The Internet now makes it
possible to come up with an idea, turn it into an ebook,
distribute it over the Internet, and start making money – all
in 30 days or less. In the offline world, 30 days wouldn’t
typically even be long enough to start getting rejection letters
back from publishers. We say this with confidence because
we have both gone from book idea to book sales in a matter of
weeks – not once, but many times. Between us, we have 10 ebooks currently selling on the Net. Several of our books have brought us five figures in income. Jim holds the record between us with one release that made an astounding $43,000 in 30 days.

Here are two discouraging myths you should be aware of:

Myth #1 – It takes a lot of money to promote an ebook.
Fact: It doesn’t. Despite what anyone says to the contrary,
online information publishing is still the fastest, cheapest
and easiest way for the “little” guy to earn a nice living
online with virtually no risk and very little money (less than
$100).

Myth #2: You have to be a writer to make money with ebooks.
Fact: You don’t have to be a “writer” in order to create a best
selling ebook – and it often helps if you’re not!

Maybe you’ve heard that ebooks don’t sell. That’s not entirely a
myth; in a way, that’s true. What sells in bookstores will
generally not sell well on the Internet. Although author
J.K. Rowling has sold more than 100 million copies of her “Harry
Potter” books worldwide, it’s unlikely she would do well selling
her stories in ebook form.

But ebooks sell like hotcakes when they contain PRACTICAL information in ready-to-use form. Not pages of pages of long, flowing prose like you find at Borders and Barnes and Noble. On the Net, people buy step-by-step, cut-to-the-chase information they can use to solve problems in their everyday lives.

eBooks on how to negotiate the best price on a car, how to sell
your home without paying a real estate agent, how to build muscle mass quickly, and other narrowly focused topics that solve a problem, are selling VERY well – at this very moment!

Why is this so? Because the main reason people are online in the first place is to find information – 9 times out of 10, according to a landmark survey.

So if you can interest people in extending their search past
looking for free information into purchasing an information-rich,
well-organized, ready-made SOLUTION to a pressing problem, you can sell ebooks… You can sell a LOT of them.

Jim has sold more than 5,000 ebooks in the last 10 months.
David’s publishers have asked him not to reveal how many ebooks he’s sold, but just type his first and last name into Google and you’ll find more than 20,000 Web pages where his name appears. The vast majority of those pages have something to do with one of his ebooks.

One more thing: It doesn’t need to take very long to write an
ebook. Why? Because many “book books” are like encyclopedias in prose form – they cover everything imaginable about the topic.

eBooks aren’t like that. They go right to the meat of what people need to know to solve a problem. They have information about everything necessary to solve a problem, but no “filler”
information that takes so long to write – and takes readers so
long to sift through.

Here are four mistakes ebook authors make that typically reduce or prevent sales:

1. They don’t write to a specific, target audience.
The biggest mistake most ebook authors make is they don’t clearly define, identify and visualize who they are selling their ebook to. On the Web, to be successful, you must write to a specific group of people who have specific interests. Make sure that you know exactly who is going to buy your ebook, and where you can find them online.

2. They don’t automate as many of their business activities as
possible. Selling ebooks, though it is highly profitable, is not
a business where you make hundreds of dollars per sale.

Automate everything you can – credit card processing, ebook
delivery, as much technical support as possible.

3. They don’t have a compelling title for their ebook.
Use words that convey the benefit of what’s in the ebook, as
well as words your audience is familiar with.

A bad title for an ebook: “Online Marketing for Newbies.” A good
title for the same ebook: “97 Ways to Promote Your Website – No Experience Required.”

4. They try to cover too much ground.
Many ebook authors convey a lot of information but don’t cover
anything in-depth. As a result, they never fully explain anything
in enough detail to provide any useful value to their readers.

As long as you are aware of these mistakes and put in a little
effort to avoid them, your chances of success are VERY high.

So, if you know a lot about something – or even if you don’t -
you can put together and market an ebook quickly, and make a lot of money quickly as well. The large traditional publishers may
never understand or agree with this, but that’s actually to your
benefit. It keeps the playing field level and offers you, the entr
epreneurial author, unlimited opportunities for many years to come.

-By Jim Edwards and David Garfinkel

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About The Authors:

Jim Edwards and David Garfinkel are co-authors of “eBook Secrets
Exposed – How to Make Massive Amounts of Money in Record Time
With Your Own eBook (whether you wrote it or not!),” the
authoritative guide to publishing ebooks on the Internet.
Guerrilla Marketing author Jay Conrad Levinson says, “If there
was ever a ‘must read’ for this century, it is this book.” For
more information, visit eBookSecretsExposed.com

I spend a lot of time emailing with online business owners. Since that’s my specialty, I find a lot of people asking me questions about my “success”. What amazes me is that many of those people are asking the wrong questions!

The questions I’m talking about come from site owners who want to know how to make themselves look good online. These site owners want to write copy that is all about *their* company. They want to have a flash home page because *they* like it. They want to use *their* favorite colors in the design.

The problem is, it isn’t *their* site! Let me explain….

Think about it a minute. Why do you believe most department stores now willingly offer refunds? Years ago they didn’t. In fact, it was a well-known fact that, if you bought it, you owned it for life. Yet, in just the last 15 years or so, that way of thinking has been completely reversed. The reason? Customer demand.

Retailers recognized a customer need, and they filled it. They understood that customers were the ones who made the purchases and, therefore, the ones who kept their retail stores in business. The smart thing to do? Reverse the refund policy and keep customers happy.

Was it the store’s idea to offer refunds? No. If it were up to the stores, no money would ever be returned. After all, it’s *their* store, isn’t it? They can do what they want. Yeah, right! Not if they want to stay in business.

The same principle applies to your website. Sure, *you* may want to use certain colors on your site, but what would your customer prefer? Your favorite thing in the online world may be flash intros, but your customers might despise them. You may not like the idea of offering a guarantee, but what about your customers? Whose site is it, anyway? Yours? No, not really.

Before you get too entangled in making your site everything you want it to be, consider your customers’ wants and needs.

ACTION STEP 1

Make Your Copy Customer Focused – Go back to your site and read your copy. Does it say anything similar to this? “Welcome to my website. My company does this, that, and the other thing. I am the best company of my type on the Internet. My site has been online since 1999. Buy from me.” If so, you have some work to do.

Focus on your customers. What are their needs/wants? Rather than copy that says, “Me, me, we, us, I, I, I,” you want copy that acknowledges visitors, makes a connection with them, defines their needs, and offers solutions to their problems.

ACTION STEP 2

Turn Your Site Into An Invitation, Not An Eviction – Do you have a flash home page? If you check your stats, I’ll bet you’ll find more people who skip the flash intro of your site than people who actually view it.

Flash is extremely popular with Web designers, but it is extremely unnerving to site visitors. Don’t force flash on your customers.

ACTION STEP 3

Check Your Navigation – Can your visitors find their way around your site easily? How would you know? The best way to find out for sure is to ask a few people who have never seen your site before to surf on over and take a look around. Ask them to spend 10 or 15 minutes browsing. Then ask them to tell you about their experiences.

Paying due attention to your customers and their needs is one of the best things you can do to improve your online business. Put yourself in your customers’ place. When you turn your site into a welcoming environment specifically designed for your visitors, they can’t help but want to return again and again.

Anybody who decides to get a web hosting service or facility for their website will also soon be faced with the tough question of what server they will need. Will their website be run by a Windows server operating system or will they prefer to go for a Unix system?

Typical Windows servers will run on Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP, while Unix servers could be Linux or Open BSD to name just two. The truth is that both systems have there pros and cons.

If site stability and uptime are critical for you and your new website, then Unix should be your choice because they are generally thought to be superior in stability. Windows have the disadvantage that they usually require rebooting much more often. Still Windows are miles ahead when it comes to ease of use. A Windows server operating system will generally be much easier to operate and administer than its’ Unix counterpart.

On the other hand, Unix, even with its’ stability may not end up being so user-friendly, especially for non-techies. There is also a price to pay for the extra stability which is evident in Unix systems. Usually Unix machines will require their software to be updated on a very regular basis. All in all, Unix server operating systems are favored over windows as they are widely considered to be more stable.

Still if truth be told, when both systems are correctly installed, there is really very little difference and they will give you basically the same results. In effect this does not make this an easy decision to reach. In fact this is the main factor that complicates the issue, causing even more confusion and making it very difficult for the webmaster to make a decision either way. However for many, the final answer to the question of which server operating system is preferable, is quite often made by analyzing and comparing the costs of both and going with the more affordable option.