Making Ebooks Using Public Domain Content

STEP 1

The first thing to do is decide what your ebook is going to be about.

Here are three different approaches you might want to consider...

(1) Create an ebook that reaches the same target market as a product you're already selling or promoting.

For example, if you're selling a guide to making baby food, then a collection of baby food recipes would make a good ebook to give away for free -- via you own website and via any other means possible (ebook directories, Facebook, Twitter...).

Just leave a note on the first page encouraging people to pass it on to others -- and, of course a link to your baby food guide. Hey presto, you've got a viral ebook that will continue sending traffic to your website long into the future -- with no additional effort on your part.

(2) Create an ebook that will appeal to a broad spectrum of people -- thus reaching some people in your target market along the way.

This is the basic idea behind both the Hilarious Jokes ebook and the UFO Enigma ebook. What makes entertaining ebooks like these interesting is that, firstly, they tend to get downloaded more and, secondly, they tend to get passed around more. (And people tend to actually open and read them which isn't always the case with the free ebooks we have on our PCs.)

The fact that they appeal to a LOT of people across a lot of markets means that, even if you've placed a link to your cat mittens website on the first page, you'll still reach some of the people in that target market.

(c) Create a brand new ebook to sell as a product rather than give away as a promotional tool. It might target your existing market or a brand new market that you haven't been involved in as yet.

Again, I incorporated aspects of this approach into the 'Hilarious Jokes' and 'UFO' ebooks. You see, I figured that if I could see the value in giving these ebooks away for free to bring in traffic, then many of my visitors and subscribers would see the value in that too. So, I sold private label rights to them so that others could brand them with their own links and ads. You could try this approach yourself, or you could just create an ebook to sell 'as is'.

If you're planning to target a brand new market, then you might want to do a little keyword research first to find out what's in demand and what isn't. In the 'Resources' section (below) I've included a free copy of 'The Keyword Research Bible' which will give you a thorough introduction into how to find hot niche markets to target.

Once you've decided what your ebook is about, it's time to start compiling content.

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STEP 2

For the 'Hilarious Jokes' I simply ran some searches on Google for things like 'public domain jokes', 'public domain funny pictures' and so on.

It didn't take long to find plenty of material for the book.

Having said that...

I'm not an expert in the use of public domain materials. I'm just describing the approach I used.

However, I can tell you this...

There's a HUGE amount of information available in the public domain that you can use to turn into new products of your own. You can find books, articles, images, videos, etc. covering a vast range of subjects.

Even if you can't find something that touches on the specific topic that interests you, perhaps you can find something that appeals to the same target market. If you can't find the information you need to make that baby recipes ebook, maybe you can find good information on how to decorate the perfect baby bedroom?

And, if you REALLY can't find any appropriate content in the public domain, perhaps you can find some articles with private label rights instead. (More on that in a separate Lens, coming soon.)

-- SIDENOTE --
Check out the 'Resources' section below for some useful tools and information on where to find public domain content and how to use it.
-- END SIDENOTE --

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STEP 3

Once you've found enough suitable content for your ebook, start copying, pasting, reading and editing as necessary using your favorite text editing software (like MS Word or the free one from OpenOffice.org) until the actual content of the ebook itself is complete.

By now, you've already done the hardest part... you've made the decision to get started, you've found appropriate content and you've created the basic file itself.

After that, it's a question of turning it into a PDF...

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STEP 4

Rather than take up a whole hunk of space explaining how to turn your text into a PDF file, I've created a separate Lens dedicated to that very subject.

You can read it here.

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Now that you've created your PDF ebook, the next step is to decide exactly what you're going to do with it.

Are you going to sell it? Are you going to offer private label rights or master resale rights? Are you going to simply give it away as a means of generating traffic? Are you going to use it to build a subscriber list? Do you need product graphics? A squeeze page? A website?

But I think we've done enough for one day - in the next section (coming in the next few days) we'll move on to these subsequent steps.

In the meantime, why not give some thought to a topic you might like to create an ebook on -- and then go out and see if you can find suitable content.

Use the resources below to help you get started and, if all goes well, you might already have everything ready to go when I get back to you with the next section.

Talk to you soon with the next exciting installment!



Michael Hopkins
EbookTimes.com
Public-Domain.us
TotalResale.com

- This set of Public Domain Video Tutorials will give you a thorough training -- and even includes the COMPLETE Public Domain Survival Kit as a Free Bonus!

- Here's a free ebook for you called 30 Days to Create a Product.

- Download this free ebook called Public Domain Profits that has a pretty decent introduction to all things public domain. (It also includes private label rights.)

- You'll find a good list of public domain sources here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Domain_Resource

- Download this free ebook called The Keyword Research Bible to help you find new niche markets to target. (It comes with full master resale rights.)

More resources coming soon -- stay tuned!