Why Write An Ebook?

Apart from making money writing and selling ebooks for profit, you can also use shorter 'reports' or ebook excerpts for many purposes, including viral marketing of your website and other products.

If you are an affiliate or internet marketer, you will benefit enormously by creating some free ebooks that you can offer from your website as a reward for people subscribing to your ezine, or simply to collect your own mailing list that you can then send messages promoting your other products.

Here are some of the most powerful reasons to write an eBook and publishing ebooks, with ways to use them to maximize your profits.

1. People love to get free stuff. A free eBook is perfect. They will visit your web site to get the free valuable information.

2. Give away the full version of your eBook in exchange for testimonials. You can use these customer statements to improve your ads' effectiveness.

3. When you write and give away a free eBook you will become known as an expert. This will gain people's trust and they will buy your main product or service quicker.

4. Publish your web site in eBook format. Put the eBook on a disk or CD-ROM then include it with your direct mail packages. This can increase the number of people that buy your product or service.

5. Offer your eBook as a free bonus for buying one of your main products or services. People will buy the product or service more often when you offer a free bonus.

6. Allow people to download your eBook for free, if they give the e-mail addresses of 3 to 5 friends or associates that would be interested in your eBook. This will quickly build your e-mail list.

7. Create a directory of web sites in eBook form. List peoples web sites in the directory that will agree to advertise the eBook on their web site or e-zine. This will give them an incentive to give away or advertise your eBook.

8. Allow other people to give away your free eBook. This will increase the number of people that will see your ad in the eBook. You could also include a mini catalog of all your product or services that you offer in the eBook.

9. Gain new leads by having people sign up and give you their contact information before they can download your eBook. This is a very effective way to conduct market research.

10. Make money selling advertising space in your eBook. You could charge for full page color ads, classified ads or banners ads. You could also trade advertising space in your eBook for other forms of advertising.

11. Give away the eBook as a gift to your current customers as a way of letting them know you appreciate their business. Place an ad in the eBookfor a new back end product you're offering

12. Get free advertising by submitting your eBook to freebie and freeware/shareware web sites. This will increase the number of people that will down- load your eBook and see your ad.

13. Make money by selling the reprint rights to those that would like to sell the eBook. You could also make even more money by selling the master rights. This would allow other people to sell the reprint rights.

14. Hold a contest on your web site so people can win your eBook. You'll get free advertising by submitting your contest ad to free contest or sweepstakes directories.

15. You will gain valuable referrals from people telling others about your eBook. Word of mouth advertising can be very effective.

16. Make money cross promoting your eBook with other people's products or services. This technique will double your marketing effort with-out spending more time and money on your part.

17. Increase your e-zine subscribers by giving away your eBook to people that subscribe to your e-zine. This will give people an incentive to subscribe. Allow your e-zine subscribers to also give it away to multiply your subscribers.

18. Give away the eBook to people that join your affiliate program. This will increase the number of people that sign-up. You could also create an eBook for them to use that will help them promote your product or service.

19. Give away the eBook in exchange for people leaving their contact information. This will help you follow-up with the prospects who buy your main product or service.

20. Offer a free eBook that contains a couple of sample chapters. If they like it, give them the option of ordering the full version. It would work just like a software demo or shareware.

All writers have experienced it at one time or another - the dreaded writer's block!

Writer's block is that terrible menacing mental block that prevents you from writing. There you sit in front of the computer, gazing at the screen.

You are unable to focus, unable to write.

It has happened to the best of writers, whether it's a letter, an essay, a book report or write an eBook that they are trying to write. When writer's block gets a hold of you, you can fight back. The first thing you must figure out is why you are having writer's block and then decide what you can do to sneak around it. Why can't you write?

Writer's block is caused by many different things. Here is a list of reasons that could be causing you to be unable to write.

* No interest in the topic. If you are so uninterested in the topic that you can't even write about it, why would anyone want to read it? Try changing the idea or the slant to something that you can become more interested in.

* Not having enough information on the topic. If you are trying to write about something that you know nothing (or very little) about, chances are you will have little success. Try to do some additional research or talk to others who are knowledgeable on the topic. The more you learn on the topic, the easier it will be for you to write about it.

* To tired to concentrate. If you are like many freelance writers, you go to work at your day job and are so drained that you are too tired to write. Writing takes time and concentration. If you have too many responsibilities set aside a scheduled time that is only for writing. No interruptions, no phone calls.

* Your idea is under-developed. Sometimes writers get so excited about an idea that they want to start writing it at once. However, if you haven't thoroughly researched your idea, you may find that you aren't able to develop the idea as you had planned. This goes hand in hand with the other reason we discussed above -

Not having enough information on the topic. Do more research so that you are able to better develop the story.

What can you do to get around writer's block, or stop it altogether?

You may not be able to stop it altogether. From time to time, everyone experiences circumstances that preoccupy their minds or cause them to lose their focus and concentration. But, there are some things that you can do to get around writer's block when it tries to grab a hold of you.

* Create an Outline. We discussed the importance of outlines earlier. These are great to use when you are going through writer's block. Instead of composing long sentences or ideas, jot down two or three major ideas. Label the major ideas Idea 1, Idea 2, and Idea 3. Place Idea 1 at the top of the page, Idea 2 in the center and Idea 3 toward the bottom. Next, list two or three things that come to mind about each idea. Use these ideas to develop your sentences and paragraphs.

* Write every day! Writers need a schedule for writing. Just as a star athlete has to practice to stay adept at his craft, so must a writer. Try to write something everyday, even if it is not for the eBook.

* Work on several different topics within the book simultaneously. Sometimes, writers will get burned out while working on a single section. If you find that you can't focus on the topic, try switching to another topic. Often it is helpful to put the idea aside for a while, when you come back to it, you may have a different perspective.

* Practice Freewriting. Freewriting is writing about whatever comes to mind; anything at all. Start writing about your topic and continue to write ideas for five or ten minutes, or until you can't think of anything else to say about your topic.

* Freewriting is sort of like talking to yourself, but doing it in writing. Just keep the ideas flowing, even if you can't think of anything to write an eBook about. Pick an object on your desk and write about it.

* The worst thing you can do is to give into the writer's block. Finding out what your obstacles are and how to work around them will keep you writing. And when all else fails, you can always resort to writing a to-do list of some sort.

Although eBooks are not physical books, eBook cover is an essential selling tool.

eBook covers and their graphics have to unique and give an accurate representation of your eBook.

They must also make use of the right colors and images in order to be effective.

Make no mistake, designing an eBook cover is as crucial a phase as any other phase of the eBook.

Here are some tips that might help.

The Cover should be Unique
For effective branding purposes, your eBook cover graphic needs to be one-of-a-kind. With so many free-for-all graphics available on the Web, it's tempting to fall into the freebie trap when creating your eBook cover. However, this is one area where it will cost you sales if you opt for penny-pinching.

Using the same pictures and colors that other eBooks are using doesn't allow you to uniquely brand your eBook. Viewers may associate your "copycat" cover with someone else's eBook and quickly disregard it - or else find it uninteresting.

Although the basic book shape can be similar, or even the same as other eBook covers, the images and graphics must be original.

Make effective use of colors
Colors can make us feel different emotions, and they can even trigger a physical reaction.

Therefore, the color you use for your eBook cover is a strong factor in how the potential buyer will react to it.

Here are some guidelines to help you choose colors for your eBook cover graphic.

Red is an action color, therefore it is a good color to use if your eBook is about taking action. "How To" titles urge the reader to take action, and would do well with a red cover.

Blue is a confidence color. If your eBook is about job hunting, sales strategies, getting a raise, and other similar subjects, consider using a blue cover.

Green reminds us of money and prosperity. Green would work well for eBooks about investment strategies, starting a new business, or saving money.

Orange has been known to stimulate the appetite and represents health and vitality. Write an eBook about cooking or recipes would do well with an orange cover.

Pictures represent your eBook

Be sure to use pictures or graphics that represent the subject of your eBook. The potential buyer should be able to get at least a general idea of what your eBook is about by simply glancing at the cover.

You could create 2D eBook covers yourself using tools such as Photoshop. Once you create a graphic for your eBook cover you can have the graphic converted to a 3 dimensional image by any one of the various eBook cover creation services.

Finally, be sure that your eBook cover looks professional. It should have smooth - not jagged - edges, the title and words should be easy to read, and the graphics should be crisp and clear.

As with traditional, paper books, the cover is just as important as the content.

Following these guidelines will result in an eBook cover that stands out in the crowd and gets noticed.

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