Self-Publishing Your Own Ebooks? A Look at How Much You Can Realistically Expect to Earn

Feb. 26, 2013 - PRLog -- I started writing and selling ebooks online in 2004. To date, I’ve written and self-published over 50. Hence, I receive a lot of questions from aspiring ebook writers about the process. One of the most frequently asked questions is about sales. For example, one aspiring author contacted me, and his email said:

"I am considering writing an ebook, just for some sort of income. I realize … that it’s not possible to project the income from any one particular book, but could you give me some probability estimate? If I could write and promote an ebook and generate a couple of thousand dollars in a year, I would consider that a success."

Writing an Ebook? How to Increase Your Chance of Making Money Selling It

I responded to this author, basically telling him that how profitable an ebook is depends on a host of factors. Hence, it’s literally impossible to assure him that he could earn even “a couple of thousand dollars in a year.”

No one can guarantee you that if you write an ebook, a certain number of copies will sell. It's just not possible. And, if you run across some program that guarantees you can earn hundreds or thousands of dollars a day selling ebooks online, then run. It’s not true.

There simply are no guarantees – if there were, big publishers like Random House would have figured it out by now; trust me. With that being said, there are things you can do to increase your chance of writing an ebook that will sell.

Ebook Marketing: 3 Things I Do All the Time to Ensure Sales

Following are three ebook selling tips. In 2010, over half of my income came from ebooks I wrote and sold online. These three tips are from my own personal experience – ebook marketing strategies I use all the time.

Research: Do keyword research to determine if there’s a wide enough market for you to make sales.  No matter how good your ebook is, if there aren’t enough potential customers to sell it to, then you won’t make very many – or any – sales.

Ebook Marketing Plan: You must, must, must have an ebook marketing plan that you follow religiously. For example, I like article marketing.  It’s free and it dispenses helpful, first-hand information to prospective buyers. It’s one of the most effective ebook sales tools in my marketing arsenal.

If article marketing isn’t for you, there’s also blogging, newsletter publishing, PPC ads, affiliate marketing, etc. The ways to market your ebook are only limited by your imagination. But, whatever marketing you do, remain consistent with it.

Many who what to know how to write and sell ebooks online (http://inkwelleditorial.com/write-and-sell-ebooks-online-...) think that writing an ebook is the hard part. That’s not true. The hard part is the marketing – because it’s constant. You can never let up.

Price It to Sell: How to price an ebook is not an exact science. After publishing over 50, it’s something I still tweak all the time. One way to set your price is to go on major sites like Amazon and Barnes & Noble to see what other ebooks – in your niche – are selling for.

How to Make Money Selling Ebooks: Conclusion

If you have a wide enough market interested in what you want to write about; a concrete marketing plan that you following consistently; and price your ebook right (ie, price it to sell), then you will make sales. This I can almost guarantee if you put out a quality product. However, one thing I can’t guarantee is how many ebooks you will sell.

It took me about six years to start earning five figures per year selling my ebooks online. But, the beautiful thing about self-publishing is that once an ebook is written, it’s done. And, you can ostensibly earn money from it forever. It’s kinda like having a backup retirement fund – which is pretty cool!
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About the Author: Yuwanda has written and self-published over 50 ebooks, which can be found on major sites like Amazon and Barnes & Noble, in addition to her freelance writing website, InkwellEditorial.com. If you found the info here insightful, get more in the complete self-publishing package on writing an ebook (http://inkwelleditorial.com/ebook-publishing-package-get-...). It will not only teach you how to write an ebook (in just a few days!), but also tell you exactly how to market it and start getting sales within a week - really!