Question: “Hi Ali, what company do you recommend working with to help publish ebooks and/or special reports?”
—Andrea Whitley, Hyattsville, Md.
Ali’s Answer: “Kudos to you Andrea for making the leap towards generating passive income for yourself! I know how exciting that feeling is, and how overwhelming it may seem at first. The great thing about ebooks is that they are super simple to create on your own. You can simply use Microsoft Word to create your document. (If you’re feeling fancy, use a template to jazz up your text with borders, color themes, images, and more.) Once you have your final draft in Word, you can convert it to a PDF in seconds.
A PDF is a read-only document, and is the standard format for electronic documents these days. If you have a new version of Word, you should be able to save your documents with a “.pdf” extension instead of your usual “.docx” extension. If you’re working with an older version of Word, you’ll find tons of free PDF converters online, like www.PDFOnline.com. (Some of these sites even have a PDF to Word converter, which is great for when you need to make a quick fix to your ebook and you don’t have your original Word doc on-hand.)
For better image and sales, you WILL want to get a good “cover” design to use on your website. Having an impactful image of your digital product will increase sales—it’s proven. For years I used and I still recommend Killer Covers. They have a team of designers who specialize in creating all-types of information product covers, so you get a unique design that will truly grab people’s attention. Plus, their work is guaranteed, so you will walk away satisfied. Trying to take on design by yourself can be a frustrating experience, so outsourcing this task for your ebook is a great idea.
Once your ebook is ready to place on your virtual shelf, it’s time to set up a reliable system to accept payments. This is the fun part! 😉 When I first started my business, I used 1ShoppingCart. You can take payments online, process orders, email your lists, and keep track of your customers. It also syncs up with PayPal, if you don’t have a merchant account of your own. You can get a 4-week test-drive for only $3.95 here. Today we use InfusionSoft for a more robust suite of tools, so if you want more advanced capabilities that is worth looking at too.
Love and success,
==========
Have a question for Ali?
Send her your question about business and success now via this form.
Site Design & Development
Alchemy + Aim