Here’s what one successful writer says about his line of eBooks:

“Since writing my first eBook, I’ve learned better formatting tricks,” says UK-based freelancer Andy Hayes. “Out with the clipart, in with the whitespace. I’ve started to get more comfortable with this medium, and have rediscovered my writer’s voice, relaxed tone, and flow. I’d rather my eBooks read like a story, not like a stuffy brochure. I think my first book was a little too ‘rehearsed’…”

Here, Hayes answers all my questions about what comes after the writing part. If you’re working on an eBook – even if it’s not your first – you’ll find How to Write and Publish Your Own eBook in as Little as 7 Days helpful. And, here are several tips on eBook pricing, landing pages, marketing, and selling…

Beyond Writing an E-Book – Tips on Pricing, Marketing, and Landing Pages

Instead of forging ahead blindly with my own eBook about achieving writing goals (which will be on sale in a few days – a quiet launch), I decided to pick the brains of a seasoned eBook author.

Please feel free to ask him your questions in the comments section at the end.

Laurie PK: What are the titles of your eBook(s), and what are they about? 

Andy Hayes: My goal is to create a comprehensive eLearning environment for small businesses in the travel and tourism industry, who need help with online technologies.  My books (which I call guides) cover topics such as copywriting, social media and community building, Google Analytics, Search Engine Optimization, and marketing tips and strategies. Books about website usability are coming soon. My niche is tourism, but most of the examples in the guides are universal.

Small businesses can’t afford expensive consulting firms. Plus, there are so many “do-it-yourself” entrepreneurs out there! So, offering a set of no-hassle, easy-to digest eBooks seemed like the logical solution. (Andy saw a need, and filled it…if you’re writing an eBook, are you filling a need?)

How much do your eBooks cost, and where can people buy them?

I’ve split them up into three “product lines” which correlate to costs.

• TOP Secrets, which are free
• Just What Works, which are $20-$40
• Mastery Guides, which are over $40.

The costs also roughly relate to the complexity of the book. I market them by the topics; all the eBooks are available online on my Web site. 

How do you determine the price of your eBooks?

Market research and a bit of guesswork . E-Books are still in a funny territory. For example, my Google Analytics eBook costs almost twice as much as a print book. I justify charging more because of the immediacy factor, plus my expert knowledge with the latest updates. 

I’ve heard the pricing rule is that a reader should get 10x the value out of your book. So, if your book is $100 then the reader should expect $1,000 in value. But if that’s right, then I’m undercharging!

How many pages are your eBooks, and are they single or double spaced?

The length really depends on the topic. For me, I’m done when I’m done. If a bunch of screenshots makes the book longer, fine. On average my books are 20-40 pages, but I do follow the rule of less is more, so cut to the chase.  And single or double spacing?  Neither…1.5!

Does font or font size matter? What did you choose?

I use Georgia because it’s my corporate font.  But otherwise, keep in line with your brand. Choose a large enough font size that is easy for people to read online. 

Did you have a proofreader or editor?  Did you hire anyone to help you write and promote your books?

I always have a proofreader because I’m a terrible at spotting my mistakes and editing my writing.  I partner with others to write eBooks when I need their expertise or skills. Otherwise, it’s just me!  I make sure I always have some feedback during the review process, because it’s important to get some external perspective on if you’re on track.

Have you sold copies through Amazon? If you’re not on Amazon, why not?

I’m not on Amazon.  Should I be?  Oh my, am I missing out?

Do you have any advice on creating landing pages, or selling eBooks through third parties (eg, Amazon, e-junkie, etc)?

Well, the obvious things:

• TEST. Make sure your payment gateway works from start to finish.  If you change something, test again.
• Get feedback. Yes, give away copies if you  have to, but feedback is really important.
• Always be testing your landing pages to see if you can get your conversions up.  Remember, the best conversion rates are in the single digits!
• Study other popular sales pages to see what they’re doing.

What three tips would you give writers of eBooks?

1. Before you start, answer these questions:  What value does this offer my target reader?  Do I understand the problem it solves?  What specific steps will I take to market it?  If you can’t answer these questions, you’re not ready to sell your eBook.
2. While you write, remember that ”less is more.”  And, get feedback on final drafts to ensure the concepts are clear and nothing is missing.  Deadlines are great, but it’s worth going beyond them if your book just isn’t ready.
3. After you start selling your eBook, will you update it regularly…or at all?  

Hayes also encourages writers to define what “success” means to them, before they write and market their eBooks. Will you consider yourself successful if you sell 40 copies? 4,000 copies? 400,000 copies? Define your measure of success before you launch your eBook.

If you have any questions or thoughts on creating a landing page, marketing, or selling your eBook, please comment below. 

And, if you’d like me to zero in on a specific topic (eg, “tips for creating a landing page”), I’d be happy to!  Just let me know…

Andy Hayes is a UK-based entrepreneur and freelance writer.  Connect with him on Twitter, @andrewghayes, or via his two sites: an online travel lifestyle magazine, Sharing Travel Experiences, and his tourism marketing site, Travel Online Partners.

Also – my friend Susan Johnston of The Urban Muse just wrote a fantastic post called 12 Ways to Market an eBook, on Freelancedom. Check it out! 

I’m writing an e-book, tentatively titled Quips and Tips for Achieving Your Writing Goals, which will describe ways for aspiring (and experienced) writers to overcome 20 different obstacles to writing. This book is for all types of writers: freelancers, novelists, bloggers, web writers, “armchair” writers, etc. 

If you’re tempted to contribute to this e-book, but worry that you’re not “successful” enough – have no fear! You don’t need to make a million bucks as a best-selling author (yeah, right) to know how to overcome obstacles in life. Sometimes the most valuable quips and tips come from the quietest, least public writers.

So, check this “opportunity for successful writers” out…

Quips and Tips for Achieving Your Writing Goals: The E-Book

My two questions for freelancers, book authors, novelists, web writers, and bloggers are: 

1. What two obstacles prevent you – or writers you know – from writing books, sending query letters, building blogs, or getting published? (not writer’s block, please — there’s lots of info out there on that).

2. What are two practical tips for overcoming those obstacles?  I’m hoping for more than the same old (but valid) “get your butt in the chair and write” advice, please…I’d like to offer more creative tips.

And — how can I refer to you in this e-book? (name, credentials, books written, publications appeared in, etc)

If you’re interested in responding, please say “Email me, Laurie!” in the comments section below. I’ll send you my email address, and you can send me your answers. Deadline: Wednesday, March 10.

Second Opportunity to Publicize Your Books, Blogs, and Businesses

Would you like to feature your book, blog, or business on one of my five “Quips and Tips” blogs?

• Quips and Tips for Achieving Your Goals
• Quips and Tips for Spiritual Seekers
• Quips and Tips for Love Relationships
• Quips and Tips for Couples Coping With Infertility
• Quips and Tips for Successful Writers

If you’d like to write a short guest post, I’d be happy to feature you! On all my blogs, each article is 400-600 words and contains at least four tips for moving forward or solving a problem. Each article features a book with a link to Amazon. I’ll include your 1-2 sentence bio with links to your sites at the end of the article.  If you’ve written a book that sells on Amazon, I’ll feature it. If not, I’ll feature a book related to your article.  Previously published material is fine — and I may sprinkle SEO keywords in the article, so web surfers can find it easily and quickly!

When I post the article, I’ll send you the link.  If I can’t use the article, I’ll let you know.  No deadline on this.

Again – if you’re interested, please say “Email me, Laurie!” in the comments section… 

As always, fellow scribes, I welcome your thoughts and questions below!

Before my tips, a quip:

“You must want to enough,” said mystery writer Phyllis Whitney. “Enough to take all the rejections, enough to pay the price in disappointment and discouragement while you are learning. Like any other artist you must learn your craft — then you can add all the genius you like.”

This advice for novelists, freelance writers, and poets also applies to building a financially successful writing blog! Bloggers have to slog through the rejections, disappointments, and feelings of dejection first. Then, after they’ve learned the ropes as bloggers, they can add their own brand of genius. For an unbeatable array of blogging tips, click Problogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income. And, read on for five tips for advertising Amazon products on writing blogs…

5 Tips for Advertising Amazon Products on Writing Blogs

1. Use a WordPress plugin to upload your products or books. I use the Amazon Reloaded plugin for this WordPress blog, which automatically uploads book covers and links. Alternatively, you could go through the Associates site to advertise Amazon products, but it’s a little more complicated.

2. Double check your Amazon Reloaded settings! This was my Big Mistake: when I uploaded a new version of Amazon Reloaded SIX months ago, I didn’t re-enter my Amazon Associates ID. This meant I lost six months of potential revenue from all three of my “Quips and Tips” blogs, because I wasn’t being credited when readers clicked on my book links. *&%$#@*!!!! And it also meant I had to go back and re-upload the book covers and links on hundreds of my old blog posts. #@&(())!!!

3. Find the benefits in your blogging mistakes. This isn’t exactly a tip for advertising Amazon products specifically, but it’s a great life tip: learn how to make your failures work for you. Since I had to fix all my Amazon book links, I decided to revive my blog posts at the same time — which will help attract more readers. I edited them to be more search engine optimized, cleaned up my tags, and strengthened “Quips and Tips for Successful Writers” as a whole. It took me five days of full-time work to clean up my blogs, but in the long run it’s time well spent!

4. Advertise Amazon products that match your blog posts. This seems like a no-brainer, but it’s one of the top advertising tips that Amazon gives. If you’re advertising products or books on your blog, choose ones that align with your content. My inclusion of Problogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income is a good example of an Amazon product matching my blog post. Even better would be tips on making money on Amazon products through your writing blog or Web site, but I couldn’t find such a book.

5. Review your ”orders report” for the best Amazon products to advertise to writers. What products or books that you’ve linked to are top sellers? If you can spot a trend – such as high sales on books that offer web writing tips from bloggers – then focus on those products and topics a little more often. Be aware of what your readers are looking for…and find ways to give it to them.

Do have any Amazon advertising tips for writing blogs and Web sites? Or, do you avoid advertising on your blog? I’d love to hear from you below!