Marketing – Page 20

Online Publishing Profits:
Digital Fulfillment Delivers

This is another in my series of articles that explain the Online Publishing Model and how small-time authors and/or self-publishers can use the OPM as a viable alternative to the often archaic and dysfunctional traditional book publishing model.

Typically, you will create your book/ebook in a source word processing program such as MS-Word or WordPerfect. Once you have converted it into PDF format you’ll be ready to start selling it via the three primary channels that make up the Online Publishing Model: 1. Sales-Mini-Sites, 2. Digital Download Distributors, 3. Print-On-Demand (POD) Distributors.

This article explains channel 2, Digital Download Distribution. It’s an excerpt from my book/ebook Instant Book Writing Kithttp://InstantBookWritingKit.com

Discovering exactly how the digital fulfillment channel works was a major breakthrough for me. That discovery alone has resulted in thousands of dollars in ebook sales that I otherwise wouldn’t have made. Really!

Based on my experience, the use of this one online distribution channel is guaranteed to add hundreds or thousands of dollars annually to your bottom line sales! That’s right — if you harness the digital fulfillment channel you’ll sell hundreds more ebooks than you would just selling them from your Web sites.

DIGITAL FULFILLMENT: DEFINITION

It’s important that you understand exactly what I’m talking about when I use the term “digital fulfillment”, as opposed to print-on-demand (POD) fulfillment.

Digital fulfillment refers to when your ebook is delivered strictly in electronic form as a “digital download” product. Essentially, it’s the same as when your ebook gets downloaded from your Web site, except that, the digital fulfillment is provided by a digital download distribution company through their distribution network.

A typical example of digital fulfillment in action would be when you provide your ebook electronic files (PDF) to a company that distributes digital download ebooks to amazon.com, for example. Amazon.com would then offer your ebook to its customers as a digital download product.

IMPORTANT: When I talk about “digital fulfillment” here I am NOT talking about delivering a downloadable ebook to your buyers from your own “sales-mini-site”. I’m referring to when one uses third party vendors and/or distributors to deliver a digital version of one’s book through their own channels.

THE SECRET OF DIGITAL FULFILLMENT

As I stated in the other parts of this series on the OPM, I have spent the past few years immersing myself in learning about the tools and techniques of successful Internet marketing to help me sell more of my ebooks/books.

In the process, I have purchased dozens of “must have” books from many heavy-hitter big-name Internet marketers. But NEVER have I read anything about the digital fulfillment strategy in ANY of those many books/ebooks from the gurus!

In fact, I basically stumbled across this largely unknown money-making publishing secret by accident when I asked a major book selling company if it would be possible to sell my ebooks through their Web sites in addition to my own.

They promptly answered that “yes”, there is indeed a way to do that… by using a digital fulfillment company. Although I didn’t fully realize it at the time, that was a breakthrough moment for me!

Typically, a digital fulfillment company maintains large digital libraries of books and ebooks. They deliver those products electronically “on demand” as digital download e-books in response to orders from publishers, distributors, booksellers, and libraries.

The major digital fulfillment companies offer a vast distribution network, folks. Exploiting this channel means much more than just getting your ebook and/or book listed on amazon.com. It means getting your title in front of the vast majority of all ebook wholesalers and retailers!

Why Digital Fulfillment when you already have a website?
That’s a good logical question, and you may be surprised by the answer.

I have found that there is very little cross-over between the people that buy ebooks at my Web sites and those who buy them through sites like amazon.com, and others. That’s right.

In fact, out of thousands of sales through both channels I have only received one e-mail that indicated a buyer had seen my ebooks at both places.

Another proof of this is that, although I use the same list price for my ebooks on my Web sites and at amazon.com, that company quite often chooses to offer a 30% discount, which actually makes it a much better deal to buy the ebook at their Web site.

In spite of this, sales at my Web sites remain strong. In fact I continue to sell more ebooks from my Web sites. So, it’s pretty clear that people aren’t doing cross-comparisons of prices.

They appear to be two mutually exclusive groups of shoppers!

(However, I should add that people who buy the ebook at my Web site also receive a number of bonuses that don’t come with the ebook when sold through a distributor).

The key point here being — if I didn’t offer my ebooks online through amazon.com and other digital download distributors, I would probably not make over 95% of those sales through my other distribution channels (i.e. my Web sites). Lucky for me, I now know this little secret!

DIGITAL FULFILLMENT – EASY TO SET-UP

If you’re careful, and plan ahead when you create the original version of your ebook that people will purchase and download from your Web site, you’ll also be able to provide the same efiles to your digital fulfillment distributor with few changes, if any.

Typically, it will take only 10 to 15 days from the time you submit your efiles until you will start seeing your ebook show up on book retailer Web sites as digital downloads.

This channel works folks! In fact, just this afternoon I checked my account and found that over 30 copies of my Recommendation Letter Kit ebook have sold so far this month, and this is one of the slower months for that product!

I’ve also sold more than 25 paperback versions (POD) of that same book this month through the same digital distributor, but I’ll get into the POD model in the next Part of this series.

The really exciting thing about these digital download sales is, as I explained above, they are IN ADDITION to any sales that you will make via your Web site.

Awesome! It’s almost like “found money”. You just have to know how to find it.

(C) Shaun Fawcett is the author of numerous how-to books on everyday practical writing help. He also writes about how to create and publish books and ebooks, including his popular book that explains all about how to implement and profit from the Online Publishing Model:
http://InstantBookWritingKit.com

Online Book Publishing: The Many Benefits of OPM

This is another in my series of articles that explain the Online Publishing Model and how small-time authors and/or self-publishers can use the OPM as a viable alternative to the often archaic and dysfunctional traditional book publishing model.

It’s an excerpt from my book/ebook, Instant Book Writing Kit:
InstantBookWritingKit.com

This article explains the numerous benefits of using the Online Publishing model (OPM).

Frankly, after my frustrating and disappointing experiences using the traditional book publishing model, I was truly blown away when I discovered the many benefits of the Online Publishing Model. I was thrilled to discover that there actually IS an alternative that will allow me to write and publish books and ebooks for a living.

BENEFITS OF ONLINE PUBLISHING MODEL

As I state on the Web site for the Instant Book Writing Kit, the benefits of the Online Publishing Model are numerous and compelling:

You’ll Make More Money
Instead of getting a paltry 3% to 35%, you’ll get somewhere between 60% and 90% of your cover price, depending on which of the three channels you’re using.

You Can Charge More
People are willing to pay more if they can get the information they are looking for almost immediately. Higher prices = more profits for you.

You’ll Get Paid Sooner
Many online payment processors will pay you within two weeks of making a sale. On the other hand, traditional publishers and distributors will make you wait 90 to 120 days for payment.

Your Costs Will Be Lower
With the online publishing model your up-front costs will be significantly lower than if you self-publish the traditional way.

You Won’t Have “Returns”
You can choose to NOT accept “returns”. Unlike the traditional publishing model, all sales onder the OPM will be final with minimal refunds. Returned “over-orders” will be a thing of the past.

Your Sales Will Be On Automatic Pilot
Once you have your Web site up and running and your files uploaded to the digital fulfillment and POD distributors, you’re ebooks/books will be selling automatically with little or no intervention by you.

You’ll Be In Charge
You’ll be in control of almost all aspects of the publishing and distribution of your book/ebook. You can publish or revise when you like. No more jumping to somebody else’s timetable.

You’ll Have No Inventory
You won’t have to keep track of an inventory and worry about shipping, storage, and damage hassles and costs. You’ll be completely inventory free.

You Can Revise Whenever You Like
Using online publishing channels you will have the freedom to make revisions to your books/ebooks whenever you like. You just update your book/ebook and post the new version at your convenience.

You Can Add Special Features
You can add value to your ebook by adding links to multi-media features and other hyper-linked bonuses.

You’ll Have Direct Access To Your Data
Dealing with online fulfillment houses and distributors you’ll have direct online access to current sales and earnings data.

BOTTOM LINE ON OPM

When I realized the full power of the online publishing model I truly was astounded! Discovering this new publishing model hit me like a breath of fresh air.

After all, using the conventional book publishing model, I had spent more than two years banging my head against the wall in frustration — getting nowhere and going broke fast.

That’s when I decided that I should write this information down and share it with other small-time authors and self publishers so they wouldn’t have to go through all of the trial-and-error and expense that I did. My goal was to create a turnkey, paint-by-number blueprint, that any aspiring author and/or self-publisher could easily implement. I believe I’ve done just that.

So, I finally wrote it all down in Instant Book Writing Kit for the express purpose of sharing the Online Publishing Model with anyone who is interested in writing a book/ebook and making some decent money by publishing and marketing it online. Essentially, anyone who wants to duplicate what I have done.

If you are a small-time author and/or publisher you owe it to yourself to look into the Online Publishing Model before you write and/or publish that next book.

Authors: Build Your List with Facebook Lead Gen Ads

Today, we have a guest post from Anne Felicitas, Editor at AdvertiseMint, a Facebook advertising agency.

My first instinct after finishing a piece, whether that’s a poem, an article, or a blog post, is to share it. After all, what’s the point of toiling for a work of art that no one else can see, that no one else can enjoy? You, a fellow writer, an author, likely share the same sentiment. After spending years on a book, writing your outlines, redrafting your manuscript two or three times, you want people other than your spouse, your editor, and your agent to read it—you want prospective fans to discover your work.

You can easily gather new readers for your book by creating a Facebook Lead Ad, an ad that functions as a digital sign-up form. Lead Ads, with their superior ad targeting options, will help you build an email list of prospective readers.

What Is a Facebook Lead Ad?

In 2015, Facebook witnessed three phenomena: more users were migrating from desktop to mobile phones, advertisers were demanding sign-up forms to collect leads, and users, accustomed to quick results, were often too impatient to fill out slow-loading, too inquisitive forms. Although Facebook wanted to appease advertisers by creating sign-up forms, it first needed to address the problem of impatient and mobile-centric customers. To resolve its problems, Facebook create a sign-up form that accommodates mobile phone users who often abandoned forms that took too much effort to fill, that took too long to load on a cellphone. Facebook created the Lead Ad.

Lead ads, which are accessible on Facebook and Instagram, are digital sign-up forms that allow you to collect customer’s information. With these forms, you can create a sign-up sheet for newsletters, price estimates, follow-up calls, or business information.

Optimized for mobile devices, although also accessible through desktop computers, lead ads are unlike any other form you’ve seen before. It expedites the sign-up process by automatically populating contact information customers provided in their profiles, such as first name, last name, and email address. Additionally, they load and open quickly within Facebook’s app. As soon as it opens, customers can fill in and submit the form without being redirected to a slow-loading web browser or to a different app.

How to Create a Facebook Lead Ad

You can create Facebook Lead Ads from two places: Business Manager or your Facebook page.

On Business Manager

Step 1: Choose the objective “Lead generation”

In order for you to enable the lead ad format, you must first choose “Lead generation” as your objective, the only objective eligible for Lead Ads. After you’ve chosen “Lead generation” as your objective, click “Continue” to proceed to the next section of the ad.

Step 2: Choose your Facebook page

If you have more than one Facebook page, choose the one you want to promote. The Facebook page account that you choose to promote will be the account that will advertise on your behalf. For example, after choosing AdvertiseMint as the Facebook page I want to promote, the ad that will appear on news feed will appear as posted by Advertisemint.

Step 3: Create your target audience

If you don’t already have an existing customer list you can upload to Facebook for targeting, then you must create a new audience by choosing the demographics, behavior, and lifestyle of the audience you want to target. Examine the sample target audience illustrated below.

Gender

Men and women aged 18-40

Location

United States

Language

English

Interests

Barnes and Noble, books, novels, Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale, science fiction, dystopia

Connections

People who like your page

If you want accurate targeting, create the persona of your target audience. Ask yourself who your readers are. Are they men or women? What is their age? What genres do they like? What novels? Who are their favorite authors?

You can also upload an existing customer list to Facebook. You can either target the people on that list or you can create a Lookalike Audience, a highly recommended option, which allows you to target new people who are closely similar to your current readers from your customer list.

Step 4: Choose your placements

If you choose automatic placements, Facebook will deliver your Lead Ad to the three placements it’s eligible for: Facebook desktop news feed, Facebook mobile news feed, and Instagram. If you want to place your Lead Ad exclusively on Facebook or exclusively on Instagram, you can do so by clicking “Edit Placements” and checking off the placements you prefer.

Step 5: Set a budget and schedule

Here’s a helpful tip: when you set your budget, optimize for leads rather than for link clicks. Choosing the latter may result in a higher click-through rate. If you want to get the most out of your Facebook ad, always optimize for your goal, which, in this case, is leads.

Step 6: Choose your format

Your Lead Ad is eligible for the formats carousel, single image, single video, and slideshow. The single image format is commonly used because it’s the easiest to create. The carousel format, on the other hand, allows you to feature up to 10 images and videos in one ad unit. If none of the formats appeal to you, and you want a cheaper and easier alternative to the video format, use the slideshow format. If you’re new to Facebook advertising, and you don’t have time to create complex creatives, then use the single image format.

Step 7: Enter text

Write copies that give your readers a clear understanding about your offer. What exactly are they signing up for? Will you give them a free book? Will you give them email updates about your upcoming novels? Will you notify them about your book tours? Be honest, and try not to inadvertently deceive your potential fans.

Step 8: Create the form

When you create your form, keep your questions to a minimum. Lengthy forms may dissuade your potential fans from signing up as they may be reluctant to disclose too much personal information. Instead, request necessary information, which will likely be the person’s full name, email address, and phone number. If you must ask questions on your form, ask multiple choice questions rather than open-ended questions. A convenient process leads to more conversions.

Step 9: You’re done!

On Your Facebook Page

If you don’t have a Business Manager account, there’s no need to panic. You can still create a Lead Ad straight from your Facebook page.

Step 1: Go to your business page

You can access your business page from your news feed. It should appear under “Favorites” on the left column of your screen.

Step 2: Go to Publishing Tools

Click “Publishing Tools” located above your cover photo.

Step 3: Click “Lead Ads Forms”

Click “Lead Ads Forms” located on the left side of your screen.

Step 4: Click “Create”

If you haven’t made any Lead Ads, this page should be empty. Click “Create” on the upper right corner to create a Lead Ad.

Step 5: Create the form

Click “New Form” then click “Next.”

Step 6: Add a context card to your form

Context cards allow you to add more information about your product or service before they visit your form. In the context cards, explain what people are signing up for. Are they signing up for a newsletter, a raffle to win a prize, or a free book? As aforementioned, be honest and avoid inadvertently deceiving your fans.

Step 7: Fill in context card

Write a headline, add an image, write a description in either bullet or paragraph form, then add a call-to-action button.

Step 8: Add a link to your website

Provide the website link to where you want your form to direct users.

Step 9: Add your privacy policy

Link the text or URL to your privacy policy to avoid future disputes.

Step 10: Choose sign-up information

You can choose to ask for email, phone numbers, first and last names, addresses, etc. To view more options click “Show more options.” After checking all desired information, click “Next.”

Step 11: Enter URL in thank-you card

Your Lead Ad will end with a thank-you card that lets people know that their form was successfully submitted. The bottom of that card will contain a link that can direct them to your website. It’s important that you provide the link to the website you want them to visit after they’ve signed up.

Step 12: You’re done!

Your form should appear on this page. The form may take a minute or so to appear, so if you don’t see it, refresh until you do.

You’ve labored for that book. Don’t let your hard work go to waste by preventing others from reading it. Fortunately, gaining prospective readers is just a lead form away.