Total Newbie.... Need advice for setting up my Ebook...

[Mark McLean]

Warriors,

I just learned about Ebook's within the last 45 days and I have been rapidly reading through every book I can read on the subjects including Ebook composition and Online Marketing. I am so excited to find this avenue because my mind never turns off and I know this is going to be a great outlet for me.

My problem is that I am not the most tech savvy. However, I am not going to let that get in the way. I have no reservations that I can get this done but I would rather make the least amount of mistakes possible.

I am looking to setup a 1-2 page website with Sale's Letter and purchasing page. When my customers purchase my Ebook I want my autoresponder to send them the exact instructions on how to download my Ebook.

I purchased Dreamweaver but I am thinking for my first book, which is almost complete, I would rather hire out as much as possible depending on costs.

So, my question Warriors, is if you were just starting out and wanted to sub out some website work how would you do it?

I have found the references for Elance.com and Freelance.com to get this work done but I am hesitant for the simple fact that I am so ignorant on web design and content that I am skeptical of who I let have my content if that makes sense?

So, if you were me and starting from scratch how would you proceed?

I thank everyone in advance for their input. I am expecting one day in the future I will be able to provide answers to these exact questions for the next Newbie!

Thanks,
Mark

[winebuddy]

get NVU (do a google search) - its a simple website designer - you type and design it the way you want and taaa daaaa! All you have to do is save it and upload it.

oh - and its free.

As far as your sales page, if you have ZERO experience, you should probably hop over to the copywriting forum and just hire someone to do it for you.

Good luck on your first venture!

[rockstarinlife]

hire a warrior here to do your header and footer (40-70) and purchase Johns worpress spire theme and build your site super easy yourself and have the flexibility to add unlimited plugins. Thats what I did.

here is Johns thread for his theme here on the forum: Create Wordpress Landing Pages, Sales Pages And Squeeze Pages Using One Theme! (Plugin ver. also)

buying his theme was the best thing ever! Super flexibility!

Here is my site that I built using it and it launches tomorrow. FREE Video Reveals the #1 Secret to Unleash Your Inner RockStar Now!

[aomega54]

Mark,

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that you are motivated by "how can I make money" more than "how can I deliver value?"

The reason I bring this is up is because so many people online catch a case of Makemoneyonlinitis virus (aka Passiveincomitis) and so their focus begins to revolve around a perceived need to create 1-2 page sales letter websites.

That strategy worked reasonably well 5-10 years ago. Nowadays it doesn't work very well at all.

I'd suggest you focus on creating not a 1-2 page salesletter site, but (with time) a 300-page blog full of content that's rich in keywords relevant to your e-book content.

There are plenty of free blogging platforms out there, together with free pre-designed themes and plugins which add to functionality.

AO

[SandyDuPlessis]

Originally Posted by Mark McLean

Warriors,

I just learned about Ebook's within the last 45 days and I have been rapidly reading through every book I can read on the subjects including Ebook composition and Online Marketing. I am so excited to find this avenue because my mind never turns off and I know this is going to be a great outlet for me.

My problem is that I am not the most tech savvy. However, I am not going to let that get in the way. I have no reservations that I can get this done but I would rather make the least amount of mistakes possible.

I am looking to setup a 1-2 page website with Sale's Letter and purchasing page. When my customers purchase my Ebook I want my autoresponder to send them the exact instructions on how to download my Ebook.

I purchased Dreamweaver but I am thinking for my first book, which is almost complete, I would rather hire out as much as possible depending on costs.

So, my question Warriors, is if you were just starting out and wanted to sub out some website work how would you do it?

I have found the references for Elance.com and Freelance.com to get this work done but I am hesitant for the simple fact that I am so ignorant on web design and content that I am skeptical of who I let have my content if that makes sense?

So, if you were me and starting from scratch how would you proceed?

I thank everyone in advance for their input. I am expecting one day in the future I will be able to provide answers to these exact questions for the next Newbie!

Thanks,
Mark

Slow down Mark,

I am no expert, but I think you are getting ahead of yourself. I have made the same mistake that you are making. Now it is taking me twice as long to correct the problem.

Before simply throwing an ebook out there for the world to grab, you need to be perceived as an expert. More and more people are checking up on authors before they part with their hard earned cash.

Remember you are in the process of starting a business. An internet business is no different from a real world business. You need to have a business plan as well as a plan of action. You need to have a budget within which to operate.

Dreamweaver is very nice, but I don't really think it was the best tool to spend your money on at this early stage. In that respect, there are plenty of free tools that are available. You need to create a solid foundation for your business and the only way to do that is to research, research and research some more.

If you really have done all the research that it is possible to do then...
create a wordpress or blogger blog. Make sure you use a longtail keyword related to the product you are busy writing as your blog url. Add 30 posts at the rate of 2 a day (15 days) then drip-feed another 30 posts at a rate of one a day. After that you can slow the numbers down as long as you remember to ping various pages daily.

Set up your sales page (after day 15)

Prepare 15 autoresponder posts related to the subject. Do not go the hard sell route - most people don't like it.

Write a report related to your book - provide the "why" information but not the "how" information - offer the report as a free giveaway from your blog in return for their email addresses. The report in addition to pre-selling your book should also give a link to the sales page.

Getting those email addresses is the most important thing because later you can offer those same people related products.

Now they start getting your auto-responder mails which also help to pre-sell your book and provide a link to the sales page. Just make sure that there is some good solid information in your auto-responder mails.

Go back to your blog posts and on some of them, add a link to your sales page.

Write a bunch of articles (and spin them) then submit them to various article sites.

Now head for the various web 2 and bookmarking sites. One at a time, learn how to use them and provide relevant information, some can link to your sales page but most should link to your blog.

I think that will do for a start

[seanyd]

I use openoffice for ebook creation and coffeecup for making websites , I think SandyDuPlessis is right you need to set up a blog to pre sell your book , and a heap of articles for backlinks to your salespages.
Good luck in your venture

[paulmac]

I use Microsoft Frontpage ,Its very easy to use.

[SteveRenner]

Hi Mark,
I would suggest that you find the top 3 competitors in your niche, and go
through their complete buying process. Buy their product, study the sales
process from top to bottom, Sales Page, Upsells, Downsells Cross Sells,
Autoresponder sequence.

Then armed with this information you have a Blueprint - Guide to how to
do it yourself. I wouldn't copy them word for word exactly, but put your
own personality into it.

You can hire someone from Scriptlance, Guru.com, of even here from the
WF to create the sales and subsequent pages, and graphics you need.

You can hire a ghost writer to create the product, sales copy, and even
the autoresponder sequences.

Then it just a matter of driving traffic to the offer. You may consider selling
their products 1st as an affiliate to see what works best.

All The Best!

[Michael Oksa]

Originally Posted by Mark McLean

Warriors,

I just learned about Ebook's within the last 45 days and I have been rapidly reading through every book I can read on the subjects including Ebook composition and Online Marketing. I am so excited to find this avenue because my mind never turns off and I know this is going to be a great outlet for me.

It sounds like you're starting the right way. Why? Because you mention reading, but it's also clear that you are going to take action!

My problem is that I am not the most tech savvy. However, I am not going to let that get in the way. I have no reservations that I can get this done but I would rather make the least amount of mistakes possible.

Here's my response to that (and others that have commented): Make your mistakes now. Get them out of the way. Fail forward. Etc.

I am looking to setup a 1-2 page website with Sale's Letter and purchasing page. When my customers purchase my Ebook I want my autoresponder to send them the exact instructions on how to download my Ebook.

This is relatively easy - even for me. And I am VERY "non-techy", seriously. You may want to get NVU or Kompozer and take some time to learn how to set up a basic site. Yes, you can outsource it, but as your business grows there WILL be times when you need to make changes NOW, and can't wait to hire someone to do it for you.

I purchased Dreamweaver but I am thinking for my first book, which is almost complete, I would rather hire out as much as possible depending on costs.

So, my question Warriors, is if you were just starting out and wanted to sub out some website work how would you do it?

I have found the references for Elance.com and Freelance.com to get this work done but I am hesitant for the simple fact that I am so ignorant on web design and content that I am skeptical of who I let have my content if that makes sense?

Again, I think you're off to a good start. You are asking here. The Warriors For Hire or WSO sections should help. Be sure to read any comments left by other buyers.

So, if you were me and starting from scratch how would you proceed?

1. Get NVU or Kompozer and take a few days to learn it.

2. Get OpenOffice and learn that. OpenOffice makes converting documents to PDF VERY easy.

3. Research the market to make sure people are buying, as opposed to just looking.

4. Start writing.

5. Get a hosting account, FTP client, and domain name.

6. Search Google and/or the Warrior Forum if you get stuck - asking for additional help if needed.

I thank everyone in advance for their input. I am expecting one day in the future I will be able to provide answers to these exact questions for the next Newbie!

Thanks,
Mark

I'm looking forward to that day, too. Don't worry, it's much closer than you may think.

All the best,
Michael

[Greg guitar]

Originally Posted by Michael Oksa

It sounds like you're starting the right way. Why? Because you mention reading, but it's also clear that you are going to take action!

Here's my response to that (and others that have commented): Make your mistakes now. Get them out of the way. Fail forward. Etc.

This is relatively easy - even for me. And I am VERY "non-techy", seriously. You may want to get NVU or Kompozer and take some time to learn how to set up a basic site. Yes, you can outsource it, but as your business grows there WILL be times when you need to make changes NOW, and can't wait to hire someone to do it for you.

Again, I think you're off to a good start. You are asking here. The Warriors For Hire or WSO sections should help. Be sure to read any comments left by other buyers.



1. Get NVU or Kompozer and take a few days to learn it.

2. Get OpenOffice and learn that. OpenOffice makes converting documents to PDF VERY easy.

3. Research the market to make sure people are buying, as opposed to just looking.

4. Start writing.

5. Get a hosting account, FTP client, and domain name.

6. Search Google and/or the Warrior Forum if you get stuck - asking for additional help if needed.

I'm looking forward to that day, too. Don't worry, it's much closer than you may think.

All the best,
Michael

The OP better hit the thanks button for this one; nice job Michael; I've seen coaching programs that didn't provide this level of help.

The other posts were helpful too, but in a couple of them, Mark was advised to look for free website builders. I assume this is because they skimmed the OP and didn't notice that he wasn't talking about maybe getting Dreamweaver; he says he's already purchased it.

Mark; I would think since it's the industry standard for people that don't want to write code, you'd do well to learn it, rather than searching for something free that's not as good. You can probably find a high school or college kid to teach it for $50 ($10 an hour x 5).

The only thing I would add to the other posts that wisely advised you to take time to set up your marketing funnel is when you write your free report, you break it up into 7 parts (or 5 or 10-whatever), so that you can offer it as an autoresponder series. You could write a couple, break one up for your series, and offer the other as an immediate download.

That way you've got an excuse to start emailing your opt-ins on a regular basis, and you'll be perceived as an expert who provides value without always pitching.

Then, when the first report runs it's course, you can write another, or you can get cheap or free related PLR products, re-write them and break them up for the next series.

You definitely want to think in terms of keeping your list interested for years; some people will just read the free stuff, and buy something 2 years later. You don't need everything in place that far in advance, but you need to keep feeding the funnel over time.

One thing lots of successful marketers do, is get others in their niche to provide free content in exchange for the chance to do a little self promotion. You can also outsource content creation for pretty cheap.