5 Minefields To Avoid When Selling Ebooks Online
- ARTICLES |
While selling ebooks online can be very exciting, lucrative and enjoyable, there is always a fly in the ointment. With selling ebooks online, it comes in the form of a certain group of undesirable buyers who can make life difficult for an ebook author.
Don't get me wrong. Well over 98% of ebook buyers will be wonderful customers. At worst, you will get an occasional request for a refund from someone who didn't find your ebook good enough or useful to them. That's fine.
But a very tiny fraction of your customer group will be a nightmare to deal with. Being aware of the 5 categories of 'problem buyers' will help you in avoiding these minefields when selling ebooks online.
Ebook Pirates
These pirates find a way to access your ebook download page - without even paying for it. Or else, they will pay, request a refund immediately, and then continue to access your download page - maybe even distribute it among their group of cronies and pals.
Protecting your ebook download page with a password, or more elaborate encrypting technology available today, will greatly reduce the problem. But it is hard to completely eliminate it, so be prepared to factor in this loss into your business model when you begin selling ebooks online.
Serial Refunders
Another troublesome category of buyers are serial refunders who often buy your product and request a refund because it didn't meet their expectations. Worse, they will repeat it again when you sell another ebook - and refund again!
To avoid this happening, you can use some scripts or services that will block and ban someone who refunds more than once from accessing your products, even blocking them from reaching the order form. Another way is to remove them from all your contact lists, so they hopefully will not hear about it when you next are selling ebooks online.
Clingy Customers
While not as bad as the rest, this category of customers can be quite a serious waste of time for you as a business owner and infopreneur. They will buy a low priced ebook, and then expect go get unlimited consulting, advice and answers to their every whim and fancy - often within 24 hours, or sooner!
The solution is simple. Be gentle, but firm, about how far you are willing to help out. If you offer consulting services, point it out and offer to help out to a greater extent if they will pay your charges. Or direct them to a 'Frequently Asked Questions' section, or a help-desk where your assistant can deal with the problem.
Illegal Resellers
Yet one more form of unethical business-persons are those who resell your ebook without buying the rights from you. This can cause serious long-term damage to your ebook selling business because they often undercut the price terribly, destroying your perceived value in the marketplace.
One way to make sure this does not happen 'accidentally' is to include clear and unambiguous disclaimers about the rights you sell inside the ebook. Some people go so far to include an invitation from readers to contact the ebook author if they buy a copy from somewhere else, because the copy they have is an illegal one sold without due permission.
Reputation Killers
Insidious and deadly, this is the group you have very little control over. These people systematically go about the task of destroying your reputation and brand by complaining vocally on forums, email lists and other public media about how you are cheating people by selling ebooks online that are not worth paying for.
While this is less harmful after you have established a track record of quality and a good brand image, it can be fatal to your reputation if you are just getting started.
Dealing with this kind of person needs tact, subtlety and some strong-arm stuff. Try and discuss the matter to see if you can resolve the animosity. Threaten legal action if the messages cross the line and border on slander. Counter each message you notice with a calm, reasoned explanation. Invite other buyers to also respond with feedback to neutralize the attack.
Hopefully in your career as infopreneur selling ebooks online, you will not come across many examples of the kind of behavior we have discussed in this article. But if you do, I hope these tips prepare you to tackle the situation without losing your head and salvage your business and reputation.
Don't get me wrong. Well over 98% of ebook buyers will be wonderful customers. At worst, you will get an occasional request for a refund from someone who didn't find your ebook good enough or useful to them. That's fine.
But a very tiny fraction of your customer group will be a nightmare to deal with. Being aware of the 5 categories of 'problem buyers' will help you in avoiding these minefields when selling ebooks online.
Ebook Pirates
These pirates find a way to access your ebook download page - without even paying for it. Or else, they will pay, request a refund immediately, and then continue to access your download page - maybe even distribute it among their group of cronies and pals.
Protecting your ebook download page with a password, or more elaborate encrypting technology available today, will greatly reduce the problem. But it is hard to completely eliminate it, so be prepared to factor in this loss into your business model when you begin selling ebooks online.
Serial Refunders
Another troublesome category of buyers are serial refunders who often buy your product and request a refund because it didn't meet their expectations. Worse, they will repeat it again when you sell another ebook - and refund again!
To avoid this happening, you can use some scripts or services that will block and ban someone who refunds more than once from accessing your products, even blocking them from reaching the order form. Another way is to remove them from all your contact lists, so they hopefully will not hear about it when you next are selling ebooks online.
Clingy Customers
While not as bad as the rest, this category of customers can be quite a serious waste of time for you as a business owner and infopreneur. They will buy a low priced ebook, and then expect go get unlimited consulting, advice and answers to their every whim and fancy - often within 24 hours, or sooner!
The solution is simple. Be gentle, but firm, about how far you are willing to help out. If you offer consulting services, point it out and offer to help out to a greater extent if they will pay your charges. Or direct them to a 'Frequently Asked Questions' section, or a help-desk where your assistant can deal with the problem.
Illegal Resellers
Yet one more form of unethical business-persons are those who resell your ebook without buying the rights from you. This can cause serious long-term damage to your ebook selling business because they often undercut the price terribly, destroying your perceived value in the marketplace.
One way to make sure this does not happen 'accidentally' is to include clear and unambiguous disclaimers about the rights you sell inside the ebook. Some people go so far to include an invitation from readers to contact the ebook author if they buy a copy from somewhere else, because the copy they have is an illegal one sold without due permission.
Reputation Killers
Insidious and deadly, this is the group you have very little control over. These people systematically go about the task of destroying your reputation and brand by complaining vocally on forums, email lists and other public media about how you are cheating people by selling ebooks online that are not worth paying for.
While this is less harmful after you have established a track record of quality and a good brand image, it can be fatal to your reputation if you are just getting started.
Dealing with this kind of person needs tact, subtlety and some strong-arm stuff. Try and discuss the matter to see if you can resolve the animosity. Threaten legal action if the messages cross the line and border on slander. Counter each message you notice with a calm, reasoned explanation. Invite other buyers to also respond with feedback to neutralize the attack.
Hopefully in your career as infopreneur selling ebooks online, you will not come across many examples of the kind of behavior we have discussed in this article. But if you do, I hope these tips prepare you to tackle the situation without losing your head and salvage your business and reputation.