First draft of ebook done. Now I need help with launching/selling

7 replies
I've finally finished the draft of my book. My plan is to launch it as an ebook on my blog at first and then maybe self publish at a later point through amazon/createspace.

But I need help and advice on how to launch this book. I'm crossing every bridge as I come to it and now I'm so close to this being ready. Is there some sequence that I should not overlook? or something I must not forget to do? I don't even know what platform I'm going with or even price. Should I do pre orders? and what about discounts?

I already have an audience and decent amount of followers +14k on my facebook page and +3500 email.

I'm looking for any advice right now from people who have successfully sold ebooks to their followers.

By the way, I have no interest in promoting my site on here. I genuinely need some help or pointing in the right direction.
#draft #ebook #launching or selling
  • Profile picture of the author Shaolinsteve
    Originally Posted by hudsonkraft View Post

    I've finally finished the draft of my book. My plan is to launch it as an ebook on my blog at first and then maybe self publish at a later point through amazon/createspace.

    But I need help and advice on how to launch this book. I'm crossing every bridge as I come to it and now I'm so close to this being ready. Is there some sequence that I should not overlook? or something I must not forget to do? I don't even know what platform I'm going with or even price. Should I do pre orders? and what about discounts?

    I already have an audience and decent amount of followers +14k on my facebook page and +3500 email.

    I'm looking for any advice right now from people who have successfully sold ebooks to their followers.

    By the way, I have no interest in promoting my site on here. I genuinely need some help or pointing in the right direction.
    You might want to consider doing an (early bird) pre-launch. Segment those people on a new campaign/list and build a buzz before the launch. Promoting it to your own list first will help you to get an idea of how responsive people will be, for when you do offer it. If segmented well, and you're showing some nice EPC's and even testimonials, then that would be a decent time, to approach JV partners.

    Is it just the eBook that you're looking to launch? Think about any upsells or downsells within the funnel that could also enhance the main book of what it teaches. You could offer a discount, but that's really down to you. Try some market research, both from a physical and electronic point of view, and come up with an ideal price for both the early bird and official launch.

    The main thing is to really just get it out there and soon as you can. Nothing will ever be 100%, and you'll pick up on things as you progress. Then once you've had people to get involved, definitely get some feedback, then you can make some adjustments before preparing for the big launches.
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  • Profile picture of the author Martin Salter
    Originally Posted by hudsonkraft View Post

    I've finally finished the draft of my book. My plan is to launch it as an ebook on my blog at first and then maybe self publish at a later point through amazon/createspace.

    But I need help and advice on how to launch this book. I'm crossing every bridge as I come to it and now I'm so close to this being ready. Is there some sequence that I should not overlook? or something I must not forget to do? I don't even know what platform I'm going with or even price. Should I do pre orders? and what about discounts?

    I already have an audience and decent amount of followers +14k on my facebook page and +3500 email.

    I'm looking for any advice right now from people who have successfully sold ebooks to their followers.

    By the way, I have no interest in promoting my site on here. I genuinely need some help or pointing in the right direction.
    I would recommend publishing via create space anyway, and then still look to sell as an e-download of your own if you wish. Reason I say this is that Amazon is a powerful marketplace and you will be amazed at where/how sales can come in if it just gets picked up in the right circles.

    You say you have following etc already, so maybe set up on CS and then offer a launch price to your list and say not publicly pushing yet as you would truly appreciate feedback on Amazon when they purchase. (You can also make a Kindle version as well if you prefer to target just downloads).

    It can depend on your niche/genre etc of course, but from experience, sales just keep coming from Amazon (8 years later) on some books we have published. Yes we make download sales as well, but the create space version has outperformed 76% of the time.

    The other advantage is that with Amazon doing delivery (e or physical) you do not need to worry about setting up PayPal and protected links etc in the beginning. There is nothing to stop you doing all over time, and yes, it is up to you if you would rather start on your own delivery, they setting up a blog with a PayPal button then a download folder etc would be fine to test the water. Another great thing about Amazon and CS is that you are then a "published author" which is MORE recognized than your own delivery (even though you still published something) it just adds to that whole credibility thing.

    Martin
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  • Profile picture of the author Tom Addams
    Originally Posted by hudsonkraft View Post

    I've finally finished the draft of my book. My plan is to launch it as an ebook on my blog at first and then maybe self publish at a later point through amazon/createspace.

    But I need help and advice on how to launch this book. I'm crossing every bridge as I come to it and now I'm so close to this being ready. Is there some sequence that I should not overlook? or something I must not forget to do? I don't even know what platform I'm going with or even price. Should I do pre orders? and what about discounts?

    I already have an audience and decent amount of followers +14k on my facebook page and +3500 email.

    I'm looking for any advice right now from people who have successfully sold ebooks to their followers.

    By the way, I have no interest in promoting my site on here. I genuinely need some help or pointing in the right direction.
    I do exactly the same thing for novels and serialized novellas. I haven't written a novel in a few months, but I've been writing novels, novellas, shorts, screenplays for 25 years.

    I'm happy to share a few tips on here:

    1. KDP.
    2. Free.
    3. Promote heavily.
    4. You'll receive reviews etc.
    5. Add price now you have reviews.

    The real trick is to have some big, high-engagement social platforms: pages, groups, communities, profiles. In all honesty, 14K won't cut it on FB nowadays. (Reach.) Grow your socials (all kinds) and on FB you really need to be in the 50K+ area; well over, really.

    One place where you'll actually get an absolute unholy amount of sales is from your profiles. You're limited to 5K on FB but that's actually just fine. You need to post on your profiles and include your audience in your day-to-day writing life as well as any other things of interest. Chat to them, engage them. It really pays off.

    If you work on the above, you'll be able to knock out a book, throw it in the direction of your followers, and - blammo - job done. You then go write another and repeat.

    Tom
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  • Profile picture of the author winnermarketing
    You should do a pre-launch. Prepare some mail to send at your mail list to prewarm possible buyers.
    Give a promote code thought with they could have a duiscount if they order within a certain time!
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  • Profile picture of the author iangh
    Hi HudsonKraft,

    Do you have affiliate links inside your eBook?

    The reason I ask is if you let be known the whole price of your eBook is going towards a well deserving charity you will sell many more copies which can only be a good thing.

    You will stand a better chance of earning more through your affiliate links and the more copies of your book sold the more your name is being seen.

    Definitely a good way to start with eBooks or Kindle Books.

    Good Luck & Take Care

    Ian-G-H
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  • Profile picture of the author Trevor Carr
    Have you considered a launch on JVZoo?

    Might be worth thinking about.

    You can build your buyers list via Get Response automatically on JVZoo as well, as you let the affiliates do all the work.

    All the best

    Trevor
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    • Profile picture of the author StephenGB
      Brilliant website. Try listing it on Groupon.
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