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You Gotta See My Crappy Passive Income Machine

by nyrsimon
37 replies
So as some of you know I just love public domain and I just love passive income. When i get the opportunity to put them together it's just a home run

I wanted to show everybody this stupidly simple technique I use to set up these little passive income streams

First I do a little research and go and find a nice piece of public domain material. This can be from Gutenberg.org or archive.org. It works better if you get something a little more exclusive but yes you can still use both those sites

I then simply format the book for kindle. Don't be scared the big untold secret is kindle is basically just HTML. You need to follow a few rules but it really ain't hard

Now comes some secret sauce. If I want to sell a book that is already being sold or given away free on the kindle I need to improve it somehow. My favorite technique is to simply bundle ANOTHER book with it!!!!!! Then In the title of the book I write something like

"Fly Fishing For Dogs PLUS FREE BONUS BOOK"

Now if you are REALLY sneaky you can do the same with the bonus books.

Kind of a two for one. What i mean is you sell the bonus book and give away the original one as the bonus!!! For example

"Teach Your Dog To Tie Flys PLUS FREE BONUS BOOK" in this case the bonus is Fly Fishing For Dogs

Make sense? So you actually get TWO products to sell

So how does all this actually perform when the rubber meets the road?

Well these pathetic little streams don't make much. Probably a few hundred bucks a year each

But keep in mind

* they only take an hour or so to put together

* they can be easily outsourced

* enough small streams turn into small rivers then mighty rivers then
oceans - think about it

* I don't do ANYTHING and the money comes in every month

* this so easy a caveman could do it

Seriously for all those people looking to make their first dollar there are very few systems simpler than this.....and if you are already making more than a few hundred bucks an hour then congrats, if not you need to look at this

Anyway I wanted to share this with the warrior forum - my turn to give something back

Now go make a crappy passive income machine of your own then grab a drink and watch the sun go down as you make money without having to lift a finger!!!!!

Simon
#crappy #gotta #income #machine #passive #passive income #public domain
  • Profile picture of the author colinph970
    An interesting post. So tell us more .....once you have the material then where do you sell? Amazon?
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    • Profile picture of the author nyrsimon
      Originally Posted by colinph970 View Post

      An interesting post. So tell us more .....once you have the material then where do you sell? Amazon?
      Yes. Sorry was typing so fast completely forgot that obvious point!!!!!!

      Yep i stick them up on amazon's DIgital Text Platform. It's a piece of cake!

      Simon
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  • Profile picture of the author colinph970
    and the cost?
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    • Profile picture of the author Vtsinger
      Thank you so much for sharing this idea! I had actually just done a brainstorming session with myself, and one of the thoughts that I had was about kindle.

      Soo....now I have that little boost that says "Go for it" and with an even more refined deal of one way to be successful with it.
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    • Profile picture of the author nyrsimon
      Originally Posted by colinph970 View Post

      and the cost?
      It's my favorite cost: FREE!!!!!!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author colinph970
    I love that idea...a brainstorming idea with yourself....priceless
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  • Profile picture of the author Greg124
    Great idea, looks very effective. I think I may try this method.

    One question, if that's OK - When you use a Project Gutenberg title, do you leave on the Kindle book all the stuff which P Gutenberg put at the beginning of all their books i.e. the info about project Gutenberg, terms of use etc - I am under the impression that it was necessary to do so under their terms of use.
    If you do include this, has this caused any comments or complaints from customers.

    Thanks Greg.
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    • Profile picture of the author nyrsimon
      Originally Posted by Greg124 View Post

      Great idea, looks very effective. I think I may try this method.

      One question, if that's OK - When you use a Project Gutenberg title, do you leave on the Kindle book all the stuff which P Gutenberg put at the beginning of all their books i.e. the info about project Gutenberg, terms of use etc - I am under the impression that it was necessary to do so under their terms of use.
      If you do include this, has this caused any comments or complaints from customers.

      Thanks Greg.
      Actually I just take it off. Here is the text on the Gutenberg T&C's

      "If an individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. "

      So I comply and remove all references and then do with it WHATEVER I WANT!!!!!!

      Simon
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  • Profile picture of the author George Wright
    This goes right along with a post I'm working on commenting on the saying, "Your Internet Marketing income is in direct proportion with the number of buy now buttons you have out there."

    I don't know who said that first but I heard it from Bryan Kumar.

    George Wright
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    • Profile picture of the author nyrsimon
      Originally Posted by George Wright View Post

      This goes right along with a post I'm working on commenting on the saying, "Your Internet Marketing income is in direct preportion with the number of buy now buttons you have out there."

      I don't know who said that first but I heard it from Bryan Kumar.

      George Wright
      George - couldn't agree more. I love having tons of stuff for sale. Some does gangbusters, others just trickle in the cash.

      You know there is saying I learn't playing ice hockey: "At the end of the season they don't ask how they just ask how many"

      I think this can be modified to fit the online money making world: "At the end of the month my bank manager doesn't ask how did you make the money, just how much!"

      Simon
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    • Profile picture of the author hotftuna
      Originally Posted by George Wright View Post

      This goes right along with a post I'm working on commenting on the saying, "Your Internet Marketing income is in direct proportion with the number of buy now buttons you have out there."

      I don't know who said that first but I heard it from Bryan Kumar.

      George Wright
      That is funny because I have been working with that theory for some time now. To a certain extent, it is true.
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  • Profile picture of the author nicheman
    Simon,
    Thanks for the excellent post!
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    • Profile picture of the author nyrsimon
      Originally Posted by nicheman View Post

      Simon,
      Thanks for the excellent post!
      You are most welcome!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author nicheman
    Excellent Info Simon. Thanks for sharing and giving back to the WF!
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  • Profile picture of the author nicheman
    Sorry for the double post I did not see that my post made it through.
    What are the criteria you use for choosing what books to use from these sites?

    Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author Ron Douglas
    Good post Simon. I have a friend who publishes over 100 books a month doing this.

    What is your strategy for the title of your books, keyword tags, descriptions, leveraging other popular titles, and overall optimizing your listings so that they get traffic?
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    • Profile picture of the author nyrsimon
      Originally Posted by Ron Douglas View Post

      Good post Simon. I have a friend who publishes over 100 books a month doing this.

      What is your strategy for the title of your books, keyword tags, descriptions, leveraging other popular titles, and overall optimizing your listings so that they get traffic?
      The great Ron Douglas aka the man holding the BEST advertising spot on the warrior forum eh???

      You know I probably haven't been as disciplined as I should have with my testing & tracking. For some books it is the original author or title that seems to draw the crowd. For others the "FREE BOOK" approach seems to be a GREAT puller.

      Also taking an extra few minutes and either finding some reviews and picking the salient points as editorial or simply copying the table of contents into the description seems to work well.

      Your question has me thinking though, this is an area I need to pay some attention to

      Thanks,
      Simon
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Carl Kelly
    To anyone who wants to pursue this method, please be advised as to Amazon's stance on this issue, posted as of August 14, 2009:

    We want to provide a heads up that we're working on a policy and procedure change that will fix a customer experience problem caused by multiple copies of well-known public domain titles being uploaded by a multitude of DTP publishers. For an example of this problem, do a search on "Pride and Prejudice." The current situation is very confusing for customers as it makes it difficult to decide which "Pride and Prejudice" to choose. This note is just a heads up that we're working on a change. When we've worked out the details, we'll post them here. In the meantime, we ask that you please do not contribute to this confusion by uploading any public domain titles that are already in the Kindle store.

    Thanks,

    Amazon Kindle team.

    Additionally, some publishers have been receiving these notices from Amazon:

    Dear Publisher,

    We're working on a policy and procedure change to fix a customer experience problem caused by multiple copies of public domain titles being uploaded by a multitude of publishers. For an example of this problem, do a search on "Pride and Prejudice" in the Kindle Store. The current situation is very confusing for customers as it makes it difficult to decide which 'Pride and Prejudice' to choose. As a result, at this time we are not accepting additional public domain titles through DTP, including the following:

    (names of titles removed for this post)

    If you believe that we have wrongly identified this title as a public domain title, and you are the copyright holder or are authorized to sell it by the copyright holder, then please reply to title-submission@amazon.com with appropriate documentation of your e-book rights.

    Thank you, Amazon.com
    In recent months, hundreds of duplicate copies of public domain titles have been removed from the Kindle store. Personally, I see Amazon's point here. Hundreds or thousands of the same title in the Kindle store certainly confuses buyers and devalues Amazon's image.

    Proceed as you see fit.
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    • Profile picture of the author nyrsimon
      Originally Posted by Steven Carl Kelly View Post

      To anyone who wants to pursue this method, please be advised as to Amazon's stance on this issue, posted as of August 14, 2009:

      We want to provide a heads up that we're working on a policy and procedure change that will fix a customer experience problem caused by multiple copies of well-known public domain titles being uploaded by a multitude of DTP publishers. For an example of this problem, do a search on "Pride and Prejudice." The current situation is very confusing for customers as it makes it difficult to decide which "Pride and Prejudice" to choose. This note is just a heads up that we're working on a change. When we've worked out the details, we'll post them here. In the meantime, we ask that you please do not contribute to this confusion by uploading any public domain titles that are already in the Kindle store.

      Thanks,

      Amazon Kindle team.

      In recent months, hundreds of duplicate copies of public domain titles have been removed from the Kindle store. Personally, I see Amazon's point here. Hundreds or thousands of the same title in the Kindle store certainly confuses buyers and devalues Amazon's image.

      Proceed as you see fit.
      This is great news it will get rid of all the sellers who do NOTHING to add value. I view this like eBays efforts to get rid of the 99 cent ebook sellers. Since that happend I have seen the value of my ebooks (on CD!) go up almost 50%.

      Like I said you can create a compilation (which by the way IS copyrightable) of 2 PD books and voila you solve this issue. This move by amazon will drive out the bottom third and clear the way for people willing to do a little work.

      As with all things the rules will change and you will have to adapt but this market is not going away anytime soon.

      Just look at the mess Barnes and Noble are in...the digital book age is just about to explode, I intend to rake in huge amounts of cash from it!

      Simon
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  • Profile picture of the author azwar
    I get the idea...It's amazing. Thanks nyrsimon!
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Carl Kelly
    If that's honestly the way you see it, then have at it.
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    • Profile picture of the author nyrsimon
      Originally Posted by Steven Carl Kelly View Post

      If that's honestly the way you see it, then have at it.
      It is - I'm sure we will see more rule changes - the key is to adapt.

      Simon
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  • Profile picture of the author Davido86
    Banned
    [DELETED]
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  • Profile picture of the author mmcqueen
    Simon,

    Thanks for the info. When you get the two public domain books you are going to use, do you reformat the layout?

    Also where else can you get public domain books?

    Again thanks for the info,

    Michael
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    • Profile picture of the author nyrsimon
      Originally Posted by mmcqueen View Post

      Simon,

      Thanks for the info. When you get the two public domain books you are going to use, do you reformat the layout?

      Also where else can you get public domain books?

      Again thanks for the info,

      Michael
      Michael,

      Yes I reformat it, but nothing special. The only time it gets a little tricky is if the book has a lot of images in it but even then you can get somebody on rentacoder, elance etc to do it very cheaply

      In terms of books, there are a ton online, but you can also just buy used books that are in the public domain - look at bookfinder.com and abebooks.com, as well as good old ebay.

      Remember this is just scratching the surface you can get real fancy!

      Simon
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  • Profile picture of the author Bruce NewMedia
    Simon, thanks for the idea...it's excellent.

    Out of curiosity, how much does your average title bring in per month? ..$10 -$20?
    _____
    Bruce
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    • Profile picture of the author nyrsimon
      Originally Posted by brucerby View Post

      Simon, thanks for the idea...it's excellent.

      Out of curiosity, how much does your average title bring in per month? ..$10 -$20?
      _____
      Bruce
      Bruce

      I have had the proverbial bomb that makes pennies and some that make low hundreds

      I look to average out at above $200 per hour of my work - which is for the first year, the second year is all gravy!!!!!!

      Obviously outsourcing helps a LOT

      Simon
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  • Profile picture of the author Scott Kennedy
    Does this need to be sold via the amazon platform? Or can you make the ebooks into a kindle file and include a download link on your page, which the users then tranfer to their kindle via USB?

    I've never used a kindle before so am a little unsure of how it exactly works..
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    • Profile picture of the author nyrsimon
      Originally Posted by Scott Kennedy View Post

      Does this need to be sold via the amazon platform? Or can you make the ebooks into a kindle file and include a download link on your page, which the users then tranfer to their kindle via USB?

      I've never used a kindle before so am a little unsure of how it exactly works..
      Scott

      I have focused on the kindle it is VERY easy. Take a look at their online help it is very good

      If you have a specific question pm me....

      Simon
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  • Profile picture of the author Scott Carpenter
    Thanks for the great info - it's always fun to see the different ways that people are leveraging available content. I do have a couple of questions:

    1) What criteria do you use when setting your price point?
    2) Have you found that certain price points sell better than others?
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  • Profile picture of the author SageSound
    Considering there are millions of book titles available in the public domain, not to mention millions of articles in magazines, songs, and all kinds of other stuff, it's interesting that people feel compelled to submit the same bunch of stuff that's gotten Amazon's knickers in a wad.

    Why not dig up some PD stuff that's NOT on Amazon? It's not like you'd have much trouble, but gosh ... it might take an hour or so of your time.

    -David
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    • Profile picture of the author nyrsimon
      Originally Posted by SageSound View Post

      Considering there are millions of book titles available in the public domain, not to mention millions of articles in magazines, songs, and all kinds of other stuff, it's interesting that people feel compelled to submit the same bunch of stuff that's gotten Amazon's knickers in a wad.

      Why not dig up some PD stuff that's NOT on Amazon? It's not like you'd have much trouble, but gosh ... it might take an hour or so of your time.

      -David
      David

      This is exactly my view

      Yep there are 400 people trying to sell Great Expectations but NOBODY selling a copy of the little hypnosis book i just picked up and is in the PD!!!!! Also it means i can set a higher price point...

      Actually I love the masses are lazy otherwise I would have to work MUCH harder!!!!

      Simon
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    • Profile picture of the author pierrebenoit
      Just to add my contribution.

      I just like the way to add two PD together to build a new package. I did this with many paperback books (4 about twitter) in the same subject.

      I put one ebook and see there was many other ebooks with the same cover and title. This let me think about no original content!!!

      I was thinking to just reformat the title and description... to be keyword friendly as many titles got in the Google in two days... and to build a new cover for each ebook.
      It was evident for me that this is the way to be different.

      And, I see that many don't format the book very well. TOC is not cliquable and have page number... so as the book will give many years of commission, I"ll take some time+ to present a perfect product.

      I was tempted to just trow many ebooks (as possible - I have download from the net more than 500 PD in my computer) in Amazon but see that it is not the way to go. Business that last need work.





      Originally Posted by SageSound View Post

      Considering there are millions of book titles available in the public domain, not to mention millions of articles in magazines, songs, and all kinds of other stuff, it's interesting that people feel compelled to submit the same bunch of stuff that's gotten Amazon's knickers in a wad.

      Why not dig up some PD stuff that's NOT on Amazon? It's not like you'd have much trouble, but gosh ... it might take an hour or so of your time.

      -David
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  • Profile picture of the author Neil12
    Thanks for this idea, as a newcomer it doesn't sound as simple as you say, but Im sure it will becomke clear

    thanks again
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  • Profile picture of the author guruslasher
    This is awesome especially with the popularity of the ipad and the ibookstore..If you can get titles on that platform as well, it's easy picking.
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  • Profile picture of the author Big Al
    I'm guessing you could do this in a specific niche and inside the books or bonuses have directions back your website and start adding list subscribers?

    Make some money and add some subscribers at the same time.
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    • Profile picture of the author nyrsimon
      Originally Posted by Big Al View Post

      I'm guessing you could do this in a specific niche and inside the books or bonuses have directions back your website and start adding list subscribers?

      Make some money and add some subscribers at the same time.
      Exactly!

      Advertise some free gift and a URL and suddenly you can start building a list of buyers in a niche.

      Simon
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