Are people afraid of opening .exe ebooks?

I won't open them.. I've seen so many of these lately, and I just think..

"What a waste of time".

Simple answer to OP: yes. If you're worried about your stuff getting stolen, then the one thing you really have to come to grips with is the fact that if it has value it's going to get stolen regardless of the medium in which it is deployed. That's why you constantly evolve, constantly add more value, and constantly develop new products.

Thanks for the feedback, guys. What I want to know is around what percentage of computer users are not afraid to open .exe ebooks?

This way, I'd be able to evaluate if it's still worth pursuing.

Thanks a lot,
Michael

You can lock your PDF with a password.

I am a Mac user so you would have to refund me if you delivered EXE files

If someone is afraid to open an exe ebook that they purchased off you then you might consider:

1. Why don't they trust you? It has nothing to do with the exe by the way... the same person opens exe applications all day long if they use a pc.

2. If they have an irrational fear of exe ebooks then they may not be that great of a prospect.

3. Why are you publishing an exe ebook? Can't you publish it as a pdf? Then you are cross platform compatible.

4. Don't call it an ebook. Call it software. I bet they will be less afraid ;-)

5. Offer the content in several formats and let them decide.

FYI, I was interested in finding out more, so I just did a very informal survey...

I asked 5 people I know who range from basic, non-technical computer users to some who you would probably classify as "medium" tech-savvy, whether or not they would open an e-book they purchased if it came to them in an .exe file format. Here are the responses:

2 said: "I'd return it and ask for my money back".
1 said: "Probably not. I'd ask you [referring to me] if it was okay first".
1 said: "I don't know, but why couldn't I get it in a PDF?"
1 said: "I'd scan it for viruses and if it came up clean, I'd open it".

I'd be pretty skeptical, I too would wonder why it couldn't come in a PDF format.

The main problem you will have is that your readers anti virus protection will block the ebooks from opening, alerting the reader and adding caution. Most people will not get the whole .exe but when that anti virus pops up then won't think twice about blocking it.

We did a big survey just as Ebay was banning ebooks. Although they did not state it openly, one of the reasons they stopped ebooks was that they were scared of liability issues, if customers bought infected e-books on their auctions.

There are calls in the USA to make vendors responsible for anything they transmit over the internet, in the near future just putting a disclaimer in the ebook will not protect you from liability or the website that transmits the ebook, software, exe. file if you unwittingly deliver a virus in your product. The legal onus will be on you to make sure it is clean. It is already apparent that the big boys like Ebay and Amazon will just not want the hassle of taking a chance with "small" vendors.

The calls for this legislation is been backed by the FBI which has been trying to tackle networks of zombies for some time as part of an initiative it has dubbed Operation Bot Roast. They have identified and are in the process of contacting over 1 million computer owners. They advise people not to open exe files on their computers.

We went over to PDF's, and in our experience it widened our customer base.

Hope this helps.

people are freaked out about opening exe files - i'd suggest finding another option

I will not open exe ebook.


david

alexa-s

Sorry, just re read your original post.
Perhaps you should rethink your strategy. Will it actually benefit you to collect the names and email addresses of ALL the people that want a "Free" ebook. Why not put such a strong offer in the back of the free ebook, that it will attract visitors to a squeeze page on your website, where you can start sorting out the freebie chasers from the potential customers. Just a thought......

i'd never open an .exe from a marketer

I avoid exe's, too many trojans floating around out there.

I wouldn't open an EXE ebook.

In fact I couldn't, because I run a Mac (ok I could use Parallels). What about all the people who DON'T run windows? There's a chunk of people who might be itching to buy and read your ebook, but can't because it's not in a format they can use.

*sigh*

To those who say they never would open an exe ebook, I know that you would. If I sold an ebook, exe format, that told a method to make $1k in 24 hours and guaranteed to pay you the $1k if it didn't work, you would open it.

It's also funny that you say no to exe but run software...an exe.

In my years of selling ebooks, I have *never* had a refund request because it was an exe. I have had one request for an exe format on a pdf though. He said Acrobat lagged his system to much.

jkiley, being an engineer you know that the msi format is like an exe right? It just requires an external ap for the runing. Much like rundll.exe can run code for DLL files. It's just an installer and is no safer than an exe.

People in this thread saying *most* people won't open exes are incorrect. Most people will without giving it a second thought.

The main problem with *all* exe files is that Windows now gives a warning box. If you pay hundreds of dollars, you can have it signed and not displayed though.

Garrie

I think people just need to come to terms with the fact that piracy is going to happen. Even as a .exe what's to prevent me of pulling up the ebook, taking screenshots of every page and then circulating it? The headaches of having a .exe greatly outweigh any potential savings by deterring piracy. Plus, I don't think piracy is that big a threat to IMers. I looked into this because I too was concerned about ebook piracy so I decided to see if I could find pirated copies of several different ebooks ranging from well known ones to the obscure. I could not find a single copy of any ebook, not one! Does piracy exist? Absolutely! But those that participate in it are going to find a way to pirate regardless of what you do, and if they don't they'll simply order from you and then immediately get a refund. Learn to not stress about the things you can't control, and you can't control the actions of others. Put your energy into creating such a great brand and great brand loyalty that people keep coming back to you.

As for giving away a free ebook for a name and email, it's great that you want to build your list, but don't underestimate the power of viral. Your ebook should be building up your website and giving readers a compelling reason to go to your site. I don't know why you wouldn't want people circulating it for you! If a friend tells me to go visit a site a might or I might not, but if they send me a pdf I'm going to read it and if I like it I'm going to go to your site and opt in. If I don't like it then I would've opted out and wouldn't buy anything from you anyway if I had gotten the book directly from you. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

If your free ebook is good, people will visit your site. If it's not good enough for them to visit your site, then that person wasn't going to buy from you anyway. You can even make a portion of the free ebook online on your website, such as, "Chapter 3: Due to the constant changes to this niche go here to read this chapter. I update it every month to make sure you're getting the most up to date information available." (You get the picture.) If the rest of the ebook has been even mediocre people are going to go to your site and opt-in in order to finish that chapter. Don't turn away free advertising! What if every business waited until you approached them and asked to be advertised to? It's silly! Your free ebook is your advertisement, get it out there and trust that your content is good enough to get people to your site. It's like stepping over dollars to pick up pennies.

Piracy sucks and it always will, but it's better to get your ebook selling and deal with the tiny percent of the market that will pirate than to turn away sales in fear of your product being pirated. What's more important, selling your product or making sure it doesn't get pirated? People who pirate are just like serial refunders, they just take up your time and get you frustrated. Better to just move on with your life rather than let it be ruled by fear of what other people will do.

Now, all this talk of pirates has the VeggieTales pirate song going through my head, curse my little nephew's VeggieTales obsession...

That's incorrect. As PDFs become more advanced, with scripting, they are becoming less safe.

Source: http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/23/1320258

People might want to stop auto-loading them in the browser.

The entire PDF -vs- EXE security debate is about like the Windows -vs- Mac one. Inaccurate.

I've just seen a method that involves .exe ebooks. As soon as I realized that's what was involved I moved on...

I won't open one myself.

Surely the point is not what is safe or not, but what the customer perceives as safe. If most people out there believe, rightly or wrongly that exe. ebooks are unsafe, they will not buy them. So, sell them PDF's. If a little way down the line, people start to believe that PDF's are unsafe, you will have to find another format. If they something gets a bad rep, you are wasting your time trying to sell it.

To tell you the truth I always scan .exe files with my anti-virus software. I absolutely do not prefer .exe files and will avoid them unless they have a very high perceived value to me.

Are they dangerous? Of course they are dangerous. Opening a bad .exe file could completely ruin your computer.

I wouldn't bother with an .exe ebook either, and being on a mac 99% of the time, well, that's been covered.

I think PDF is the way to go. It's just so simple and user friendly. And Alexa, it seems like if you really want to distribute a free ebook and collect email address, perhaps you could distribute a free "teaser" chapter or mini-version of your book that would compel readers to opt-in to your list to get the rest of the (password protected) ebook? Just a thought...

Even I was afraid earlier, but most of the ebooks comes with pdf format now.

My first project was in exe format, I used a program that allows me to compile html into exe formats... and because PDf doesn't allow me that flexibility of menus, banners etc to be arranged the way I would do with html, I prefered this method for this project.

So the way I helped people overcome the fear of exe was to use an installer to compile it, so that it is like a software you can install, and I present it this way.

Common folks, don't project your opinions onto other people. The fact is we're better informed than most and are used to consume this kind of information. However, most people aren't and they're less likely to have an expectation over whether what they've just bought should be delivered as an application or a PDF.

That said. I now deliver all my information via password protected website with option to download content as PDF. An application format isn't really that good to deliver information and most people do it for the wrong reasons: overblown concern over piracy.

Tyrus

You can employee a publishing system that presents a barrier to adoption based on perception, or you can use a system that is perceived as safer and is more likely to be accepted by potential buyers.

Your choice.

I think Harvey's comments are probaby very likely in line with the reality of how buyers would react give the choice. If not given a choice, I'm guessing that a buyer that has already paid and received an EXE file as their only option would more than likely go ahead and open it, perhaps reluctantly. I'm guessing the number of actual refund requests would be quite low.

I'd be interested to compare conversion rates on the exact same offer that included a disclaimer screen which informed the buyer -- before payment -- that they will be required to download executable software that must be installed on their PC and run in order to access their purchase, versus a screen that informed them that their product will be delivered in PDF format.

It might be wise to also consider the effect on repeat business. I almost never ask for refunds because it's too much hassle, I just don't buy from that person again. I like to make things as easy and comfortable for people as possible, it builds trust.

I do like the idea of password protected content on a website with the option to download.

As for target audience, do you think that we as internet marketers don't have other interests in life? I think that when a lot of people sit down to determine their target audience they think of people as too one dimensional. I've seen so many people assume that their target audience are idiots in all aspects of life outside their niche. If you're marketing to people on the internet, then your target audience has some degree of knowledge about the internet and perceptions about it, otherwise they wouldn't be forking over their credit card online. Unless your product is "How to Live Your Life Completely Free of the Internet" you can't say that IMers aren't at least somewhat representative of your audience. To be honest, my non internet savvy friends are the most cautious and paranoid because they are terrified of viruses and have no idea what they're doing. At least as IMers we can somewhat reasonably determine if the source of a download is to be trusted.

So, I wouldn't disregard the overwhelmingly negative response on this forum towards .exe files.

You might want to join a forum for the niche you're trying to sell to and just ask them, "Hey I found this great ebook but I have to download this software thing to view it in, do you guys think that's ok?" and see what kind of response you get. You could even be more upfront and say, "Hey, I'm developing this really great ebook with great info for this niche. I just wanted to ask you all since you're active in this community if you would buy it (assuming the price is right and the content is good) if it's a .exe." If you want to know what your potential customers are thinking, ask them, don't assume.

I wouldn't open any .exe file from the internet unless I was really confident with the source.

Well - if you go with the .exe you have 2 issues.

1) Some people WONT want to take them because of the risk associated (which sounds like quite a few people from this post)

2) Some people CANNOT take them because they own a MAC (which I read is around 20% and growing of internet users)

I guess it's going to come down to cost/benefit analysis on your part. Personally - I go with .pdf.

Here's a question: Is your info so great where you feel you need to lock it? Even a lot of the "greats" still go with .pdf knowing their target market is all over their products...

Just a thought -

js

This is my personal stance:

I've never asked for a refund on an infoproduct. Ever. Even when I accidentally bought the same thing twice.

If I received an infoproduct in a format I didn't like, I'd probably use it, I almost definitely would NOT ask for a refund, and I'd be reluctant to order anything else from the same publisher.

I've never, ever bought and infoproduct that has come in EXE format, so I haven't had to cross that bridge as yet. I can tell you that if it weren't disclosed to me upfront, prior to ordering, that the format was an executable file I'd definitely be perturbed and that alone would probably be enough to lead lead me away from the seller in the future.

In this business, it is all about getting it RIGHT when it comes to your customers. I don't care to throw potential stumbling blocks like EXE e-books in front of them.