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Looking for a way to monetise your blog that really helps your readers, is relatively quick and easy, worth your time AND feels really good?
Publish (and sell!) an eBook!
As people who are experts in producing content, it’s a wonder that more bloggers don’t sell eBooks.
If you are anything like me, you may not be doing this because it seems like a whole lot of work. Or maybe you worry no one will buy it. Or you don’t know how to make one.
These excuses are just that – excuses!
It honestly did not take me much more time to write my eBook than it would to write a few blog posts. This is because I knew the topic well and I always put a ton of effort into my blog posts so it wasn’t much different.
And I can help you solve the problems with how and making sure people buy. And show you how to set this up on auto-pilot so you sell it without any further effort.
And the best part?
You’ll really help people.
You can provide so much more value in a book than a blog post. Once people pay for something, they are also far more likely to read it and take action.
It also helps make you an authority. I was surprised how much more I was talked about and respected when I published my eBook.
So let’s do it! Let’s publish an eBook!
How To Write An eBook To Monetise Your Blog On Auto-Pilot
You will learn...
- How to choose an eBook topic which will sell
- How to plan your eBook
- How to write your eBook
- How to turn your eBook into an eBook
- How to sell your book
- Next steps
1. How to choose an eBook topic which will sell
The first step is to decide what you will write an eBook on, and I recommend first thinking about your goals.
Some common goals include making money, being seen as an authority on a topic and writing the eBook as fast as possible. Maybe it’s all of these things, and that’s good.
You could potentially write your eBook on any topic, but the easiest and quickest way to actually earn decent money from selling an eBook is to make it relevant for your blog’s audience since this audience probably already exists.
To analyse what your audience wants, consider the following:
- What are your most popular posts? What do people prefer to read about?
- What are questions readers have?
- What are your most popular optin offers?
What works? What doesn’t? Look in Google Analytics to get this information and look for any patterns.
Do you have a lot of blog posts on a certain topic? Could you simply bring these together and make them even better to form a comprehensive resource? Many people will pay for the simple convenience of having information condensed and compiled for them.
If your site is quite new, consider this from another angle. What is your main focus? What are your interests and what can you write about easily?
It’s worth mentioning that you don’t need to be an expert to write an eBook and for many topics you will inevitably have to do some research – you can’t know everything.
You just need to be 1-2 steps ahead of the people buying your eBook.
2. How to plan your eBook
Planning your eBook is the most important process of all. Once it’s all planned out, 90% of the work is done.
One of the best things you can do early on is pick a great title that best describes your eBook in the least possible words. Having a title early on can be great for giving your writing direction and helping you to commit to it.
The best titles come from writers that truly understand their audience.
Look back at the questions your readers have. Is there one overarching question or problem that your eBook ultimately solves?
The next step is to list every topic you’re going to write about. From the smallest topic to the biggest and broadest – and then break it down again. You’ll likely find that when you start doing this process that you have a lot to say.
Next, split these topics into chapters. You want your eBook to have a logical flow and to include an introduction and an ‘about’ page too that highlights your authority on the topic.
Once you’ve got an idea of what each chapter will be about, start expanding. What do you need to write about to ensure that chapter best covers the topic?
Finally, read over this plan and make sure you’re happy with it. It may not seem like it, but mastering this step is the most important part of writing an eBook, and once this is done, the words will likely just flow.
3. How to write your eBook
With a great plan, writing the eBook shouldn’t be too difficult and can be quite rewarding. Think of each chapter as one of your best blog posts. You know the topic and you can trust yourself. Just start writing!
Regarding word count, there’s nothing set in stone. You can make it as long or as short as you need to cover the topic you’re talking about.
You could also consider adding a summary to each chapter as well.
This step is harder for some people than others, but the important thing is to simply get started. By not overthinking it and letting the words flow naturally, you’ll be more likely to have success than just getting overwhelmed.
Writing your eBook in Word is fine. I recommend you use headings consistently and make sure you proofread well as it will be a lot more tedious to fix an error once it’s formatted properly. I recommend having someone else proofread it too and give suggestions – preferably someone in your target audience.
4. How to turn your eBook into an eBook
When it comes to eBooks, there are two formats which dominate – ePub and PDF.
ePub is good for text rich eBooks and platforms like Kindle because the format can change across devices, but this ultimately gives you less control over the formatting.
PDF is best if you have a certain format in mind but as it doesn’t change over devices, it can make the text harder to read on some platforms.
The choice is yours. I went with PDF for my eBook.
There are various applications you can use – some free, some paid. Canva is an option but this would be very fiddly and could lack consistency. You could also simply create it in Word.
iBooks author is a good option for Mac users and it’s free. Scrivener is another application that can export eBooks as both ePub and PDF, but there is a fee involved.
You should also ensure your eBook includes a copyright page. Also consider including a table of contents and a dedication to give it a more personal touch.
5. How to sell your book
Your eBook is written, created and ready to sell! The next step isn’t hard – it’s about setting up a platform to collect payments, collect any local taxes and a process for getting the eBook to the customer.
Two platforms I recommend are Gumroad And E-junkie.
Gumroad is only $10 a month. I like them because they collect taxes for me in Australia and they integrate well with my email marketing service.
Alternatively you can use E-junkie. It’s only $5 a month, emails out your eBook but doesn’t integrate as well with other email marketing services and didn’t collect local taxes for Australia.
For me, Gumroad is better.
You can also do this for free by simply emailing out your eBook, but this isn’t secur and you’ll also need to set up some type of shopping cart. I recommend paying for a system.
6. Next steps
Once everything is set up, it’s time to get people buying – and the ultimate way to do this is with a sales funnel (tutorial coming soon!).
Basically, it involves creating a relevant lead magnet (this could just be a chapter of your eBook), creating sales emails and setting up a sales page where you show people the benefits of your eBook.
This is how you get subscribers into into your sales funnel, onto your sales page and have them begging to buy your eBook!
Learn how to create a sales funnel here.
I also have a podcast episode dedicated to how to create and sell an eBook. Make sure you listen to it here.
Still not convinced that you should create an eBook? Read my guide to coming up with your perfect product here and more posts on making money from blogging here.
