A Crucial Ebook Marketing Strategy

The purpose in writing an ebook can be varied, depending on your personal or business goals, but whether you choose to give your ebook away as a free marketing tool, or sell it as a profit-producing product, you want to get as many copies onto the computer desktops of your readers as possible. That's why it's important that your ebook have an edge.

What kind of edge?

Well, for one thing, you can write about a topic that isn't commonly available. Let's say your ebook is about producing ebooks. There are a ton of ebooks available on this topic, yet many seem to simply rehash the same information.

On the other hand, there aren't an abundance of ebooks available about using desktop publishing techniques to make your ebook stand out from the masses, yet it's a topic that can help even novice ebook producers create more attractive and well designed ebooks. Selecting an important, but scarcely covered topic -- or aspect of a more common topic -- will definitely give your ebook an edge.

Another crucial edge to massive ebook sales is to "attach" an original ebook cover to your ebook. Granted, you can't physically attach a cover, but you can virtually attach one. And since the online world in which we live every day is virtual, it stands to reason that ebooks have virtual covers, as well.

Consider the world of physical books. Few people would buy a book without a cover. I wouldn't, and I buy a LOT of books -- just ask my husband! Why should ebook customers be different?

If your customer can afford to buy only one ebook and they are given the option of selecting your ebook with a beautiful graphic image that makes the ebook seem like a real, physical product... or your competitor's ebook that doesn't include a cover graphic and which seems like only one more link to one more site... which do you think they would choose? Which would YOU choose?

Would you rather click on a link that says:

--> Download Your Ebook Here!

Or one with a colorful, graphic image that depicts the topic of your ebook and gives it an "image" [in your mind] of its own?

The choice is simple. And the choice will be simple for your customers and prospects, too.

An ebook cover is a tremendous edge that you can give your ebook for very little, if any, cost. Ebook covers are affordable even for those of us who haven't reached our six-figure income mark yet.

If you're a do-it-yourselfer, there is a little piece of software available that can help you create your own ebook cover. It's called, appropriately enough, Ebook Cover Creator, and it's very easy to use. Visit http://www.sensiblesitesolutions.com/ebcc.shtml for more information.

Or you can hire someone to do it for you. Whichever way works best for you, the image of your ebook can make or break its success and reception online. That's why it's crucial that you not entrust something over which you have slaved and into which you have invested hours of valuable time to a simple text link. Attach it to an image that will take it beyond the realm of virtual into the world of visual and watch your downloads skyrocket.

Article copyright © 2005 by Heather Quarnstrom. All rights reserved worldwide.

Heather Quarnstrom is a writer and creative designer with decades on online experience and the owner of Bishop's Corner, an online/catalog shop offering hundreds of quality gifts, home decor items, toys, housewares, furniture and more with nearly 1,000 products under $20. Visit her online store today at http://BishopsTN.com.

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