How to make money with ebooks
Updated: May 31
Author: Michaela Resch
Date of Publication: 12/12/2022
Writing an e-book is maybe one of the nicest and easiest ways to make money and a long-lasting passive income. Because of the small developing costs of an online book and the fast manufacturing and publishing it's a very lucrative business. You don't need to be an author or a specialist in writing. However, the important thing is that you are interested in a topic and you should buy the ebook yourself. With the appropriate know-how, it is possible for anyone to publish an ebook and earn money as an author with it. In fact, there are millions of people reading e-books on Amazon Kindle and other online media libraries these days. The number of them is constantly increasing due to digitalization and environmental benefits.
But how does this work?
Firstly, the most important thing is the topic. It should be something you are really interested in and you have a lot of knowledge about. It would be possible to write about a study topic or your own life experience or a combination of both. The best would be, if you find a special niche, which isn’t too big and is also interesting for a big audience. Essential here is that you have a narrow niche, but not too narrow. In addition, you should always ask yourself whether all the questions that arise on this topic have been answered or whether there are still questions left unanswered. If the reader needs to obtain additional information, you have included too little input.
How to sell the e-book?
Once the e-book has been written, checked for grammar, proofread and corrected, it's time to publish the book. But how to earn money with that? You have to sell it online. An e-book can be sold at large e-book shops, for example at Amazon. Amazon Kindle direct publishing operates a platform for self-publishers and allows e-books to be placed in the Amazon shop free of charge. By self-publishing your copy for free, it is possible to reach millions of readers. Another possibility would be to set up your own website for the e-book and to advertise and sell your product there. However, this requires know-how in creating websites or would mean costs for hiring an advertising agency. You also need a payment service provider to process the payments.
Focus on Marketing:
All the options shown for selling an ebook have to be advertised yourself, as neither Amazon nor Kindle will take care of this. Once you've chosen the sales channel for your work and it's ready, focus on marketing your product. It is necessary and important to reach as many potential buyers as possible. Initially, you can create advertisements on your own social media channels to inform those around you. If you have a blogging website, promote it on this channel. If necessary, a large audience can be reached with paid advertising on social networks.
Which price range is appropriate?
Prices for an ebook can usually range from 0,99 € to 9,99 € . Depending on the size of the book and whether it is about a unique and valuable subject. To get started with your first book and sell the most copies, 0,99 € is probably the best place to start as this is where most copies are available on Amazon. What’s more, you could also research what prices authors with similar subjects are charging for their work. If you write 50 pages about a vegan dish and charge 10 € for it and similar writers charge 2,99 €, you are probably too expensive and nobody will buy your book. So, if you always wanted to be an author and have a special topic you wanted to write about and incidentally want to make money with this, this is your sign to publish your first e-book!
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