Selling eBooks online is a big part of what I do. Between setting up my own eBook Store, writing about selling eBooks, and creating the eBooks directory on Black Business women online, I’ve learned quite a few nifty marketing tricks and made my own fair share of mistakes. I titled this post, ‘Is your eBook missing a cover?’, because I’ve seen far too many newbies make the mistake of promoting their eBooks without one. It grinds my gears when I click on an interesting eBook title only to be taken to a paypal page. Of course when I get there I am thinking, “No details, no preview,no cover, NO SALE!”

Always remember that customers want to see what they are getting. Catching their attention and giving them a quick glimpse into what your eBook is all about starts with having a good cover. Then you need to go a step further… don’t just send them to the buy now page … setup a landing page or even just create a simple detailed page in your eStore or on your blog giving them more product information. You can talk about the reason you created the book, list the chapters, give them a free chapter download (talk more about this below), link to an article excerpt or reader review. Give them something more than ‘Buy Now’ if you actually want them to buy.

Remember my video: Are you a lazy entrepreneur? This is one of those times when it does not pay to be lazy. Rule of thumb: always mirror your business after the businesses that you want to become. Look at amazon.com, they give potential customers an option to view a large image of the book cover, look inside the book, author bio, customer reviews… the more details the better…. get what I’m saying.

Let’s take this point a step further, on my sales page for Finding Customers and Making Sales I’ve got my sales copy detailing who I am, who I’m writing my eBooks for, where I’ve been featured as an expert, and why readers should listen to me. I include images, video, and eBook Covers to make it as clear as possible what kind of information I am providing.
Backing up a bit, I mentioned above that you could give away a free chapter. Of course doing giveaways is one of the nifty marketing tricks I’ve learned. The key is to NOT simply give it away, but give it to those who signup to your newsletter or subscribe to your blog. That way in the process of giving them a sneak peak you are also building your list. Now if you are doing that already and no one is biting it is possible you don’t have enough traffic, your ebook isn’t interesting enough, OR folks don’t think you are saying something they haven’t already heard. It pays to be creative about your marketing and look at other websites that you like to get a sense of what good marketers do. What attracts you to the sites you like? What motivated you to download an ebook in the past? It pays to think like your customers, if you want to attract them.
Last but not least, I’m sure you might want some more nifty marketing tips, but then this post would be too long. You can google tips (free information is at your fingertips via google) or if you’d like we can talk over the phone. Of all the eBooks I have written, I have not written one about selling eBooks (lol), so talking to me will have to do.

Of course, you don’t have to… I almost forgot to recommend the eBook that I read when I was looking for new ways to market my own eBooks. It’s called ‘Desperate Buyers Only‘. I think I haven’t written an eBook on this topic because I generally just recommend this one. You can read me review of it here.

Of course, I also wanted to let you know that I do design eBook covers not just for myself but for other people too. That’s why I included those images above. My Custom eBook Cover Designs are currently $60. If you also want an eBook graphic, you know an image that looks like an actual book, that will be extra. And if you need a custom blog to go with that new book, well I do that too.