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33 Comments

Should I try to sell my first ebook?

Almost 3 weeks ago I started a personal challenge to write an ebook about productivity, "TL;DR a book about productivity by a procrastination master".

Surprisingly the quality of the content, is way better than I expected when I started. I personally improved a ton by just applying what I've learned while writing it.

So now I'm asking myself, should I try to sell it or just offer it for free?

  • on one side I don't have any legacy in writing and I don't have audience that would buy a book just because Im the author.
  • on the other side I doubt people read free books, especially if they come from a person without legacy.

The only thing I could think of is to find "recognisable" people, convince them to read my book and give me testimonies to share.

What do you think? what would you do in my case?

  1. 4

    Put it on Gumroad now as a presale.

      1. 3

        I have no idea. As you mentioned no legacy so I can judge the book by either you or its cover.

        1. 1

          Fair enough. I think I will do that and see if im good enough to convince you to buy it :)
          Thanks for your honesty tho!

  2. 3

    I've sold recently about 25 copies of my 20 page PDF tutorial on gumroad. Same story, no audience, no legacy. Organic promotion on twitter and reddit.

    I recommend putting a price on it, up to $9, offer about 5-10 discount codes that will reduce the price by 20-50% and see how it goes. You'll gain experience.

    Maybe offer some parts for free, just so the reader has the impression about the way you write. Put on the gumroad description what is the benefit for the user. What they will gain after finishing that book. And put some expectations. So they know upfront what they're buying.

    Don't write anything about it being your first book, or show any kind of low self-esteem.
    Engage in communities, offer even more discounts for some special cases or users... Play around.

    1. 2

      Thank @brunor this is really helpful!
      I've checked your page on gumroad, I really like the structure of the pitch

      1. 1

        And even that structure could be improved, I have some thoughts, but not the time. It will be in the next iteration.

        Glad you found it helpful!

  3. 2

    Free is typically perceived as worthless to the avg reader, but it's also potentially a waste of your efforts. There are a few models you could use here.

    -Break the book up into smaller 500-1k chunks of content and use it to start a newsletter. Use the newsletter to get feedback on the content and additional ideas. Keep writing as you grow the subscriber base and breadth of the content. Once you feel you have enough feedback and you're confident in the content, use the newsletter to market the presale of your book.
    -Start down the path of producing a real book. Send your ebook out to 10-20 people in your network that you trust to give you honest feedback. Take those notes and make the adjustments you find appropriate, then hire an actual editor. There are lots of services out there, but be careful as some are garbage. This is not the time to use Fiverr as you will get what you pay for. I recommend Reedsy as they seem to do an excellent job of vetting their contractors. Be sure to check out similar titles on amazon to ensure you're matched up with word count expectations, etc.
    -Abandon the book altogether, but not the content. Break the content up into smaller pieces (similar to the newsletter) but use it in marketing for a different product or service where the potential customers will find value.

    1. 1

      Thanks @Betilfan!
      I'm thinking maybe I should start with the 2nd option, try it out for couple weeks. and use option 1 to grow my audience and sell the book

  4. 2

    You can offer a chapter or two for free with an option to purchase the whole book - this way you'll give readers a taste of what you are offering. I'm thinking of doing this with my ebook :)

    1. 1

      Yes I was thinking the same. What is your book about?

      1. 1

        Personal branding for introverts :)

  5. 2

    Is it your first book?

    • If yes, you can offer a few 50 copies for free and get their feedback on it.
      Based on it you can put a price on it or make it free forever.
    • Make first few chapters free and make the rest of them paid.

    Best,
    Achal.

    1. 1

      Thank you Achal,
      Yes I think offering some chapters for free is a a good strategy.

      1. 1

        I agree. You could also ask for an email address in exchange for a free chapter. That way you can build a mailing list to sell to

        1. 1

          Thank you, this is a great idea

  6. 1

    If you try to sell it and nobody buys it, then you can make it free.

    But don't de-value your work before it's even out :)

    1. 1

      Thanks @robmerki!
      I saw that you are working on a book too. how is it going?
      I read "Faster than normal" couple weeks ago, I liked it

      1. 1

        To be quite honest it's going far easier than I had thought. I've been very relaxed and in a great mindset. I thought I would be stressed out of my mind. I suspect this is because I deeply care about my chosen topic. I left my job at the end of May, so that helps :)

        1. 1

          Thats great!
          I feel the same. I'm just stressed a bit about editing at the end, but I may ask a friend to help

  7. 1

    Hi, so as a marketing specialist, if you want to earn from your ebook, do some prep before the release. I think that the theme of your book could seize a big piece of your target audience, you just have to present everything correctly and in time.
    Make a story that would be an amazing 'call to action' for people everywhere in social media and other marketing tips. It's also a good idea to do a free trial for first 10 pages, but they should be as interesting as possible. So that when people read it, they say, " Oh, it's me!"

    1. 1

      What do you think the best why to write the story?
      for now it's mine, so most of the item I say "i did, I tried ..."
      But as you said I want the reader to say "oh, it's me" should I change to talking to the reader and use "you should try this or do that"

      1. 2

        Hi, I think no, because no one likes to do what they told to do. As an idea, you may try to start your book with your honest fails (the real ones) where readers will see themselves. And somewhere in the middle or an end you can give advice with 'you should try this or do that'.

  8. 1

    Perhaps you could make a YouTube video where you talk about your back story, and explain what the books about, with a link in the description. Wouldn't take too long and doesn't cost anything other than time.

    1. 1

      Haven't thought of this.. but I guess I can do it! thanks

  9. 1

    I was wondering: what kind of tools did you use to write it?

    1. 1

      I'm using Notion, which I'm heavily referring to in my book as my second brain and how it helped me improve. I'm also showing how others can use it too

  10. 1

    Do you have an audience? a mailing list?
    I think those are the people who are most likely to buy from you.

    1. 1

      I do have a newsletter but it's not personal and the audience here is different that the target of this book, I don't want to spam them

  11. 1

    Or may be give the first chapter or best chapter away for free... And offer the rest of the book for a price...

    1. 1

      Yes this is what I was thinking

  12. 1

    offer to me for free first and sell it to others!

    1. 1

      hehe you will be the first to get it dont worry! but you have to promise to give me a good testimony :p

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