Writing & Selling eBooks to Make Money

Dave — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:22:02 +0000

I’m of the mindset that it will be easier to build my online income through focusing on developing one super-authoritative, high-trafficked site (GoBackpacking) than a lot of little sites. In fact, since buying the 5 new domains last week, and starting to devote time and energy to the first of them, I’m a little concerned that I’m losing focus.

Before I committed some money to that idea, I had outlined and begun work on a new book – one I hope to publish in paperback, as well as in electronic form, by mid-January 2010. I know there is an unfulfilled need for this book, and I have already developed the online (blog) platform to promote it.

Suddenly, I feel like an octopus with my tentacles reaching out in many different directions. Recently, I took note of two book sales updates, which has me thinking the book should be a top priority for me. Let’s take a look.

Nomadic Matt recently announced a contest for affiliates in an effort to sell more copies of his make money online e-book. By the way, I am not an affiliate.

First, he indicates having sold more than 300 copies since first announcing it May 11, 2009. At $27 apiece, that is a gross of $8,100. Sounds good to me. Of course, I’m sure a lot of those sales were via affiliates, and since he offers a 50% commission, that’d take a bite out of his gross earnings. There may also be some admin fees associated with selling the book and/or receiving money that I’m not aware of. Deducting 25%, would still leave Matt with about $6,000 in sales, plus a bunch of happy moneymaking affiliates. That’s about $1,000 per month, though I imagine the initial sales during the e-book launch make up the bulk of the total.

Roosh, a guy I met in Medellin who just launched his second book, A Dead Bat in Paraguay, reported selling about 285 copies (84 were in the first week, I believe). He priced it at $20 for the paperback, and $10 for the electronic version, with a 50% commission for affiliate sales. I’m going to guesstimate he’s taking $12 per sale, or a little over $3,000 in the first two weeks. But because he’s actually putting out paper books, it is probably less. To be honest, I have no idea. I do know there is a certain added level of prestige that comes with putting out a traditional book versus just an e-book.

I know these guys worked hard on their respective books. I don’t think either sees them as a sole source of income, but rather a way to build a new stream while increasing their authority on a certain subject. That is exactly why I think writing and selling a book should be a priority for me over building new websites.

On a personal note, my first effort at an ebook (“Dare Me!“) has resulted in positive responses, an increase in RSS and newsletter subscribers, 100+ visits to the download site, and 79 views on Slideshare. All within the first two weeks, without proactively seeking written reviews from fellow bloggers. I’ve learned a lot, and realized first hand why it is a great idea to give something away for free (at least in the beginning).

5 New Domain Names Purchased

Dave — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 16:20:52 +0000

I bought 5 new domain names through GoDaddy this past Friday. My goal is to set up static sites on 3 of them.

It’s a little overwhelming to think of all the work that will go into such an effort, and I’m already fantasizing about paying for content to save me from writing it all. Even though I’m using WordPress as the content management system (CMS), I must remember that I’m not trying to create and develop new blogs. It feels like a full time job managing 3, let alone 6.

Making the switch in my mind is harder than I thought. I spent Friday night shopping for a new WordPress theme, settling on the popular (premium) Lifestyle by StudioPress. Part of me thinks I should’ve used a free theme, but on the other hand, if I’m going to set this site up properly, to make money, then leave it unattended, I want to make sure it looks good from the start. Buying Gazette by Woo Themes for GoBackpacking was my first venture into premium themes, and I’ve been very satisfied with the support and design so far.

Like Woo, StudioPress (formerly Revolution) is well-regarded and popular in the theme design arena, and a company I looked at previously. I really like the way Nomadic Matt customized the Corporate theme for his travel blog.

To sum up, I spent the weekend buying domains, a new theme, and getting a new site set up for the first time in 8 months.

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Writing & Selling eBooks to Make Money

5 New Domain Names Purchased