If You Are Thinking of Publishing An eBook...May I Ask You A Few
Questions First?
When Was The Last Time You Read A Scroll?
I asked the question to make a point, because I'm feed up with
people comparing ebooks to printed books. Folks, they are
basically the same when you think about what they DO. Both
printed books and ebooks hold text and pictures and are used in
the distribution process, it's as simple as that. Here's
something else to think about, before paper people stored their
text and pictures on stones.
With the advancements in technologies people have come from
lugging around heavy stones (that were known as tablets), to
carrying rolls of cloth (known as scrolls), they then advanced
to the lightweight wood product paper (known as books) which can
be quite heavy actually in certain circumstances. The first
books were done by hand, then came the printing press. And now
we come to the next generation of storing and distributing text
and pictures (ebooks). I'm a true believer in the "KISS" (Keep
It Simple Stupid) principle, as an entrepreneur that happen to
be in the publishing business, I have too.
Why Do You Want To Complicate Things For Yourself?
I ask you this to answer your question about which format you
should publish your ebook in. As I said above I'm an
entrepreneur that happen to be in the publishing business. So
let's look at it this way, what if I was in the automotive
industry, what type of cars would I produce? I wouldn't, I'd
make the parts for all the manufactures. Why? Because, I'd have
a ready made market. So ask yourself, what market do I want to
reach and what type of vehicle do the vast majority of them
drive (computer, or handheld device). Then make your part
(ebook) to fit their vehicle.
Here's a tip, work on one vehicle (format) at a time or you
could make a product like tires (PDF) that would fit on most
makes and models. Then expand your product line in the future,
after your first product has been branded and sent out to
pasture to get fat for market.
What Do Cattle And eBooks Have In Common?
They both need to carry your name or mark on them. As a Texan, I
know the importance of "Branding" or "Tagging" you do it not
only to mark your property, but also so that others will know
your name or mark. Sure there are rustlers (hackers) out there
that will attempt to alter or remove your name/mark, but if you
brand your name/mark in enough people minds it will be hard for
these thieves to sell your stuff. And if they can sell your
stuff you can bet they will not be getting top dollar for it.
Plus they will not be doing it for a long period of time because
sooner or later they will get busted.
Why Do You Keep The Lights Turned Off?
Please turn them on, I want to see your pretty face. This
reminds me of the statement most every business owner has heard
at least once in his or her lifetime. The statement is "Not
advertising is like winking at a pretty girl across the room
with the lights off. You know what you are doing, but she
doesn't" Folks there have never been a truer statement made
about advertising.
There are basically two types of advertising, passive and
aggressive.
When you are first starting out you will want to use "Aggressive
Adverting" and here's why. Remember I told you about those
rustlers? Well, you need to brand your name in as many people
minds as possible to head off those rustlers. To do this you
will have to aggressively advertise. If you hate to "advertise,"
hire someone to do it. This is a thief prevention task that will
have to be done. That's why in the old west the ranch owner
would hire cowboys, they had to be an aggressive type, they had
to wrestle up to a 1000 pounds of animal to put the owners mark
on them. Boy has "BRANDING" changed.
After you have branded your name in a good many of the public
minds, it's time to start your passive adverting campaign, now
that you don't have to worry about loosing your entire stock to
those no good rustlers. "Passive Advertising" is done to inform
the people about your brand that you may have missed during your
branding, and to remind or keep up to date those that do know
your brand.
Summary - I think I've explained in this article what an ebook
is, what format is best, and as an extra I've touched on
marketing, branding, and advertising. I wrote this article to
answer some of the most FAQ's I get and to point out how
important it is to advertise a new ebook.