I recently bought the $97.00 E-book/workbook by @ittybiz and @rockyourday called how to Launch the **** out of your E-book. First–the title. As someone who wrote F#@% Therapy, I’m comPLETEly pro “nearly swearing,” at people, so the ethos was about right. The book is imperfect, but it more than paid for itself, and negative feedback is more valuable than positive feedback, I’m believable when I point out weaknesses.
First–if you’re going to launch an ebook–or anything else–do pay attention to this book. It’s derived from other product launch material, and it’s got a solid, “todo” style approach. It’s action oriented, highly specific and really solid information. If you DO the steps, you’ll certainly recoup the $97 bucks they charge your paypal. The info is out there, but this is a good, trusted filter that is a great stepping off point to successfully sell your ebook. And the killer part is the worksheets, and the step-by-stepness of the thing. It lays out pre-writing research, and making an information product that sells, building a list and other fundamentals that we all need on the internet.
HOWEVER…
and there are a couple of big”howevers…”
There are some weaknesses. My book (pictured right) didn’t exactly lend itself to the prewriting research. I was making a manifesto, something suited for http://changethis.com more than it’s suited for “how to lose weight now,” types of products that comprise 80% of the ebook market. It’s also got a lot of information on how to write an ebook, and this isn’t really what I happened to be looking for. (Also, it seems that @rockyourday still has a dayjob, which is something that grates on me when you’re still tethered to the old world, I hope he quits tomorrow…but I’m biased severely and I DO think he IS a social media expert).
Also, there’s a failure to prioritize. I’m finding that reviews are killer, having inflammatory posts is killer, and Twitter can sell the book itself. The rest of the stuff feels a lot like makework, stuff that’s not really needed, or can be outsourced/delegated effectively. The marketing is where it’s at.
I’ll get myself to 1,000 copies in a couple of weeks…my goal is 10,000 copies in 270 days. But…the ambition of the authors is to be simple, sturdy and profitable. And there’s a roadmap to it, and they lay it out, but it feels like a JOB. I wanna take over the world. I want fans and friends running through walls carrying my banner. I could write a practical guide like I once did for loan officer lead generation, but I was interested in putting the best I had out there. If you’re doing a how to, this is the book. For my own marketing, I wasn’t horrifically far off, and this book ‘filled in the gaps’ (post in forums, daily, twitter the @#%^ out of yourself). It’s just…that I wanted to do more. Think your own thoughts. F#@% all the friction and drama that got us into the busted mess we’re in and work our asses off to make F#@%ing great things.
The one thing that’s right is that they get that marketing is a job. You have to work to make something happen. You have to follow up, you have to work hard, think hard, do cool thing to make stuff happen. You’re not just gonna build it and have ‘em come, you’re gonna have to introduce yourself to people, grind out sales, and ensue that the work is done.
[[Affiliate Disclaimer: No affiliate links here. My integrity is worth more than the $46 bucks or whathaveyou I will eventually get to the point where I'm doing links, but I generally think that people that put a bunch of affiliate links on their blog are thinking too small. My blog is my brand. And I have to be 100% behind something before I endorse it. I think that my growing client base needs to know that I don't have nickels or dimes on the line. There are times, like with Aweber, that I will hustle my affiliate link out there so I can get support and so I can get feature upgrades. I've refered a dozen or so people there, and I don't think I have ever gotten any money (though that isn't their fault, I just never looked at my affiliate balances or whatever).]]
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