The Perfect Internet Product - A Cookbook?

By Willie Crawford
Posted Sunday, September 12, 2004

So you've decided to go into business for yourself on the internet. You've heard it's the perfect way to supplement your income with little or no investment. But what will you market to achieve fame and fortune?

Actually it all depends upon your goals and interests. You do need to offer something for which there is a proven demand. You need something that can be delivered cost effectively over the internet. You need something that you can easily locate the market for.

Why not write you own cookbook?

Why a cookbook?

- Everybody eats.
- People are constantly looking for new ways to prepare their favorite foods.
- Many people are avid cookbook and recipe collectors.
- You can create an ebook that has practically no delivery cost.
- You can print hardcopies later from the profits of your ebook or you can use print-on-demand to have copies printed as needed.
- Most people have or can compile a collection of their favorite recipes.

Writing a cookbook involves pulling together some recipes, some photos or illustrations, and organizing your collection. You need some specialized theme to write your cookbook around. You can create a cookbook around a single food, a style of cooking, or around a purpose such as a charity.

Once you've written your cookbook, then your challenge may be in marketing it. As a seasoned cookbook author here are the elements I consider essential:

- A website to use in attracting visitors interested in your topic. Ideally, this website will contain content that gets you great search engine listings and traffic. A website can cost under $10 per month.

- A mailing list to discuss your cookbook or the type of food covered by your cookbook (to create interest in your cookbook). You can run your mailing list at no cost spending only an hour or so a week.

- A system on your website for taking orders. This can be as simple as a free Paypal account or more elaborate such as a shopping cart that can handle a variety of products. You can even have an affiliate program where you pay other webmasters for sending you referrals.

Putting together a cookbook is really little more than planning, getting organized, and then just doing it!

But can you really make big money selling your own cookbook? The answer to that very important question is that you can if you can generate enough interest or attract enough attention. That is where the majority of your work will come in. You will need to learn effective internet marketing techniques and implement them.

Since writing and publishing a cookbook does involve so little work, it can prove profitable even if you don't sell a million copies a year. Your overhead will be so low that if you only earn a few thousand dollars a month, you will be doing great. The cookbook will sell for a long time, while requiring no additional work.

One of the secrets of many successful online entrepreneurs that I know is that they don't try to make a fortune from just one product. Instead, they have several... perhaps a dozen products each generating a nice income. Combined, these products, generating multiple streams of income, allow these entrepreneurs to reach their online income goals.

Of all of the products that you could create and market online, a cookbook is one of the few requiring no specialized knowledge or training. So for many internet beginners, it makes sense to make their first product a cookbook. Start generating some quick income. Then focus on other related or unrelated products.

If you'd like to learn more of the step-by-step details on writing your cookbook, you need to learn from someone who's done it. A good place to begin is by visiting the site (http://writeacookbook.com) At this site three experienced cookbook authors explain everything involved. Their cookbooks range from German cooking, to soul food and Southern cooking, to recipes for your dog. That gives you an idea of the possibilities.

About the Author
Willie Crawford has been teaching others how to build an on-line business since late 1996. Frequently featured in radio, magazine and newspaper articles and interviews, Willie teaches the average guy what the top marketers are doing but seldom talking about. For example, Willie demonstrates the power of automated residual income through his system at: (http://ProfitAutomation.Com) Visit now for a business boost.