Can Your eBook Idea Survive The '5W' Acid Test?

By Paula Morrow
Posted Tuesday, January 4, 2005

If you've been cruising the Internet highway for any length of time, you've run across tons of ebooks. They've almost risen to mythical proportions as "the" vehicle for producing unlimited profits. Even with this flooding of the market, the door's still open IF you develop an ebook that's highly targeted, serves a 'want' and delivers quality content.

So, you think you've fully analyzed your idea? Think it's a moneymaker? See how it stacks up in the following '5W' acid test, to determine whether it's ready to go or if more development is needed.

Here we go:

WHO is your audience? Have you determined whether there's a demand? Does it address a problem or want currently being discussed in discussion forums - is there a trend you can cash in on? Check it out now, to make sure your market exists - don't make the mistake of falling in love with an unprofitable topic!

For forums discussing Internet marketing:

(http://www.ablake.net/forum) (http://www.uni-sol.com/warriors) (http://www.friendsinbusiness.com/forum) (http://forums.list-universe.com)

For Internet marketing plus other markets: (http://www.exchangingideas.com)

WHAT is your markup going to be? 200%? More? What pricing will your market support? Are you pricing it too low/high? For help in this area, an affordable resource is Ken Evoy's 'Make My Price Sell!' manual. Click here for more information: (http://myps.sitesell.com/idealmarketingcorp.html)

WHEN are you planning on launching? Is it a seasonal topic that should be launched at a specific time of year, or is it evergreen? Timing a launch correctly could be critical to your success.

WHERE will you promote it? On Pay-Per-Click search engines (go to (http://www.pay-per-click-search-engines.com) for a complete listing)? With ezine sponsor or solo ads? By writing ezine articles (if you need help on where or how to submit your articles go to eZine Announcer at (http://wetrack.it/eza/af.cgi?514).

Is your killer sales letter ready? If you're not secure in this area, I (and others) strongly recommend Marlon Sander's products. His site: (http://www.higherresponse.com)

WHY should a prospect invest in your ebook instead of your competitors? What's your USP (unique selling proposition)? What does your information or approach offer that others don't?

A few other things to keep in mind in order to ensure a profitable ebook:

*Select good ebook production software. Make sure it produces ebooks that can be read by BOTH Macintosh and IBM systems. Consider Adobe, since the resulting pdf ebooks can be read interchangeably. You can sign up for a free trial and make a few free ebooks at (https://createpdf.adobe.com/index.pl/) Just recognize that not everyone owns IBM; don't leave money on the table by producing, for example, only ".exe" ebooks.

* Does your ebook have a strong cover graphic? Visual packaging is critical online. Do it Yourself with eCover Generator (go to (http://www.ecovergenerator.com/x.cgi?adminid=814&id=24866) or have Vaughan Davidson (the person behind many of the Internet's high-quality ebook graphics) do it for you. His site: (http://www.killercovers.com)

The demand for ebooks and information is still going strong, regardless of whether your target market is cooking, fishing, real estate, wood carving, insurance or something else. Just make sure your ebook idea survives our '5W' acid test, and that it solves a problem and/or fulfills a 'want.' If you do, the profits will follow.

About the Author
Paula Morrow is webmaster of (http://www.idealmarketingcorp.com) and has extensive marketing experience earned from 20 years in the public relations, entertainment and advertising worlds. Now applying this experience to the Internet, she enjoys creating cash-generating systems and coaching new marketers on innovative ways to promote their businesses both online and off.