Tag Archives: Online

Authors and Information Marketers: Sell eBooks Online

How to Sell eBooks Online

An eBook is an electronic version of a book in print. Long before Amazon created the Kindle readers, people decided to sell eBooks on the internet. This was so that readers could have a copy in their hands within seconds instead of having to wait until the paperback or hard cover version was available at their local bookstore or arrived through the mail.

The idea and implementation of books consisting of electrons being sent through cyberspace from one person to another was appealing from the very beginning. If you chose to print out your eBook that was always an option. If reading the book on your computer screen was more comfortable, that was an option as well. And finally we had smart phones and tablets, so if reading on a smaller device was of interest to you it was also there.

I can remember almost a decade ago now meeting a friend for lunch. Under his arm he had a file folder which contained the printed out copy of an eBook he had purchased online. The topic was “restless leg syndrome” and he had purchased it for a friend who was struggling with this condition. He had paid twenty-seven dollars for it and felt like it would be worth every penny in alleviating some of the agony of his friend’s situation. This was excellent research for me in terms of what the purchaser of an eBook might be thinking when they consider the product being offered on the Internet.

But what about the marketing possibilities for eBooks versus printed ones or even those on Kindle? Could you sell more copies of your book and ultimately earn more income using this mode of delivery? In many cases, yes.

Many of us continue to sell eBooks on various topics. We set them up on a “stand alone” website with its own domain name. The download is available immediately after someone purchases and is protected in a membership site to deter buyers from sharing the content openly.

Remember that you cannot use this model if you are simultaneously going to sell your eBook on Amazon through their Kindle Select program. There are strict rules about this. What I am recommending is that you sell your eBook yourself first and see how well it does. You can typically sell it for twenty dollars or more, whereas on Amazon the pricing will be less than ten dollars for best results. Niche topics may even do better on your own site than they would on Amazon, regardless of the price.

Becoming an author is a worthwhile goal. Selling many copies of your work over the years can be challenging, but if you sell your eBook online on your own site you may be pleasantly surprised at your results. Learn more about marketing eBooks and see where this can take you.

My friend and colleague Jim Edwards has the most complete and professional training on how to write, market, and sell eBooks on any topic. This training will teach you everything you need to know from start to finish and is priced so that everyone is able take advantage of Jim’s knowledge and expertise. Take a look and decide for yourself.

I’m Connie Ragen Green, online marketing strategist, bestselling author, and international speaker on the topics of entrepreneurship and inner game mind shifts. Let’s connect to see how I may best serve you in the near future. And please be sure to check out my popular training on affiliate marketing.

Teaching Online Courses to Share Your Knowledge

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Are You Teaching Online Courses?

I honestly believe that if you have knowledge, experience, and insight into a particular area, you are morally obligated to share it with others who would benefit from learning about it from you. Back when I was a classroom teacher I worked with adults who were not willing to share what they knew. I struggled with the new technology in those days and found it difficult to believe that other teachers would not be helpful at all. I promised myself that whenever I figured something out I would be the person who would share my knowledge with anyone who needed it. Little did I know back then that teaching online courses would be a part of my life.

Once I came online I found a world filled with natural teachers. People were more than willing to share their knowledge, their experiences, and their insights on a variety of topics. It’s interesting to me that I had to leave the classroom and public education in order to surround myself with people who love and value education in the way that I do.

Teaching online can take many shapes and formats, and I have explored them all at one time or another over the past decade. Teaching online courses, both live and in home study have become my favorite way of sharing information with people all over the world. You can do the same thing, no matter what your area of expertise. There are always people somewhere who want and need to learn about your topics.

Start by hosting free teleseminars where you answer questions and share your knowledge. Create a short study guide listeners can print out for further reference. From these, choose the topics that the most people were interested in and then begin creating and teaching online courses on these.

I begin by writing an outline and making notes about what I will teach. Then I do some research to flesh out any parts of my outline that might be incomplete. Then I write a blog post on the topic to share with visitors to my site. I ask for comments so that I can open the conversation and find out more about what people wish to learn. That conversation continues on the social media sites, as well as with replies to my daily email messages. Within a few days I have enough feedback to begin writing my course. I divide my content into three or four sections or parts before moving forward with this part of the process.

I then create a slide deck that contains all of the information I will be teaching in my online course. I tend to work on this intensely for several days, then I go back to make sure I have included everything I want to teach, have omitted anything that is not relevant to my topic, and to put the slides in a logical order.

What topics could you teach and share with others? While I was a classroom teacher I knew that a student had mastered a topic when they were able to successfully convey it to someone else. I believe we are all natural teachers and that teaching is a valuable part of our life experience. Take a look at my training program on teaching online courses to get started right away.

Joint Ventures for New Online Entrepreneurs

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Joint Ventures Used Wisely for Online Entrepreneurs

Joint ventures can be defined as a commercial enterprise undertaken jointly by two or more parties that otherwise retain their distinct identities. This business entity is generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance and participation. Many people seem to think of a partnership as a type of joint venture, but for the purposes of this discussion I’d like to consider these two arrangements – joint ventures and partnerships – as separate entities. You may want to consider these options when you get started as an online entrepreneur, especially if your previous business experience is somewhat limited.

My first experience with a JV project came in 2009 when Dr. Jeanette Cates and I decided to teach an online class together. She had already been working online for about fifteen years when we met, so it did not make sense for us to become partners. There are also legal considerations to take into account, but since I am not an attorney or other professional in the areas of business, finance, taxes, or anything similar I will not share my thoughts and opinions on this part of the equation. Instead, I’d like to focus on exactly how a joint venture can be beneficial to you.

Because of Jeanette’s vast experience, she was in charge of handling all of the behind the scenes pieces. This included using her shopping cart to take orders and her autoresponder service to stay in contact with the people who registered for our training. Once a week she updated the spreadsheets in our shared Google Docs folder so that I could see what was happening.

We shared ownership of the course, meaning that we both worked on the course content, the membership site, and presenting the material to our students. Her tech team completed the work we needed done for this and that worked extremely well. We used Jeanette’s hosting company, while I purchased the necessary domain names.

This was quite a learning experience for me, and being able to work virtually alongside someone of Dr. Cates’ caliber made it possible for me to have some on the job training in my newly founded and conceived online business. If I wasn’t sure of something we were doing, I would simply contact Jeanette to discuss it. In fact, our arrangement progressed so smoothly that we went on to create additional courses and programs, as well as a series of workshops and conferences throughout the next several years.

Then we decided to create a course on exactly how to set up and implement a joint venture as a new entrepreneur. We offered this training for two years and many people told us how grateful they were to learn from two people who had actually been quite successful with this business model.

My primary advice if you are considering this is to make sure you choose a joint venture partner you can see eye to eye with when it comes to specific choices and decisions that must be made. Start with something small, like Jeanette and I did with our first course and then move on to bigger and more sophisticated projects over time as the relationship evolves, You’ll be glad you did and your success will be all the sweeter.

Thank You Pages to Build Your Online Business

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Strategic Thank You Pages

Few products stand alone. There is always something more to learn, tools to help us be more efficient, and related concepts to explore. Your download, or thank you page is the perfect place to help your buyers discover additional resources, and to build your passive income portfolio.

If you are not creating strategic thank you pages for your opt in pages and product/course/service download pages you are most definitely leaving money on the table. I did this during my first few years online and now know better.

Consider adding:

Coupon codes for additional purchases – I do this for my Internet Marketing Six Pack course
Recommendations for related products (yours or affiliate products)
Bonus downloads with promotional links

If it helps, think of this as adding value to your buyers (because you are) rather than selling them additional products. You don’t have to be pushy to create a solid passive income strategy, but you do have to care about your buyers’ experience. When you keep that in mind, sales come naturally.

You may also want to use your thank you pages to ask readers and clients to take a survey. Keep it short and ask specific questions you actually want answered to help you grow your business. For instance, you may want to ask them what products and courses they would most like to see you develop. Five to ten questions is a good length for a survey.

Another excellent addition to your thank you pages is asking them to tell you a little more about themselves by answering the following questions:

What are you struggling with (and how may I help you to fix it)
What are your goals (as specific as possible) for this year?
What’s your biggest pet peeve when it comes to [your topic]?

And finally, ask for their feedback. Asking for specific feedback gives you a more complete picture about what, why and how your community interacts with your site, products and services. Getting the answers straight from your them is your secret weapon for spotting problems and opportunities in your business. Whatever you do, make sure to make the most of your thank you pages.

The Internet Marketing Lifestyle: Online Marketing Tips

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Online Marketing Tips

Recently I was asked to share what it means to me to have an online business. Tips I shared with the person I was discussing this topic with included details about the time and financial freedom one is able to enjoy as an online entrepreneur, as well as the lifestyle you are able to live when you can work from home, or from wherever you are in the world with an internet connection.

Long ago I worked as a classroom teacher, and to make ends meet I worked simultaneously as a real estate broker and residential appraiser. Over the years I grew weary of working six or seven days each week and still not being able to take time off or save much money. When I made the decision to leave that world behind in 2006 it was to live the internet lifestyle and to create a life for myself where I would have both the time and the income to call the shots every day. My life changed completely when I took action on my dream, and you can do the same thing if you understand what it takes to make it happen.

If this is a lifestyle you are interested in creating for yourself, here are some online marketing tips I will share with you:

Be prepared to work longer and harder than you ever have before for at least the first year so that you can “do for a year what others won’t; live the way others can’t, forever.”
Be the toughest boss you have ever had in the physical world. Focus and discipline will mean the difference between success and failure.
Take action every single day, if only for fifteen minutes. Keep what I refer to as a “dynamic to-do list” and get into creative mode by writing down your thoughts and ideas and then taking action to implement them.
Remember that online entrepreneurship is a business. Treat it like a business and it will pay you like a business. Treat it like a hobby and it will cost you like a hobby.
Know that the three parts of your business that are most important are posting to your blog at least twice a week, emailing your list as least twice a week, and creating simple information products to sell to others. Good enough is good enough, so do not complicate it.

I hope these online marketing tips have been helpful. You can achieve success and have time freedom and financial freedom if you follow my steps. Having an online business means you are in control of your own life and your destiny, and there can be no greater reward when it comes to your business.

Take a Look at My Internet Marketing Six Pack to Get Started as an Online Entrepreneur.

Earning Passive Income Online

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Passive Income Online

It might just be the number one complaint of people working for others: trading you’re time for money.

Of course you may love your job or career. You enjoy solving problems and doing the work you were passionate at when you began. You genuinely like the work you do, but no matter how much you love your chosen field and those you work with, two things will continue to hold you back:

You—just like everyone on the planet—have limited hours available
If you aren’t working, you aren’t earning money

By definition, these two limitations put a cap on your earning potential. And while you may not want for anything—you may, in fact, be leading a wonderful, blessings-filled life—you still cannot make the impact you want to make, simply because you’re lacking in either time or money.

If you’re working all the time, then you have precious little time to…

Volunteer
Travel
Enjoy your kids and their growing up years
Pursue a hobby
Start a part-time business
Learn a new skill
Or anything else you’d like to spend your time on

And if you aren’t working, well, then you have less money for…

Family vacations
Charities
Church
Education (for you or the kids)
Exciting new hobbies
Or whatever else makes your heart sing!

It’s a true catch-22, isn’t it? You need to work more to earn the cash to build the life you desire, but the life you really want can’t be had if you’re working all the time.

The answer? Passive income.

Ask any successful entrepreneur, and they’ll tell you that the key to building a sustainable business that doesn’t burn you out lies in the ability to leverage your time by creating passive, recurring income.

Now, that doesn’t mean you don’t have to work. In fact, building up that stream of passive income will take a lot of work indeed. But once you create the systems, you can leverage them over and over and over again to create a steady cash flow that no longer depends on you and your time.

Just imagine the freedom that would bring! And it’s not that difficult to do, with just a little planning…

Passive Income Tip: Brainstorm a Digital Training Program or Small Course

This is going to be the cornerstone of your plan. Once you have a digital product to sell, all that’s required is to drive traffic to your offer. You can…

Mail your list
Use paid advertising
Recruit affiliates
List it on directory sites such as ClickBank or JVZoo
Blog about it
Ask other people to blog about it
Share it in forums and groups

Truthfully, there are dozens of ways to get eyes on your sales page, so even if you don’t have a list, you can still begin building your passive income plan with a training program or course.

All you have to do is create it.

Now before you move on, thinking you can never do this, let’s not overcomplicate it. Here’s a simple 3-step way to brainstorm a small course or training product:

What problem does your ideal client struggle with the most? Is she tech challenged and needs a step-by-step on how to create a landing page? Does she lack confidence, and suffer from mindset issues? Does she want/need to write a book but just can’t seem to get started?Whatever her trouble spot, a small training product or course will no-doubt help. Remember—you don’t have to solve all her problems, just this one, so keep it simple so you don’t get overwhelmed.
What format does your ideal client prefer for training? Your product can be video, audio, written, or any combination. It’s completely up to you.

What resources do you have that you can repurpose? You very likely have blog posts, short reports, Kindle books and other material you can quickly pull together to create a complete training. (And if you need some additional material, or even a starting point, be sure to check out the PLR that I use personally in my business and highly recommend at Coach Glue and DIY (Do It Yourself) PLR. Then get busy creating a training program or course you can sell online for years to come.

What other questions do you have for me on the topic of earning passive income online?

Podcast: List Building Tips Online

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List Building Tips Online

This month’s podcast is a discussion of list building tips online for internet entrepreneurs. Here are some of the points I explain in great detail during the training call:

The first question is…

Have You Chosen Your Primary Niche?

Before we can start building a highly responsive niche we must be clear about who we are and how we intend to serve those who come to us for information, advice, and recommendations. Answer these questions as carefully as you possibly can…

What are you interested in, have passion for, and experience with?
How will you serve those who come to you for information, recommendations, and guidance?
Are you willing to work diligently in this niche for at least six months?

List Building Tips Online

The above image is one you may remember from middle school mathematics. It is a three circle Venn diagram to help you choose the right niche for your online business. Once you have done this, you are ready to begin building your niche.

How Do You Begin Building A List?

Who are you?
Where will people find you online?
What are you offering in exchange for their name and email address?
How will you follow up with them?
When will you reach out to them in a unique way?

Think about each of these questions, listen to the podcast, and then comment below. I would love to hear your thoughts on these ideas and concepts in regards to how defining and refining your niche and building a responsive list will enable you to be a more successful entrepreneur.

These list building tips online are intended to focus and guide you through the process of building a success online business. If you’d like to download my latest Focus Guide on Repurposing Your Content, click on this link. Feel free to share it with anyone who may benefit from what I am sharing. Also, my Study Guides are available here for many of my recent podcasts.

Are you ready to be surprised? Recently, I have introduced a new feature during these podcast training calls. I will always have the latest course or program, either one of my own or one offered by someone I highly recommend, at my Surprise! link. Check it out today and see what I am recommending this time. If it’s not my own program, product, course, or live event then it’s always from someone I know, trust, and highly recommend as a great value to you as an online entrepreneur.

My most recent book is now available. It’s entitled Doing What It Takes: The Online Entrepreneur’s Playbook and I’d love to hear your thoughts on it by way of a review on Amazon after you read it and implement my suggestions.

Are you already a part my list community and receiving my daily email updates and training? If not, please give me your first name and primary email address in the form on the right-hand side of this site. If you are brand new to my podcasts, you will be interested to know that this specific training call, as well as all of the calls in my podcast series is intended to teach you and other new online entrepreneurs how to take your business to the next level quickly and effectively, and as a way for me to share my exact methods, techniques, Case Studies, secrets, and advice on creating a profitable and lucrative online business using the ‘multiple income streams’ approach. People on six continents have now discovered that starting an Internet business is the very fastest way to achieve both time and financial freedom, as well as to great success in all areas of your life, and you need help to get there quickly. That’s why I started this online marketing tips podcast for my community.

You will see that each podcast session is first recorded live as a teleseminar, and then repurposed into a podcast to extend my reach to the world. Please join my list (opt in on the right) to be included on these calls, and be sure to introduce yourself and share your site for optimal exposure for years to come! Also, check out my Podcast Show Notes site to see how you can subscribe at no cost to both of my podcasts, and please leave me a review on one or both of them if you are so inclined.

If you would like to get started earning income online right away then I recommend affiliate marketing as the stream of income that will allow you to “earn while you learn” You may now pick up my popular training on winning affiliate contests and other online marketing tips for only seven dollars at Affiliate Contest Secrets. This training regularly sells for $27. Use the discount code CONTEST to bring the price down to $7. This training has been completely updated for 2016 with the latest information, strategies, and Case Studies for you to use in your own business.

Please be sure to leave your comments below so that I may get to know you better and to serve you as you continue your journey as an online entrepreneur. Getting started with an online business will change your life forever and my reward is your massive success!

Subscribe To My Online Marketing Tips Podcast Today!

Podcast: Multiple Streams of Online Income

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Multiple Streams of Online Income

My most recent podcast is a discussion of multiple streams of online income as an entrepreneur. Here are some of the points I explain in great detail during the training call:

The BIG question is…

Are you taking advantage of multiple streams of online income? Let’s talk about:

The “putting your eggs in several baskets” strategy
Deciding which business model(s) to start with first
Scheduling time to “learn” and time to “do”
What to set up first in your business
Productivity tips for multiple streams entrepreneurs

Think about each of these points, listen to the podcast, and then comment below. I would love to hear your thoughts on these ideas and concepts in regards to how adding multiple streams of online income will enable you to be a more successful entrepreneur.

I also discuss some concepts about online entrepreneurship:

Someone somewhere must purchase something for you to earn money
Your blog is your “home on the internet“
Stay focused and take action every single day
Share your best writing, information, and resources
Choose a niche and one or two income streams today

Finally, I share my thoughts and ideas on…What Do You Need For Successful Entrepreneurship?

WordPress Blog/Site
Business PayPal Account
Content Creation/Publication/Syndication Strategy
Something to sell!

This podcast training is based on my recently created Focus Guide on the topic of multiple streams of online income. Download it here and take massive action quickly for best results.

Are you ready to be surprised? Recently, I have introduced a new feature during these podcast training calls. I will always have the latest course or program, either one of my own or one offered by someone I highly recommend, at my Surprise! link. Check it out today and see what I am recommending this week. If it’s not my own program, product, course, or live event then it’s always from someone I know, trust, and highly recommend as a great value to you as an online entrepreneur.

Subscribe To My Online Marketing Tips Podcast Today!

Simple SEO Tips for Online Entrepreneurs

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Some Simple SEO Tips

Search engine optimization (SEO) is something you’ve likely heard about before. It can help you attract organic (unpaid) traffic to your website. There is a lot more to SEO than keywords to learn about. This post is not comprehensive; but it will give you the meat of what SEO is, the different types of SEO, what it does, and how to do it. Now to the simple SEO tips you need as an online entrepreneur…

On Page SEO

Essentially on-page SEO is any SEO that you do directly on each page of your website and it all starts with content. But, it also includes architecture, and the actual code within your website.

Content

Anything you put on your website that disseminates information to your audience is content. Posts, articles, memes, images, and graphics – all of it is content. You want to have a variety of different types of content for maximum SEO value.

Quality vs. Quantity – While it’s true that you want to put up a lot of content for your audience it’s more important for the content to be of high quality. You do want to put up content more often than monthly but you don’t need to put up several things each day if it will compromise the quality of the information you put up for your audience.

Keyword Research – many people choose not to do keyword research but if you do it, you’ll waste less time creating content that doesn’t get results and end up with more time to create awesome content that does get results.

Use Words Strategically – Try to figure out what type of power words make your audience feel something and want to do something. There are general power words that you can use such as “devastating blow” or “majestic views” or something that gets their attention and makes them feel.

Hot Topics, Updated, and Fresh – A great way to make use of the time you have to create content is to focus on hot topics and trends of the day. Keep the content updated and fresh by using headlines of the day to evoke curiosity. Warning: Don’t try to trick your readers with clickbait. It only works a few times then it stops working and you’ve lost something important: Trust.

Horizontal & Vertical –You want a combination of both types of content. Think of it this way, horizontal content overs everything on your website is full of content on all pages like your about us page, or home page and that it’s consistent throughout. Vertical content concerns itself with a specific topic and goes across all channels and how they work to improve your website.

Provide Solutions – Your content also should seek to provide solutions for your audience. They want you to help them solve their problems. They should be able to solve some of their problems without buying anything and your content can fulfill that need.

Authoritative – Longer more in-depth content such as long blog posts, white papers, and articles as well as guides can help people and search engines know that your site is serious and that you are there to help your audience. I recently created a Focus Guide that is almost seven thousand words in length, and this can most definitely be considered as authoritative content.

When it comes to content and SEO you have a lot of ways that you can improve your content by using good SEO practices such as using keywords within the first paragraph, the title, subheadings and headings as well as anchor text. It is my hope that these simple SEO tips will be helpful in your business. What are your thoughts on this topic?