eBook Profit Spiral

Most eBook entrepreneurs start their journey up the profit spiral on the wrong path.

They dream of profits, but instead of a eBook business plan that maps their steps to the bank, they create a treasure map to Fantasy Island.

They ramp up to sell their first product, and the ordeal saps their energy. Then, when eBook profits fail to roll in on cue, they fizzle and peter out.

The plan that an eBook promoter needs is not how to count the millions that they will make on their first product, but on how each and every product fits in to their overall business plan.

It is crucial to plan beyond the first product. Plan for the future…future products that dovetail, future affiliate programs that you will run, future Joint Venture (JV) partners that will join you.

eBook entrepreneurs that limit their focus to their first product often end up as “One Hit Wonders.”

Many eBook promoters assume that they will start with one eBook product, and if that product launches them on an upward profit spiral, then they will look for a back end product. Then, they will use their first profits to launch a bevy of other best selling eBooks.

But, such planning is short sighted. And adding a back end profit system later is too little, too late.

The time to set up a back end profit system is before the first product launches.

And, be sure to include up sell and cross sell components in this profit system.

After the product launch, after hundreds (or thousands) of sales have been made it is too late to go back and pitch add on products that your customers need to take full advantage of the product that you are selling them.

Tiffany Dow, in her eBook, Building an eBook Empire notes that you have to “strike while the iron is hot” and be ready to take your customers from one product to the next without wasting an opportunity.

For example, if you launch your own nutrition site and write an eBook about vitamins, then you can map out a plan for selling to the people that are health conscious. They take care of themselves, so what else will they need in the future?

If your eBook is for soon-to-be mothers, what might they need? Maybe…

Baby naming eBook, childproofing your home, dealing with doting grandmothers, immunizations, and potty training are issues. And, as the baby grows, topics such as preschool, day care, kindergarten..still later…helping with math homework, getting along with classmates, encouraging reading, etc. The list is endless.

But most important, the eBook profit spiral capitalizes upon years of helpful information that builds upon their trust you developed from past customer-centered service.

Also, this long-term, overview eBook profit planning keeps you from another error, i.e., trying to put too much information in your eBook.

It is a mistake to stretch your first eBook out to cover every single detail about your topic. Instead, leave the door open for more eBooks so that you can cater to the needs of your readers with multiple eBooks. A 500 page eBook that you sell have to struggle to sell for $127 is less profitable than a dozen eBooks that you easily can sell for $27 each.

So plan every step of your eBook profit spiral with an eye to the future. Do your homework, do your due diligence, and test everything you do for its profit potential along the way.

Be prepared, even if you make a lot of money on your first product because all information has a “shelf life.” This means that information becomes out of date.

Of course, a long-term plan accounts for this with periodic updates to the eBook, and a generous discount for past customers. Otherwise, be prepared for the downward spiral that your income takes once the content of your eBook becomes dated.

A long-term profit plan allows you to move from one project to the next without glitches and second guessing. Your profits increase over time, and avoid earning plateaus. You also avoid fluctuations in income when one of your eBooks becomes dated.

Be sure that your plan includes up sell, down sell, cross sells.

You can also promote other eBook author’s products as an affiliate.

So, keep your eBook profit playing field open. Avoid placing your profit plans into a “one product basket.”

Also avoid the trap of having to enter a new niche with every product launch.

Build a long-term product plan and know how multiple eBook products fit together for an upward profit spiral.

Capitalize on the positive relationship that you develop with your customers from your first sale, and expand your information services to them. Find one niche, and keep your products honed in on your reader’s continued needs.

For more information on building an long-term eBook profits check out Tiffany Dow’s Building an eBook Empire