This post is inspired by recent experiences creating my new eBook, “101 Profitable Niches Analyzed …And How To Make Money From Them”.

Specifically, I’d like to share with you some methods, tips and tricks that will help you create your own eBook.

Notice I say “create” here and not “write” as there is more to producing an eBook that simply writing it, as we shall see… 😉

Why Write An eBook Anyway?

Here are some advantages of writing an eBook:

1. You Can Sell It

From dog training to model boat building, many marketers in all sorts of online niches have made thousands of dollars by selling their eBooks online.

The advantages of an eBook as oppose to a physical hard-copy book is that the profit margins are almost 100%. This, of course, is because eBooks are digitally delivered over the internet so you don’t have any printing and shipping costs.

2. You Can Give It Away Free To Build Your List

After putting so much energy into creating an eBook it can almost feel “wrong” to give it away for nothing!

However, it is so important to deliver as much value you can to your subscribers not only by treating them as you would wish to be treated yourself but also in terms of the actual information and help you give them.

I have to be honest and say that I was on the fence with this for a while. Looking through other eBooks that are being sold I certainly believe that 101 Profitable Niches Analyzed could have been sold as a standalone information product in its own right.

In the end though I decided to use it as a free gift for my subscribers, not only because list building is such a high priority for me (and probably always will be) but also that I felt it would be an excellent complement for my free Kick Start Profits step-by-step internet marketing training course.

3. eBooks Are Easy To Update

In addition to the high profit margins that we mentioned above, you can edit and update your eBook at any time. This is an excellent advantage compared to not only hard copy books but also compared to video and audio products which generally take more time and effort to modify.

The other great thing about eBooks is that you can include clickable links to websites and other online resources. Where appropriate these can be affiliate links which can generate you commission on the “back end”.

4. eBooks Are Quick To Consume

If you’ve been a subscriber of mine for any length of time then you’ll know I’m a huge fan of video and audio content so it may come as a surprise that I’ve chosen to write an eBook.

However, while video and audio are indeed excellent methods of communication they do have some disadvantages compared to written text. In my view the biggest of these is that people can’t consume the content quickly.

For example, if I’d produced 101 Profitable Niches Analyzed as a video then I suspect it might have ended up being at least 3 hours long!

Now, at nearly 15,000 words the eBook does take some time to read. However, the text format makes it easy for people to skim read, jump around, print out and read when they are not in front of their computers.

Also, given all the videos and audios that I produce an eBook is a nice way of balancing up the range of multimedia content that I create for my subscribers.

Researching Your eBook

Not spending enough time on research is probably the number one mistake made by authors of eBooks. It is easy to understand why people tend to overlook this stage but in reality research is as crucial – if not more so – than the actual writing of your eBook.

The first thing to do is to ask, “What do people actually want?”

If the answers to this question seem a little mysterious then luckily you can use several methods to help:

Firstly, it is easy to find online forums by searching Google with the word “forum” and the name of your niche. Browsing through popular threads is a great way to discover topics of interest that you can include in your eBook.

You can spy on the competition by searching Google for the name of your niche and “free report” or “eBook”. Sign up for other marketers’ lists, download their eBooks and study them.

Remember that it’s important to create an eBook sets you apart from the crowd so this is definitely about inspiration and not copying or stealing. However, if you can identify any recurring themes, topics or ideas then this is a great indication of what people in your niche actually want to know.

Creating Your eBook

As I mentioned earlier, 101 Profitable Niches Analyzed rolls in at just under 15,000 words and writing any document of this length is slightly intimidating to begin with.

Luckily this fear is easily overcome by creating a proper outline that divides up the content of your book into easy to tackle “chunks”.

Start your outline with the broadest sections that you intend to write about. Perhaps there will be 4 or 5 of these in total.

Then start breaking each section down into sub-topics and make a quick note about what you intend to write about (but don’t actually write it yet!). Keep in mind that each of these sub-topics should equate to around 300-400 words when you finally start writing.

In my case I started with 3 broad profitable online markets and then gradually broke these out into the individual niche ideas.

The two great things about creating an outline before you start writing are:

1. You get an ultra clear plan of the overall eBook and make sure the content flows nicely by removing any repetitions, inaccuracies or contradictions prior to writing.

2. By targeting the sub-topics at 300-400 words each you make the writing stage massively easier. For example, even if you have only 15 minutes per evening to work on your eBook, then it’s simply a matter of sitting down and writing on the next sub-topic listed in your outline. No confusion about whether it fits with the rest of the writing or worrying about what will come next. Just sit, write and bang – job done for that day!

Writing just 350 words per day for 29 days would result in a 10,000 word eBook – Isn’t it amazing how very small amounts of regular work add up over time?!

Mastering Your eBook

By this stage your eBook is written and you are happy with the content. Now it’s time to tidy it up, format it and get it ready for publication.

Here are some tips for this phrase of the process:

1. Images

Use lots of images in your eBook. These not only help asthetically but also help people to read the text by providing natural breaks and illustrations which retain interest.

2. Templates

If you use a word processor like Microsoft Word then you can use one of the built in templates (or get a new one designed) to give your eBook an awesome design theme.

3. Headers And Footers

Headers and footers can really give your eBook a professional feel and also give you the opportunity to remind people of your brand name, in my case Gain Higher Ground, on every single page!

4. Proof Reading

By this stage you will probably be “too close” to your eBook to notice any typos or other mistakes in the copy. For this reason it is a great idea to ask somebody who you respect to proof read it for you. If you wish you may also get this done by a professional on an outsourcing service such as Elance or oDesk.

5. Turn The eBook Into A PDF

For whatever reason PDF’s have a perceived value that is much higher than other document types. So you definitely want to convert your eBook to a PDF. Many word processors have the option to “Save as…” and select the file type as PDF. But if yours doesn’t then search Google for “convert to PDF” and use one of the many free converters available online such as this one.

5. Create An eCover

Creating an eCover really will help with conversions.

That is to say that if you have a graphical picture of a real book (even though you are being clear and advertising an eBook) you will receive more sales or opt-ins for your list.

You can use a free graphics program such as Paint.NET to design the front and side, then use the free tool 3D Package to turn it into a 3D image!

Alternatively, do what I did and go to fiverr.com and get an expert to do the job for you for $5!

Conclusion

That’s pretty much it!

Creating an eBook is not the hardest task in the World but it is certainly one that many people never get around to and struggle with.

I hope in this post I’ve shown that, as is the case with most things in your online business, if you stick to a methodical process and work steadily but consistently, it really doesn’t have to be that difficult. Even with as little as 15 minutes per day.

If you’d like to obtain a free copy of 101 Profitable Niches Analyzed …And How To Make Money From Them then you can do so using the form on the right hand side of this page. (Scroll up to see it!) 🙂

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts below….