Yesterday I was talking to one of my clients about her branding and marketing plan to grow her coaching practice.

We mapped out her marketing funnel and her GAME plan for developing her information products and programmes.

One of the information products she is developing is a no-cost special report or white paper that will be available when people register on her website - and they will also receive a copy of her montly newsletter.

At the next level she will have an e-book and a CD for sale - expanding on her special report, and at a higher price point again, she will have a home study programme which is a further expansion of her e-book, adding case studies, worksheets and audio CD’s.

Having a published book is a great credibility builder, but as we have covered previously, if you are looking to be published with a leading publishing house, you not only have to have a good book proposal and a robust marketing plan but also a substantial platform i.e. people who already know you and follow you who you can market to and are going to want to purchase your book.

E-books therefore provide a great opportunity to start to get into the world of self publishing, but at a low barrier for entry. And of course if marketed well, can create a new stream of revenue for you.

If you are looking to write an e-book, one of the questions you are likely to have is what should be the price point. I know that is one of the questions I always get from students in our “Passion for Products” programme and from participants in the other information products programmes I team.

This week, Dave Ricklan, founder of the Self Growth community, the number one “self improvement site” on the Internet published research that he has collated from an e-book survey he undertook with members of his community.

I have published below the summary of his research into e-books which makes interesting reading and I hope provides you with insights for your information product development strategy.

Have you ever purchased an E-book?

72% of the respondents had purchsed an E-book

Have you ever downloaded a free E-book?
98 % of the respondents have downloaded a free E-Book.

Have you ever sold an E-book?

45% of the respondents have sold an E-Book.

What price range have your paid or are you willing to pay for purchasing an E-book?

The lowest reponse was US$0 for people that won’t pay for E-Books and the highest is US$200.00. The vast majority of the responses fell in the US$19 to US$29 price range.

Do you have a free E-book that you use as a promotional product?

39% of respondents have a free E-Book that they use as a promotional product.

What is your general opinion on using E-Books as part of your Internet strategy?

The majority of respondentse had a very positive opinion of E-Books.   Some of the comments included are:

-  Has been great for me. Great revenue stream.

-  It’s the best and the simplest strategy.

-  It adds to the validity of our offerings.

-  I see e-books as being something to give away vs. for purchase based on my assumption that people don’t want to read a book on their computer screen.

-  The jury is still out as I’ve been looking for an affiliate partner that could help market my E-Book/E-Video.

-  Free E-Books seems like a great way to generate some interest and build an email list.

-  It is a very effective tool to drive traffic to our website.

-  Very helpful in generating opt-ins for ezines and promoting my site.

Do you have an E-book story to share? It could be about your own E-book, your favorite E-book, or an E-book that you purchased. It could be about your success or an E-book nightmare.

Here are a few samples of the feedback that was submitted to the E-book survey.

-  Have made a good income for the past 2 years from health and personal development related e-books. Although a great e-book takes time to research and develop, the overall results are well worth the effort.

-  I have had as many as 1,000 download the free book in a day. The nightmare is answering all the questions of the people who feel they are the only ones who downloaded it that day. It has gone to an estimated million people since the week of 9/11.

-  I recently started a campaign for a free e-book, optional newsletter subscription, and promotion of a product for sale. So far I’ve given away over 400 e-books, gotten about 75 people to stay subscribed to my newsletter, but no sales.

-  Not a single e-Book nightmare. But my experience is that the vast majority are grossly overpriced since their content is close to worthless. A few are worth every penny, most are not worth the time it takes to click the download button.

- I’ve been disappointed with many e-Books that I’ve either purchased or got for free. So - I’m very impressed when I do find one to contain great value.

- I’m very spontaneous. When I discover something I want, I want it right away. This is where e-books have the advantage. If someone is selling a book that will help me market my business or increase my sales, it’s a huge plus to be able to download the book right away instead of waiting for it to arrive via snail mail.

What’s your experience of marketing your practice or business through e-books?

Have you questions about how to get started?

If so, leave your questions here or send me an email and I’ll answer them in forthcoming articles. (I won’t be on-line for around the next week as I head off on vacation today, but I will reply to all questions raised on my return).

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