Co-authoring a mini e-book

You have an idea for a eBook. You selected your niche and checked keywords for proper search success. But… you are new online or you just don’t have the list or pull to get the word out to the proper groups. Or you may have an idea but you just can’t get it into words.

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photo credit: Sheldon Pax

One idea that may speed up your plan is to find a co-author or co-create an eBook with an expert or ghostwriter.   Start by looking for sites in your niche – and then take the time to contact the webmaster or site owner and ask if he or she is interested in co-authoring a eBook with you.  This is often referred to as a joint venture. And with any joint venture you have to offer some benefit to your prospective co-author or co-creator.

Your co-author can provide anything from half (or more) of the content, to an introduction, articles, or additional information. Or you may choose to merge your information and theirs.  Regardless of what your co-author brings to project you can increase the products credibility, especially if you select an expert in your chosen niche.

Selecting and joining forces with a co-author will give you an instant promotion for your joint venture. You will need to discuss how to set up the OTO (one time offer) and upsell aspects of the venture to give you both a great deal from the JV project.  The co-authors contribution to the book could be within the eBook, through back end sales – or both.

Basically a joint venture is what will work the best for the partners to create a product and make a nice income for both parties. And one additional plus to a joint project is that it is a learning experience with both participants bringing fresh ideas and expertise in new areas.

Having a great idea and a unique spin may not be enough to bring a co-author onboard. So the bottom line in your approach you will have to make sure that any arrangement you come to is win-win for everyone involved.

Add Freebies to your ebook project

When assembling an eBook you want readers and people to value your ideas and thoughts. There are two ways to add value to your eBook.

Blogging?
photo credit: Anonymous Account

The first is great content. There is a lot of information that has just been relabeled or passed around from one person to another. Try to add depth and information that is either personal or unique. This will capture your reader’s attention.

Another way to add value is offer freebies. In today’s economy when budgets are stretched – everyone appreciates getting more for their money.

Free gifts, bonuses and just plain freebies can be offered for visiting a website or purchasing your eBook.

By putting free gifts together and adding them to your eBook you can create a package what will appeal to a larger audience.

So the question is: How can you collect and offer free gifts, which will be valued as much as the original merchandise that is being purchased?

First and most important, identify your key words in each chapter of your E-book. This is also an important step in promoting your eBook.

Once you know your key words, type those words into your favorite search engine. What you are looking for are free E-books on the same subject in more depth, or created by someone who gives a new and fresh angle to the topic. You may wan to add a link to the free E-book in a chapter of your E-book or in the eBook summary.

Research the Internet for related free gifts. You are looking for things that you could give as free gifts in your E-book. This will make the purchase more appealing and give it more pass-along appeal to your readers. Note: It’s positive if people want to pass your eBook along to other people. . The more your writings are read the more they will look for more of your work or visit your site.

My current eBook project is on Backyard projects and gardening. So if I found free seed offers, planting guides or garden designs that could be downloaded for free this would add to my eBook package

Download the freebies by visiting the freebies pages on the web sites you found. Most sites have freebies and encourage you to distribute them. It’s their way of thanking you for stopping by.

Other key words that will lead to freebies are:  free E-books, free reports and any keyword search that includes your eBook keyword. For me that would be “freebies for gardeners.”

The over all idea is to give your reader the best that you can offer. Give them your book, additional reading material and free gifts. They have a product with added value and everybody loves getting a bargain!

Create your eBook now, Denise