• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Freedom Chaser

Find the perfect name for your next business venture with my domain name generator Click to access it FREE!
  • HomeBack to start
  • AboutWho is Jake?
  • BlogGet the latest
  • How-To GuidesStep by step
  • Start HerePassive Income 101
  • ResourcesTools of the trade

Blog

4 killer reasons to write your first eBook

March 2, 2016 By jake Leave a Comment

eBooks are generally written to assist, to entertain or to educate readers. But let’s face it, as much as you have the best intention of helping people, writing an ebook takes a significant investment in time and effort, and is therefore generally written with a specific business goal in mind.  I have detailed four key reasons an individual or business should consider embarking on the journey of writing an eBook below. (Before you read on: I strongly suggest choosing just one of the four reasons listed below as your point of focus rather than a hybrid, as otherwise you run the risk of diluting your progress towards the end goal).

1. Lead Generation

In my experience, the most common reason to write an eBook apart from selling it, is to generate a list of future leads by growing your email database.  This is a relatively straightforward process, most often initiated as a simple call-to-action on your website prompting your website visitors to leave their email address in exchange for a downloadable copy of the eBook.

For example, on xxx’s website you will see a simple online form, where visitors simply type in their name and email address to get their hands on xxxx book.   When you consider the alternatives for growing your email database (such as running competitions promoted by Facebook Paid Posts or Google Adwords) which can easily end up costing in excess of $2 per database lead with high attrition rates, writing a compelling eBook and offering it for free proves to be a cost-effective method of drip-feeding a constant flow of high-quality leads to your email database.

2. Revenue

Traditional publishers of books and magazines will be all too familiar with the concept of a ‘cover price’, and the revenue model for selling eBooks is no different.  The main difference is that in comparison to the traditional print media, there or virtually no overheads to physically produce the publication. Even better, the ‘supply’ of your eBook is uncapped, which means your shopfront or resellers will never run out of stock.

While selling through your own website seems like a logical place to start, and allows you complete control of your marketing, relying on your website alone will significantly restrict your revenue potential.  Just as books and magazines are predominantly sold through major retailers online and in local shopping malls, eBooks can be sold to the public through specialist eBook stores such as Clickbank and xxxx.  Due to the strong reputation of these retailers within the global market, you will unprecedented reach to new audiences globally. Some of these retailers (namely Clickbank,) double as affiliate networks, allowing even further reach to new audiences while only charging an agreed commission per completed sale.

Whilst the overheads are low and therefore offers an attractive return on investment, the revenue model for eBooks is not foolproof. The relative ease of sending an email with a pdf attachment, means that the risk of your eBook being unlawfully redistributed is always real.  Piracy is a reality in the modern digital age, so a small loss of sales due to piracy should always be factored into your revenue projections, though surprisingly rarely (if ever) has piracy been reported as significantly impacting the sales of a great eBook.

3. Boost Brand Reputation

Let’s say that you are a new player in your field, and you are looking for a way to increase awareness of your brand.  A great way to build rapport and trust within a community, is to offer qualified free advice to those in need, and an eBook can be an ideal method for achieving this at scale.  Why? Because you could spend an entire lifetime speaking to people individually about precisely the same solution to precisely the same problem. Alternatively, you could add each individual to a group email, and send them a pre-written solution in eBook form which still solve their problem and therefore still boost your reputation, but with a fraction of the time.  And the best bit about this approach is it usually leaves them wanting more; this desire is a powerful force for a brand to have with a consumer.

The approach to writing an eBook to grow the reputation of brand (be it a personal brand, or a business) is relatively uncomplicated. The first step is research, research, research. This could be through conversation with a sample set of your target market, it could be through online research on social media and in forums or it could be through Google keyword research . The next step is obvious – write and publish an eBook that addresses the common problem or need that you identified during your research.  Once this is complete, hatch an eBook marketing plan to get your digital publication in front of them. Simples!

4. SEO

Did you know that you can improve your visibility in Search Engines and achieve great SEO results by releasing an eBook?  SEO = Links, and the better the book, the more links back to your website (where the book lives).  There are a couple of ways to encourage even more backlinks. Firstly you can become an active participant in newsgroups and discussions related to the topic of your eBook…just make sure your posts are informative and valuable and are not just spruiking your book. Secondly, you can submit your free eBook to eBook directories such as:

  • Manybooks
  • Snipfiles
  • Docstoc
  • AskSam
  • Know free

The more quality links which point back to your website, the more website’s rankings in Search Engines will improve, so get creative with your outreach strategy and maximise those link opportunities.

Beaches closed as huge 4m waves hit Gold Coast

February 26, 2016 By jake Leave a Comment

When I woke up this morning and heard the ocean pounding, I couldn’t resist heading over the hill to the point at Burleigh Heads, one of the best vantage points on the Gold Coast to a decent swell rolling in. While the ocean is well and truly out of bounds for swimmers and families today, with some of the biggest waves to hit our coastline in years, experienced surfers are being treated to some seriously amazing waves. Here’s Burleigh Heads firing on all cylinders this morning.

Surprises in all shapes and sizes

November 26, 2014 By jake Leave a Comment

A delightful surprise hit my inbox earlier in the week.

Jake,

How about you take that lovely lady friend of yours out for a lazy Saturday afternoon, our treat!

Go pick up the keys to your weekend cruiser from your local Mercedes dealership.

Oh, and there’s a pre-paid credit card on the way for fuel and goodies.

Enjoy!
The Smart Crew

Saturday couldn’t come around soon enough.

After dropping the kids off at a friend’s house, we headed to the land of shiny and expensive toys. We turned the corner and that familiar Mercedes billboard came into view, the air of prestige immediately setting in like a cool ocean breeze. The front entrance was surrounded with a perfectly formed battalion of the most elite four-wheeled machines in the yard, all coloured in the dark shades of Hollywood.

The anticipation of which of these sleek, uber-luxurious vehicles would be ours for the day was killing me!

‘Hi, Jake. We’ve been expecting you. Right this way to your vehicle, sir.’

I was taken aback with the astute level of service, and also felt a smug sense of satisfaction knowing that my next breathe would be filled with rich tan leather. I marvelled at the crispness of my attendant’s freshly pressed suit as he led the way (I mean, how does he get those creases so damn crisp?) when I was momentary distracted by something undeniably eye-catching amidst the army of dark, metallic beasts.

It was a little….actually….a tiny red car. I’ve seen kids toys that have a longer wheelbase.

I laughed out loud a little, only then realising the attendant had stopped and was now directly looking at me.

‘I’m glad you like it.
Now here, hop in.’ (We both obliged)
‘Insert the key and then push this button to start. It’s an automatic but also has a manual paddle shift just like the F1 race cars, which can be a lot of fun on tight and winding roads, especially if you open up the glass roof to let in some of that beautiful sunshine we’re expecting today. Anyway, you’ll get the hang of it in no time. No need to bring it back this afternoon, tomorrow morning is fine. See you then. Have fun!’

The Smart Fortwo. A rose between two trees?

From the ironically spacious cabin, we looked at each other, and then back at the dash of our sporty Smart ‘Fortwo’ car, aptly named due to its seating capacity for just two passengers. I laughed out loud again, this time a little nervously as I pondered whether:

  1. We were on Candid Camera
  2. My wife was ever going to speak to me again
  3. We needed to wear helmets if we drove this on the open road

Throwing caution to the wind, I started her up and locked her into gear. After the initial shock of looking behind me and seeing the dealership wall an extremely uncomfortably close distance from the car rear windshield, I put the pedal down and headed for the beach. Even though it was a sunny Saturday on the Gold Coast, I was confident that this particular weekend I would have no problems finding a car park.

Well, it turns out this cute little red machine is a heck of a lot of fun to drive. You wouldn’t know it’s a 3 cylinder vehicle; we took it on the open road all the way down to Fingal in Northern New South Wales and it had no problems accelerating thanks to the turbocharged engine, and sat comfortably on the 100km/h speed limit albeit it a little shaken by passing semi-trailers.

Afternoon drives along the coast felt like natural territory for the Smart Fortwo.

Not surprisingly, fuel economy wasn’t even really even a thing with a Smart Car. It cost all of $30 to fill the tank, and to be honest, I’m not sure the fuel gauge even moved even after eighty kilometres of driving in both free-flowing and congested conditions.

Fuel economy: There are lawn mowers that use more fuel.

And turn heads? Man, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a whiplash epidemic proclaimed for South-East Queenslanders come Monday morning. The fresh, glossy red paint and uniqueness of the Smart Car really stands out in the crowd, despite the pint-sized stature of the vehicle itself.

My precious cargo sat comfortably in the passenger seat and I also had plenty of head, arm and leg room. Truth be known, the cabin felt delightfully spacious, accentuated by the moon roof which really allowed us to feel connected to our surroundings.

Of course, you just need to look at the Smart Car to work out that storage for additional cargo is limited – there’s room in the boot for a few bags of shopping, or in our case a picnic basket and blanket, but even that’s a refreshing change to the space-hungry SUVs that are hogging our roads, fuel and wallets. And that’s just it. The Smart Car is a refreshing change in every respect. With it’s Fiat-esque European styling it’s unique, cosy, quirky and genuinely practical in certain situations.

A European style picnic in Northern New South Wales

While a Smart Car most certainly isn’t a family car, in my humble opinion it’s a great option for those seeking a super-efficient vehicle, whether it be on fuel, on space or even on the wallet, that will bring a smile to your dial every day of the week.

No car parks at the beach? No worries.

I mean, who really needs that boring, run-of-the-mill black Merc anyway….

  • « Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • …
  • Page 4
  • Page 5
  • Page 6

Primary Sidebar

Get weekly tips, tricks and advice

When you subscribe to my newsletter you get weekly tips, tricks and advice to help you generate passive income and live a balanced life!

Recent Posts

  • Airplane mode: Switching off in Vanuatu
  • Long weekends: Plantation Resort at Rainbow Beach, Queensland
  • Clickbank: Affiliate Network Review
  • Dropshipping from AliExpress: Zero startup capital required!
  • Clixgalore: Affiliate Network Review

Want to a head start?

Claim your free The Freedom Chaser membership and get instant access to a wealth of proven income-generating resources.

Claim Free Membership
  • Home
  • About
  • Start Here
  • Blog
  • How-To Guides
  • Resources
  • Contact Me
Copyright © 2017 · The Freedom Chaser