On my recent webinar "From Blog to Kindle eBook: How to Create New Revenue Streams with Amazon's Kindle eBook Program"** I shared a screenshot from my July sales to date for my Kindle eBooks. The total was about $20. Doesn't sound like much, does it? Why would I spend my time creating ebooks if I'm only making a few bucks a month? 

Talking with a colleague who attended the webinar, he gave me some feedback about showing such a small revenue number for my sales. He had a good point, that it may have discouraged some people to think they may make only a few dollars from their Kindle ebooks. I could have found a screenshot with higher numbers.

But, here's the point I was making on the webinar…this is an additional revenue stream, not my sole income. If I wanted to make thousands of dollars a month on Kindle, which some authors do, I'd have to be doing more than compiling blog posts as ebooks. I'd also have to be marketing full time to drive traffic to my books.

This goes directly to the purpose of your ebooks. For me, they are lead generators. And, as I pointed out to my friend, I'm actually getting paid for my leads, when someone buys an ebook and then signs up for a free gift that's offered in the ebook, they have paid me to get on my list. Not bad.

Now, here's the true story that may change the way you think about the small sales…

During an intake session with a new client, she told me exactly how she found me.

She was doing a Google search for how to add images to a blog post. One of the search results was a Kindle ebook I offered on Amazon. She bought the ebook for 99 cents. Next she checked out some of the resources I recommended and opted in to a free webinar which added her on my email list. Then, about 30 days later, when I offered a group coaching program, she knew it was the right program at the right time and I was the right person for her to study with.

So, that $.99 ebook became a $500 sale.

That's why I do it. Not to get rich on Kindle ebooks, but to attract the right people to my site and my community and then make an offer that can solve a problem for them.

Does it make sense now, why I'm not worried about whether I make $10 or $100 dollars on Kindle? It's passive revenue and frankly, a dollar is a dollar and all those little sales do add up! It's all good and also helps me build my visibility, credibility and business.

That's what I want for you, too, and I know you can do it too. I appreciate that my friend brought up the issue so I could share the story with you. While I can't promise you the same results, I can promise that if you don't leverage the tools at your finger tips – like easy publishing on the biggest ecommerce site on the web – you may struggle a little more to build your business.

Do you have story about how a small sale led to a big sale? I'd love to hear about your success, and your challenges in the comments below.

The post Ignoring the Small Sales? Here’s How They Can Lead to Big Sales appeared first on Adventures in Visibility.

Seems everywhere I turn online these days, the hot topic is digital publishing: ebooks, ibooks, Kindle books, video magazines, podcasts, you name it. Whether you call it content marketing or self-publishing, digital or multi-media publishing is becoming an important element for every business to consider including in their marketing strategy. We're familiar with using blogs and video and audio as a way to create visibility and get our message out to our audiences. Now, if you haven't already, it's time to take the next step…

As you may know, I've been exploring and experimenting with the ins and outs of digital publishing for quite awhile. I converted an ebook into my first Kindle ebook nearly two years ago and now I have seven published.

You may also recall that Ellen Britt and I did a survey on how online entrepreneurs are integrating digital publishing into their businesses. (If you're wondering what happened to the report…we're working on it and aim to release it in early July…get on the early bird notification list here.) It's taking some time to analyze the data and create a great presentation. 

In the meantime, on Pinterest, we've been creating a deep resource Pin Board of articles and blog posts about digital publishing trends. [Check out the board here.] Recently I pinned a cool infographic on how to create ebooks that sell. There are 14 great tips from successful ebook authors. 

Ebooks are probably the easiest to create and most common form of digital publishing and at this point, I consider them mainstream in the online marketing world. If you're just getting started, study this infographic to get a sense of what you need to take into consideration when you create your first, or next ebook.

Like this infographic? Get more ebook marketing tips from Hector Cuevas[dot com]

Have you created an ebook for your business? What's your #1 tip for creating a ebook that sells?

And remember, if you want to be first to get the Digital Publishing report Ellen and I are publishing, add your name to the early bird list here.

The post Digital Publishing – How to Write Ebooks That Sell [Infographic] appeared first on Adventures in Visibility.

One of the most important elements you need to add to your ebook is a cover image. While it may not be quite as important as your content, it is the first thing people will see, before they even read a description or review of your ebook. 

You need to create a cover image and virtual book images of your cover you can use to promote your ebook.

There are a few ways to create your cover:

1. Hire a graphic designer – if you have the budget, then I recommend going with a professial designer vs. doing it yourself
2. Use Fiverr or elance and request bids for design services
3. Create it yourself with royalty free images

I'm frugal so I like to do it myself for low cost products like a Kindle ebook. When I create high fee products , I hire a designer (I highly recommend Heidi Frieder of ArtHead).

Back to ebooks.

For my $.99 ebooks I usually buy a royalty free image and create a simple cover. Make sure to choose a large image that is colorful so it stands out on the page. My favorite source of royalty free images is BigStockPhoto. I buy credits in bulk and buy images for blog posts, reports, and PowerPoint presentations.

You can see I'm not much of a designer. I create a simple cover with the image I purchased, title, my name and the URL for my website. The next step is to use the two dimensional cover image to create three dimensional images to promote your ebook. Take a screenshot of the cover image you've recreated so you have a jpg you'll need to create three dimensional promo images.

Over the years I've bought several software programs to create 3D product images. They all required you to download software and then install it on your server. And, the results were not that great. Then, a few months ago I was introduced to a great online program called BoxShot King. Nothing to download, easy to use and more than 40 types of product images you can create in about 1 minute. Love it! The image above is a "package" of three product images I created with BoxShot King in five minutes.

BoxShot King also includes many extra graphics you can add to your image. In two of the images above, I added an badge that says "Free Bonus" since I offer access to free videos when people buy the ebook. Ellen Britt did a beautiful job on her ebook cover for The Littlest Angel, with an gold ribbon on the cover annoucing a bonus.

Why is this important? The image reassures your buyer that your content is a "real" book and that they can consume it on their Kindle device. They don't have to imagine it, they can see it as it will appear on their reader. The 3D product image can be used on Amazon, your blog, social media sites and sales pages if you also sell your ebook on your own site.

While writing this post, I realize I need to update my ebook pages on Amazon to include the 3D images. I think they are more compelling and interesting than flate 2D images. 

Would love to get your comments about using images to promote your ebooks. Do you create 3D images for your ebooks and digital products?

The post How to Make Your Kindle Ebook Stand Out on Amazon appeared first on Adventures in Visibility.

This week I had interviews with two favorite colleagues and both conversations ended up being about how bloggers and business owners can save time by leveraging their exisiting content and get more visibility, in order words, repurposing their content.

There are many, many ways to repurpose your blog content and I've addressed that in previous posts. However, most bloggers and business owners rarely take action and do the steps necessary that will increase their exposure, drive more traffic and generate more leads for their business. After talking with Phil Hollows (CEO of Feedblitz) about how I advise clients to create Kindle ebooks from their blog content, he remarked that it seemed like a lot of work and wondered if most people will make the effort.

Interesting question. No, most people will not do the work. And, the people who do the work, are the ones who see results and are successful.

The thing is, it's not hard to create, publish and promote a Kindle ebook. It does take a little time and effort though.

The example I use with Phil is how bloggers can use "low hanging fruit" to quickly create an ebook.

13 Steps to Your First Published Kindle Ebook

I'll assume you're already blogging for your business and have a body of work to draw on. Congratulations! The hardest part is already done! Here's how to proceed with my formula:

1. Review your blog categories and select one with 10-20 posts focused on one topic

2. Select 5-10 posts that naturally relate to each other.

3. Compile the posts into a word document and arrange them in a logical order.

4. Add an introduction to the topic.

5. Add a Table of Contents to each section.

6. Add appropriate transition content between each section.

7. Edit and update the content as necessary. Blog posts are often written in a casual style and you may want to clean that up.

8. Add a strong Call to Action at the beginning and/or end of the ebook inviting the reader to get more free information from you. Send them to a landing page to get the info.

9. Add your bio.

10. Create a cover for your ebook. You can use royalty free images to create an attractive, eye-catching cover.

11. Follow the guidelines on the Kindle Direct Publishing site for formating your ebook for their platform (this is the part that gets a little tricky. My team and I can help you with this.)

12. Upload your ebook.

13. Promote your ebook to your email list, on your blog and on social networking sites. Kathleen Gage has an excellent program for helping you create a Kindle bestseller.

See? Not difficult, but does take some time and effort. You could make it more complicated and create a stylish, fancy ebook, but this is my "down and dirty" formula for getting your first Kindle ebook published. After that, you can hone your skills or outsource to design experts. However, I know the first book is where most people get bogged down and I don't want that to happen to you. Get it done and then move on to the next. Your sense of accomplishment will make a big difference in motivating you to build a Kindle ebook empire.

To further help you out, here's a list of some resources I use when I develop digital products like Kindle ebooks.

If you want mentoring and help getting your first Kindle ebook published, check out my Kindle Ebook Jumpstart program.

 photo credit: amsfrank

The post 13 Steps to Creating Your First Kindle Ebook appeared first on Adventures in Visibility.

At the beginning of January I saw a lot of resolutions and intentions about getting an ebook published on Kindle this year. Is that goal on your list for 2012?

In the last few weeks, it seems like there's been a frenzy of articles about ebook publishing and the mind-boggling number of sales of ebook readers in December. Take a look at some of these articles and astounding numbers:

Top 10 Self-Published Writers Make 449% More Money Through Amazon Lending Library

Why e-books will be much bigger than you can imagine

Apple's War on Amazon Starts Thursday

If you truly want to get your first Kindle ebook published and need some mentoring and “do it for you” help, I have a new program designed just for you…

Kindle Ebook Jumpstart 

Take note:

• 5 million Kindle readers were sold in December alone (that doesn't include iPads and Nook readers that were sold too!)
• 295,000 ebooks were loaned to Amazon Prime Members in December generating $500,000 in royalty payments to authors

This is an exciting time for you to begin self-publishing. While I'm not going to promise you'll get rich, you can build a solid stream of revenue, build your list and increase your visibility when you publish your content beyond your blog. You don't need to write The Great American Novel. You can compile content you've already written into ebooks that target your ideal client or customer. It's a great way to give new prospects a taste of your expertise and get paid! Take a look at the ebooks I'm selling on Amazon to get an idea of what you can do.

If you’re ready to tap into the Kindle goldmine, build your reputation, visibility, and business by becoming a published author on the most trafficked Internet retail destination worldwide, I’m ready to help you.

Click here to get the details and let's get started building your Kindle ebook empire now => https://denisewakeman.com/jump

I look forward to mentoring you!

Got questions about the program? Submit a support ticket and I'll get right back to you.

The post Build Your Kindle eBook Empire to Build Your Business appeared first on Adventures in Visibility.