Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Using Entrecard: How to Market an eBook

Note: Please make sure that the following tips are not against the terms of Entrecard before using them, or you may see your account suspended.  As long as the widget is on a page that contains text, linking to a 'quality' blog, you shouldn't have any major problems.

There have been a number of people on Entrecard that have been using their widget to promote services that they have created - in this case, we'll review how to market eBooks and other forms of digital good (specifically textual) through Entrecard.

Because Entrecard allows you to link to individual pages (be sure the widget and quality adheres to this page as well as the rest of your blog), you will be able to promote your eBook directly through Entrecard.

In short, here's how it's done:
  1. Create an eBook or other product that focuses on a subject oriented around your blog.
  2. Create an image that represents the product, such as an image of a book with the cover representing the book's main topic.  Keep in mind that it has to scale to 125x125 pixels.
  3. Upload the image to Entrecard, linking to the page.  You may also change the title of your blog and/or description to suit the change in where your link directs readers.
  4. Be sure that the page you have linked to works.  In other words, it must be a "landing page" for readers to find out how to download/view the book, not simply a link in the sidebar.
  5. Let the readers flow in to download and view your product.
Some other tips:

  • Don't use someone else's product or an affiliate offer on your promotion page.  This is strictly against the terms of Entrecard.
  • Be sure that everything is complete before you transition your blog over to the "marketing" stage.  You don't want any 404 errors and the like.
  • Be sure that readers notice your ad - advertise throughout Entrecard - so, you'll want to accumulate quite a lot of credits before you begin.
  • You shouldn't try selling your eBook (charging people to download it) through Entrecard - sales will be quite limited compared to other advertising methods.
Conclusion

If you don't receive at least some return on your eBook in terms of downloads, it might be time to take a different approach to marketing your product.  It is to be a product that is unique, so readers will find value in it.  Otherwise, you are simply promoting something that people already know how to do or have already downloaded/purchased before.

While these are some general tips on how to begin marketing your new eBook through Entrecard, there are many different avenues that you can explore in terms of how to use the powerful system, with more to be exposed in the near future.

What are your thoughts on marketing a single product (i.e. an eBook through Entrecard)?  Have you ever tried it — what were your results?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, Thanks for the ideas in your blog. I am relatively new to Entrecard, so this is good stuff for me.

A bit off topic, but we are using the dame template, although different versions. Can you tell me the names of the widgets you use for "SUBSCRIBE TO" and "TOP DROPPERS."

Thanks
Tim

Anonymous said...

@Tim - The "Subscribe To" is available as a "Gadget" through Blogger, I believe it is called "Subscription Links". If you aren't using Blogger, you'd be abel to use the AddThis or Add to Any buttons to your sidebar to share your entire blog or allow readers to subscribe.

The Top Droppers widget can be created using the Google Gadget and inputting the RSS code (through your Stats page) and placing the HTML code they give you into a widget/the sidebar.

I hope this helps.

Anonymous said...

Thank you very much, much appreciated