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Are
people interested in ebooks? And if so, what are the best
ways
to sell them?
The
following statistics reported by the Open eBook Forum, a
non-profit
organization for the electronic book publishing
industry,
definitely show an interest in ebooks. Note the Forum
boasts
members like Microsoft Corporation, Adobe Systems,
McGraw-Hill,
Random House, Simon & Schuster and other top
companies.
GROWTH
IN CUSTOMER BASE*:
· Random House, Inc.'s eBook revenues
doubled year-over-year in
2001
and during the latest quarter ending in March, revenues were
the
highest since the company began selling eBooks in 1998.
· HarperCollins' eBook imprint,
PerfectBound, has sold more
eBooks
in the first five months of 2002 than in all of 2001
· Average monthly downloads of Adobe
Acrobat eBook Reader have
increased
by approximately 70% from 2001 to 2002
· Simon & Schuster has seen
double-digit growth in eBook sales
from
the first half of 2001 to the first half of 2002
· Over 5 million copies of Microsoft
Reader have been distributed
for
use on desktop, notebook and Pocket PC systems
· Palm Digital Media reports that
nearly 180,000 eBooks were sold
in
2001, a more than 40% increase from 2000
· In 2002, McGraw-Hill Professional
eBook sales are up 55% over
the
same period last year.
Some
tips on the best ways to sell ebooks? Ebooks are among the
top
selling products at OhioHelp.net, an Ohio-based company that
specializes
in helping businesses worldwide with their marketing,
public
relations and freelance writing services. Here is what
works
best for them.
TOP
TIPS FROM OHIOHELP.NET
I.
ANNOUNCE YOUR EBOOKS
Let
everyone know that you sell ebooks. Announce the news in a
press
release, add links in your email signature file, add
special
links on your websites. Include information about them in
your
company ezines or newsletters (print and virtual),mail out
postcards
announcements and bookmarks featuring your bookstore
link,
include them in your PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns and
classifieds.
Add them to your phone script, your voicemail
recording,
the Thank-You page that appears or is emailed after
shopping
cart purchases. Discuss them on forums, write about them
in
emails and postal letters to clients, friends and associates.
Don’t
stop communicating about them.
II.
BECOME INVOLVED
Use
the ebooks yourself and put their information to use. Contact
the
author for a brief interview for your company newsletter. And
update
your ebooks regularly or simply join a wholesale company
like
the one here http://presssuccess.com/wholesale$
where at
least
two new ebooks come out monthly for you to add to your
store
automatically. If your ebooks just sit and collect
cyber-dust,
so will your sales.
III.
CYBER – TOUR
Conduct
cyber-tours one-on-one with your clients. Get on the
phone
and have them click on the business section and browse
along
with you while you point out selections of interest.
Personalize
their experience and invite them to bookmark the site
and
return to download some ebooks in your “Freebies” section,
good
to have especially for those who may not know much about
ebooks
and would benefit from trying some first.
So
add ebooks to your product and service lines from a
progressive
company like OhioHelp.net does from here:
http://presssuccess.com/wholesale$
. Then both your clients and
you
will have the opportunity to learn more, keep up with the
latest
information and enhance sales.
To
learn more top tips and receive them on a regular basis at no
charge
in your email, sign up at http://ohiohelp.net
today or
email
diana@ohiohelp.net . Enjoy no-cost
ebooks from the
“Freebies”
section of their bookstore at
http://www.presssuccess.com/bookstore
*
From eBooks by the Numbers: Open eBook Forum Compiles Industry
Growth
Stats, openanebook.org, New York, NY, July 22, 2002.
---
By
Diana Barnum, president of
http://movingaheadcommunications.com
and CEO of
http://ohiohelp.net . For more help with
marketing, public
relations
and writing, email diana@ohiohelp.net
or call:
614)529-9459.