Ebooks are one of those things that can really divide people. But for a weird reason. Some people feel that because ebooks can be copied for free that it is somehow not as valuable to have an ebook as it is to have a hardcopy. That somehow people are being cheated when asked to pay the same prices for an ebook as they are are asked to pay for the hard copy version. In my opinion, this is just crazy talk. The value of a book is in the information / entertainment value that it provides… not its format.

So I was reading a question online the other day where someone wanted to know how they could make money off of their eBook. I’ve got atleast 8 thoughts on that so here goes (in no particular order).

1. You could embed affiliate links to other books within the ebook
2. You can offer additional content that supplements the eBook for a fee.
3. Require an email address/newsletter subscription before sending the free eBook, and then try and monetize through the future interactions.
4. Offer physical copies of the book for a fee if readers scoff at the idea of paying for the eBook.
5. Break the eBook up into smaller parts for an email newsletter series, and monetize in the newsletter
6 .Turn the ebook into a mutipage website and populate with Google Ads
7. Sell resale rights, PLR, etc.
8. Write additional eBooks and then use your free ebooks to advertise the pay books.

Basically it all boils down to providing a quality bit of content! If you’ve done that then the actual delivery method of that content can be tweaked until one or more models are found that enable a profit to be made. But in the end, the worst case, is that with the eBook you are able to set yourself up as an expert and to use it to drive more sales in later endeavors. Just make sure your work is quality!

Do you have experience with this type of endeavor? What do you think about these ideas?