How
eBooks Can Be Very Valuable
by: Andy George
EBooks have a number of benefits over the traditional
book. These include the following:
• Cheaper to create
• Quicker to create
• Easier to target a wide market
• High profit potential
• More versatile than traditional books
Lets look at each of these points in turn:
Cheaper to create:
The eBook can be created on a shoestring budget since
it is possible for its publishing and marketing costs
to be minimal. On the other hand the traditional book
has a higher cost structure. This means the author
will have to overcome a tough sales target before
they even consider making a profit on the book.
The costs the author will incur if he follows a traditional
book format include:
• Publishing costs
• The profit margin that the bookstores will
want to sell the book
• Distribution costs
• Marketing costs including advertising costs
Quicker to create
The eBook could be written and published in as little
as 7 days. For other potential authors who work at
a slower pace, the whole process of writing and publishing
a book could be done within a month.
On the other hand for a traditional book the time
span between starting a book and writing it could
take around 18 months. By that time the information
contained in the book could be out of date especially
if the book is technology or research related.
Easier to target a wide market
With eBooks the sky the limit! The eBook may be sold
on the Internet to anyone who has a credit card and
an Internet connection in any place in the world.
Since an author can control the topics of their book,
they can decide whom to market to.
However with a traditional book it may be difficult
to expand to new markets since it will involve further
significant costs on distribution and marketing.
High profit potential
EBooks can be produced on a shoestring budget but
since customers may believe they offer value for money,
the author may charge more for them than expected.
It is not impossible for almost everything grossed
from an eBook being profit.
On the other hand traditional books have high production
and marketing costs and this means the author (unless
they are very popular) will have great difficulty
in recovering these costs and making a profit.
More versatile than traditional books
EBooks could be used for a number of purposes. The
most common method is for the sale of the eBook. However
an eBook could be used as a free gift to customers
to entice them to buy a product from you. It can also
be transformed into audiocassettes or digital products.
To conclude eBooks are a very valuable tool that could
be used as a profit centre, as a publishing tool or
as a marketing tool. It has many advantages over the
traditional book.
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COPYRIGHT: ©2004 by Andy George. All rights reserved
Publishing Guidelines: This article may be freely
published so long as the author's resource box, bylines,
and copyright are included.
About The Author
Andy George is a qualified chartered accountant who
was born in Birmingham, England and who has had many
years’ experience in public practice, industry,
and commerce and as a lecturer. Since 1991 he has
been based in the island of Cyprus. Andy was a financial
correspondent for eight years at the Cyprus Financial
Mirror where he wrote articles on business and accounting
related issues to a non-technical audience. He is
the author of eBooks: How to write and Publish Your
Own With a Shoestring Budget http://www.budgetebook.com
http://www.easy4tune.com/cbmall
akgeorge@cytanet.com.cy
