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The title of this article is deceptively simple, but I promise there’s more to pricing an ebook than you would think. The inspiration for this tip came from an email I received from a subscriber, which read…

”I’m planning on releasing my ebook soon and I’m trying to decide how to sell it. (i.e. with resell rights, customization rights, etc) Any tips you could give as to how I should sell it for maximum profits?”

The way I look at it, you create a product because you want to accomplish one of two things:

1. Make a lot of money or…

2. Build your list and generate publicity

You really can’t do #1 very effectively if you don’t charge a premium for your ebook, so in my opinion if you don’t feel your ebook is worth at least $37, then you should consider refocusing your marketing plan from profit generation to list generation. (Note: The $37 figure is not set it stone, but it’s what I’ve found works best for my business.)

So how do you transition from profit generation to list generation? Simple…just offer low-cost (or free) resell rights to your ebook.

If your ebook has resell rights available (and it’s of high quality), it will spread much faster giving you more recognition while building your list at the same time. But let’s not forget…you’ll also make a tidy sum selling the ebook on the front end, and then charging extra for resell rights and customization.

Then all you have to do is roll out another (more expensive product) to your new list, and watch the really BIG profits roll in.

I realize that this idea isn’t anything new, but so few info publishers are actually using it that it’s worth discussing. Far too often I hear of people trying to ”make it big” off of a $17 ebook. I hate to burst your bubble, but it isn’t going to happen!

So instead of busting your butt for a small fortune, bust your butt for a HUGE list. It may not seem as sexy at first, but I promise it will pay much larger dividends over the long-haul.

Though I made a nice profit off of the front-end sales of this product, my main focus was to build my list and increase my name recognition.

Here’s a joint venture technique you can use that I guarantee will get the attention of even the busiest, most successful website owners.

Consider this…

If you were going to approach someone about forming a joint venture or partnership, what method would you use? Well if you’re like 99.9% of the people out there, then chances are you would simply send them a personal email and then wait for a reply.

Sometimes the reply comes, and other times it doesn’t. Well here’s a way to virtually ensure a reply of some sort…

Don’t email your potential partners your offer – MAIL it to them. That’s right! It’s time to dust off those old stamps, break out envelopes and actually send a real, live letter. I realize this sounds a little backwards, but that’s the beauty of it.

Here’s an example…

I receive dozens of joint venture requests every day, some of which are worth replying to, and some of which are not. The funny thing, however, is that of the thousands of JV requests that have cross my path, not a single one has been delivered via postal mail.

So what do you think my reaction would be if I did receive something in the mail? Don’t bother guessing…I’ll tell you! I’d be shocked, amazed, and impressed all at the same time. Even if the offer was not for me, you better believe that I would give it extra-special consideration. (And that’s really all you can ask for when approaching a potential partner.)

But let’s take this one step further…

Instead of just sending a personal letter via First Class mail, try sending it through Federal Express, or even registered mail. Heck, make the person sign for it!

Obviously you don’t want to go too overboard with this, but if the joint venture could earn you thousands of dollars, isn’t it at least worth the cost of a postage stamp. I think so…

I’m going to take a lot of heat from some of my buddies in the Internet Marketing field for this article, but some things just have to be said. Ok here goes…

”You should stop spending all your money on Internet marketing related products!”

So why am I saying this?                                

Well, it all springs from an email I received a few weeks ago from a guy wanting to make a trade for Opt-In Automator. The email went something like this:

”I’m very interested in your product, Opt-In Automator, but I’m really low on cash right now so I was hoping to trade you [product name withheld] for it. If you’re not interested in this product, I have many more that I can offer you.”

So out of curiosity, I asked this gentleman to send me the URLs to his website(s) so I could check out these “other products” that he mentioned.

Here was his response:

”Actually I don’t have my own website, yet. Right now I’m just trying to acquire all the Internet marketing materials I can so I know what I’m doing when I finally launch my own site.”

If you were paying attention, this response should have thrown up quite a few red flags.

For starters, Opt-In Automator does you absolutely no good if you don’t already have your own website and mailing list. So this guy is spending his time and money acquiring products that are useless to him and his business. (That’s not a great formula for success.)

Second, (and this is really the whole point of this article so pay attention) the notion that you must have all the wisdom, resources, and software at your fingertips before you start is simply ridiculous!

Sure, you need some basic knowledge so you have some clue as to what you’re doing. So read an ebook here and there and digest all the free information you can.

But above all else, try something! Just get out there and do it. That’s where you really learn what works and what doesn’t.

I see way too many people fall into the trap of ”Perpetual Preparation”. They spend so much time getting ready to start their business that they never actually get around to doing anything.

And whatever you do, stop wasting all your money buying every ebook and hot new software product under the sun. Instead, buy a domain name and a year of hosting. Buy an autoresponder account, and a payment processor.

In short, invest in the things that directly benefit your business before you waste all your money on knowledge you can no longer afford to use.

Once you start turning a profit, you can let your business fund your continuing education and also purchase that great new piece of software you’ve been eyeing for the last few months.

If you get dozens of emails everyday from people wanting you to joint venture with them on their latest ebook or software project, the majority of which are barely worth replying to. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m always open to joint venture opportunities, but please please please if you’re going to make an me an offer, you better make sure it’s one I can’t refuse. (And this goes with other marketers as well.)

Here’s what I mean… All too often, the joint venture offers I receive go something like this: ”I just wrote an ebook and would like it if you could advertise it to your list. It sells for $17, and I pay 50% commissions. I’d really appreciate your help.” Ok, this joint venture offer has 2 major problems… 1. You can expect any marketer to get excited about an $8.50 commission. (Actually it’s less than $8 after the merchant company gets their part.) If you want someone with a large responsive list to promote your product, your commissions really need to excite your potential partner.

Personally, I expect to make at least $25-$30 off of every sale I make. Anything less and it’s really not worth it to me to send out. 2. Don’t expect big-name marketers to ”help” you for next-to-nothing. I’m a pretty nice guy, but when it all comes down to it, I got started online to make money. And so while I try to help people whenever I can, I have to make sure that I’m meeting my own bottom line. So please don’t beg me (or other marketers) to help. It just isn’t fair to ask someone to sacrifice their own profits when they also have a family to provide for.

Ok, so all that being said…how do you formulate the perfect joint venture offer? Well like I said before, the name of the game is to make someone an offer that they can’t refuse. You do that by selling high margin products, and offering huge commissions. And it may sound crazy, but don’t be afraid to offer people with really huge lists even more than 50%. If there’s a person that you really want to joint venture with, and they tell you that they expect $25 off of every sale (but your product sells for $40)…give them $25! The way I look at it, $15 is a heck of a lot better than $0, and this way you also get your name out there and have the potential to make more sales in the future. (Just make sure that you cover your own costs, especially if the product you market is physical.) This tip isn’t a full blown explanation of joint ventures, but hopefully it’ll lead you in the right direction when you go to email Mr. or Ms. Big about your brand new product.

Now I understand that we’ve been taught our whole lives to ”Think BIG,” but when it comes to product development, whether it be software, an info-product or whatever else, my advice is to ”Think Small”.

So, instead of creating the HTML editor to end all other HTML editors, why not just create a simple program that can fill a common need. That’s how you make a lot of money! And instead of writing

 a 500 page ebook for your first project, why not just create a short, 30-page report on a more targeted area. Not only will it be easier to create, it should also sell better than a lengthy, unfocused manual.

I can assure you that if you follow this advice, you’ll finish a lot more projects, and earn a lot more money. If all else fails, you can ”delay” your really big ideas until your ”little ones” are bringing in some cash. :-)

You know the internet is a great place to start your own business, but you have no idea how or where to start.
You’ve tried the affiliate programs and the so-called “opportunities” only to be disappointed time and time again.
You want to have your own products, but you don’t have the time or starting capital it requires to roll them out.

In short, you’re stuck…

You have the desire but you don’t have the vehicle. Oh sure, you’ve read about how some “guru” wrote a best-selling book or came up with some million dollar idea. But what about the average Joe or Jane who can’t write and isn’t bursting with ideas?
What do they do?
What do YOU do?!
Well I don’t claim to be a guru, but I can tell you what I did and what worked for me…
When I first got started online, I had almost no spare cash and even less spare time. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sit down and write and entire ebook, and so I decided instead to publish a newsletter.

If you haven’t considered having a newsletter as your first product, then take a look at this…

• They’re cheap to develop
• They require less time than writing a full ebook and most importantly…
• They allow you to build a base of potential customers *before* you even release or start to develop a single product

So if you’re still looking for a way to get your foot in the online door, don’t take months and months to write an ebook or develop a product – start a newsletter and build a site that can ”sell” it!
Not only will this put you on the map, it will also be great practice for when you start rolling out your own million dollar ideas.
And who knows? One day you may be looking at your own online empire and thinking to yourself…”Gosh, and it all started with one simple newsletter.”

I said that people should publish a newsletter as their first product, because it’s cheap, easy, and lays a strong foundation for future product rollouts.
I received a lot of great feedback from that article, the majority of which was people thanking me for FINALLY giving their business some direction.
However, I also receive a few emails from people asking me,

”How in the heck do I go about starting a newsletter, and what topic should I pick?”

Those are very fair questions and so I’ll try to address them right now…
You have to keep in mind that there are literally millions and millions of people that can be reached on the internet, and so virtually any topic (within reason) can be in demand.

”Hang Gliding”, for example, was searched over 5000 times on Overture alone. Is that enough interest to start a business? I don’t really know, but I do know that you should be able to find a topic that has a slightly broader appeal than hang gliding.

My suggestion is, first and foremost, to pick a topic that you know *something* about, and really enjoy doing. I know it seems like a cop-out, but this really is the best way to succeed online.
Once you’ve chosen a topic, then see if other people who would be interested in that topic can be easily reached through the internet. Check out the search engines and the newsgroups. See if there’s anyone else out there who shares in your passion.
If there isn’t anyone, then just come up with a different topic until you find something with an audience. Once you have your topic (and a known following) then just choose how you will form your newsletter and build yourself a site to ”sell” it.

Advertise it a bit to this group, and then send out your first issue after about a month of advertising. Depending on the response, you should have a good idea of whether or not it would be profitable to continue to nurture a relationship with this group.
If the response is good, just keep doing what you’re doing and before you know it you’ll have a list of raving fans who trust and respect you, and will pay close attention to any product that you rollout in the future.

Ok, I admit that I have dumbed the process down quite a bit, but there have been whole books written on this topic and so it would be ridiculous of me to try to cover everything in this one article. What I want to do, more than anything, is to outline the basic steps so that you can adapt them to your own business.
In short, I’m trying to teach you how to fish rather than just handing you baked salmon.
So start thinking about what you really really love, and then isolate a niche that you can reach on the Internet. If other people online share in your passion, you could very well have a profitable newsletter on your hands.