Hey there,
I thought I’d share a quick start guide to starting a pocket ebook business. I did this when I launched my ebooks on website flipping and faceless Tik Tok.
I call it a pocket business because when run properly, it is self-sustaining and can run itself on autopilot, earning you money passively.
There are several phases to this whole process.
I haven’t completed all phases yet, honestly.
But, I want to share my journey, talk about the steps I’ve taken and highlight all the phases that can take you from idea to full pocket business with one or more ebooks.
Interested?
Here are some other resources to check out…
Let’s get to it.
Creating an ebook pocket business
There are 5 steps:
Step 1: Idea
Step 2: Goal setting and planning
Step 3: Outlining
Step 4: Creation
Step 5: Launch
Step 1: Coming up with your ebook idea
First, you might be thinking about writing an ebook because you have an idea. If you have an idea of what kind of book to write, you’re already ahead of the curve.
So many people want to write books but, have no idea what to write about so consider yourself at a head start if you have your book topic in mind.
Next, this is something optional that I personally did not do but, would recommend.
It’s idea validation.
This is where you share your idea with your target audience to see if anyone bites. You can do this by pre-selling, forming a focus group, polling your audience, etc. The goal is to see if there’s a demand for a book like the one you want to write.
If you get good feedback from your audience, that’s an excellent sign.
Your audience does want what you’ll be selling and you can continue on in the process.
If not, that may be a signal that there’s not enough demand for your idea. So then it’s time to go back to the drawing board to tweak your book topic idea a bit.
The reason why I skipped the idea validation process is because of this…
I felt like I had already validated the need for products like mine through my writing.
As a writer, creator or entrepreneur online, you’re lucky enough to get feedback from your audience. If you get the same questions, inquiries, and comments about that “one thing” then that may be a good indication that a product created around that topic might work.
This was the case for me, which is why I skipped traditional idea validation.
Step 2: Goal setting and planning
Think about what your goals are from all this.
Reach X number of customers
Sell X ebook copies
Use your business for a bigger purpose, like landing a book deal, getting featured on podcasts or television, etc.
Making $XXX,XXX
Then, plan your launch.
When do you want to launch your book?
Will you invest in marketing?
Will you hire a coach or manager to help with the launch or ongoing support/maintenance of your ebook business?
What platform will you use to sell your book?
How will you collect payment?
What’s your process for customer service?
What will your return process be?
Step 3: Outlining
You’ve got your book topic and know what you want to write and who your audience is. Now, it’s time to outline it all.
Think about your chapters, book sections, things you want to address in the book, etc.
Will you use a tripwire?
Are you going to share the book on social media?
Do you have a social media presence?
Will you need to invest in book creation software or tools?
Get started.
Step 4: Creation
Put it all together:
Book draft
Cover design
Proofreading and editing
Putting the book on a selling platform like Sendowl, Gumroad, Teachable, Kajabi, etc.
You’re getting closer to launch.
Step 5: Launch
Now, you launch! The launch process can look different for everyone.
For me, it was super simple.
I wrote an article on my platform that I shared to my platform email list about the book and linked it in the article.
That’s it!
I also started plugging it as a call to action at the bottom of my stories on Medium.
I emailed my main email list as well to share the book and linked it on my Twitter account.
That’s really it.
I didn’t do paid marketing, I don’t have sales funnels, and if I had these things in place, I would for sure be making more than the roughly 10K I’ve collected since I launched on Gumroad.
I think this is the final phase that will help make your ebook business a profit machine.
It’s something I plan on pursuing in the very near future and it’s something I encourage you to look into to really transform your pocket business and sales.
Takeaways
This is how I did it!
Is it perfect?
Probably not but, it works.
It worked for me.
Here are some things to consider along the way:
This will be a business so consider things like business formation, business bank accounts, bookkeeping, taxes, etc.
Business planning
Partnership and staffing
Ongoing maintenance and plans for future growth
What do you think? Is this something you’d pursue?
Enjoy your week,
Jenn