Pricing a Niche eBook

Discussion in 'Copywriting' started by BrendanR, Aug 30, 2008.

  1. #1
    How much money do you think would be reasonable for an eBook on a certain niche? I would only sell it once, and the buyer could do whatever they want with it (sell it, etc.).
     
    BrendanR, Aug 30, 2008 IP
  2. scubita

    scubita Peon

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    #2
    Just send me a proof copy and I'll tell you :) Otherwise it's difficult. It depends on niche, how good the book is, if it's a new tactic... many, many aspects to look at.
     
    scubita, Aug 30, 2008 IP
  3. live-cms_com

    live-cms_com Notable Member

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    #3
    $100 for a good ebook.
     
    live-cms_com, Aug 30, 2008 IP
  4. BrendanR

    BrendanR Active Member

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    #4
    Thank-you, but I haven't written it yet. :p I'm just curious as to how much I could make if I decided to actually write an eBook.
     
    BrendanR, Aug 30, 2008 IP
  5. scubita

    scubita Peon

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    #5
    2 years in DP and i never saw an ebook for $100.
     
    scubita, Aug 30, 2008 IP
  6. jhmattern

    jhmattern Illustrious Member

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    #6
    scubita, I think he's talking about writing it and selling it only to a single client, who could then re-brand it and sell it to the masses for a profit at a lower rate. In that case, $100 is very low (imo at least).

    I know writers who will write a custom e-book for someone similar to this for a few hundred and I know some who charge several thousand. Unfortunately it's tough for anyone to give you an estimate. You need to take some things into account:

    1. The niche (whether there's a big demand, whether or not it's saturated, etc.)
    2. Your credentials in that niche (do you lend a certain amount of authority to it?)
    3. What price range your customer could expect to sell it for (if they plan to sell it rather than giving it away for free as a marketing tool)
    4. How much your time is worth (for example, if you normally make about $75 per hour, you shouldn't be pricing an e-book that took you 10 hours to write at what amounts to a $10 rate - in that case, you need to charge much more or not write it. It's not just about the client - you have to consider your own business situation as well.)
    etc.
     
    jhmattern, Aug 30, 2008 IP
  7. live-cms_com

    live-cms_com Notable Member

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    #7
    $100 is what I would pay. Unless the book has some ground-breaking ideas you could hire a writer to write the book. I'm not going to pay $1000 for some text unless it's great (!) text.
     
    live-cms_com, Aug 30, 2008 IP
  8. scubita

    scubita Peon

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    #8
    Ah ok, i get now. Thanks jh :)

    So let's say i want to do just that with my secrets of Adsense:

    1. The niche - Adsense
    2. Your credentials in that niche -Ummm $2000 plus per month - 2 years publisher?
    3. What price range your customer could expect to sell it for - For my secrets: $25 each book
    4. How much your time is worth - $500 : $25 = 20 ebooks sold and after that it's a gain game

    Is this a normal tactic jh?
     
    scubita, Aug 30, 2008 IP
  9. live-cms_com

    live-cms_com Notable Member

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    #9
    The competition in Adsense ebooks is high, so I imagine somebody would be reluctant to invest a lot into the ebook itself, since they would have trouble selling many copies in the saturated market.
     
    live-cms_com, Aug 30, 2008 IP
  10. scubita

    scubita Peon

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    #10
    Maybe you're right. But one of these days i'll give a try. Or maybe a coaching since a lot of people ask me to do it privately.


    @ BrendanR:
    Now you have some ideas to analyse this weekend :) Good luck mate!
     
    scubita, Aug 30, 2008 IP
  11. jhmattern

    jhmattern Illustrious Member

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    #11
    Yeah, that's the general idea. You'd need to look more into the market (competitors, what they're selling for, how many copies could reasonably be expected to sell from your buyer to the masses, etc.). You'd also look at credit. Are you credited as the author (therefore giving the client more authority status), or is it ghostwritten (in which case you'd need to be careful about how the marketing copy is written - your client would be falsely advertising if they were writing the sales letter saying they're the one making $2k per month for instance)? There are a lot of issues to consider. Are you an expert in the niche, a professional writer, or both (the expertise is the primary selling point perhaps, but if it's extremely poorly written people simply won't pay as much)? Lots to consider - not the kind of thing where you can just pick a number.

    And to the OP, understand that in this kind of community you're going to see low-balled estimates of what people say they'd pay. Don't worry about what people tell you they'd personally pay. Look at people who might already be reasonably known in the niche, but who simply don't have time to write their own e-book. Get information from them and write it for them instead. The masses aren't your market - that's your buyer's end market.
     
    jhmattern, Aug 30, 2008 IP
    scubita likes this.
  12. BrendanR

    BrendanR Active Member

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    #12
    Exactly what I meant. :)

    Thank-you for the information, everyone. This will really help!
     
    BrendanR, Aug 30, 2008 IP
  13. marketjunction

    marketjunction Well-Known Member

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    #13
    Asking this place is like kicking yourself in the balls.

    It's not going to benefit you much.

    Create your product and charge what you need to be satisfied.

    There are people here who think $100 is like buying a house. And there are others who routinely spend thousands a month on business development, research and so on.
     
    marketjunction, Aug 30, 2008 IP
  14. expiringdomains

    expiringdomains Peon

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    #14
    Well a price around US$ 35.00 is suitable and budgeted for an e-book on niche.
    If you can give Early Bird Discount of US$ 5.00 to first 5 Customers may be it turns better.
     
    expiringdomains, Aug 30, 2008 IP
  15. jhmattern

    jhmattern Illustrious Member

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    #15
    expiringdomains - re-read the post and you'll see that's not what the OP is talking about. They're talking about a one-time sale to a single person who will then own the rights to sell it in the way you're talking about.
     
    jhmattern, Aug 30, 2008 IP
  16. megacontent

    megacontent Guest

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    #16
    $100 is ridiculously low. An ebook should be at least 50 pages. At $2/page you are essentially saying that the content has no value.

    As for hiring a writer above $100, that also implies that the author has no domain knowledge at that it is ok if the ebook is pieced together from general sources without having experience.
     
    megacontent, Aug 30, 2008 IP
  17. marketjunction

    marketjunction Well-Known Member

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    #17
    Again with you assuming people know how to read. :)
     
    marketjunction, Aug 30, 2008 IP
  18. scubita

    scubita Peon

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    #18
    Too many assumptions. But maybe you can show us the perfect ebook one of these days.
     
    scubita, Aug 30, 2008 IP
  19. marketjunction

    marketjunction Well-Known Member

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    #19
    Anyone who writes a decent how-to ebook and sells it for $100 or even $300 is a fool in my book.

    BTW, if anyone here did write a good how-to ebook and wants to sell exclusive, complete rights for $100, let me look at it first. :)

    Think about this.

    Let's imagine you have your decent how-to ebook done. I don't care what niche. I don't care if it's the "be all and end all" for the niche. And I don't care if it's 1,000,000 pages or just 30.

    Why not put up a sales page and sell it for $30?

    All you need is 10 sales in your entire freaking life and you have $300.

    Look, it's one thing to write articles for markets you're not in. It's another to write a sellable product and give it away.

    Are you telling me you can't get 10, 20 even 30 sales with almost no marketing over the next 5 years?

    Even if you know zip about marketing and aren't the smartest person in the world, making a handful of sales isn't tough.

    Unless your e-book is complete s-h-i-know-what, there's no reason to sell it for table scraps.

    Maybe I'm just part of the club that understands how easy this stuff is.

    Oh well, back to college football.
     
    marketjunction, Aug 30, 2008 IP
  20. TMG Enterprises

    TMG Enterprises Well-Known Member

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    #20
    Again tonight, I find myself nodding as I read a post by marketjunction. That was my thought exactly! Why limit yourself when you could so easily make much, much more by selling it yourself?
     
    TMG Enterprises, Aug 30, 2008 IP