Before you can sell anything online, you have to build an audience or find an audience that is going to buy it. People don't buy from someone they don't trust. The best way to gain trust from your potential buyers is to be an open book (no pun intended). Start a blog and share everything you know.
Why would you write everything you know and put it on the internet on a blog? You want people to be able to find you! If your blog contains quality content, and your readers trust you, they will be back for more. Your readers will be interested in what you have to say and may, in the future, pay for more information from you. Don't worry that you are divulging all your secrets. The beauty of eBooks is that they really don't contain any new information, but they are a good way to compile concise, quality information about a specific topic. They are a more convenient way to learn new information than scrolling through a blog for hours reading several posts.
Case in point: Think about Dr. Phil, Suze Orman, Dr. Oz, Bob Greene, and all the other self-help gurus. Their books really don't contain any new information, it is all just complied in a nice package and these writers have a following. I'll buy anything written by Joel Osteen because I like what he has to say and his work is motivational. You need to position yourself in the same way.
Your eBook needs address a topic that people want to know or learn about. The purpose of eBooks is to inform and educate. You can approach this in one of two ways. First, write about what you know! If you are a horse enthusiast, pottery collector, or computer expert, write about your passion. Or, you can research any topic as if you are doing a term paper. The first option works best - writing about your passion just makes better reading and you can add personal touches that research does not provide.
Keep your eBook simple. How many times have you ordered an eBook or downloaded a free one that was hundreds of pages? This presents two problems. First, it is unlikely that your readers will print off that many pages on their home computer. Second, you don't want your eBook to appear overwhelming. If your ebook is too long, it won't be read. If your topic is very broad, consider a series of eBooks instead of one huge one.
Choose the best key words for your eBook's title. Use keyword tools on the internet to determine what words and phrases are highly searched. You want your eBook title to appear on Google where people can find it. For example, let's say you have written an eBook about teaching a toddler to swim. You might choose a title like, "How I Taught my Daughter to Swim." A better title would be, "Hwo to Teach Your Toddler to Swim." People probably aren't searching for the phrase "I taught my daughter to swim," but they are more likely searching for a phrase like, "How to teach toddler to swim." Do your key word research!
Write in a tone similar to the way you would talk to your best friend, your younger siblings, or your peers. Be friendly and conversational. Be a real person!
Write well with good quality content. Odds are that if you successfully write and sell one eBook, you will write more. You want your readers to like you, trust you, believe you, and want to know more.
You don't need special software to write an eBook. Just use word processing software and convert the file to a PDF.
Promoting your eBook will take some work. See my article titled, "How to Market an eBook Online." Writing the book is the easy part! People can't buy your book if they don't' know it exists.
See the resources section below for more tips and tools for writing an eBook that sells.