August 12, 2008
Cheap Digital Ebook Store, Cheap Digital Ebooks Info, Tips and Updates
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Hey there,
Remember when I told ya that August is this website First Year Birthday?
Well, it’s August (in fact it’s almost two weeks in August)! And you know what, I really hope that you would not have to do anything on this special occasion, except reading this post, of course…
There’s no special discount thingy for you to buy…
There’s no ‘08-08-08 Only’ for you to tremble on your feet to rush for…
And, BEST of all, there’s nothing for you to download!
I really want you not to do anything here other than keep reading the post, and you want to do that because I’ll be spilling out the ‘hidden’ lessons which building this site had thought me for the past 12 months.
I’ve paid for the lessons with my sweat, blood, and cash, and I have all the intention to share them with ya at no cost. So here goes…
Lesson #1: A website is more than just a webpage and domain name.
Out of all things, I consider this lesson as the most important. Why?
When I took the offer from a fellow marketer to install and host this ‘cheap ebook store’, I gave little or minimal attention to the whole picture of web building. I figured that the domain and hosting were reasonably priced, and the script installation was free.
I don’t want to bargain with that. So I pursued.
But if I look back to those ‘defining’ moment now, and if I can get into a time-machine, I’d like to go back and straighten a few things out. Things like:
- Come up with a business model or business system before I even begin to consider the offer. Do I want to earn my revenue with Resale Rights? Selling my own digital, downloadable products? Or what? Obviously, I’ve overlooked such things.
- Carefully and thoroughly choose my domain name. I chose ebook-at-karungwang for the sake of branding but it carries little weight on Search Engine Optimization. People online are looking for solution, and my chosen domain name says little or nothing at all on what they’re looking for. I gather that people type ‘cheap ebook’ more than they type ‘ebook’.
- Clearly define my target market. Am I targeting newbies? Advanced marketers? Affiliates marketers? Resellers? Boys? Girls? 30 years-old? Teens? I was not so clear with the criteria.
What about the webpage?
This is an e-book store, and since I didn’t have a clear business model, it really didn’t matter if I put the store as my Index page or in other directories. By right, if I did my due diligence, maybe my current website setting is not the most optimize setting. But that will largely depend on my biz model.
If I choose to promote resale rights products, maybe my current model will work. But if I choose to promote my own product, maybe a direct response page will fit nicely.
I said maybe because I did not test it out, which brings me to the next lesson…
Lesson #2: Test everything out.
And I mean everything.
From the web design, from the SEO strategies and the conversion…test everything out.
How to carry out the testing?
PPC or pay per click immediately comes to mind. Slap a few ads with Adwords and see how the responses like. That will quickly give ya a ground to work with. It will answer the question like:
- are you in the right niche?
- Are you targeting the right crowd?
- Are you optimized?
- What keywords or key phrases that they’re looking for?
- Can you expend on that?
- Or, should you narrow it more?
PPC can provide you with immediate, measurable result.
How long should we test?
2 weeks to one month. That will provide ‘just nice’ time frame for you to work with.
Then what?
Improve, improve, and improve some more.
That’s why it’s important to have a goal, a desired ‘quantified’ objective in the beginning. It will keep you on track and steer you to the right direction or provide you with a clear destination.
And be prepared to learn my deepest ‘hidden lesson’ of all…
Lesson #3: It’s all about marketing.
Yup. That’s it. That’s the deepest hidden lesson of all.
I often take for granted the fact that my ‘cheap ebook store’ is a product. Since I can’t do much with the creation of the product now, the most critical thing left for me to focus on is actually promoting my e-book store.
I’ve send some emails asking a few renowned marketers how to do this. With all due respect to their expertise, none of them gave me a specific framework to work with, even though I’ve explicitly asked for it.
None…
Does it hurt?
Not really. I went back to Lesson #2. This is one variable I can control. I can’t control the marketers but I certainly can control what factors that contribute to ebook store success. And I think, since this ebookstore is uniquely mine, I and only I can determine what I to do with it, and how it should be done.
The online marketing world is cluttered with Generals and ambiguity for all that I’ve known anyway. So to be specific, let me find it out my way.
Who knows, others will come to me for advice.
Ok.
After all have been said and done, allow me to summarize my website One Year Birthday celebration with the following actionable ebook store optimization tips:
1. Decide on a profitable, proven, revenue generating business model.
2. Choose your domain name (and hosting) wisely. Aim for a good natural SE ranking.
3. Test your plan out: on a small scale first.
4. Make improvement based on your finding from the test.
5. Align and network with like-minded people (even if they’re not replying your mail. Learn something from them).
6. If everything else fail, dare to be unique.
End of lesson.
Stop reading and start doing.
July 1, 2008
Cheap Digital Ebook Store
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This coming August, this website is going to be ONE year old. I don’t believe it myself but time flies and stirs the dust. When the dust settles, I can see that I’ve come this far.
Way too far…
Looking back, I can see that I’ve done some right things and some ‘not so right’ things and both carry different consequences. This is the journey. This is my lessons. And now, I know how to handle things much, much better. Or do I?
Should I call for celebration?
A birthday calls for celebration. A newborn call for celebration. And maybe, just maybe, a ONE year old guaranteed cheap online ebookstore should celebrate. And how do I celebrate it or plan to celebrate it?
Should I…
- put up a firesale?
- put a massive discount sale?
- put up ‘buy 3 get any one extra ebook’ sale?
- sell the whole store?
- close for a few days?
- work out some JV deals?
Now, look closely at all the ’should I’ list. Does it contains anything meant for your benefit, without hidden agenda? Hardly.
It’s like I’m saying to you,”Hey, I’m celebrating but I don’t think I want you to have a piece of my joy without paying!” Sort of…
Don’t you think we have enough of this already? What’s wrong with giving without asking something in return? Well, it’s even hard to do this as well because many still think you’re up to something. That’s the kind of world we’re living in now but hey, let’s suspend that judgement for a few second, can we?
What if, I still want to celebrate the First Year of The Ebook Store? What if I want to genuinely give something out? And what if I ‘pay’ to get people to celebrate? That would be nice don’t you think?
Maybe I’ll do it.
I’ll let you know later, but for now, what do you think about giving without asking for anything in return in today’s online biz venture?
Look forward to read what you’re gonna write.
Until then, take care 
February 20, 2008
Cheap Digital Ebook Store, Cheap Digital Ebooks Info, Tips and Updates
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Right after my e-bookstore purchase, I thought that sales will come ‘naturally’ by having such a massive content and some links. So I did little to none to generate trafic and to advertise the store.
What a huge mistake!
I’ve repeated this many times (maybe in different ‘words’ and tone) throughout this blog and I do this simply to remind myself (naturally) and any readers who also purchase the same e-bookstore package.
What do you consider as the biggest challenge owning an e-bookstore? How about naming me just the top 3?
And how do you go about solving those big 3 problems (threats)?
Scroll down the right-sidebar and find my “Featured Articles” list. Click and read it. Hundreds already had…
February 7, 2008
Cheap Digital Ebook Store
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It is not all hard to admit that I have made mistakes. A couple of them really. And it’s about Karungwang Digital Ebook Store.
I didn’t quite sure what was I thinking back then that causes me to purchase the store. That means ‘good news’ to the seller.
Worst…
I didn’t know what was the ’seller’ thinking when he created the ebook store…
Read the rest…
October 30, 2007
Cheap Digital Ebook Sales and Marketing, Cheap Digital Ebook Store, Cheap Digital Ebooks Info, Tips and Updates
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A Beginner’s Guide to the Different eBay Auction Types.
Over the years, eBay has introduced all sorts of different auction types, in an effort to give people more options when they buy and sell their things on eBay.
For every seller who doesn’t like the idea that their item might sell for a far lower price than they intend, there’s another who wants to shift hundreds of the same item quickly. eBay tries to cater to all tastes. This piece gives you an overview of the different kinds of auctions and their advantages for you.
Read the rest…
October 21, 2007
Cheap Digital Ebook Sales and Marketing, Cheap Digital Ebook Store, Cheap Digital Ebooks Info, Tips and Updates
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So you’ve decided that you want to get started as a seller on eBay. There are a few things that you really need to know before you go and throw yourself in at the deep end.
What to Sell.
First off, you need to know what it is you’re going to sell: what’s your speciality? You’ll do far better on eBay if you become a great source for certain kind of products, as people who are interested in those products will come back to you again and again. You won’t get any loyalty or real reputation if you just sell rubbish at random.
When you think about what to sell, there are a few things to consider. The most important of these is to always sell what you know. If you try to sell something that you just don’t know anything about then you’ll never write a good description and sell it for a good price.
You might think you’re not especially interested in anything, but if you think about what kind of things you usually buy and which websites you go to most often, I’m sure you’ll discover some kind of interest. If all else fails mention it to your friends and family: they’ll almost certainly say “Oh, well why don’t you sell…”, and you’ll slap your forehead.
Out of the things you know enough about, you should then consider which things you could actually get for a good enough price to resell, and how suitable they would be for posting. If you can think of something of that you’re knowledgeable about and it’s small and light enough for postage to be relatively cheap, then that’s great!
Don’t worry if you think the thing you’re selling is too obscure - it isn’t. There’s a market for almost everything on eBay, even things that wouldn’t sell once in a year if you stocked them in a shop. You’ll probably do even better if you fill a niche than if you sell something common.
Tax and Legal Matters.
If you earn enough money, you should be aware that you’re going to have to start paying tax - this won’t be done for you. If you decide to sell on eBay on a full-time basis, you should probably register as a business.
Prepare Yourself.
There are going to be ups and downs when you sell on eBay. Don’t pack it in if something goes a little wrong in your first few sales: the sellers who are successful on eBay are the ones who enjoy it, and stick at it whatever happens.
Anyone can sell on eBay, if they believe in themselves - and if you do decide it’s not for you, then the start-up costs are so low that you won’t really have lost anything.
If you’re ready to start selling, then the next thing you need to know is the different auction types, so you can decide which ones you will use to sell your items. Our next email will give you a guide.
P.S. You can get more useful resources on starting eBay business here:
Guaranteed cheap digital eBay ebooks titles
If you’ve ever read an article about 
