Send to Kindleby Nina Amir
Even if you spend time evaluating your ebook idea prior to writing and publishing it, you may still lack certainty about its ability to sell once released in the marketplace.
If you approach your ebook as an entrepreneur would approach any new product under consideration and development you can gain additional information. That means employing test marking techniques.
Prior to writing your ebook, conduct strategic tests to determine market interest. Do this before you begin writing to ensure you target content to market needs and interests.
If test marketing shows your original angle or subject needs tweaking, you’ll want to do that before you get too far into the writing process. Plus, if you find no market exists for your ebook, you don’t want to have wasted your time writing the whole book.
Here are 10 ways you can test market your ebook idea:
Ebook Idea Test Marketing Strategies
1. Create a Dedicated Blog
Create and write a blog with content dedicated to the subject of your proposed book. Write posts often and consistently (2-3 times a week for 6-12 months). Watch your unique visitors (real readers) and page views by using a free program like Google Analytics.
See if you begin to get some traffic to your blog and if it continues to grow. If it does, you’ll know someone is interested in your topic.
It can take a little while for blog readership to take off, and sometimes it goes up and then back down before it grows on a continuous basis.
With a program like Google Analytics, you can even see where your traffic comes from—what countries, what search engines, what other websites, etc. This helps you discern your market.
2. Write a Blog Post
If you already have a blog, write a blog post on the topic of your ebook. Then track readership for that particular post using Google Analytics or some other analytics program. If your readership is higher on that day than on others, you know that subject is of high interest to your audience.
This spike in readership to 1,439 page views occurred on one of my blogs on June 7. If this was your blog, you could go back and determine what blog post was published on that day to see what content was so popular.
3. Blog a Book
You can repeat this test. Write one blog post a week or a month on the topic over six months and track the data. Additionally, you can watch over time if that particular post or posts garners more traffic than your other posts.
Instead of spending the money producing your ebook—not that it’s that expensive, dive in and blog your book. Map out the content and then break it down into post-sized bits. Then write and publish these mini “installments” on your bog in 300-500 word bits.
Again, track your readership as you write, publish and promote the book on your blog. If those particular posts are successful and your readership grows as you blog your book, you’ll know it’s worth moving forward and editing and designing the blogged book for sale as an ebook.
4. Publish a Shorter Version of the Ebook
Consider producing a short version of the ebook. For example, take one chapter and release it as an ebook. Watch sales; if they are good, move forward with the full edition. Or produce a condensed version; if sales are brisk, expand the content and produce a revised edition.
5. Write an Article
Getting an article on the same subject as your ebook published in a major magazine can be a good indication that your ebook is viable.
Write an article on the same topic as your book (a bit like a condensed ebook), and get it published in a major print publication. Watch the reactions of readers. Does this result in more traffic to your blog or website? Does it result in more media inquiries? Does it result in more clients? Any clear positive change post-publication is an indication that ebook publication is a good idea.
6. Write an Ezine Article
You can write a short article on your topic and offer it for free to ezine article directories, like EzineArticles.com. These allow you to provide a short resource box with your bio and links back to your website, blog or email list (or wherever you like).
Track increased traffic to your site or new email subscribers. Or visit the ezine directory to see how many times your piece was picked up and reproduced. This alone serves as an indication of market interest.
7. Produce a Press Release
Write a press release on your topic and distribute it widely via a service like PRWeb.com. You will quickly know how many hits it has received. Lots of hits equal lots of interest. These companies offer statistics on how well your release performed.
8. Survey Your Blog or Email Subscribers
This poll on one of my blogs helps me discern my readers’ content interests.
If you have a blog or an email list, these people equate to your target market—unless your ebook is targeting a new market. You can easily send them a survey or poll or put one in a blog post asking questions related to the subject of your book.
This is an easy way to find out if your readers or subscribers are interested in your topic. You can also ask them what they are interested in!
9. Offer A Free Teleseminar Or Webinar
Webinars and teleseminars are phenomenal ways to gauge interest in your ebook. Create an event and promote it via your lists and social networks. See how many people register and then actually show up. If you get high registration, super!
If you get over 30% of those who sign up actually on the call, you’ve done well, and you can ask them questions live, poll them, and generally discover their interests. Also, their registration for the event should be tied into sign-up for an email list that allows you to later contact them when your ebook is released.
10. Create Social Media Sites and Events
Social media provides plenty of opportunities to test market your ebook idea. For example, consider creating a Facebook page related to the topic of your ebook and see how easily you gather a community there.
Try starting a Twitter chat using a hashtag (#) related to your topic; every week moderate a conversation on Twitter related to your ebook that is easily discovered with that hashtag. For examples of such Twitter chats, check out #blogchat or #writechat.
Here’s a glimpse of the #writechat conversation on 12/9/12. You can easily start and promote a Twitter chat on your own topic to see if anyone is interested.
Try one or more of these test marketing methods to help you decide if your ebook has a market. However, you might be surprised to discover that one method yields no real interest while another a huge amount. So consider trying 1-3 methods before making a final decision.
If the first one you try provides a landslide of potential ebook readers, though, you have your answer: You’ve successfully completed your test marketing and can move forward to writing and publishing your ebook feeling fairly certain it will sell.
I’d love to know your thoughts about these ways to test market your ideas in the comments below…
Latest posts by Nina Amir (see all)
- Blog an eBook So You Get Read As You Write - May 1, 2013
- How to Boost Your Expert Status with a Blog - April 3, 2013
- Why Every Ebook Author Needs a Platform - March 13, 2013
- Write First, Edit Later – If You Want to Finish Your Ebook - February 1, 2013
- 10 Ways to Test Market Your Ebook Idea - January 4, 2013
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Hello Nina
Great advice and thank you for sharing.
I hope you don’t mind but I have written a short article on my blog guiding people to this post.
You can see the post here:
http://kindlesphere.com/do-people-want-or-need-your-ebook/
Thanks again
Liam
Liam Lusk recently posted..Do people want or need your Ebook?
Super! We love having you direct more readers to this site and to this article. Thank you so much.
I do not want to tailor my content for the market. But I do want to draw readers to my work. I believe it stands on its own. I want to write and not waste time doing all the marketing. I’m guessing I’ll have to hire someone to do it for me, right? If so, can you suggest someone? I want the perfect person/firm: high quality, results oriented, proven, and cheap. At least that’s my starting point.
There are firms that will help you. I hesitate to recommend one because I have yet to find one that really does a great job–especially if you aren’t willing to pay big bucks. And here’s the thing: the author always, always does the best job of marketing their own book. You can hire someone to do some of it, but in the end, it’s you that has to do the real work of promoting your work. At least that’s my experience and what I most often hear in the industry (especially if you are short on cash).
Nina Amir recently posted..Engage Your Readers with a Call to Action
Thank you for the advice. Just to take it a little further, if you were so inclined, where would “you” look to find people or firms to do most of the marketing for you? I know the books to go to for info on agents or publishers. Is there a book or a place you one might consider the standard in marketing sources? I’m not wealthy, but I’m not without funds. I am frugal, however. Thanks
Hello, I guess there is only one way to start and that is to crawl then walk then run. I wanted to ask and if its a no then its ok. I would like some help or gidence to explore the world of Ebook, I feel I have some great topics or great reading ideas but I am new and would like to ask for help? I have lost my job and many other things in life and I want to explore this ebook trilogy. Will you help guide me.
Kind regards, Richard
Hey Nina-
Thanks for these helpful tips. I wholeheartedly agree that market testing is important for a book’s success.
I’d like to add a suggestion #11- Teach. If you can do a live or online class teaching the some of the concepts in your book, you’ll have students who can give you feedback on your ideas and hopefully, create stellar results with your ideas. Of course, if no one attends the class, you know that the topic may not be a winner.
I always enjoy your articles!
Lynne Klippel recently posted..Looking Back and Looking Ahead: 2013 Trends
Great idea, Lynne, and it means the world to me that you find my articles useful. As for your suggestion, I’m actually about to offer a teaching program in conjunction with my new book project to (1) get feedback on my chapters as I write them (2) get anecdotes for my book–so I’m a firm believer in teaching to test market. I’ve got a contract for the book, so I won’t be test marketing this one per se; actually, I self-published a workbook on the topic and sold a fair amount of the books already as a test marketing venture.
Nina Amir recently posted..You Need Courage and Authenticity to Succeed as a Book Blogger
Before writing and publishing an ebook, it can be a good idea to see if people are buying similar products. Are there other books, ebooks, audio, video, etc. available on the topic? Are they selling?
Also check the reviews for related products. Is there something that is mentioned as lacking in those reviews? You can fill that gap.
Cathy Stucker recently posted..Free Newsletter to Help You Sell More Books
Great suggestions, Cathy! That’s not exactly test marketing, but it does help you evaluate how to make your ebook unique and beneficial–to fill gaps in the market.
Nina Amir recently posted..You Need Courage and Authenticity to Succeed as a Book Blogger
Wow, I definitely wish more people would refer to this blog post and other blog posts you’ve written … before they go off and write their book… that no one really cares about.
Yes, I am going to post this on a couple of Facebook pages and G+ groups if that’s okay.
I liked especially #9 of webinar promotions, but I really think you might want to include Google+ Hangout on Air (HOA) as a way to connect with possible readers.
Also, I’m surprised you did not include how to use LinkedIn (category of interest) and Pinterest where they could post sample covers and titles of books (even though still unwritten) to test the market for responses and interest.
But really good stuff.
Stan recently posted..Become a Millionaire in 2013 – How to Achieve Your Personal Goal of becoming a Millionaire in 2013
Stan,
Offering Google Hangouts and starting LinkedIn Groups fall under #10 and are also great ways to test market your idea. I don’t know that I would just post a cover to a book on Pinterest because people might think the book existed and be disappointed to discover it did not. But I would possibly try creating a Pinterest board on the topic of my book and seeing how much interest that board received.
Please do feel free to share my article wherever you like! Thanks so much for your comment and your support.
Nina Amir recently posted..You Need Courage and Authenticity to Succeed as a Book Blogger
Nina, so many of us are in such a hurry to get our ideas out there, that we often do a tremendous amount of work that isn’t really necessary. Love your practical, fun approach to testing ideas to make sure they are going to fly….
Ellen Britt recently posted..Content Repurposing – The Dark Side
Nina, I love these tactics. Not only do they serve to test market your ideas, but you’re creating valuable content at the same time that is helping establish credibility, expertise and visibility.
Denise Wakeman recently posted..Success is a journey…
Thanks, Denise. The more content the better, right? And if your book idea flops, you’ve still produced all that great material that helps boost your business and your expert status.
Nina Amir recently posted..You Need Courage and Authenticity to Succeed as a Book Blogger