I can see why people who first start writing for money find eBooks so attractive. eBooks have all the best attributes of physical books with having to use a publisher or pay for physical copies. It doesn’t cost much money to create an eBook, only time. Couple that with the new popularity of devices such as Apple’s iPad and Amazon’s Kindle, eBooks for the first time in history are selling more than physical books. It is a huge opportunity for writers who would have never had a chance.

However, just because you write an eBook does not mean that people are going to buy it. I get the feeling that people don’t realize that the completion is just as thick online as it is in real bookstores, if not more so. That is the reason why it’s so hard for new, unknown writers to have any success without the backing of a major publishing house. However, if you want to have any success selling eBooks online there is one word that will help you achieve that: free.

I know you’ve spent a lot of time and effort writing and creating your eBook and you would hate to give it away free. The good news is you don’t have to. The secret to the success of generally unknown authors selling eBooks is surrounding it by great free content.

Build a website, post some free content on it, and at the end of each post advertise your eBook. This method has been used for a long time and it really does work. There are many benefits to offering free content. It builds a relation with your readers. You can’t expect readers to buy an eBook from you when they’ve never heard of you. Free content is really a way to introduce yourself to your audience. It allows them to see that you really are knowledgeable in your subject area. They will begin to develop that one key that will encourage them to open up their wallets: trust.

I know from my own personally experiences, when I begin researching for how I can earn a living online I stayed away from eBooks. Why? Because the first few I bought were all fluff that did not really benefit me at all. I realize now that not all eBooks are the same and that I let a few bad experiences ruin it for me. But that just the way it is. People are going to buy eBooks from authors who are only concerned about making a quick and can care less about the quality of their eBooks, thus making it harder for you to sell your own eBooks.

I went a few years without ever buying an eBook. I wouldn’t even consider it. I got so comfortable with find everything I needed free online that I just thought it would be a waste of money. However, I did eventually cave in and buy an eBook. I had been reading Grizzly’s “Make Money Online for Beginners” blog for a few months, and I was really impressed of the quality information he provided for free. So when the opportunity came up to buy an eBook based on his post, I didn’t hesitate. I had developed a lot of trust and respect for Grizzly and I knew that I wouldn’t regret dropping $40 for an eBook.

Without that level of connection with your readers, you will never be able to pull of selling an eBook for $40. The most you will be able to charge will be a couple of dollars. Forty dollars is the most money I’ve ever spent on any book in my life, and it was only because of the trust I had developed for Grizzly. I knew that this guy knew what he was talking about, and I could benefit from his knowledge.

So the next question is how much free information do you give away? If you give away all of the information in your eBook for free why will people still buy it? Will there are several different options you have.

1.       Monetize your free content

But some ads on your pages that give free content. That is a great way to still make money even though you aren’t actively selling eBooks. I’d recommend you use Google Adsense simply because it is so easy to use.

2.       Don’t show all your tricks

How much free content you give is up to you, however it would be a good idea to hold back some of your most important ideas. If 97% of information found in your eBook can be found for free on your site, people will still your eBook for that remaining 3% if the information is crucial enough. Give enough free information so that you gain the trust of your readers, but hold back enough so that out of pure curiosity they will be compelled to buy your eBook.

3.       Overload your free content

In my understanding of people’s behavior online, people love taking the easy way out. This is good news for you if you are trying to sell in eBook. Surround your eBook with so much information, that it will literally take weeks for your readers to go through them all. Scatter the free information throughout your website. Basically, make sure your readers have to dig if they want to find your free content, and then offer them an eBook. An eBook will allow them to get allow of that information in one convenient location without having to dig around your site. If your content is good enough then you will find that a lot of readers will buy your eBook simple because they don’t want to spend their time digging through your post.

To wrap up this post, you will never have any real success selling eBook unless you can develop the trust of your readers. There are several ways to do that, but in my opinion, surrounding your eBook with free content is your best bet. Not only will gain the trust of your readers, you will also make money monetizing your free content with ads.