Hi John – you probably are telepathic- you just don’t know it.

Definitely – the books have to give value to the buyer.

Hi Mike – I know the types of books you mean. There’s a lot of affiliate marketing ones like that. And as you say, they’re rarely written to benefit the buyer – just to make the seller a lot of money.

Hi Kim – If you wanted something to thank clients – you could still sell your ebook but give a free copy to those who use your service. That way – you’re giving more value to those who use your service and it’s not costing you a penny extra.

Hi Wesley – I see what you mean. I guess if you do things with strings attached, you’re more likely to get stung. The trouble is, there’s few things that are genuinely free. I guess a lot of people are put off “free” because they expect strings.

Hi Craig – I guess it depends on the topic. I’ve seen reports and such go for $197. If it’s something people want, they’ll pay that, as opposed to paying for an expensive consultancy service.

As you say though – it’s a huge amount for a downloadable product. I just bought a downloadable course for $97. But I researched it well first, to make sure the value it would give me would far exceed $97. They were charging double if I wanted the discs. It would have been nice to have them – but I don’t want to wait for them to get here.

The most expensive traditional books I have bought have been written by direct marketers/copywriters. I guess they know how much folk will be willing to pay.

I didn’t realize the ebooks would go for that much money. If the content is great and worth it, and can provide good value and information to someone which could potentially improve their skills and knowledge, yea you can make a case for it. But I’m sure there are a lot of traditional books that are excellent that don’t cost nearly close to $50. I have read 2 myself and thought they were solid. If people are willing to shell out that type of money, good for them, just seems kind of high for something to download, and short.

It reminds me of something I read recently that said that the only reason you should ever have sex with anyone is because YOU want to. Don’t ever have sex to get something in return, whether it be marriage, affection, money, or status. ONLY have sex because you want to. If you follow this rule, you can never get manipulated or tricked.

I think webmasters should follow this same rule when they give things away for free, ebooks or otherwise.

Wesley’s last blog post..I feel sick today.

Kim Woodbridge’s last blog post..(Anti) Social-Lists 12/21/08

I spoke to a buddy of mine a week ago that interview online entrepreneurs that have some sort of fame. He told me that these type of books are NEVER for the buyers, but more for the owner him/herself. The book is mainly there to make money and continue to make money, but all the information is all on the Internet.

-Mike

Definitely the key to ebooks I would think is making sure they provide real value and solve the person’s problem.

John Hoff – eVentureBiz’s last blog post..Understanding The Psychology Of Your Website Visitors

And if well-written and widely distributed, the eBook could increase the popularity of a website, as impressed readers will visit the site looking for more quality information.

Shirley’s last blog post..Lorem Ipsum… Blah, Blah, Blah

My email is a major pain. I’m trying to switch over to gmail but I’ve not let everyone know yet. And my blog email is still being directed to aol but I get too much spam in there and wind up not seeing all the emails. Also, my gravatar is linked to my old email, which is why I use it in comments.

I’ll send you the new address and I’ll make a conscious effort to let everyone else have it. Trouble is, I’m trying to do them manually – as I don’t want to send the spammers my new address.