Please Sir, I Want Some More ... Public Domain Material

Charles Dickens is said to be the world's most prolific novelist, yet most of his works are relatively unknown to the general public, especially those he wrote under the pen name Boz. His most popular titles, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, have been retold countless times in books, scripts, theatre plays and movies, and are all now in the public domain. These works have been so popular that they have been re-published by so many different publishers that they have never been out of print.

As a business owner looking to add new products to your inventory, whether that be online or offline, you can’t go past public domain material. At a cost of ‘nearly free,’ you would be mad to give it a miss.

As with the above example, some stories are timeless classics, classics that will sell year after year, in many different formats and versions. This may be exactly the right type of product for your business. There are so many public domain works out there that you essentially will never run out of material to publish. And you will most likely find many manuscripts that will complement your existing products.

A good rule of thumb to follow is to check that the original manuscript was published before 1923 in the United States of America (other countries may have different copyright laws so you may need to check this with a copyright lawyer). You should always get a certificate of copyright clearance for each public domain document you are going to publish. This may save you many legal hassles later if anyone tries to dispute your right to re-publish the work.

Public domain books and other materials can be found in many places, with the most likely being second-hand book stores. Some people enjoy this process the most; discovering that hidden gem amongst the thousands of tattered old Mills and Boon romance novels.

Though, with the advent of the Internet this process is becoming increasingly more accessible to everyone. There are now many web sites that publish public domain material that can be freely accessed, and even some membership sites that actually find the material for you.

If you make substantial changes to the material, that is, make enough changes that make the new version unrecognisable from the original, you may even claim the new copyright with yourself as the author.

As Dickens made popular the serialised novel, so too can you be publishing serial after serial of public domain material.

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com-By: Kristy Taylor

Making Free eBooks pay.

Copyright 2006 John Thornhill

Selling eBooks on eBay can be a great way of producing an enviable revenue stream. By purchasing the rights to an eBook at the right price and then selling the eBook to many customers, one can generate a great deal of profit. However, there is an interesting way of increasing eBook sales and producing an additional revenue stream simply by giving things away to customers!

As many eBay sellers have noticed, informational products are becoming an increasingly competitive field. More and more people are slowly learning about the profit potential in eBook sales and are joining the fray. The market is nowhere close to being too crowded, and there is still room for a great deal of money to be made. However, those who want to truly prosper by selling eBooks on eBay can improve their odds by giving customers a little something extra.

Offering a free product to any buyers of an eBook can separate one’s auctions from others and make buyers more interested in obtaining a product. If three sellers are offering the same eBook at the same price, the seller who is also willing to include a special free gift will undoubtedly earn the bulk of the sales.

The free gift can be another eBook title on a related subject. You may have another eBook “in inventory” that is an aging title or somehow “past its prime.” Although you may no longer be selling the title as a stand-alone product, it can make a great value-added free gift to your auction and may tempt many buyers to look to you as a source for the primary title being offered.

The free gift could also be a special report or other informational document you have authored yourself. Although writing the additional material may be difficult or time-consuming (ghostwriters, of course, could be hired for this function), the end result could be quite valuable. You will be offering something completely unique and timely. That alone should inspire increased sales. You can also embed affiliate links to products for which you receive a commission within the text of the freebie. This could make your free giveaway item into a sales tool that could generate impressive profits long after the eBook sale is completed.

Including a freebie with your eBook auction may seem counterintuitive at first. It doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense, at face value, to give away anything! Doing something that increases the cost or effort required to conduct an auction also seems almost at odds with increased profitability. However, this is not the case. In reality, using a little added “extra” can increase sales by a margin that more than justifies the gift. Your auction may stand out more, give an additional reason to buyers to make their purchase with you, and even provide additional revenue through the use of affiliate links within the free item.

After considering all of these factors, it is easy to see why many eBay eBook sellers are providing their customers with a little something extra! Freebies can actually be used as a great way to increase profitability.

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com-By: John Thornhill

A Helping Hand to Online Success - the eBook!

If, like me, you’ve tried – and failed – in the past to achieve success online with internet marketing, then rest assured that help is finally at hand. I certainly wish I had had access to such knowledge when I started out three years ago, and perhaps I wouldn’t have been so overwhelmed with the practicalities of website design, using autoresponders, joining affiliate programs, writing sales letters, and how to get traffic to my site. I know better now, but more of this in a moment. . . .

The simple fact of the matter is, that to enter the world of internet marketing, you need something to promote and sell (well you want to make money at it don’t you?), whether a physical item, or – information. The very nature of the internet – where knowledge can be shared and exchanged at the click of a button – lends itself perfectly to . . . the eBook!

The advantages of the eBook over selling physical items is that there is no need to buy or store stock, no time and effort incurred in packing anything up and shipping it off in the post – and your customer can pay their money for your product and get immediate access to it from a download page. In an age where demand is for instant gratification, an eBook is ideal – easy and effective! And once written, you can sell unlimited copies of it without having to produce each item – so it’s both time and cost-effective too.

When thinking of a subject to write about for your eBook, the secret to greater success, and finding your ‘niche market’, is very simple. Like they tell all first-time budding authors – write about what you know. Whether it’s a few chapters on ‘How to Stop Smoking’ (if you’ve been successful at this), on the mechanics of owning a motorcycle, how to earn money online, or even ‘Tips on Flower Arranging’, you can bet that someone out there in ‘cyberspace’ wants to know about it. If the subject of your eBook is also your hobby, so much the better. If you’ve got passion for your subject, you’re going to convey that enthusiasm in what you write, and make that eBook even more interesting and useful.

Of course, if you have knowledge or practical experience on a popular subject in which there is a large potential market to sell your eBook, perhaps health and fitness, or food and drink, you could be more likely of success, but remember you’ll also be competing with many others. So choose your subject carefully!

However, in writing your eBook, don’t forget to give your customer value – and they could become customers for your future eBooks too! Make the content and quality of your eBook meaningful – whatever its length, it has to be good, or you’ll leave your customers feeling disenchanted. Give away a few free bonuses – an extra report perhaps, or some free training that they would have to pay for elsewhere. Aim for customer satisfaction!

If you don’t know how to go about creating an eBook (you could always write an eBook explaining how to do it!), then it brings me to the ‘more of this in a moment . . .’ that I mentioned above – the launch of a FREE course in all aspects of internet marketing, including creating eBooks. Visit the website below for what you need to get started online. Good luck!

Penelope Housden.

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com-By: Profitmaker

How To Prevent Thieves From Stealing Your PDF Ebooks!

There are 2 main options for protecting your PDF file:

OPTION 1: Use Adobe Acrobat's basic protection.

Adobe Acrobat allows you to set basic protection for your PDF document. This includes:

* allow/disable the ability to copy text of document
* allow/disable printing of file
* allow/disable changing document
* require password to open document (Yes their password protection was broken a few years back, but it's still adequate protection and will keep out most people.)

Ideally, to use this option you should use Adobe Acrobat, however the high cost may put that out of reach of many. Fortunately, there are MANY, MANY inexpensive PDF creators that will allow you to also set some of these permissions.

Such as:
http://www.pdf995.com
http://www.pdffactory.com
http://www.deskpdf.com

There are also some standalone applications like: http://www.verypdf.com/encryptpdf/index.htm

Overall, option 1 is what I call "static protection". Meaning, once you choose the security and then distribute the file, you cannot change the security for those files that are already distributed. For example, you distribute a file to Client A in December. In January, your relations with the client become strained and you no longer want them to have access to your file. Unfortunately, with static protection, you cannot change their access permissions. It is already "set".

Though this option may allow you to prevent copying text within the file, it does NOT prevent a user from copying the entire file and redistributing it to others. Though it may allow you to require a password to access the file, the password can be easily passed around so anyone can have access. So it's not entirely secure and easily circumvented. If protection of your document is critical, you should boost protection using additional mechanisms.

OPTION 2: Use a third party protection system.

This option includes systems that offer "real time" control over your document. "Real time" means that you have the ability to change or alter the document security after it has been delivered to the end user. This is what I choose to focus on as it provides the greatest amount of security and post-distribution control.

Some just offer basic lock and unlock ability, while others go into more extensive PDF settings that can be altered at any point. Here are some things you should be looking for when evaluating a PDF protection system.

1. Does the system offer complete protection?

This the first thing you should look at because if the protection is not up to par, move on! You will never even get to the other points.

When evaluating protection features, make sure you check each feature out for yourself and don't always take the company's word about protection. Many times I have seen companies advertising certain protection features on their website, but in testing, the product doesn't seem to do what is claimed. So, always check first.

For PDF files, there are some basic areas that any adequate system must protect against. In order to be totally protected, the PDF security system you use MUST:

* Prevent saving a copy of file.
* Prevent emailing of file and exporting or extracting pages from file
* Prevent copying of file from the TEMP folder
* Prevent copying file and text to the clipboard
* Prevent redistilling of the file
* Prevent unlimited, uncontrolled printing of file
* Prevent access to file without permission
* Watermark all printed pages

If any system that you look into does not cover these, I recommend that you move on to something that does.

2. Can you afford it?

If the system passes the security test, the next thing you should look at is the cost of the system. Is it within your budget? Can you justify the price of this type of service? Do you buy the entire system and run it on your server, or is it a hosted service that charges you a monthly fee. There are pros and cons of both.

If you run the system on your server then you will avoid monthly fees, but these types of systems usually require extensive programming and integration work which can increase your overall costs and take weeks to months before you get up and running.

If you choose a third party system that is hosted by another company, you avoid the integration issue as most of these services can get you up and running in minutes to hours.

3. Does the system offer auto-distribution?

Does it automatically deliver your document to your customers and clients hands-free? If so, does it integrate with your payment system and/or shopping cart?

4. Is the system flexible?

The next thing you should look at is the flexibility. Does it allow you to tweak and modify the security options to fit your unique requirements? The ability to customize things such as program icons, customer download emails, thank you pages, etc. makes a big difference.

5. Is there any customer support?

What kind of support and help will you receive when you purchase the product or service? Is their any documentation of all features and uses? What good is having the best system if you don't know how to use it?

6. Is the Company reliable? Does it protect my data?

Is this company reliable? Do you feel that the the company will shut down, thus leaving your documents inaccessible and/or unprotected? Ask them what measures do they provide to ensure that your information remains protected in this event? Do they back up your data? If so, how often?

7. Can you demo the system?

Most companies offer a trial or demo period for free or a small fee. You should always try the system out to see it "in action". Set it up to do exactly what you are looking for and see if it works the way you need. Never sign up or purchase something that you have not yet tested.

8. Other questions?

Those are the major criteria, of course there are other things that you may want to consider such as:

* What is their cancellation/refund policy? Do they require a contract or can you sign up for a month to month service?

* Does their system use Acrobat Reader or another PDF viewer? If they use Acrobat Reader, do they have an Adobe DRM license which is required for all Acrobat reader security systems?

* Does it allow you to contact your database of users/clients

* Can you export your user database

There is a lot to consider when deciding on a PDF protection system. My advice is Do NOT rush into it. Because once you choose a system and start distributing files using that system, you are stuck with it.

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com-By: Anthony Ellis

Boost Ebook Sales with eBook Directories!

Are you selling an ebook or giving one away for free? Submitting your ebook to ebook directories will generate steady sales and downloads. eBooks add value to a web site and many webmasters search ebook directories to find ebooks they want to offer to their web visitors. It's worth your time to list your ebook(s) in ebook directories. It can dramatically increase your web traffic and sales. Just do a Google search to find directories.

Here are some steps you need to complete before submitting your ebook:

1. Become familiar with the different types of directories.

Check how they list the ebooks and read their submission guidelines. Check what subjects they accept as different directories accept different topics. Some directories provide free listings, some charge a listing fee, and some want a link to their website.

2. Create web pages.

You need to design a web page with a download link to your ebook. Make your sales copy, headlines, and links compelling, even when you're giving away a free ebook. Also, create a link page so you can provide a link to the directories that require this.

3. Design an ebook cover.

An ebook cover is important when selling an ebook and even when giving away your ebook for free. A cover image makes your ebook look tangible. A well-designed cover can double or even triple your ebook sales and downloads. Also, ebook directories will want a thumbnail size of your ebook cover. Check their guidelines for size requirements. We recommend using specialized ebook cover software to design an ebook cover. Photoshop Action scripts provide the best quality results. Or you can hire a designer specializing in ebook covers.

4. Set up a separate email address.

Set up a separate email address so you don't clutter up your main email.

5. Prepare the information you will submit to the directories.

eBook directories will ask you to provide them with some information. This may include your name, email, book title, URLs, descriptions of your ebook, keywords, and book cover. Prepare this information before you start submitting your ebook.

• List your ten most relevant keywords. People use keywords to find ebooks that are relevant to the topic of their web site. Use a keyword tool like WordTracker or Good Keywords to find related keywords.
• Write descriptions. You will need descriptions about your ebooks when submitting your ebook to the directories. Write three descriptions/ads with varying lengths - from two sentences to several paragraphs to accommodate different directories.
• Organize the information you will provide to the directories. Create a file with a text editor, like Notepad. Include your name, email, ebook title, 3 descriptions, 10 keywords, download URL, URL of your link page, and URL of the ebook cover. Use a clipboard utility like ClipTrakker or WinM8 and a form-filler like RoboForm when submitting the information.

Don't overlook ebook directories when promoting your ebook. It will pay off in steady sales and downloads.

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com-By: Leva Duell