Affiliate Programs

Ebooks. Some people love them, some hate them. For the beginning affiliate marketer, ebooks can mean a shortcut on the learning curve to success.

I visit a lot of internet marketing and affiliate marketing forums. It never fails, someone will ask a question about an ebook and soon several forum members will jump in and tell the person asking the question “You don’t need that ebook, everything you need to know is on the forums and the internet”.

Which is probably right, but either the person posting a statement like that has never stopped to realize that perhaps the person asking the question doesn’t want to spend days, months and weeks pouring over meaningless forum post just to extract a few nuggest of wealth.  On the other hand, the person posting such a reply may already know this and hopes the person asking the question will get discouraged and quit.

The  Other Type Of Forum Poster

This kind of person really gets under my skin sometimes. This is the kind of guy who goes into a forum and ask “Has anyone read XYZ eBook by ABC Guru?”. “If so, can you tell me what’s in it or what’s it about?”

A majority of the time, these people want the information in the ebook but either

• does not have the money to purchase the ebook, or
• has the money but doesn’t want to spend it

In either case, they shouldn’t be cruising the forums looking for someone to give them free information. If you can not afford a $20, $40 or even $100 dollar ebook, you’re probably in the wrong business.

I know, you’re afraid of “getting taken advantage of.” If this is truly the case, just ask around and people will tell you what they think about the ebook. Beware though, there are many who talk trash about ebooks no matter how good they are. Some of these people have bought the ebook, like the information and want to discourage anyone else from buying it. Others can not stand the thought of the “Guru” selling ebooks and discourages everyone from buying it, even though he/she has never read it.

Just a few weeks ago there was a guy selling a $10 ebook on one of the forums. The ebook was about how he was making a couple thousand dollars a month with one of his websites. Many people including myself bought the ebook and liked it. In fact, this Seller did not have one bad review. There was this one forum member who kept hounding the Author to reveal his website to the forum. Post after post he wanted to know everything about the Authors website. There was really no need to know the Authors website due to the huge amount of favorable reviews the ebook received on the forums. Thankfully, the Author never did reveal his website. (you should never reveal your website to anyone if your concerned abou them reverse engineering it and copying your success!)

You will piss away some money in this, or any, business. It just happens. I’ve bought advertising for my brick & mortar stores that did not pay, I’ve bought tools that did not work as advertised, bought software that was useless….it happens!

If you’re so afraid of losing $10 or $20, then this isn’t the business for you. This is also true if you find yourself saying “but I can’t aford to lose $20.” It’s better you get a good paying job, save up your money and try the Internet business later on.

The Value of an eBook

Ebooks are valuable in that they put a load of information at your figertips. Unless you have unlimitless free time to spend hundreds of hours searching and compiling information, an ebook on the topic you’re interested in is a very good value. How much of a value? How much is your time worth?

I’ve bought scores of ebooks ranging up to $50. Several up to $100 and 1 at $200. I’ve never bought an ebook and thought that it wasn’t worth the asking price. I have learned something valuable from every one. Some of the sorriest ebooks I have are the free ones (that’s why they’re free )

Ebooks are also valuable in teaching you new techniques and strategies.  It’s not to say you’ll never learn new techniques on your own, but again, how much is your time worth?

I typcially print out the ebook and read through it. I mark it up as I go through. Highlight this paragraph, make notes on this sentence, etc. I then can come back to a certain tactic should I need to.

Sure, there are poorly written ebooks out there. There are certainly some people running around selling rehashed info and touting it as a new discovery. But if you’ll due your research, you’ll soon know if it’s a good buy or not. Bad ebooks and bad Authors are singled out quickly in the Internet Marketing and Affiliate Marketing fields. Just keep you eyes peeled in any of the forums.

If you’re just beginning to start your Internet business, plan on spending money on ebooks that interest you. They’ll save you far more than what they cost. Think of them as an investment. And after you’ve downloaded them, USE THEM! The majority of people buy these ebooks, love them and never implement any of the tactics mentioned in the ebook. Now that’s a waste of money!

Good Luck in your Internet Business. Now go forth and make money!

Don

P.S. Just for the record, I’ve never published an ebook and I’m not selling any ebooks, although I do plan to in the future. In fact, I have many ideas written down for ebooks. (I keep spiral bound notebooks and write down ideas, tactics and plans as they come to me, you should do this also!) Trust me, you’ll be the first ones to know when I write an ebook!