Writing and Selling E-Books Update 2
An SBI! Review

SBI! Reviews: E-Books, Update 2

Hi Ken,

My recent trip to Japan to visit my daughter Leela was a real eye opener for me as far as running my online business is concerned. I decided to not take my laptop with me so I wouldn't have to deal with airport security hassles and worry about it getting damaged or stolen.

This turned out to be a good decision. I was able to check my e-mail accounts via the Internet using Leela's computer when we were at her place in Hiroshima. Then, on the days that we were in Kyoto and Tokyo it was possible to check my e-mails from the hotels we were staying in. It seems that even 3-star hotels supply one or two computers in their lobbies and/or business centers to allow guests to have Internet access.

So there I was half way around the world hanging out with my daughter on vacation and all of my websites kept percolating away on automatic pilot. I even did a recommendation letter editing job for a chap who e-mailed me from Saudi Arabia. (He was recommending someone for Harvard Business School).

Then when I got home two weeks later the mailbox was full of checks from my various writing related income streams! If only such a business model had been available 20 years ago! I would have dropped that mind-numbing paycheck-to-paycheck government career a lot sooner than I did.

Speaking of income streams...

I get a lot of questions from people who have been to my SBI! site and/or have read my SBI! Case Study; all asking me "exactly" how I make money online. Well, I recently did an analysis of my income streams for the year 2007 and here's the percentage breakdown:

Revenue Source                         % of Total Revenues

E-book sales (downloads from websites)           42%

POD (paperback sales, booksellers)                   26%

Advertising (Google Adsense)                            14%

Affiliate commissions (various)                            9%

Editing services (from website visitors)                9%

Total                                                                  100%

That goes to show the importance of developing multiple income streams.

I continue to add keyword-sensitive content to my "mothership" SBI! site (www.WritingHelp-Central.com), and the traffic levels continue to increase.

In one of my most recent complete months, targeted traffic coming to that site averaged 10.2 thousand visitors, per day comprised of 7.8 thousand unique visitors.

So, I am on track for another record-breaking traffic year! That's all free traffic, of course.

Finally, since returning from Japan I have done major revisions to two of my best selling ebooks/books. Keeping your published material "fresh" is an important strategy, especially when it comes to printed books that get sold by regular booksellers.

Until the next time,

Shaun Fawcett
http://www.WritingHelp-Central.com/