Self-Publishing eBook Marketing Maxims

Mooney’s eBook Marketing Maxim:

Electronic Self-Publishing has moved the editor’s slush pile to the marketplace.

(Never before in history will so much very bad material be made available for sale alongside the good material.)

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Marketing Rules for eBook Self-Publishing



#1 Rule: Seek Credibility – publish at the highest level of credibility that you can.

A. First seek the best ePublisher, with the highest editorial standards, who will take your work.

B. Random sample eBooks being offered in any eMarketplace before you publish there.

C. Avoid the ‘slush-pile’ ePublishers if at all possible. (These publishers take anyone’s book.)

#2 Rule: Appearances Count!

A. A professional cover has never been more important. Look like a traditionally published book. Show you are professional.

B. Traditionally published authors should always state this fact in all ads. For example: “Mary Penn, author of “A Divorce of Convenience", a Harlequin Romance. (Readers need to know you are capable of being traditionally published.)

C. make sure your eBook is correctly formatted. Nothing says ‘amateur’ louder than highly visible typos.

#3 Rule: A single bad product is deadly!

There is a saying in advertising that “Nothing kills a bad product faster than good advertising.” (With good advertising many more people will try the bad product and the bad word of mouth will kill the product before the manufacturer can fix it.)

A. you don’t have to eat a whole egg to know it is rotten.

B. don’t release a bad product or a product not ready for prime time. It could kill all future sales to readers who have been exposed to it.

#4 Rule: Endorsements Mean More for eBooks!

The name of the game is credibility. Endorsements from known, published authors are invaluable. Traditionally published authors should network with each other in providing quotes for other authors.

A. endorsements should be prominent in all ads.

B. endorsements should be included in the first few pages of the eBook. (Show the reader that this eBook is really worth reading. If they don’t actually read it, they may not buy another one of your books.)

#5 Rule: Buy credibility by running ads in traditional media.

For example: for a romance novel, run a small ad in "RT Book Reviews". Then advertised on the internet: “As advertised in RT Book Reviews”. (The really bad books will be published by ‘slush-pile’ ePublishers and have little to no money spent on advertising.)

#6 Rule: "Target Marketing" is Now Absolutely Essential.

Target marketing is creating your advertising in such a way as to best attract the most likely prospects for your product. You want to attract the attention of the people who will most likely buy your book – if only they just knew it existed. Your goal is not to attract the attention of the most people.

A. you simply have to get the attention of your best readers. It is far better to run an ad that drives away 90% of the readers of the ad if that same ad gets the attention of 90% of the prospects for the book. The best prospects will buy the book.

B. let the reader see what’s in the book that is of special interest to that reader. If the book is by the sea, show seascapes in the ad. Show the features in the book that have a natural following like: pets, kids, trains, lighthouses, planes, exotic locations. These are visual aids to attract the attention of the best prospects. Show these on the blogs where mention of your book is made.

C. Instant identification. If your eBook is about vampires, then the reader should 'see' and know this within 2 seconds of looking at the ad. Use whatever art is needed to do this.

Look for More eBook Marketing Posts to Come.