Another good tip from Writer’s Technology Companion – this one for a $5/month online service named e-Junkie (they lose points for the name) that really looks to simplify e-book downloads, paper book sales, and more:
From the Writer’s Technology Companion:
Enter e-Junkie. For $5 US a month, e-Junkie provides you with an online shopping cart, storage for digital downloads, order processing, inventory management, email autoresponders, and a lot more.
Let’s say you’ve written an e-book. You upload the file to e-Junkie, write a sales page on your own site, and insert e-Junkie’s code to place a “Buy it now” button on your page. When visitors click through to buy your e-book, they’re directed to your e-Junkie shopping cart, where they can pay via PayPal or Google Checkout (or a couple of other services) and instantly get a download link.
e-Junkie will also handle physical products?—?it works the same way, except that when an order is placed, you get an email with the details so you can fulfill the order yourself. You can offer several variants?—?say, a paperback and hardcover of the same book. e-Junkie will even calculate the shipping costs and sales tax (where applicable).
Lately, I’ve been advising clients that online technology is finally receding a bit – it’s getting out of the way of the non-techies using it – and this seems like a good example.
In my online marketing classes, student entrepreneurs are often baffled by online shopping carts, or forced to hire a Webmaster to setup and maintain the thing. Next thing you know, the Webmaster’s joined a cult, and the micro-entrepreneur’s in trouble.
Let’s hope e-Junkie (that name again) helps ease some of those problems. The idea, after all, is to do what you do best, not waste a lot of time on peripheral matters.
Keep selling, Tom Chandler.
Nicely timed! I’ve just started looking at options for selling my eBook without getting stung for charges. e-junkie looks like it might be the answer.
Matt Ambrose(Quote) (Reply)
So I’ll be getting a percentage then?
Tom Chandler(Quote) (Reply)
Tom (or anyone reading this);
I would like to know how this service compares to 1ShoppingCart (which I currently pay $999 per year for).
If anyone tries it out, please let me know.
Thanks!
Mike
Mike Stelzner(Quote) (Reply)
Hey, Tom — thanks for the hat-tip. I’m just wrapping up a manuscript for a book I’ll be selling as an e-book (through e-Junkie — agree about teh name, especially since I can never seem to remember if junkie is spelled with an -ie or a -y) and as a POD paperback (still comparing services there). So I’ll be sharing some of my experiences at WTC as the story unfolds.
The book is a guide to college for students, called “Don’t Be Stupid”. Look for it in the hands of the super-successful college students near you!
Dustin(Quote) (Reply)
Mike: I’m the wrong guy to ask, but hopefully someone can help.
Dustin: I thought being stupid was pretty much the whole idea of college, but I’ll allow for some non-traditional thought on this one…
Tom Chandler(Quote) (Reply)
I’d be interested to know if anybody has any advice for protecting your eBook from piracy? I’ve heard shocking (if not at all surprising) statistics about the number of eBooks shared illegally and the prevalence of people selling your content on for themselves.
I’ve found a few services where they can track IP addresses and disable eBooks remotely. Is this the best current solution? I’ve read plenty of complaints about piracy but not enough lock tight solutions.
Matt Ambrose(Quote) (Reply)
Hey Tom,
Thanks for the tip — wonder if it can be used for variable amounts (i.e. billing clients)? You’re right about the name. If they are ever going to be a serious contender against PayPal and the others, I see an image change in the future.
Nice wrap-up there too. “Peripheral matters…” lol — love it!
@Matt – there are ways to secure your PDFs, etc., as I would imagine you are aware of. Ultimately, no ebook can be “lock tight” because all you have to do is re-type it into your own Word file and volià, you now have your own unlocked copy.
I’d be more worried about people republishing the content. CopyScape.com may be able to help with this, though I’m not sure how well they do with tracking PDFs, etc.
~Graham
Graham Strong(Quote) (Reply)
Matt: There are some basic things you can do with .pdfs, but in truth, I imagine trying to prevent copying of an ebook is a lot like copy protecting software; it generally always fails in the face of a determined opponent.
You might consider offering an update service for your information product. That way, a pirated ebook becomes an advertisement for the subscription service.
Graham: I can’t see why this would better for invoicing since you’ve presumably already delivered the copy. All the downstream features would be wasted.
Tom Chandler(Quote) (Reply)
There will never be a way to protect your online content, as security methods get stronger so do the crackers. The best way is to provide an incentive for people to buy your book rather then get a free copy by doing what Tom said. Providing regular content updates will help convince people that a legit version is better and enhances your advertising.
Samantha(Quote) (Reply)
There is a type of ignorance that surrounds everything online. People seem to believe if it doesn’t have a physical presence its not really there and doesn’t deserve respect. If people would think more deeply about it then it makes sense that you should respect others copyright for online material. You don’t by a book from the library just to feel the cover and smell it. You buy it for the content, the same as what you would find online.
Ben(Quote) (Reply)
Ben: It’s a good point; I’ve wondered aloud if the Internet is training people that intellectual property (and especially written content) should be free, and the tech industry’s long insistence that ad sales fuel every bit of content generation wasn’t more humor than real.
If no one is willing to pay for content (like they’d pay for a physical book), then a huge majority of the Web’s content will be generated only in the service of some other sale – not exactly the utopia many envision.
Tom Chandler(Quote) (Reply)
The best and easiest way you could protect your work, if your small time, is to put it in password protected archives. You can give a unique password to each one of your customers, but its only feasible if your not getting to many sales, a few a day is manageable, but not 100s.
Laura Clarke(Quote) (Reply)
That may be a bit technical for the average user, and maybe even for us fellow copywriters?! Don’t know about you Tom, but the most far out programs I can get my head round are my trusty word editors as that is all i ever need. Don’t know if this would put the customer off, but I wouldn’t think you’d need to mention it until they have paid for their password. If its not that had i don’t see it being an issue, so may be a good idea.
Ellen(Quote) (Reply)