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 IN THIS ISSUE

3 How to create and sell your ebook online for

free

11 Why you shouldn’t sell your ebook on

Amazon

16 Free ebook template: How to create a

fantastic ebook in 48 hours

21 How to repurpose your blog posts into an

ebook you can sell

28 How to price your ebook to maximize sales

and profits

36 6 ebook marketing ideas guaranteed to grow

sales

45 4 steps to create exceptional ebook covers

on a budget

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How to create and sell
your ebook online for free
L et me know if this sounds familiar:
You see a story about a first-time creator making $2,000 on
a digital product and think, “I could totally do that.”
It doesn’t take long for your mind to start spending your
imaginary earnings, so you begin to think about how to
sell your own ebook. Only instead of finding answers, you
discover more questions. How do I make an ebook? Where
can you even sell it online? How much do I charge?
A moment ago, you had a heart full of hope and a mind full
of dancing dollar bills. You could practically hear the “ka-
ching.” Now, a rain cloud is looming, and you’re reasoning
with yourself that your 9-5 isn’t always that bad.
There’s a magical cure for this challenge, and it’s called
“small, simple actions.” If you take the process of writing an
ebook one step at a time and look to the creators who have
come before you for inspiration, you’ll be ready to make
your first sale soon.
Are you ready to feel a serious sense of accomplishment
and make some money? Here’s your step-by-step guide to
creating and selling your first ebook—all without spending
a cent.
What is an ebook?
If you’ve explored other bloggers’ and creatives’ websites,
you’ve probably seen an ebook or two.
An ebook is a digital resource that typically focuses on
written content rather than video or audio.
When we talk about ebooks, they’re often nonfiction guides
on a particular topic, like growing a business, cooking meals
for your family, or sharing writing tips. Ebooks come in
as many shapes and sizes as their printed counterparts,
though, including fiction.
Why every creator should write an
ebook
Reality check: your first ebook probably won’t become a
bestseller. But the best part of self-publishing means you
can avoid the traditional publishing roadblocks. Seriously,
there’s no ebook council you need to answer to, so if you
have an idea you can write about, go ahead and give it a
shot.
If you have an interest or skill set, there are likely people
worldwide that could benefit from your content. So what
are you waiting for? Every creator can (and should) create
an ebook to grow their business.
Here are just a few reasons why:
• You can write more about your audience’s favorite
topics. Ebooks give you a place to dive deeper into a
subject than you can on a blog post.
• You can create and sell an ebook quickly. You can
repurpose existing content into an ebook, which means
it won’t take long to make. You also don’t need a lot of
equipment or software to get started.
• You don’t have to update ebooks constantly. If you
already have your hands full creating content for your
paid newsletter or blog, ebooks are a great “set-it-and-
forget-it” sales channel.
• You can scale your income and audience with
ebooks. Ebooks have a place at basically every point in
the customer journey. Free ebooks are good for growing
your email list, or you can make an ebook once and sell it
over and over to your email list to scale your income.
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 Facebook page and often features recipes from the paid
Six ebook styles to try cookbooks.

If you want to create a successful ebook, the first decision

to make is what kind it will be. There are two main types of
ebooks—free and paid.
• Free ebooks are great to use as lead magnets to grow
your email list
• Paid ebooks monetize your content marketing and work
and can be an entry-level product
Within these two categories, there are different styles
for laying out your information. Here are six examples of
ebook formats to inspire you.
#2 Interactive workbooks
If you want to get readers involved in your ebook, you can
make parts of your PDF digitally fillable to take notes or
respond to workbook prompts. This ebook format is perfect
for coaches, teachers, and consultants.
Shelby Abrahamson of Little Coffee Fox uses a workbook-
style ebook to teach lettering design. Each ebook includes
art tips plus worksheets to practice what readers just
learned.

#1 Cookbooks

Calling all food bloggers—have you created a digital

cookbook yet? If you already have recipes on your site,
you have the ingredients for a lead magnet or sales tool.
To create a cookbook lead magnet, you can compile your
most popular recipes into a single source or group recipes
around a common theme.

You can also put existing and exclusive recipes together

into a paid cookbook. Chef Daniella Malfitano sells monthly
cookbooks filled with plant-based recipes and weekly
grocery lists.
If you make your ebook PDF editable, readers can either use it
digitally or print it out. Image via Little Coffee Fox.

Shelby’s workbooks prove that just because ebooks are

text-based doesn’t mean they need to be text-heavy to
be valuable. Giving people a way to get involved with the
content could also encourage them to actually see the
content through.

#3 How-To guides

If you have a lot of tips and insights to share on a topic,

then you can create a how-to guide. These in-depth ebooks
Daniella’s cookbook sales page outlines what’s included and usually cover one specific topic in greater detail than a
how readers will benefit. Image via Chef D Malfi. single blog post could.

Not sure you have time to create free content and paid
ebooks? You can repurpose ebook content to grow your
audience. Chef D Malfi live streams cooking lessons on her

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 Customizing bundles to fit the needs of your audience makes
the experience feel more personal for subscribers. Image via
Full Time Graphic Design.

Having the same ebook as the base for each bundle cuts
down on the amount of work to create the content. Then,
you can spend time making each bundle relevant to a
segment of your target audience with additional templates
or downloads.

#5 Free ebook
Your ebook library can feature a mix of free and paid content
across topics. Image via Ed Latimore.
A free ebook can be any style you like, though they’re
generally shorter than paid ebooks. You can make a free
Eventually, you can build up an entire library like Ed
ebook by combining info from a few top blog posts, or
Latimore has. His website teaches “stoic street smarts,”
giving people the option to download the first chapter of a
and Ed’s ebook shop covers topics ranging from emotional
longer ebook for free.
mastery and money skills to his experience with addiction
and sobriety. Since Ed’s ebook topics align with his blogging,
he can naturally weave in references to his ebooks, so
interested readers find ways to go deeper on a topic.

#4 Resource bundles

If you have templates or have thought about creating them,

you can sell them with ebooks to make bundles. Teela
Cunningham from Every Tuesday pairs her ebook, Full Time
Graphic Design, with different resources to target segments
of her audience.

Since free ebooks might be one of the first ways a person

interacts with your brand, it’s helpful to include an “about me”
section on the landing page. Image via Melissa Macher.

Coaches can also use free ebooks to introduce their

philosophy, like Melissa Macher from Grateful Meal
Nutrition does. After introducing new subscribers to your
insights and approach, you can promote your high-price
coaching packages.

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#6 Novels and short stories
Fiction writers can get in on the ebook fun, too. Selling
ebooks on your own website is much easier than traditional
ebook publishing channels, and you can offer samples of
your writing as lead magnets.
Authors can use free ebooks as lead magnets to grow their
email list and sell more books. Image via J.F. Penn.
J.F. Penn is a New York Times bestselling thriller author
who offers a free ebook on her website. Once subscribers
access her free ebook, they’ll also join J.F.’s newsletter with
writing updates, podcast episodes, and book deals.
How to write your first ebook
There are few things as daunting as looking at a blank page
with a mind overflowing with hope but bereft of words.
Writing your ebook is a huge topic, but careful planning
makes creating ebook content easier.
Here are the three phases of creating the content for your
ebook:
Choose a topic
The best ebook topics meet a few criteria. First, it has to
interest your audience. Second, you have to be willing and
excited to write about it. These tips can help you find the
topic sweet spot:
• Uncover your book idea by finding themes between the
work you do and common questions/concerns you come
across
• Leverage content you’ve already created to save time
• Think about your subscribers’ journey. What content are
they likely to start with, and what product do you want to
move them towards?
• Poll your audience on what ebook they’d like to read,
and then add a tag to interested subscribers to easily
target them with book launch emails
Determine your structure
After choosing your topic, you can begin organizing the
content. Think about why someone would download or buy
an ebook on the subject and what readers want to get out
of it. You can also look at ebooks in your niche to see what
works for other creators.
• Think about designing for readability and usefulness as
you’re writing to organize your thoughts and make the
content more engaging. An organized table of contents
and descriptive headers help readers find the info
they’re interested in.
• Do you want to get readers involved in the ebook?
Templates, worksheets, prompts, and assignments make
your ebook more interactive.
• Have an idea of how long you’d like your ebook to be
before you start writing. Free content should be shorter
than paid resources.
Write compelling content
Ebooks are usually longer than your standard blog post,
which means your content must be good to keep readers’
attention. Aim to stay focused on the topic and call out
essential info with headers or bullet points. Some other
writing tips include:
• Use your most popular content as a reference for what
writing resonates.
• Ask for feedback on your first draft so you can make
essential edits now and not after you’ve published.
• Break content into smaller sections with clear headlines
in case readers want to skim to the areas they care most
about
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• More isn’t always more—resist the urge to put in content
just to reach a certain length. Quality over quantity is
always better.
• Don’t forget about proofreading! Have your spouse,
friend, or colleague read through your final draft and flag
any little errors you might have missed.
Self-publishing your ebook, step
by step
Once you have the content of your ebook sorted, it’s time
to make the actual document your audience will download.
If you’re not a graphic designer, don’t worry. There are tools
and resources to help you each step of the way.
Choose a design tool
Most ebooks have some level of design, and there are a ton
of ways to create the layout. You’ll have the easiest time
if you choose a design you’re comfortable with, whether
that’s a designer-focused tool like InDesign or a drag and
drop editor like Canva.
You can even make an ebook in Pages, and we have an
ebook template to get you started.
Add your content and visuals
To avoid selling an ebook that’s just a wall of words, Include
visuals like screenshots, images, or illustrations to break up
the text. If you don’t have your own images, there are great
stock image websites like Unsplash, Pexels, and Pixabay
you can use to add visual flair.
Pictures, icons, and bold headers visually break up your text to
make it more enjoyable to read.
Create an ebook cover
You’re always told not to judge a book by its cover, but
chances are readers will. It helps to compare ebook cover
designs in your niche to get inspiration for your cover, so it
stands out on your sales page.
Color, font, and imagery all help your book cover stand out.
Image via Smart Passive Income.
Save the ebook as a PDF
Ebooks can come in different file formats depending on
where and how readers will view them. For example,
Amazon has its own book formats (AZW and AZW3) and the
MOBI format is most popular with Kindles. An EPUB file is
widely supported and a good option for ebooks.
Our recommendation for your first ebook is to save the
file as a PDF, though. This type of file is widely known and
used, maintains design and formatting, and can be read
on nearly any device. While PDFs aren’t “reflowable,” which
means they don’t adjust to small screen sizes, they’re
easy to create since most design software lets you save a
document in this format. If you aren’t sure what ebook file
format to choose, check with your ecommerce platform to
see which the site allows.
Pick a price
If the thought of choosing a price for your ebook strikes
fear in your heart, you aren’t alone. Assigning a value to
your work can feel tricky and uncomfortable, especially if
you’re new to the world of digital products. It’s helpful to
remember that you don’t need to come up with a number
at random, and you aren’t stuck with that price forever.
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These are a few tips to make pricing your book less
daunting:
• Check for minimum prices on your ecommerce
platform. Books on Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing
(often shortened to KDP) can be as low as $0.99, while
ConvertKit Commerce has a minimum product price of
$5.
• Look at what other creators in your niche are charging
since some topics may tend to cost more than others.
• Consider the length of your ebook and what other
bonuses come along with it. For example, you could
include an audiobook recording with each ebook
purchase.
The Authority ebook package comes with multiple file types,
including an audiobook read by the author. Image via Nathan
Barry.The Authority ebook package comes with multiple file
types, including an audiobook read by the author. Image via
Nathan Barry.
Experiment with ebook pricing over time. You can poll
your audience about what they’d be willing to pay or try
different prices. Remember to keep other variables the
same when you experiment with the price and don’t jump
to conclusions too quickly.
Choose an ecommerce platform
Your ebook is finished, and you have a price in mind—now
it’s time to start selling!
If you don’t already have a website, never fear—you can list
your ebook with a ConvertKit Commerce product page in
just a few minutes.
If you have a website, you’ll need to create an ebook
landing page and choose an ecommerce platform. There’s
no shortage of ebook sales routes, including Amazon or
within your website builder like Squarespace or Wix.
The best place to sell an ebook is on your own website,
and preferably with a tool like ConvertKit Commerce that
integrates with multiple tools you use in your business, like
your website and email marketing. If you choose to sell
your ebooks through Amazon, you lose touch with your
customers.
How to promote your ebook (for
free!)
Creating and setting up your ebook for sale is only the
beginning of your creator journey. To truly reap the
rewards of your hard work, you’ll need to dedicate some
time to promoting your ebook. There are plenty of ways to
promote your ebook, but it’s best to start with the basics
and build from there.
Here are some ideas for using social media, website
content, and email to sell your ebook online.
Social media ebook promotion ideas
• Put up polls about topics to gauge interest
• Consistently share behind-the-scenes of creating the
ebook
• Create a scavenger hunt throughout your content for the
chance to win a free copy
• Ask readers to share a picture on social media when they
download their copy
• Promote content that has a CTA for your ebook at the
end
• Share occasional bundles or discounts
• Pin a tweet about your ebook
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 You can create a list of potential ebook buyers before you write
a single word by creating a pre-sale interest landing page.
Image via Mission Plantified. You can create a list of potential
ebook buyers before you write a single word by creating a pre-
sale interest landing page. Image via Mission Plantified.

Email ebook promotion ideas

• Create a pre-order email list

• Share exclusive snippets to newsletter readers
• Have readers click on the statement that applies to them
to add a tag for segmentation
• Create a product launch email sequence that
automatically sells for you
• Incorporate segmentation for targeted promotion
• Include a link to your ebook in your welcome sequence
to introduce new readers to your content
Chef Daniella Maltifano cross-promotes her cookbooks on daily
live streams. Image via Plant-Based Made Easy.

Website ebook promotion ideas

• Set up a landing page to build an email list of interested

readers
• Check your analytics to see which topics your audience
loves
• Update your “about me” page to share your relevant
experience in your niche
• Add a banner or update your landing page to focus on
the launch
• Create pop-ups to promote your newsletter or ebook
• Create a “start here” segment on your website that walks
new visitors through your content

Creator Ryan Baustert learns about his audience by asking

what held them back from buying his products. Image via Ryan
Baustert.

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Every creator has an ebook in
them
If you’ve spent any time writing, working, or coaching in a
niche, you likely have an ebook idea ready to come to life.
There are so many inspiring stories of creators making
a living online, and it’s possible for you too. Everyone
has a unique perspective, which means you can create a
distinctive ebook even if it’s a topic that’s been covered a
thousand times before.

If you have an idea, ConvertKit Commerce has the tools

to help bring it to life. Sign up for a free account to create
a landing page for your ebook in a few minutes and start
making sales.

Steph Knapp

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Why you shouldn’t sell
your ebook on Amazon

Y ou’ve finished your book, and now it’s

time to share it with the world.

The hard part — the writing — is over, right? But for

authors Alex Hillman and Ryan Law, the frustrations were
only beginning.

It seemed like the right decision at the time. After all, these
days, “self-publishing” is synonymous with “Amazon.” With
75% of the U.S. market share for e-readers, Amazon is the
obvious choice for many self-published authors. “We knew
that our customers loved reading on Kindles. Amazon
knows that too,” says Hillman. “We thought, for digital, let’s
just do the Kindle.” Tiny MBA ebook sales page on Amazon. Image via Stacking the
Bricks.

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“It was always something I had in my bucket list,”
Law says. His novel, The Green Priest, is the first in
a planned series. “If I wanted to self-publish, I had to
use Amazon. As far as I’m concerned, you have no
choice but to optimize for Amazon, in some capacity.”
Why you shouldn’t sell your ebook
on Amazon
After struggling to deal with the ecommerce juggernaut’s
painful customer service and lack of control, both Hillman
and Law ended up regretting not putting more effort into
selling their ebooks on their own website. Here’s why
Hillman and Law wouldn’t do it again — and why you
shouldn’t sell your ebook on Amazon, either.
It’s difficult to stand out among infinite
bookshelves
Look up the definition of monopoly — exclusive control of
the supply of or trade in a commodity or service — and you
might as well find Amazon’s logo, at least when it comes to
publishing.
There are more than 6 million ebooks available on Amazon
today, with nearly 7,500 published every single day. “I think
self-publishing now is more accessible than it’s ever been,”
says business educator and coach Alex Hillman.
Hillman wanted to make sure his latest nonfiction business
book, The Tiny MBA, had the best shot at success, so
he chose to launch through Kindle Direct Publishing. “I
wanted to get this book in the hands of as many people as
possible,” he says. “Even without a book deal, I could add
my book to the infinite bookshelves.”
Sure enough, Alex’s book quickly shot to the top 10 in its
category on Amazon shortly after it was released. With
thousands of options on Amazon, that’s no small feat.
Increased competition makes it that much more difficult to
reach your target audience, and it’s unlikely someone will
“stumble upon” your book by browsing.
Take a scroll through the ebooks page on Amazon and
you’ll see what this looks like in practice. There are
hundreds of options, just on page one.
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Amazon’s business book bestseller list includes hundreds of
business books. Image via Amazon

All of these options may be great for consumers, but it

makes it challenging for authors to stand out from the
crowd. You’ve put so much effort into your book that it
deserves to be seen (and purchased!) instead of vanishing
in a sea of infinite online bookshelves.

You lose control of formatting

When you upload your files to Amazon, you’re also ceding

control of what the formatting is like. Every author has to
choose between a fixed format like a PDF, which displays
the same way it would be printed, regardless of device, or
a reflowable format like HTML or plain text, which changes
how it looks based on screen size or font choice.
With Kindle Direct Publishing, you can upload a Word
Document or use Amazon’s KindleCreate to create a KPF.
But after that, things can go awry. You’ll have to be careful
about the design or template you use. This is important not
only because it makes your book pleasant to read on an
e-reader format, but can also determine how accessible it is
and whether or not it adapts to multiple devices.
“I chose an upload format that would preserve our
formatting because I wanted control of what it looked like,”
says Hillman, whose book features a series of vignettes,
and so isn’t a traditional type of business book. “Because
the book is designed in a particular way, I thought, let’s
preserve that.”
Hillman converted his PDF files into KDP Files using
Amazon’s KindleCreate. But it wasn’t until launch day that
the first error message rolled in:
“I tried to download The Tiny MBA to my Kindle
Paperwhite, and it gave me an error. Do you know
what’s up?”
After buying Alex Hillman’s ebook on Kindle, customers
experienced errors downloading the book. Image via Stacking
The Bricks
Cue the panic. “People got an error on their e-readers like
Kindle Ink,” he says. “Official Amazon hardware, super
popular. They couldn’t download them because it was a
fixed layout book. A fixed layout only works on certain
devices…and once you upload it as a fixed layout, it’s stuck
as a fixed layout.”
For Hillman, it felt like Amazon wiped out all of the hard
work on the formatting, and then made it impossible to fix.
That ebook format only works on Kindle Fire and the Kindle
App, not the e-readers themselves. “There’s no warning that
says if you choose this type of file, it won’t work on people’s
devices,” he says, frustrated.
You lose touch with your customers
What bothered Hillman the most wasn’t the formatting
issue. It was the customer experience. He didn’t expect
everything to go perfectly — what launch does? — but he
did expect to be able to address anything that came up.
With so many errors and no way to fix them, Hillman had a
customer service nightmare on his hands.
The main thing I found so frustrating is that our
customers were having a terrible experience, and
Amazon refused to do anything about it. Amazon
owns the customer relationship, which means there
was no way to say, “Here’s the correct file.” All the
customer could do was request a refund.

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Losing control over the customer experience is what tipped
Hillman over the edge, prompting him to pull the book
from the Kindle store and sell only from his website. “I don’t
want to have more customers, if those customers are not
my customers, who I can’t provide the customer experience
that I want to have,” he says.
With Amazon, you don’t own the customer relationship
— they do. Hillman’s customer support issues brought up
larger concerns about the customer journey. If something
does go right, then there’s no way to capitalize on that
business relationship.
When you sell a book on Amazon, Amazon retains
the customer. I have no information about who the
customer is, which means I can’t have a long-term
relationship.
Law found the same issues, especially since he plans to
make his book a series. “Getting people to buy your book
in the first place is a huge challenge. But there’s no way
to know who actually bought your book, outside of the
percentage of people that leave a review,” he says.
Ryan Law’s novel The Green Priest. Image via Ash Tales
If he wants to follow up to announce news of the second
book available, or to promote his short stories or podcast,
he’s out of luck.
You’re reliant on one platform for
distribution
When Apple launches new products, you know about it.
Whether you watch their keynote, read a news article,
receive an email, or see people chatting about it on social
media, they’re getting the word out on every possible
channel so they can sell as many as possible.
When you’re dependent on Amazon, you don’t have that
same kind of marketing flexibility for your ebook. With
Amazon, you’re locked into specific book deals based on
whether or not your book meets a certain criteria, like being
less than $9.99. “The ebook market is essentially the Kindle
market, which is kind of crippling. Your typical margin with
Amazon is 35% or 70% depending on the type of plan you
choose. That’s a huge amount of money,” says Law.
“If you put all your eggs in one basket of a platform that you
have no control over, like Amazon, you’re gambling,” says
Hillman. “But you know, as far as gambling goes, the house
typically wins, not the players.”
Amazon makes sure that for you to truly reach as many
people as possible, you’re making a trade-off that benefits
Amazon. While Kindle Direct Publishing is a non-exclusive
partnership, to tap into Amazon’s full reach requires signing
up for KDP Select, which is the only way to get the ebook on
Kindle Unlimited.
While The Green Priest is still available for purchase on
Amazon, Law doesn’t use it as his main distribution
channel. “I use an independent distribution channel,” says
Law. “You have email addresses you can use to contact
people or follow up with them. You get a whole feedback
loop Amazon doesn’t provide for you.”
Owning the entire customer journey matters because it
gives you more control over your sales cycle, and more
options for established authors when it comes to selling.
“A big part of that was the fact that I have a successful
podcast,” says Law.
To succeed, you have to promote your ebook wherever you
can — and having the flexibility to match market needs can
make a big difference. You can…
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• Offer a sample for free, or give your ebook to well-known With ConvertKit you can promote your
influencers or reviewers so they can read it and promote
ebook wherever you want
it
• Guest post or find other traffic sources for your ebook,
Setting up your ebook to sell on ConvertKit means you can
from email newsletters to social media or forums like
easily share and promote your work with landing pages and
NoiseTrade Books
email marketing anywhere you like.
• Grow your email list with the 10 person rule

Our product pages are customizable and can be shared by

“Having your source of distribution before you even start
a link as is with your audience or you can embed it into a
writing makes the writing so much easier,” says Hillman,
landing page. And you can share that landing page as a Link
who uses his email list and social following, among other
Page in your social media bio in social media posts, or link
channels, to reach his audience. “If the goal is sales and
to in your emails to your audience.
distribution, you have to know who you’re writing for. Build
this into sales systems you already have.”
How to upload your ebook in
How ConvertKit helps you sell ConvertKit Commerce
your ebook 1. Head to the Product tab right at the top of your
ConvertKit app.
The real reason you don’t need Amazon? You have
everything you need to create better content — and keep 2. Click on New Product.
more of the profit. “It feels like you have to be on those big 3. Give your product a name, choose a pricing method, and
players in order to succeed,” says Hillman. “But you can do give it a price.
it all without relying on Amazon.”
4. Next, upload your product.

You’ve worked hard on creating content that matters
to your audience. So why throw that away? Instead of
Amazon, choose a tool that works for you. “Find great
partners to work with,” says Hillman, “I know ConvertKit
works, because we’ve run our whole business on it.”
Whether you need help packaging up your ebook with
handy templates or creating a complete customer
experience that gives you control over how your customers
interact with your book from start to finish, ConvertKit
Commerce will always have your back.
ConvertKit helps you stay connected with
your customers
Being able to follow up with your customers is essential.
Building an email list to connect with your customers
means you own that relationship. No social media
algorithms or third party distribution to get in your way.
5. Then choose the domain name and page URL you’d like
to use when sharing your product with others, and click
“Create Product”
6. From there, you’ll be redirected to where you can edit
and customize your product page, checkout page,
confirmation page, and email receipt your buyers will
receive.
7. When you’re finished with customizing, you’ll click Save,
Publish, and then choose whether you want to share it
via a link with other people or embed a product button
right on your website.
Save yourself the headaches and sell your ebook online
using ConvertKit Commerce.
Kayla Voigt

You can segment your audience by those who have already

purchased your book and those you can still pitch it to, and
create automated funnels to send those messages at the
right time.

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Free ebook template:
How to create a fantastic
ebook in 48 hours
email list and one of the main reasons their company has

Y ou’ve likely heard it before, but I’ll say it

again: content upgrades are a great way
to give added value to a reader in exchange for
grown so fast.

There are many types of content upgrades you could create

their email address.
The promise of a weekly newsletter alone may be enough
to get loyal fans to sign up to your email list, but offering a
useful piece of extra content that will make their life easier
or help them learn is how you convert a casual reader into
a subscriber.
In fact, Clay Collins, co-founder of LeadPages, found that
promoting upgraded content at the end of blog posts on
LeadPages was the number one factor in growing their
(check out our ultimate guide to content upgrades for
inspiration), but one of the most popular is a PDF ebook.
The best part about creating an ebook as your opt-in
incentive? You’ve already done the bulk of the writing. This
is where your archive of past blog posts comes into play.
You can create an ebook on a certain topic by gathering
together posts you’ve already written and repurposing
them.

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Here’s how you can create an ebook to give away to your
subscribers in four simple steps:
• Choose five blog posts that discuss different aspects of
the same topic.
• Arrange them in a logical order so they take the reader
on a journey through learning about the topic. These
become your chapters.
• Write an introduction and a conclusion to wrap it up.
• Create a PDF with the content.
Boom! (Almost) instant ebook.
The reason we suggest five posts is that your ebook doesn’t
have to be long, in fact it’s probably better if it’s not. In his
post about content upgrades, Pat Flynn has this to say
about having multiple shorter ebooks available rather than
one long one you promote site wide:
What’s working even better today are smaller,
unique, bite-sized lead magnets that directly relate to
what people are already consuming.
So get specific with your topic and offer it for download on
relevant posts.
Why your repurposed blog content
is valuable
Just because the content already exists on your blog, it
doesn’t mean there isn’t value in delivering it in an ebook
also. Not only can you add value and insights into the
introduction and conclusion you’ll write for your ebook, but
there is also great value in contextualising information for
the reader.
Well-written posts are great on their own as standalone
pieces of content, but presenting them alongside other
posts on the same topic can add context and tell many
sides of the story all in one handy package. You’re taking
a step out of the research and learning process for your
reader by arranging the posts in a ‘recommended reading’
order and giving it to them to keep and reference.
Not only that, but you’re also offering them the opportunity
to read the information in a different format.
When we first launched this new issue-style blog format of
ours back in January we heard from our readers that they
wanted a downloadable PDF of the articles so they could
refer back to the information later or read it on their iPad
or tablet. That’s why you now see a ‘Download PDF’ option
for each of our Tradecraft issues!
How to create an ebook PDF
If the thought of laying out an ebook seems daunting to
you, don’t let that put you off. I’ve got some advice for you
on what programs to use and how to design it yourself.
There are many tools out there that will allow you to layout
a PDF, but these ones below are some of the best across a
range of different effort and control levels.
Beacon
Beacon is a web-based app that’s whole purpose is to help
you create ebooks from your blog posts. Ideal, right? If
you use WordPress or Hubspot for your blog you can even
import your posts automatically. But if not, it’s easy enough
to copy and paste the content.
The app offers you lots of different themes you can choose
from to use as a starting point and customise the colors,
images, fonts and layout. It’s up to you how much effort you
want to put in, but it’s worth taking the time to make a few
tweaks to really personalise the look of your PDF ebook.
Beacon makes this easy because if you change something
in the settings panels, the primary color for example, it will
update throughout your book, so it’s easy to keep your
design consistent. Watch an intro video about how that
works here.
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Beacon has a free plan which includes a little ‘Made with
Beacon’ logo on your cover. You can upgrade to a paid
plan to remove it and have more options like saving your
own theme, which is useful if you’re going to be creating
multiple ebooks.

Pages
InDesign
If you have a Mac computer, it’s likely you might already
have Pages installed (and if not, you can get it from the App
If you have an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription then
Store). Pages is a word processor like Microsoft Word, but
using InDesign might be a good option for you. InDesign
it’s so much nicer to use. When you create a new document
lets you have complete control over every little aspect of
there’s the option to start with the ‘digital book’ template in
your layout (you won’t see text jumping about when you
the Miscellaneous section, or you can download the ebook
drop an image in for example!), but this also means you
template we’ve created especially for Tradecraft readers to
need to put in much more effort to use it. There might be
use as your starting point. Like the Beacon themes, you’ll
a bit of a learning curve with getting used to the software,
want to make some tweaks to personalise your design to
but there are plenty of tutorials online to help you get up
match your site.
to speed. Check out this video for an introduction to the
basics of the software and then this one that explains how
Get our free Pages ebook template
to lay out text and images.

While you’ll need to get much more hands on with the

layout in Pages by copying and pasting your blog posts in
and styling the text yourself, you can (and should) make
use of the paragraph style options. All you have to do is
highlight your text and select the style from the Format
panel to the right. This way if you set all your chapter titles
to the ‘Heading’ format they’ll all match.

InDesign is what I use to lay out our Tradecraft PDF

because of the control it gives me over the layout. You can
really do as much or as little as you like though! If you’re
keen to start learning to use InDesign, we’ve created an
ebook template you can use so that you’re not starting with
a blank page.

Get our free Indesign ebook template

Just like with Pages you’ll need to manually copy and

paste your content and you should use paragraph styles
in InDesign to help keep your text styling consistent
And if you want to tweak the style, just make the change
throughout the ebook. Learn more about them in this video
and hit the ‘update’ button, and it will apply that change to
tutorial. Consistency is key for making your ebook look
every other heading in your book.
professional and easy to read.

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Designing for readability
Just because you’re not a designer, it doesn’t mean you
shouldn’t pay attention to these design details that will
make reading your ebook a great experience for your
subscribers. Here’s what to watch out for:
Font choice
While you can get a bit fancy in the font you use for your
title and headings, the font you choose for the body of your
ebook should first and foremost be legible. This beautiful
script font for example looks great on a cover page, but is
really hard to read in a sentence.
Instead stick to plainer fonts for your main content. You
can download some great open source fonts from the
Google font library, which are free to use in your projects.
For a modern look try a sans-serif like Open Sans, Roboto,
Montserrat or Lato.
Download these sans-serif fonts from Google fonts
And for a classic look try a serif font like Merriweather,
Droid Serif, Roboto Slab or Lora.
Download these serif fonts from Google fonts
Bonus tip: the Google font library is great to browse
because when you view a font, it will give you
suggestions of other fonts to pair it with.
Readable line lengths
The length of your lines of text and the spacing between
them can have an impact on how comfortable it is for a
reader’s eyes to follow along. To give your subscribers a
good reading experience you want to make sure the text
in your ebook is optimised for readability. First, that means
left aligning your text. Here’s a quick design history lesson
courtesy of Smashing Magazine.
In 1928, [typographer] Jan Tschichold dismissed
centered text and advocated for left-aligned text. He
argued that this would assist readers by providing a
consistent left (vertical) edge for the eye to return to
after finishing each (horizontal) line.
It’s true! You can also help the reader’s eye easily find the
start of a new line by keeping your line-length to around 45-
75 characters and changing the line height so that the eye
doesn’t get confused and read the same line twice. Here’s
an example– isn’t the text in the second example much
easier to read than the first?
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With so many words on a line, it’s harder to find the start of the
next one.
Shorter line lengths = much more readable!
That’s why in our Tradecraft PDF I lay the text out in two
columns rather than spanning the whole page.
Break up text-heavy pages with images
Keep your reader engaged by adding imagery throughout
your ebook. Adding images lets a reader’s eyes rest
intermittently, and remember, the book is digital, so it won’t
waste paper if you decide to add a half-page image in some
of your chapters!
The same goes for title pages or quote pages– changing up
the way you display your content every now and then will
keep your ebook from feeling like a school textbook and
make it more of an engaging publication.
Add a Contents page
Just like a website has navigation to make it easier to find
your way around, you should help your readers navigate
your ebook too. Add a Contents page so they can easily
find the right article and re-read that inspiring snippet they
remembered seeing.
Use our free ebook templates to
create your first first ebook
Once you nail the ebook creation process you’ll be able to
make multiple lead magnets about specific topics available
on your site. You’ll be adding lots of new subscribers to
your email list in no time. The only question now is what
will the topic for your first ebook giveaway be?
Download our free Pages ebook template
And once you have your ebook complete, it will be time
to promote and share it with your audience. Creating a
landing page to give your readers more information about
what you ebook entails and how to download it is the
first step. And you can create a Free landing page with
ConvertKit!
Charli Prangley
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How to repurpose your
blog posts into an ebook
you can sell
How do you create an ebook that doesn’t feel like a simple

Y ou’ve already created a successful ebook.

You just might not know it yet.
rehash of your best blog content? How do you navigate
content repurposing in a way that feels fresh?

If you’ve ever written a popular blog post that engaged

Most importantly, how do you avoid hours of manual labor,
readers, you have material. You have the nuts and bolts
like copying and pasting? Here’s everything you’ll need to
of writing and content creation down. You even have an
know about repurposing blog posts into an ebook that
audience, and better yet: you know what your audience
sells.
responds to.

The problem comes when you imagine sitting down and

creating an ebook out of all of this. You don’t want to
rehash old content. But you don’t want to lose what made
your content so engaging in the first place.

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 There are a few reasons it’s worth your time to learn how to
The advantages of building ebooks turn your blog into a book:
from blog content
• Passive income. If you run a service business, you
know how hard it is to achieve scalable growth. Turning
your service into a product changes that. It turns your
expertise into a repeatable digital product that you can
sell while you sleep. You can even use this content to
create unique products that you don’t have to lift a finger
to manage.

• Ebooks are a popular medium. 2020 has seen a

“revival” in ebooks, from major publishers to small
independent blogs. People want to read digital products.
And the market is still growing. In just one week during
2020, over 10.1 million people borrowed digital products
from libraries across the world.

• Content is great for lead generation. Creating an

exclusive product is a powerful way to attract potential
leads online. According to CMI, content marketing
generates as many leads as outbound marketing. And it
costs 62% less.

• It’s easier than writing from a blank slate.

Repurposing your most engaging content means
you’ll have an established market. You’ll know when
the demand is there. That gives you an immediate
advantage over anyone creating an ebook from scratch.
For example: When I created the Write Better Right Now
ebook, I had a collection of previous newsletters and
how-to writing lessons I could pull from. Since all of the
how-tos were already in an easy-to-follow format, the
entire collection only took about an hour to assemble. So
far it’s generated four figures in sales. Not a bad return,
right?

• You’re multitasking. Having a blog is an achievement

in itself. Blogs create 126% more lead growth for small
businesses, after all. They improve SEO, indexing at a
rate of 4x over blog-less websites. But content creation
goes beyond that, helping you create new products that
drive sales and attract new leads. Think of moving from
blog to ebook not as rehashing, but as multitasking.

Maybe it sounds like a bad idea. Why bother recycling old • Easier for your audience to consume. When you
content? Who’s going to pay for an ebook when the content have a popular series of blog posts, it can be tough for
is already free? readers to navigate everything. An ebook sets itself apart

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 by creating a more digestible form of your content. If it
means they can read it on their tablet or e-reader, all the
better.

• Speed to market. Repurposing blog content is one of

the fastest ways to get an ebook onto the page. When
you’re repurposing content, the meat and potatoes of
your book are already there. You only need to package
it in an original way that adds value to readers—you can
even use preexisting ebook templates to minimize the
work.

Even better? Creating an ebook makes it possible for you to

position yourself as a thought leader.

Consider the example of Anton Sten. Inspired by the

“teach everything you know” approach used by creators
Anton Sten’s ebook “User Experiences That Matter” helped
like Nathan Barry (our founder here at ConvertKit!), Anton
position him as a subject matter expert, encouraging signups
decided to take a dozen of his most popular posts and drop
and engagement from potential clients. Image via Anton Sten.
them into an ebook.

There are clear benefits to repurposing your blog content.

Here’s what he experienced:
But how you turn your blog into a book is just as important
as why.
• Return on investment. Sten put down $1,000 of his
own money toward an editor, and the ebook eventually
returned $3,000. Even though Sten admits this is far Step #1: Use your blog as a content
from a “cash machine,” his returns more than justified
his initial investment. testing platform

• Long-term marketing value. It may not be a “cash
machine,” but Sten does notice his clients’ ears perking
up when he mentions his book. Said Sten: “There’s
clearly a marketing value that’s hard to put a number
on.”
• New opportunities. Sten’s book also led to new
exposure that he wouldn’t have realized with the blog
alone. According to Sten, it led to interviews with Adobe
and WNW which helped solidify his position as a subject
matter expert.
It’s rare that ebook writers can beta test the content that
most resonates with their audience. In many cases, ebook
writers sit down and hash out what they think will be most
useful.
This is a thoughtful approach. But it still boils down to
guessing.
If you’re investing in your own ebook, you don’t want to
guess. Instead, think of your blog as a content-testing
platform for the ebook you’re eventually going to compile.

Pop over to your analytics. What are the queries people

are typing that bring the most visitors? Here is a list of the
items you can look for while running the numbers:

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• What questions do people ask in the comments
section? If you have enough comments to notice
patterns, write down the ones that strike you as the
most common.
• What queries are people typing? Google makes it
difficult to find these through analytics these days, but
pay attention to the blog posts that generate the most
interest.
• Which sort of queries does your blog rank for? What
is the user intent behind those queries? What questions
are people asking that might land them on your
page?
For companies without a solid content plan, it would be
worth paying money to find out what people want. But if
you have a blog already, you can do it for free.
Be honest about the numbers. Which blog posts are
inspiring the most visits, and why? What are the common
elements that unify your most popular posts?
And if you want to find more material for an ebook, what
different elements of these posts do you have yet to
explore?
That’s exactly what Nicholas Cole, founder of Digital Press
did.
When Cole sat down to compile his book on the subject of
writing, “The Art and Business of Online Writing,” he already
had a history of user questions to ponder. The first thing he
did was dig up his most popular articles, and those articles
became the basis for his book’s outline.
I treat 100% of what I write online as essentially data
mining content. As these social platforms tell me
what works, I continue to refine and double down on
these topic areas, building out ‘proven’ libraries based
on what audiences want.
– Nicholas Cole, Digital Press
Cole also found other opportunities based on the questions
his readers were asking. For instance, he noticed that many
readers asked him how to position themselves as thought
leaders.
Inspiration struck. Cole added a “Thought Leadership”
course for anyone who bought his book the first week. It
helped launch a successful debut, selling 500 copies from
that offer alone.
But the benefits of this approach didn’t stop there. Cole
noticed the same thing Sten did: the book led to dozens
of new business opportunities. Cole found new clients
approaching him at Digital Press. He discovered new
advising and consulting opportunities. He capitalized on
speaking opportunities and gained more subscribers for his
paid newsletter.
His assessment: the ebook led to “tens of thousands of
dollars in value in just a few months.”
Step #2: Build your ebook
structure
Like a blog post, an ebook requires structure if it’s going to
deliver value for your readers. The good news is that the
ebook can be an easier way to structure your content. Your
readers will enjoy having everything they need, sitting right
in front of them.
Ryan Robinson of RyRob.com noticed this was an
advantage of his ebooks. He found that repurposing long-
form content wasn’t a quick money grab, but a better way
of delivering content to readers with busy schedules.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from
publishing 300+ long-form articles on my blog
over the last 8 years, is that some readers can get
overwhelmed after landing on an in-depth guide
that looks like it’ll take forever to get through, even
if they’re motivated to learn and take action on the
content they’re consuming.
– Ryan Robinson, RyRob.com
According to Robinson, readers don’t always like sifting
through articles. Even though the content is there for free,
navigating the labyrinth of blog archives is extra work.
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Readers would rather read an ebook they can sit with than
keep multiple tabs open, guessing which piece leads to
the next. It’s much easier for the reader to have one well-
organized source where they can find everything in linear
order.
That leaves one question. How do you sit down and make
the shift from blog to ebook? What are the nuts and bolts of
your ebook structure? Here are a few key methods.
The Chapter Method
Also known as a “hub-and-spoke” content strategy, this is
what Leah Ryder of Trello advocates. Here’s how you can
move the content from blog to ebook with ease:
• Gather up your “hub” posts first. What are the “pillar
posts” that serve as the master-guide to each topic?
These are the hubs around which the individual spokes
should revolve.
• Create a chapter from a “hub” topic. Ryder
recommends using your existing content, but using fresh
formatting (headers, bullets, definition boxes) to improve
readability. You can also add extras on top of these (the
aforementioned “spokes”), such as quotes from business
leaders on the topic that might not have appeared in
the original post. Any additional spokes, such as chapter
summaries, can also boost readability.
Using this method, you would create an outline based on
the most successful “pillar posts” on your blog. Organize
your chapters based on these themes. The order is crucial.
What does a reader need to know first before moving on to
the next theme?
Jessica Malnik of The Remote Work Tribe notes that this is a
great way to stretch limited sources. She intentionally plans
her blog content with this strategy in mind.
I run a content site helping remote managers on the
site. I’m using this process to launch an ebook all
about helping remote teams combat burnout. Instead
of writing the ebook first, we wrote and published a
series of blog posts on the topic of burnout. We’ll turn
that into a full ebook along with incorporating the
feedback that we received from people who read the
individual posts.
– Jessica Malnik, The Remote Work Tribe
The Excerpt Method
What if you don’t have large pillar posts to build an entire
chapter around? Then you can use the Excerpt Method,
which is essentially summarizing existing content with an
eye on organization. With this strategy, you’ll take snippets
from different articles and stick them together based on
overall themes.
This is a good idea if you’ve noticed people are interested
in specific topics that you haven’t addressed yet. You’re
essentially taking bits and pieces from the content you’ve
written and reshuffling them to form new long-form
content.
With the Excerpt Method, you can still incorporate new
additions, such as supplemental content and expert quotes.
This way the ebook will feel fresh because the content is
organized in a completely different way.
Chris Craft’s is an example of how investing in long-form
content makes the Excerpt Method easier. His in-depth
approach makes it easier to repurpose that content
whenever he needs to.
Chris Craft’s investments in both creating and educating people
about long-form content have naturally lent themselves to the
ebook format. Image via Chris Craft.
It’s a lot easier to repurpose content when you start
with the words first. If you just start with a long-
form piece that has your H3s and H4s, what do those
become? Those become bullet points within a tweet.
Those become a caption for Instagram, those become
an outline for a podcast.
– Chris Craft
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We have a tendency to view long-form content as a static
thing. But repurposing that content for people who have
yet to see the message is still valuable to a whole different
audience. View each post as an investment not only in long-
form content, but long-term content generation.
Step #3: Create your ebook
At this stage, let’s assume you have a blog and an audience.
You know what people are looking for, content-wise. You
have a sense of what questions your audience is asking.
Now it’s time to take your top-performing content and turn
it into a page-turner.
Even if you don’t do much with your articles except drop
them into an ebook, there’s a way to structure them to tell
a unique story. How can you do this? With tools that make
this sort of organization easy.
• For example, Beacon helps you create an ebook as a lead
magnet. It features a “lead magnet editor” so you don’t
have to do anything except gathering up the content
you’ve already created.
• Book Widgets is a great set of tools for creating
supplementary value in your materials. If you feel
that you need to offer more value than dropping in
old blog posts into an ebook, Book Widgets helps you
create interactive exercises, for example. This helps you
fashion your ebook into an educational course. Deborah
Niemann had success doing just that, repurposing
her content with fresh materials that changed her
presentation into a successful course.
• Use ConvertKit’s ebook template to format everything
properly. This will feature all you need to handle the
nuts and bolts of taking your text and turning it into a
downloadable PDF worth buying.
Step #4: Set your ebook apart
from your free content with extra
offerings
An ebook is great. But an ebook packaged with extras will
sell even better.
For instance, you can write a new article and attach it as a
bonus to create a sense of exclusivity. People who love your
blog will want to see what else you have on your mind. You
can create an extra PDF and include it with the sale of your
ebook for free, incentivizing new sales.
Claire Emerson of ImplementMyCourse.com found that
an ebook associated with her course helped drive sales,
converting at a rate of around 25% when using it as a lead
magnet. “And that’s with no promotion yet,” said Emerson.
The key to her success? Emerson took existing content and
repurposed it as a bonus.
According to Emerson, the broader approach of the ebook
serves as a perfect complement for a course that explores
topics in greater depth.
Some readers may want a bird’s-eye overview of your
content. Others might appreciate the deeper dive that
comes with an in-depth course. By doing both, Emerson
opened her course up to sales that appealed to both types
of readers.
You don’t have to sell your ebook exclusively. You can also
package it into an existing offering or unique digital product
to add that much more promotional value to your offer.
According to Emerson, it started making sales even before
she began her earnest course promotion.
Claire Emerson’s online course has benefited from retooling
blog posts into ebook bonuses. Image via Implement My
Course.
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Step #5: Sell your ebook using
ConvertKit Commerce
Do you have a blog that’s ready to turn into an ebook?
Or do you want to start creating content with an eye on
launching your ebook down the line?

No matter what your goal is, it’s time to get started.

Turn the blog content you already have into a revenue-
generating digital product on ConvertKit Commerce with a
free ConvertKit account.

Kaleigh Moore

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How to price your
ebook to maximize
sales and profits
With the wrong price, you’ll push readers away. If you

Y ou’re finally ready to launch your ebook.

The last step before releasing your ebook:
giving it a price tag. Easy, right?
You might be tempted to come up with your ebook price
based on gut feeling. You may want to “charge what you’re
worth”… Or just pick any ebook price and run with it.
The problem with these approaches? They don’t account
for what your reader’s looking for and expecting.
charge too much, people won’t buy your ebook because it
feels too expensive. And if you price too low, your target
readers may question the value of your ebook and you’ll
miss out on sales—especially if you’re pricing lower than
most of your competitors.
To help you price your ebook, we’re sharing easy ways to
research your market, choose the best platform to sell your
ebook, and select the price that will maximize your sales
once your ebook is published.

With the right price, you’ll set your ebook up for long-term
success. You’ll attract your ideal readers and become a
sustainable revenue stream.

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3 factors that affect ebook pricing
Many ebooks sell for $5. Others have a $100 price tag (or
higher!). How can the same type of a digital product have
such a dramatically different price?

Just like pricing any other digital product, the optimal price
for your ebook comes from your customers, and how much
they value the material you’re selling. Here are key factors
that play a role in ebook pricing.

Factor 1: Industry and who you’re selling to

First, consider the field you’re in. Some industries don’t

have many quality resources available (including ebooks)
because the knowledge is simply harder to acquire and
takes longer—think highly technical fields like engineering.
Creators in this field can naturally charge more for ebooks.

On the other hand, there are fields with lots of creators

and many resources that are free or low-cost, including
videos, templates, ebooks, email courses, and more. When
that’s the case, you’ll often drive more sales by pricing your
ebooks lower.

There’s another element to consider here: the person

you’re selling to and their context. How do they usually
make their purchase decisions? Do they have a budget
available to spend on education? That will be a huge factor
in how they perceive your ebook price.

Factor 2: Perceived value of your ebook

Let’s consider two different titles for the same hypothetical

ebook:

1. “10 time management strategies for freelancers”

2. “Transform your workweek as a freelancer and save 8

hours each week”

The ebook content is the same. The ebook sections are

the same. But the outcome is communicated in two very
different ways.

The first title implies a list of strategies you can choose

from, try, and either keep using or try a different one. The
second one paints a vivid picture of a tangible, desirable

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outcome. The reader can almost feel the satisfaction of
following advice from this ebook.

Ask yourself: what are your target readers willing to spend

money on to get better in something related to your ebook
topic?

Simply put, how you communicate the reader’s end goal

with the ebook matters—and the price needs to match up.
The more value you provide with your ebook, the more you
can charge.

The Kindle Direct Publishing platform. Image via Amazon

Factor 3: Ebook length
If you package your ebook as a Kindle book and sell it on
If two books are about the same topic, but one is 30 pages
Amazon, here’s the cut you’ll get from Amazon:
long and the other one is 150, the price should reflect that.

• You’ll get 70% if your ebook is priced between $2.99 and

But there’s another thing you need to consider: the
$9.99 (this is the case for United States and works very
expectations of your readers based on the ebook length
similarly in other countries)
(and whether the ebook price matches that).
• Any other pricing will give you a 35% cut of the revenue
your ebook makes
For example, you could sell an ebook on how to get a
jumpstart on something, achieve an outcome quickly (think
Selling your ebook on Amazon is certainly less than ideal.
building a morning routine or creating an easy-to-follow
On top of only getting a fraction of your ebook’s revenue,
meal plan for the week). If you make that ebook 150 pages
you’re also relying on Amazon’s algorithm, emails, other
long, the length won’t increase its perceived value; it will do
books on similar topics on Amazon, and other factors out
the opposite because it throws out the ‘quick’ element.
of your control. You have no influence over how Amazon
promotes your ebook and how visitors interact with it.
Your ebook length needs to match up with the promise of
your ebook title, which will make ebook pricing easier.
2. Google Play Books

Different places you can sell your You can sell your ebook using Google Play Books Partner
Center, which gives you access to around two billion Google
ebook users.

Choosing the right platform for your ebook can make a

huge difference to your ideal pricing—and how much you’ll
take home at the end of the day. Here are a few platforms
you can sell your ebook on and how they affect your ebook
pricing—and your revenue.

1. Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing

Amazon lets you self-publish ebooks through their Kindle

Direct Publishing platform.

The Google Play Books shop. Image via Google Play

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When it comes to ebook earnings, Google says: “There’s no
cost, and your revenue share is the vast majority and based
on the list price you provide.” In other words, you’ll get 70%
of the revenue your ebook earns.
Similarly to Amazon, your ebook price will be anchored
by other books selling on your topic and in your industry.
Check out what’s currently selling to get an idea.
Another downside is that even though Google has over two
billion users, if someone doesn’t have a device with Play
Store (and uses Google Play Books to regularly buy books),
they won’t buy from you.
3. Marketplaces like Etsy and Ebay
If you’ve researched places to sell your ebook on, you’ve
had another idea: marketplaces like Etsy and Ebay.
The many ways you can sell your ebook.
“People are already buying on these platforms every
day, so why not add my ebook to the mix?”
The problem? Websites like Etsy and Ebay aren’t made for
selling ebooks. They’re aimed at people looking for physical
products, and categories you can browse make that pretty
clear.
Ebay’s product categories range from home, toys, and
fashion to electronics, collectibles, and musical instruments:
Product categories on Ebay. Image via Ebay
On Etsy, there’s a huge focus on DIY, home, fashion, and
personalized items:
Product categories on Etsy. Image via Etsy
In other words: you can sell your ebook on these platforms,
but it won’t stand out in the way it deserves or bring you
the sales you want.
4. Your website
The best platform for selling your ebook? Your own
website.
Selling your ebook on your own website gives you lots of
advantages over any other platform:
• You have complete creative control and you can make
sure your ebook perfectly fits your branding and
messaging
• You can grow a loyal audience on social media, as well as
your email list
• You’re not relying on marketplace algorithms or
competing with other sellers
• You own the traffic that comes to your website, as well
as your email list, so you can promote your ebook more
efficiently using automated sequences, social media ads,
and more
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Everything from your website and social media to your
ebook landing page and checkout page can match, just like
it does for SistaSense, a community and mentorship for
female entrepreneurs:
• What’s the lowest and highest ebook price you can find?
• What’s the average ebook price?
This gives you a great range you can work from to choose
your price.

The on-brand ebook landing page. Image via SistaSense

Most importantly: you keep all the money that your

customers pay for your ebook! Instead of getting 35% or
70% of the ebook’s revenue, you get everything (minus the
Stripe fees), which makes it a more reliable income stream.

5 steps to find the right price for

your ebook
Here are the exact steps you can follow to choose the right
ebook price.

Step 1: Research ebook prices in your

industry

There are many ways you can research how ebooks are
priced in your field—here are two that are both efficient
and easy to do:

Research tactic 1: Run targeted Google searches like

“your topic” “ebook” (include the quotation marks).
Take note of the paid ebooks you find—start with at least
10. You can track them in a Google Sheet, but even a simple
note will do. Then, take note:

Sample search for HIIT workout ebooks; this search reveals a

$10 to $25 ebook price range.

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Targeted Google searches are also a great way to notice
the details around industry-specific pricing and your target
reader’s budget. Are you selling to families on a budget or
to high-earning business owners? How does that influence
their expectations of your ebook price? There’s a reason
why a fitness ebook is priced at 10 GBP, while a technical
ebook about Ruby on Rails is $39.
Research tactic 2: Look at Amazon ebook prices for
your industry and topic. Find these in Amazon > Kindle
E-readers & Books > Kindle Books, then select the category
on the left.
Don’t just look at the prices of best-selling books—
they’re often best-selling because they’ve been heavily
discounted—but also those with many reviews and high
ratings.
Prices of health and fitness ebooks on Amazon. Image via
Amazon
Amazon ebook prices shouldn’t be your main price guide,
but it will show you potential outliers—especially ebooks
that are priced more than the average book on the topic,
yet sells well and has great ratings.
Step 2: Survey your existing
audience
Your audience will tell you a lot about how you should price
your ebook.
Here’s the trick: don’t go to them with the question “How
much would you pay for an ebook on [topic]?”
Instead, ask them about what they’re currently buying
related to your field and topics to solve their challenges and
improve their skills. Give them prompts to get as detailed
answers as possible. You can ask questions such as:
• Have you bought any online courses about [topic]? If so,
which one(s)?
• Which books have you read about [topic], if any?
• Have you hired a professional to help you with [topic]
(e.g. coach, consultant, etc.)? If so, what was your
experience?
• Have you bought any physical products related to
[topic]?
If you have an email list (of any size!), send your survey to
them. You can use a survey tool like SurveyMonkey to do
this, or you can write a simple email and ask them just like
you would a friend.
If you don’t have an email list yet, or if you have any
social following, you can also use those social networks
to poll your audience. Use features such as Twitter polls,
Instagram polls, or Instagram questions to ask your
audience about the solutions they buy to solve their pain
points. Just make sure you’re keeping track of all responses,
including direct messages—every insight is valuable!
Step 3: Focus on the value your
ebook provides
Y
ou now have a price range you can work from to define
your price. Now, think about the outcome of your book we
talked about earlier. Is your reader looking for…
• More income?
• Achieving something faster?
• Removing a problem?
• Achieving better health?
• Building better habits?
Consider how these questions influence your reader
long-term. For example, B2B SaaS copywriter Dana Nicole
teaches SEO in her ebook, Savvy in SEO. The outcome of
her ebook isn’t to be good at SEO—it’s to get found online
by dream clients. This is what she clearly communicates on
her landing page:
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 You can also use add-ons as price anchoring to present
your ebook in the best light possible. Anchoring is a
cognitive bias, a tendency to rely on the first piece of
information offered when making decisions.

For your ebook, this means you can offer a premium

version next to it. For example, your ebook price is $40, but
you also offer a bundle with a 30-minute coaching call for
$150. Your customers may see the ebook-only version as a
bargain next to the premium version.

The transformation that comes after applying what you learn

A great example of this is the Ruby on Rails ebook by
in Savvy in SEO. Image via Dana Nicole
Learn Enough, which is priced at $39, but you can also buy
screencasts without or with the ebook for $149 and $169.
Based on the ebook price range you discovered in step 1,
and the solutions your audience already buys you learned
in step 2, how does your ebook outcome impact your
ebook pricing?

Step 4: Consider ebook add-ons

and price anchoring
You can use ebook add-ons in two ways when it comes to
pricing. Ebook price anchoring with additional screencasts as a
premium offer. Image via Learn Enough
First one is simple: increase the perceived value of your
ebook by sprinkling in extra materials. This can turn your
ebook from “just a PDF” into a bundle that will reduce the Step 5: Review sales data and
risk of buying the ebook for your customer.
customer feedback
Add-ons can be video walkthroughs, live streams, recorded
Finally, the market will tell you everything you need to know
interviews with experts, templates, cheat sheets and more.
about ebook pricing. All you need to do is listen.
This approach is how Steph Smith increased the perceived
value of her ebook, Doing Content Right:
Here are the main ways you can review your sales data and
listen to your customers—just choose one and go.

Prelaunch your ebook with a limited-time only price.

Be transparent about your plan to increase the price once
you launch the ebook. This gives you the opportunity to
survey people who purchase your ebook and explore
pricing options (and you’ll generate early buzz around your
ebook!).

Offer tiered ebook pricing and increase the price every

X sales. You’ll see sales slow down when the pricing is
reaching its potential maximum. This is what Steph Smith
Get specific about add-ons your customers will get. Image via
did with Doing Content Right, and it was a huge success.
Steph Smith

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She was also told by her customers to charge more, which
helped her validate her product idea and show the real
value of her ebook to people who were still undecided.
There’s one last thing you need: a platform you can use to
sell your ebook directly from your website while keeping
all your ebook revenue. Not just that—you can sell to an
audience that already knows you, trusts you, and wants to
buy from you.

Ready to get started? If you don’t already have it, grab your
free ConvertKit account and start selling your ebook today.

Marijana Kay

Steph Smith increased the price of her ebook by $5 after each

30 copies sold. Image via Steph Smith on Twitter

Choose one consistent price and actively reach out to

customers to get their feedback. Ask them about the
value they received based on what they paid for the ebook
based on their expectations and what they would usually
buy to solve problems.

You can also ask them for testimonials and suggestions

for improvements—people love to hear their opinions and
recommendations heard, and you’ll build deeper trust from
your customers by doing this.

You’re ready to sell your ebook—

and lots of it
You not only have your ebook ready, but you also know
exactly how to price your ebook to maximize its chance for
success.

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6 ebook marketing ideas
guaranteed to grow sales
Y ou have an ebook idea. You know it’s going
to help many people. But you also have a
fear that no one will buy it.
In fact, that fear might be what’s keeping you from even
starting to write your ebook.
The solution? Simple and effective ebook marketing ideas.
Promotion needs to be a big part of your ebook launch
strategy. Without a clear plan for finding buyers, that fear
will be there when you start writing—and it won’t leave.
You’re working hard to brainstorm and write an ebook, edit
it, and publish it for your audience. You deserve to see it
succeed and to turn it into a reliable income stream.
With these ebook launch and promotion ideas, that’s
exactly what you’ll do.
Before we start: Why you should
focus on building your email list
You’ll notice that some of the ebook marketing strategies
we’re about to show you are about getting people to join
your email list.
You might be wondering…
“If these promotion tactics are so effective, why do I
need an email list on top of that?”
Here’s why:
If social media was a crowded event with a stage that
everyone gets to use to speak into a microphone, email
would be a quiet, cozy living room that your subscriber
personally invited you to.
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Building connections with your target readers on social
media is important (in fact, it’s one of the strategies we’ll
discuss).

But when social media is your only way to reach your

audience, you don’t have a way to reach out to all the
people that follow you at once. You’re at the mercy of:

• Social media algorithms. How many of your followers

will actually get to see your content on their feeds? For
many of them, it will be buried below dozens of other
tweets, Instagram posts, and stories. Also: you don’t
own your social media audience, and if a social network
disappeared, so would your access to your followers.
That can’t happen with an email list.

• Time zones. When you post, much of your audience

might be sleeping or simply not online at that time. Even
if your audience is spread across just two or three time
zones, a big chunk of them will miss what you share.

• Platform constraints. Social media platforms limit the

media formats, text length, text formatting, and many
other things about the messages you’re sharing. These
limitations are good because they make social media
enjoyable (Instagram stories would be much harder to
consume quickly if each slide was 60 seconds long), but
if they’re all you use to talk about your ebook, you’ll miss
out on conveying your full message.

By focusing on building your email list, you bypass all of

this. You’ll never have to count on a social media algorithm
or the exact times your target audience is online. You no
longer rely on an external platform. Your messages look
exactly the way you want them to, and they reach your
ideal reader at a time you choose.

A bonus point? Email subscribers can be up to 15 times

more valuable than social media followers.

With that in mind, let’s dive into powerful ebook promotion

strategies so you can publish your ebook with the attention
it deserves.

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1. Build a hyper-interested email Create a free ebook related to your paid
ebook
list with a specific lead magnet
Another way to use a lead magnet is to create an ebook (or
Lead magnets are free downloadable incentives you give
a similar resource) closely related to your paid ebook’s topic
your audience in exchange for joining your email list.
and offer it for free.

The ultimate rule of lead magnets: the more specific

A free ebook will attract the most relevant subscribers and
they are, the more targeted an audience you’ll attract. By
bring them lots of additional value. By doing this, you’ll
offering something closely related to your ebook, you can
grow trust from your email subscribers because you’ve
build an email list packed with people who can’t wait to
given them a complete guide to achieving something
hear from you about the topic of your ebook.
meaningful—for free.

Here are two ways you can put this strategy into action.
Turn the first chapter of your ebook into a
lead magnet
Giving away the first chapter of your ebook is an easy,
quick, and straightforward way to build hype—and your
email list.
There are several benefits of doing this:
This way, when you promote your paid ebook to them,
they’ll already know your ebooks are worth their time and
attention—and now money.
Tom Hirst, a freelance web designer, created a free ebook
called 10 Steps To Becoming A Better Freelancer around
three months before launching his paid ebook, Pricing
Freelance Projects. Around 2,000 people downloaded the
free ebook and gave him a way to reach out to them when
he released the paid ebook.

• A free chapter gives people valuable tips they can

implement and see results from
• You’re teasing the quality of the full, paid ebook, making
the decision to buy it easier
• You can create this lead magnet even before you write
the complete ebook

Here’s an example. Freelance writer Kaleigh Moore uses

this exact approach to attracting relevant email subscribers.
She gives you the first chapter of Write Better Right Now,
her paid ebook, for free in exchange for your name and
email address:

Create a downloadable resource related to your paid ebook for

free. Image via Tom

Tom didn’t stop at sharing his free ebook once. He added it

to his Twitter bio right next to the paid ebook. By doing this,
Kaleigh Moore’s pop-up that offers the first ebook chapter for he increases his chances of getting a new subscriber, and
free. Image via Kaleigh Moore potentially a new customer, with every new follower.

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 • It helps you validate your ebook idea; getting a financial
commitment is stronger idea validation than “I’d
definitely buy it” responses

• You can generate revenue before you write the ebook

• You’re creating a group of early adopters who are likely

to share and support your ebook when it launches

This is exactly what Steph Smith, a writer and growth

marketer, did with her Doing Content Right ebook.

Make your lead magnet always visible on your social media
accounts. Image via Tom Hirst on Twitter
How to make free downloads easy and
automated
First, she tweeted about her product idea, which came from
an outline she wrote a year ago, asking her followers if
they’d pay $10 for it:

Once you’ve exported the chapter you want to offer as a

lead magnet, you can easily set it up as part of an incentive
email in ConvertKit.

The process is simple:

1. Select a landing page template

2. Click Settings in the top bar

3. Select the Incentive tab

4. Choose “Download” under “After confirming redirect to:”

5. Select your free chapter

6. Hit “Save”

That’s it—you can promote your free ebook chapter in a

matter of minutes. Steph Smith first checked if her Twitter audience would be
interested in an ebook about writing and growing a blog. Image
via Steph Smith on Twitter
2. Pre-sell your ebook
Just hours later, after getting feedback from her followers,
Instead of writing your entire ebook before kicking off
Steph shared her commitment to write the best guide on
sales, you can outline your ebook idea, share it with your
this topic and a link to pre-order the ebook. On top of that,
audience, and use pre-orders to spark engagement and
she offered the ebook for the initial $10 price, but with a
attract early supporters.
caveat: she added tiered pricing, which meant the ebook
price will go up after the first 30 orders.
Pre-selling your ebook means you’re getting actual money
from people who want the ebook, often before you’ve even
Steph Smith announced a pre-sale of the ebook just hours
finished writing it. There are a few huge upsides to pre-
after the initial tweet.
selling:

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She hit 30 sales within hours and started raising the ebook
price every time she sold 30 copies. This ebook promotion
tactic works. In Steph’s words, here’s why:

If you just launch a product on the day it’s ready to

launch, you don’t have anyone listening. By adding
a pre-sale, you essentially add an additional launch.
When I first mentioned my ebook, before it was
anything more than an outline, it brought in some
people. They were listening to what I had to say as I
was building the book. Then, on the actual launch day
when the book was ready, they were my marketing
engine and shared the ebook along with their
experience. Without the pre-sale, I wouldn’t have any
of that.

Getting early supporters during pre-sale will help you

amplify your marketing efforts down the line. They’ll be
ready to write ebook reviews and share your ebook with
their followers.

Steph Smith used the table of contents to show what’s inside

the ebook and to remind her followers of the pre-sale. Image
3. Show what’s inside with a table
via Steph Smith on Twitter
of contents
She also features it on her ebook landing page
Sharing your ebook’s table of contents is an easy, powerful
way to stand out from other ebooks and digital products This is the same strategy Julia Evans, a software developer,
on a similar topic to yours. It’s similar to the free chapter uses to promote zines—paid PDF downloads full of short,
strategy from earlier. While the free chapter shows what informative comics that teach programmers about a
the rest of the ebook looks and feels like, the table of specific topic.
contents shows every subtopic you’re covering in the
ebook.

This is the strategy Steph Smith used in her launch. She

posted her ebook’s table of contents on social media, and
reposted it every time she updated it:

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Julia Evans shares her table of contents on Twitter and on her
product pages. Image via Julia Evans on Twitter
By sharing your ebook’s table of contents, you’re making it
easy for people to say: “This is exactly what I was looking
for!”—and boosting the chances they’ll buy your ebook.
4. Use automated email sequences
The benefit of automated email sequences is right there in
their name: they’re automated. You only need to write and
set them up once—they’ll do the hard work of promoting
your ebook on autopilot.
Here’s how email automation works with sequences. You
define an action that triggers an email, or a series of emails,
in the days that follow. For your ebook promotion and
launch, you can use these two triggers:
• Downloading your first ebook chapter for free
• Purchasing your ebook
Let’s dive into each of these.
Use case #1: Promote your paid ebook
to subscribers that downloaded a free
chapter
When subscribers download a free chapter of your ebook,
you give them a taster of the full meal. But no matter how
good the free chapter is, you still need to remind them to
check out the rest of your ebook—otherwise, they may not
remember to do so themselves.
A simple way to do this is to send an automated email a
couple days after they downloaded the chapter. Your email
should cover two things:
• Ask what they thought about the chapter and to share
how they took action from it.
• Share the call-to-action to the ebook landing page where
they can purchase the full ebook, with a bullet point
summary of what it will help them do.
Once you write your email, it’s easy to automate it with a
tool like ConvertKit.
First, use Sequences to write and set up this email inside
ConvertKit. You can edit when to send the email, the email
subject line, and its content:
ConvertKit’s sequence editor is simple and straightforward.
From here, you can create the automation by selecting the
free chapter download as the trigger, and the free-to-paid
email sequence as the action that follows
That’s all it takes. Now every time someone downloads your
free chapter, they’ll also get an email that nudges them to
buy the ebook—without you having to do any extra work.
Use case #2: Get reviews and shares from
existing ebook customers
Automated sequences are also great for getting those
that already bought from you to help you sell even more
ebooks.
The process isn’t scary or complicated—in fact, it’s very
similar to the one we just covered. The trigger is now an
ebook purchase, and the sequence is one or more emails
that encourage your customer to review your ebook.
Here’s how Jimmy Daly, founder of Superpath and creator
of courses and resources for content marketers, got great
results by automating the call for ebook reviews:
One of the emails in the sequence for folks who get
the ebook is the ask for a one-sentence ebook review. I
ask them to post it on Twitter and to send me the link
to the tweet. I’m collecting the screenshots of those
reviews, which I’ll eventually put on the landing page,
but they’re also just helping me share the book, which
I can retweet and engage with.
The result? Plenty of reviews, which both confirm the
quality of the ebook and spread the word about it further.
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 You don’t need to delay or complicate your launch if you
don’t have these formats ready. The best way you can do
is to ask your email subscribers and social media followers
about their preferred ebook formats—this is exactly how
Jimmy Daly and Steph Smith ended up creating their
additional formats.

Another way you can make your ebook more attractive and
valuable to your potential customers is by adding extra
resources and materials you don’t offer anywhere else.

For Steph Smith’s ebook, these resources are accessible to

a community of creators, 22 exercises, and 12 recorded live
sessions going over the material.

In the case of our very own Nathan Barry’s Authority ebook,

you get:

• The ebook
• The audiobook
• Expert interviews
• Tutorial videos
• Additional resources
Let your customer speak about your book and then amplify
their words. Image via Jimmy Daly on Twitter

5. Add and promote extra ebook

formats and additional resources
Remember that your ebook isn’t just an ebook. Yes, it’s
packaged in a PDF with a certain number of pages—but an
ebook is much more than that. It’s the key for your reader
to achieve the result they want.

Some of your ideal readers may want to read a Kindle

ebook instead of a PDF on a desktop or tablet. Others may
like listening to books more than reading them.

This is why you should consider: Nathan Barry’s Authority is a complete resource to build an
audience and gain financial independence—so much more
• Recording an audio version of your book; Jimmy Daly’s than just an ebook. Image via Nathan Barry
ebook, 10 Advanced Content Marketing Concepts, is also
available as a 48-minute audio
• Offering additional file formats, like EPUB (for the
Universal Book Reader app) and MOBI (for Kindle
devices); this is what Steph Smith did with her ebook

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6. Build and nurture a dedicated
social following
The final way to promote your ebook is less of an ebook
launch strategy and more of an overall approach to how
you market and position yourself as a creator.

Becoming a creator isn’t about one successful launch; it’s

about consistently showing up and teaching everything you
know. By doing this, you’ll build a following on social media
that’s about more than just numbers.

These people will follow you because they want to hear

more from you. More tips, more behind-the-scenes, and
more of what you’re good at—so give it to them.

Use these tips to show up on social media consistently:

Kaleigh Moore features her paid ebook towards the end of the
Twitter thread. GIF via Kaleigh Moore on Twitter
• Set up a schedule to share advice about your topic in
micro-content format. Twitter threads, Instagram posts,
Tom Hirst focused on building his Twitter audience around
and Instagram stories work really well for this purpose.
10 months before releasing his first paid product. He now
has more than 10,000 targeted followers. He shared what
• Draw these tips from your past blog posts, newsletters,
worked for him:
videos, and questions you often hear from your
audience in comments, DMs, and emails.
Showing up on Twitter daily and sharing useful tips
has definitely built momentum. I aim for 5-10 tweets
• Occasionally link to your free and paid content from
per day. Batch writing these tweets a week at a time,
these tweets and posts. It’s a hyper-relevant context, and
in advance, really helps with the consistency.
your followers will appreciate it and likely engage with it.

Another thing Tom does really well is reusing tweets and

• Interact with other relevant people in your field. This
threads that worked in the past. He regularly retweets
will get you on their radar, especially if you engage with
his past tweets, which helps him show valuable content
influencers and other larger accounts. Use social media
to people who didn’t follow him at the time he originally
to be social!
posted it.

Kaleigh Moore does these threads several times per week

and experiments with length and style. She uses this as an
opportunity to link both to content from other resources
and to her paid ebook:

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Tom Hirst regularly mixes fresh tweets with retweets of older
content. Image via Tom Hirst on Twitter

Create an ebook marketing plan

you can rely on
Now that you know: there’s nothing that can stop you from
launching a successful ebook. Whether you’re just starting
to write it or it’s ready for your readers, you can focus on
any of these six ebook promotion ideas and get it in front
of the right people—your target readers.

The best part? You don’t need to start from scratch

with any of these tactics. With ConvertKit, you can start
with a landing page template, and thanks to ConvertKit
Commerce, you can start selling your ebook without extra
tools or payment processors.

You’ll build an ebook marketing machine, create another

income stream, and keep more money from your ebook
sales. All you need to do is get started. You got this!

Marijana Kay

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4 steps to create
exceptional ebook
covers on a budget
But if you aren’t a graphic designer, the task to create a

Y ou’ve spent months (maybe even years)

dreaming up and creating an ebook, and
you’re almost ready to sell it! You can’t wait for
quality cover might feel daunting.

So today, I’m showing you how to make an ebook cover by

those dollars to hit your bank from your new
digital product.
But you’re missing something crucial before you can
publish your ebook: an attention-grabbing cover to draw
in potential readers.
yourself.
By the end of this article, you’ll know how to design an
ebook cover that is not only eye-catching it will also fly off
the (digital) shelves!

You only have 90 seconds to make a good impression on
your readers (and entice them to buy your book). According
to 99Designs, a beautiful book cover can increase book
visibility by over 50%. In other words? A good cover is worth
the investment.
What’s better: hiring a designer or
D.I.Y.?
When it comes to designing your book cover, you’ve got two
options. You can either hire a designer or make your cover

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yourself. Let’s discuss the pros and cons of each, and when
you might want to choose each option.
Hire a designer
When you hire a designer to make an ebook cover for you,
you’re not just paying for the artwork (in this case, your
cover). You’re also paying for their years of expertise and
experience.
Designers (specifically those who specialize in book
cover design) have a deep understanding of typography,
color theory, visual hierarchies, layouts, and ebook cover
dimensions.
While hiring a designer will give you access to expertise
you may not have, it might not be in the budget for new
authors—but there are also plenty of more affordable
options. One Story Creative, a design agency exclusive to
book covers, starts their packages off at $199 for ebook
covers. And a quick search on Fiverr for verified cover
designers shows a range in price, starting around $190.
Different Fiverr services from their pro verified designers. Image
via Fiverr.
But if even this is outside your budget, you can always
make an ebook cover DIY-style.
DIY ebook cover design
If your current budget for ebook cover design is $0, you’re
in good company! 42% of emerging authors spend less than
$50 on book cover design.
Aside from the obvious upside of saving money, you also
have full control over your ebook cover if you choose to
design it yourself. You can make unlimited tweaks and even
create different variations to A/B test on your landing pages
(which can help increase conversions).
The drawback? Well, if you haven’t studied design, you’ll
have to get yourself up to speed. But not to worry! Non-
designers can make polished ebook covers without any
formal training by brushing up on some basic design
theory.
Let’s go over the essential information you need to create
an outstanding cover so that you can launch your ebook
with confidence!
How to make an ebook cover in 4
easy steps
You might think you can’t price your ebook very high if you
don’t hire a pro designer.
But that’s not the case.
Follow these three simple steps, and you’ll be on your way
to an attractive cover!
Step 1. Research your competition
Before you design an ebook cover, you’ll want to do some
competitor research. More specifically, research the top
sellers in your niche.
Here are a few ebook platforms you can search through:
• Amazon
• Kobo
• Google’s Book Carousel or Google Play
Simply search for keywords in your niche to find the top-
selling books. For example, if you’re a chef releasing an
ebook on cooking basics, you can search for “cookbook
for beginners” or “basic cooking skills” to pull up your
competitors’ books.
After searching for your competition, examine the covers
of the top sellers. Do specific colors stand out? Are certain
layouts more popular than others?
If I search for “business books”, many of the results in
Google’s Book Carousel use red, orange, and yellow color
schemes and don’t use script fonts (we’ll learn about color
and font psychology later in the article):
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 Canva is an excellent option for beginners because it
provides pre-designed ebook cover templates:

Ebook cover design examples from Google’s Book Carousel

Search for ebook cover templates in Canva. Image via Canva.
Google’s Book Carousel displays a collection of top-selling
business books. Image via Google.
You can even sort templates by color within Canva:

On the other hand, if I search “cookbooks for kids”, my

results show colorful covers with decorative fonts, a stark
difference from the business books above!

You can search for templates based on color. Image via Canva.

Since each software is free, I recommend testing all three to

Google’s Book Carousel displays a collection of top-selling
see which one you prefer.
cookbooks for kids. Image via Google.

Microsoft Word
Doing research will help you narrow down your ideas and
determine what already performs well with your audience.
You can also design your cover right in Word as well!

Step 2. Choose your tool One limitation with the three drag-and-drop tools
mentioned above is that your font choices are limited to the
Next, you want to figure out what ebook cover creator fonts they provide (unless you upgrade to their paid plans).
software you’re going to use. Let’s look at some free
options. Let’s say you find the perfect font for your ebook cover
(something unique that none of your competitors are
Drag-and-drop editors using). You can purchase and download any font you’d like
There are many free drag-and-drop editors you can use and upload it to your computer to use on Word.
to make an ebook cover. While they aren’t exclusively for
ebooks, they contain the necessary tools you need. Three However, Microsoft Word is first and foremost a word
popular ones are: processor (and not a graphic design software), so you may
find limitations when designing an ebook cover.
• Canva
• BeFunky This step-by-step tutorial will show you how easy cover
• Snappa design can be in Microsoft Word.

All three editors have libraries of fonts, icons, graphics, and

stock photos you can use. You can also upload your own
design elements if you can’t find what you need within their
libraries.

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Step 3. Design your cover
Now comes the fun part!
The fonts, colors, visual elements, and layout you use on
your ebook cover can turn your audience away or draw
them in.
To avoid the former, let’s brush up on some graphic design
theory.
Dimensions
The ideal cover size varies from platform to platform. If
publishing on Amazon Kindle, the ideal ebook cover size is
1.6:1 (or 2560px by 1600px), while Kobo’s ideal screen size
width-to-height ratio is 3:4.
But that doesn’t mean you need to use those exact
dimensions.
Take a look at Austin Kleon’s ebook covers:
Austin Kleon uses square covers rather than the traditional
rectangle. Image via Amazon.
Austin’s square covers stand out in a sea of rectangle cover
sizes. Experiment to see which cover size resonates with
your audience. You could even use something as simple as
an Instagram poll to ask your audience which covers they
like best.
Font psychology
Font psychology plays a significant role for your cover.
In other words, your font choice matters—readers will
interpret your book cover VERY differently depending on
which font you choose:
Your font choice conveys meaning. Image via Reddit
There are four main types of fonts:
• Serif: Serif fonts have small strokes attached to the
larger stroke. Serif fonts are perceived as formal,
authoritative, and trustworthy.
• Sans-serif: Sans-serif fonts do not have additional
strokes. A sans-serif font is seen as progressive and laid
back.
• Script: Script fonts resemble cursive writing, with most
letters connecting. Script fonts communicate romance or
femininity.
• Decorative: Decorative fonts can contain graphics
and are best for headlines as opposed to body text.
Decorative fonts range in feeling playful, edgy, youthful,
romantic, authoritative, and more.
When adding fonts to your ebook, you can choose to use
one or pair two together (three fonts start feeling a bit
crowded). You can pair your fonts however you wish, but
here are some quick tips:
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1. Use contrast and pair fonts of different font families
together

2. Keep fonts within the same font family but use various
variants (i.e., pair Montserrat Bold with Montserrat
Regular)

3. Try to avoid a script or decorative font for anything

except titles as they can be hard to read when used for
long strings of text

Let’s take a look at some ebook cover examples to see fonts

in action.

Arian Simone’s book cover pairs a serif and sans-serif font.

The serif font is the main focus and conveys power and
authority.

Decorative fonts can take many different meanings and in this

case, it appears artistic. Image via Lennon Bone.

Had Lennon gone with a serif font, the cover might come
across as corporate and stuffy, which would be the exact
opposite feelings they’d want to convey as an artist.

Color psychology

Colors affect us on an emotional level and influence our

decision making. 62%-90% of people make up their minds
about a product based on color alone!

Here’s a chart that will help you understand the psychology

behind different colors:

Serif fonts look powerful and authoritative. Image via Arian

Simone.

And the decorative font on Lennon Bone’s ebook gives off

an artistic-vibe, perfect for a book discussing art.

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 Suresh Srinivas’s teal book cover elicits feelings of harmony
and relaxation—perfect for a book on meditation.

The colors used help this cover convey relaxation. Image via
Suresh Srinivas.

Now, imagine the above book cover was black and orange.
That would no longer feel appropriate for a meditation
book!

On top of colors having distinct meanings, specific color

combinations look better than others. If you don’t have
an eye for design, you can always lean on free tools to
generate great color schemes. Coolors, for example, will
automatically create a random five-color scheme each time
Different colors give off different emotions. you press the spacebar. If you come across a color you like,
make sure you “lock” it in place with Coolors handy lock
Ask yourself how you want your audience to feel based function!
on the colors on your cover. For example, orange often
evokes feelings of enthusiasm and courage. Think back to
the business book covers that were mainly orange; it makes
sense why the authors chose orange rather than hot pink
(which represents romance and affection).

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Pressing the spacebar will generate new color schemes. Video
via Coolors.

You can also use Adobe’s Color Wheel to help you create
the perfect color scheme.

Great images make a world of difference. Image via Natural

Alternative ADHD Treatment.

And the high-quality photo on Liv Huwani’s ebook is mouth-

Adobe can help you create the perfect harmonious color watering:
scheme. Image via Adobe.

With Adobe’s Color Wheel, you can input an initial color,

and then it will suggest possible color combinations
depending on the color harmony rule you have selected
(i.e., analogous, monochromatic, triad, etc.).

Image and icons

If your book cover has low-quality media on the front, your

audience might assume the content inside is also low-
quality.

To avoid this, you can find royalty-free stock images

on websites like Unsplash or Pexels. If you don’t want
stock images and want to use icons and artwork instead,
websites like The Noun Project, Etsy, and Creative Market
are fantastic places to find affordable (and even free)
design elements!

Eat to Focus, an ebook by Natural Alternative ADHD The images on the font gives a clear indication of what the
Treatment, uses high-quality imagery for a stunning cover. book is about. Image via Liv Huwani.

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Both covers give me confidence that the content inside will
be great, just as the outside is!

Just make sure you read the terms and conditions before
using any photos. For example, Unsplash’s license does not
cover images of a person’s face, a logo, or a work of art.

Layout

After you’ve chosen your colors, fonts, images/icons, and

determined your cover dimensions, it’s time to lay it all out!

The Z-pattern layout is a common strategy for ebook cover

designs because it’s the natural way we process non-text-
heavy information.

First, we scan from top left to right. Next, our eyes go

diagonally down from top right to bottom left. And finally,
we scan the bottom from left to right. Here’s an example of
the Z-pattern layout in action:

Your title doesn’t always have to go at the top. Image via Tina
Dahmen.

While you aren’t limited to the Z-pattern layout, it’s a tried-

and-true method you can use if you aren’t sure how to
format your cover’s content.

Step 4. Mockup your ebook cover

We naturally process ebook covers with the Z-pattern layout.
Image via The Modest Wallet.
Here’s another example of the Z-pattern layout, but with
the title at the bottom:
(optional)
Ok, I know I said there are only three steps, but using this
ebook cover software is optional (although it will only take a
few seconds, and I highly recommend it!).
If you want to improve your ebook sales (and who doesn’t),
use a mockup on your sales page. Content with relevant
images can get up to 94% more views than content
without relevant images.

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Laura Schneider uses a mockup on her website to promote
her ebook:

Add your product details.

After filling out your product details, you’ll need to upload

your ebook. Select “A Digital Download” for the type of
product you’re selling, then upload your ebook file.

Using a mockup can increase conversions. Image via Laura

Schneider Music.

You can create your own ebook mockup in seconds using

DIY Book Covers free mockup software.

Sell your ebook (and make money)

Now you know how to create an ebook cover, it’s time to
sell your ebook!

We always recommend you sell your ebook on your

Upload your ebook file.
website rather than Amazon to take advantage of higher
profit margins.
Lastly, you can customize the URL slug, or choose to host
your product page on a custom domain.
If you don’t have an ecommerce website to sell your ebook,
no problem! You can have your ebook up for sale in a
matter of minutes with ConvertKit Commerce.

After creating your ConvertKit Commerce account, click on

“Products” then “Create a product” and fill out your product
details.

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Adjust your page URL slug.

Once you have created your product, you can upload your
cover and you’ll be ready to sell your ebook!

Use one of our landing page templates to get a professional

landing page quickly. Image via ConvertKit’s landing page
templates.

Ready to share your ebook with the world? Sell your ebook
online using ConvertKit Commerce!

Upload your ebook cover or mockup and begin selling your Dana Nicole
ebook. Ebook cover via Canva’s premade ebook templates.

You can link to your newly uploaded ebook from your own
website, your social media accounts, or create a landing
page from one of our landing page templates. We have
ones specifically for ebooks, like this one:

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 Start building a
strong connection with
your audience - for free
ConvertKit’s Free plan gives you all the features
you need to own the relationship with your audience
from the beginning.

Create a ConvertKit Free acount

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