E-Books: Useful or Useless?
As I continue to build up my own blogs, as well as other blogs, I watch as people make a fair bit of money, through selling their content in an e-book form. After reading more than a dozen of these so-called “expert” accounts of how to increase traffic, get more RSS subscribers, boost your PageRank and otherwise build up your blog into a money making system, I realize that many of these books are completely useless.
Many are missing the context on how to enact the tips they give you, and basically give you step one, step three, and step five in the process, making sure they you make the e-book publisher more wealthy, while not really creating any real advantage to you. The information is valid, and if you had the full process, it could help you, but another thing they don’t tell you is that their ideas only work for the first people that try them out. Users, search engines and advertisers quickly get wise to new “systems” (schemes) and quickly block, remove or otherwise change their system so such tactics no longer work.
Are e-books just playing on our hopes and dreams of striking it rich online or can they provide real value?
I have gone and read some of the most prominent ones, and I have to say that there are very few that I have learned anything from. Most give out information which can be freely found elsewhere, and they really don’t convey their lessons any better than the free sources.
They question then becomes, why do people buy e-books? Does the fact that it isn’t free drive people to place value on the product? Are we all just lazy hopefuls? Or are there some e-books that are really informative, helpful and worthwhile? Not that we would ever do it, but if Devlounge became a paid site, for $25 a year, would you all pony up the cash to continue to read, or would you move on to other free sources?
Please feel free to have your say in the comments below.
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Do not want to sound like prick but I would probably not pay for content!
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Same here. Most blogs tend to say generally the same things packaged in different writing styles. I enjoy reading them and learn things from time to time, but I’m not sure if I’d be willing to pay for each and every one.
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I agree with Jermayn, for the level of content that you are at right now, I wouldn’t pay. Some of it feels cookie cutter, with all of the content on blogging. The rest seemed like AJ’s work to get the site sold, which really isn’t relevant to any of us. I mean, I’m glad he got it sold and congratulations to him. But, I’ve seen sites not say a thing until sold and that’s definitely the way to do it. So at the moment, nah, I wouldn’t pay. You’d be better off asking for donations and keeping the content free.
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Wes - The content here is not going to be paid… it was a hypothetical brought on by the fact that I keep seeing e-books everywhere on digitalpoint forums. Thanks for the critique though.
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In my experience, the types of e-books to which you refer are 90% worthless. With an infinite amount of free information available online, most of any inherent e-book value results from the time spent collecting and organizing the content. If readers had the time to assemble the info themselves, there would be no need for most e-books to exist.
I am more than willing to download a free e-book, but would not pay unless I were seriously desperate.
As for paying for blogs such as Devlounge, no way. There is just too much free content online to deal with a purchase. Don’t get me wrong, I dig your stuff, it’s just not worth paying for..
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Wes-
Its not the quality of the content — you have excellent content by the way — that determines if a reader will pay a fee. I believe that its more about the expectation of the reader that, for the most part, web content has and should always be free. Free research tool, free library, free entertainment, etc.
I think too, that most readers or viewers understand that the current popular business model for making money on the web is to attract an audience and the adveristers will pay. Attract a specific, definable or large audience and advertisers will pay more. (Especially now that advertisers are scrambling to find just what their target audience reads, listens to, or watches!)
A perfect example is the WSJ online. It is one of the few holdouts for making subscribers pay for content. But that changed as it is seen as being more profitable to ask advertisers to pay for access to the specific WSJ reader.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/IndustryInfo/story?id=3858939
The e-book phenom I believe is more about getting people to your site…and not about making money by selling it. I agree with you, most of the info can be found on-line…umm, for free!
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Now at the age of internet, which dynamically & constantly changes, the true money making skills are generated from collecting the information bits like repetitiously read several blogs & e-books instead of reading only a single ready-to-chew e-book.
J.C. Carvill
Email: support@cosmosing.com
URL: http://www.cosmosing.com/jeanclaudecarvill/index.php
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Content and context matter. The vast majority of blogs offer some information, but of a very superficial sort. Their e-books, using a marvelous technology allowing anyone to publish, reflect the experience and training of the blogger.
Personally, my website offers free English lessons, sells a hard copy of a textbook, and a PDF version. I’ve been surprised that the number of PDFs has been so high given that people have to print out the entire book of 162 pages. Of course, it sells for less, can be downloaded instantly, and avoids shipping costs, and can be reproduced easily. But I never expected the ebook version to sell. I just added it as an afterthought. The $18 payments add up.
As for charging for blogs, let’s be realistic. The New York Times, Slate, and the Wall Street Journal have all abandoned this approach of charging for the vast majority of their content. Why? Because people would find the information elsewhere for free. If some of the greatest publications in the United States can’t make visitors pay, why would anyone think mostly unknown bloggers could do it?
Dreaming does not deluding oneself.
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Please delete the last line. I meant to write “Dreaming does not mean deluding ourselves.” I skipped a word. Sorry!