Help - In Need of eBook Advice/Info

[SloMoNoMo]

Hello Fastlane people,

This is my 2nd post here. Please let me know if I am in the wrong category (?).

I am hoping that someone here can give me a KEY piece of information that will allow me to get past a major hurdle to get into overdrive.

Here is my situation. I have recently written a book. It is currently only available on Amazon as a hard copy. It is in a niche that will NEVER go away. It has been selling steadily (but unspectacularly) in the first four months that I’ve made it available. I have sold copies to people around the world. The conversion rate of folks who have looked at my site and Amazon page seems to be pretty high (from what I can discern) -even though the traffic has been minimal.

The first problem that I need to solve is:
How do I make an eBook that I can sell directly off of my site? –More specifically, how do I make an eBook that I can protect from being pirated and posted online by some evil person??? (This would obviously kill my whole system/plan.)

I’ve seen the eBook thing done a lot over the years … and I really want to do this. I love the idea of having ZERO overhead and selling digital info, etc. But I want to be able to protect my product from theft, etc. (It seems like PDF is the way to go but I don't see any security with that format ... so I am not at all comfortable with that at this point.)

What is the best way/best format to do an eBook in?
How can I best protect my product?

I have googled around for quite a while searching for a satisfying answer to these questions … but I have not been able to find it.

Can someone here give me some pro advice and/or point me in the right direction on this?

 

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[DennisD]

As somebody who's done a lot of pirating in my day, as well as somebody who's had a lot pirated from me...
There's really no way to stop people from pirating.

If your book gets popular enough, somebody will go ahead and scan the physical copy, turn it into a PDF, and distribute it on a torrent site and there's nothing you can really do about it.

Honestly I've found the best thing you can do is plan for this and figure out exactly how to exploit this free distribution you'll be getting among pirates. Can you create a special resource only accessible by becoming a member? Some link to a bonus opt-in page? Some backend event or coaching?

In general, I've found that the people who pirate something are people who wouldn't have purchased the damn thing to begin with, and that by finding other ways to profit off of these people, you open yourself up for boosted popularity.

 

[SloMoNoMo]

Thanks DennisD.

I have to say that I hate this answer!
I was hoping more for the "why yes, all you need is to use ProductX and all of your piracy fears will be a thing of the past" kind of answer.
I should've known that there is no quick easy fix with this kind of thing (-is there ever?).

(Maybe there is an idea in this problem for some enterprising developer to come up with some kind of software solution to meet this problem and capitalize on (?).)

I don't really think that the "member" or "opt-in" idea that you mention is work-able (?). -Maybe, but I can't think of how it would work at the moment ... and besides, wouldn't the same problem still exist anyways?

"Coaching" -This won't cut it either. Plus it would take too much time, etc. (i.e. Not "Fastlane" as far as I can tell)

I have to say that I don't understand what you mean when you say "by finding other ways to profit off of these people, you open yourself up for boosted popularity" (???).

So this still leaves me in the same boat.
Also, I frequently see people selling info online.
Are they just saying "to heck with the scammers and risk" and just putting it out there?
Surely there MUST be a way to do this.

I'm hoping maybe I can find a site somewhere that they are selling an eBook and perhaps try to reverse engineer how they do it (?).

Do you (does anyone else) have any ideas?

 

[AllenCrawley]

PDF is what I would recommend.

Don't let the fear of being pirated stop you from moving forward.

I created a training product that was only accessable via a private and secured membership portal. The product was a total of 11 gigs and contained videos, pdf's, mp3's, graphics, etc. Within a few months it was copied by a customer who then posted it on torrents sites.

Chances are that if your book is any good at all, it will end up on torrent sites.

And there is really nothing you can do about.

Like Dennis suggested, figure out a way to use it to your advantage.

 

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[AllenCrawley]

Now with this said there is a way to watermark your PDF's with the customers information so if you find your product on torrent sites you may be able to identify the source (the person who posted it for free). I do not off the top of my head know how to do this but a google search I'm sure would uncover it.

 

[SloMoNoMo]

Thanks Allen.

My gut has been telling me "PDF" for a while but my fears have kept me from moving forward for the reasons I've stated.

I guess I am at a loss as to how I would possibly use such a violation "to my advantage" ... I get pissed just thinking about the person who does this. Haha -I seriously "don't get" people who get off on this kind of thing? -I mean, I can understand getting one for yourself but ... what is the point of posting it for everyone online? -Is there some kind of profit motive in this?

How might such a thing work "to my advantage"? (pardon my ignorance here ...)

"I created a training product that was only accessable via a private and secured membership portal. The product was a total of 11 gigs and contained videos, pdf's, mp3's, graphics, etc. Within a few months it was copied by a customer who then posted it on torrents sites."

hmmmm ... I guess Adobe Acrobat now has all of this type of capacity (?). I need to get up-to-date with my software. -I could really make a killer product with some of this added on. The book itself is already killer but ... it would be over the top with sound files.

Did the torrent site pirate thing diminish your sales?
Is your product still available?
Can I see your site?
I myself don't trust the whole torrent thing -so it really isn't on my radar screen even though I am aware of it.

I'm almost not sure that I'd want to know the id of the person who might pirate my stuff.
I might have to arrange a meeting.
In a dark alley.
With a tire iron.
Haha

 

[exige]

E-junkie will watermark the customers info for you as part of the payment/delivery flow.

 

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[splok]

I get pissed just thinking about the person who does this. Haha -I seriously "don't get" people who get off on this kind of thing?

Did the torrent site pirate thing diminish your sales?
Is your product still available?

I might have to arrange a meeting.
In a dark alley.
With a tire iron.
Haha

If you release a product, it WILL get pirated. BUT, are you going to make more money by NOT releasing a product?

Why is your attention focused on a market segment that doesn't want to pay?

Piracy is a great excuse to get all righteously indignant so you don't have to actually build/do something. (I see friends do this all the time, and do it myself from time to time... but it's about the least productive thing possible.)

MJ built and monetizes a community around his book. It doesn't matter if someone pirated it or not if they're now paying him monthly (more than the book would have).

You could always stuff the thing full of affiliate links and release the torrent yourself.

An artist's enemy is obscurity, not piracy.

 

[AllenCrawley]

How might such a thing work "to my advantage"? (pardon my ignorance here ...)

I've found there are many different reasons people download from torrents. Believe it or not, not all people who download stuff for free from torrnet sites will never purchase anything. Most people believe that pirates never buy anything and that they are lazy. Not necessarily true.

For example, lots of indie artists become well known and develop a following by deliberately releasing their album on a torrent site. (Sometimes this wasn't deliberate and in fact theft but smart thinking turned it in their favor.) The people that download it become such raving and loyal fans that they will purchase their future albums.

MJ himself has mentioned how some that have downloaded his book illegally have ended up here on this forum, eventually purchased the book, maybe even purchased an INSIDERS Subscription, possibly they've click on some ads.

Tim Ferriss' most recent book launch was centered around releasing The 4 Hour Chef Media Bundle on BittTorrent for free. He decided to use this approach because major retailers including Barnes & Noble were boycotting his book. 2 Million people downloaded the bundle. 880,000 went from BitTorrent to Ferriss' Amazon page. 328,000 checked out his website and 300,000 watched his book trailer on youtube. BitTorrent users were the number one source of traffic for Tim. This helped him sell over 250,000 copies of his book and the book was on the best seller lists of The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today.

Your Book Is A Start Up: Tim Ferriss, The 4-Hour Chef, And The BitTorrent Publishing Model. | The Official BitTorrent Blog

As splok mentioned, you could place affiliate links in your book either thoughout the book or on a resources page. Better yet, you can place links to special bonus content that becomes accessible when they optin to your email list. This would give you the opportunity to nuture a relationship with them and sell future products to them.

Did the torrent site pirate thing diminish your sales?
Is your product still available?

Initially we did take a hit in sales but one of the benefits of buying our product was on going webinars and being a member of a private community. Funny thing is we had people who downloaded illegally try to get in on the webinars and private community, lol. We did identify who released our product on the torrent sites, kicked him out and banned his ip. Within a few months we started updating the content and the torrents eventually died off, I believe because the content wasn't the most up to date version. Product is still available for sale.

Can I see your site?

I've shared this information within the INSIDERS forum during a live webinar. I'd rather not share it here.

 

[SloMoNoMo]

Thanks everyone for your responses.

This has given me a great deal to think about and get my mind around, etc. ... and eventually take action upon.

Can anyone suggest any resources (websites, books, etc.) that might help me get this thing off of the ground?

Splok: You make good points that are not unlike many things I have already considered in this.
I guess that I am concerned about killing the golden goose. -This is all entirely new for me.

I need to get up on the whole "affiliate link" thing as I see this idea being mentioned elsewhere on this forum.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Moved to publishing forum.

 

[Fast-tao]

a lot of nice insight.

Do not spend much time on find a way to try to stop pirate. Focus on building or write your product. If a lot of people download it for free it is because it is a great book...and you are selling also very well. Do as Tim Ferris did, try to use the people you think are your enemy.

I see a lot of writer that just publish 25% of the book and upload it on torrent etc...will be more difficult for people to find the copied book. And a lot of people after reading 25% maybe will buy your book, because they like it.

 

[DennisD]

MJ himself has mentioned how some that have downloaded his book illegally have ended up here on this forum, eventually purchased the book, maybe even purchased an INSIDERS Subscription, possibly they've click on some ads.

I don't know if this will get me in trouble or lose me respect, but the first time I read TMF it was a pirated version. At the time I had just gotten laid off for the second time and was looking to make a change, literally had no money. Since then I've purchased a reference copy myself, a copy for my younger brother, one for my sensei, and one for my uncle. I've since paid for 6 months of INSIDERS membership, hosted an INSIDERS call, and been a part of this community for a year now, (which includes telling my friends about the value of the forum, mentioning it on my podcast, and recommending the book).

Obviously not every person who downloads digital materials will buy 4 copies of your book and subscribe to a membership site, but some percentage will.

My first ebook was aimed at gamers, a group known for being cheap pirates. I had a handful of loyal fans actively taking actions and requesting the book be taken down for copyright violation. They actually fought for me. They had paid $50 for the book and didn't want anybody else getting it for free. It was a really cool feeling.

In my second digital product, I released it myself as a torrent on a forum. I told them "I understand not everybody has the money or paypal, or a credit card, or the resources to download the book the way I intended them to, so here's a copy for you guys." I got some immense respect and some loyal fans from that that helped grow my brand and mentioned me left and right.

When you're just starting out, your problem isn't 'too much piracy.' Your problem is "nobody knows who the hell I am'. Sometimes piracy can help that without lowering your product value. Give something away for free and people think there's no good information in it, or there's a catch, and they ignore it. Sell it for $20 and leak a copy, they get it at a super accessible rate, and your perceived value isn't lowered at all)

If you are still really worried about it:
Using ejunkies watermarking feature is a great idea. It watermarks the book with their personal information, and then they don't distribute it because they're not longer "anonymously" pirating but they're advertising it to the entire world.
But I honestly think you're better off letting the chips fall where they may, trying to identify the guy who did distribute your copy, and just banning him to make sure he doesn't do it again.

 

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[FastNAwesome]

I was hoping more for the "why yes, all you need is to use ProductX and all of your piracy fears will be a thing of the past" kind of answer.

Demand breeds supply. There ARE Products for this...X, Y and Z...and many more. I can even offer to create A CUSTOM solution for you. But before you go for it, please consider the following:

1) If your customer can SEE/HEAR your book, so can the camera/mic/scanner. There is no protection. At best - you can track who pirated your work, by use of watermarking, and maybe discourage pirating a bit by making it harder, but before you do...

2) Try not to discourage and lose your PAYING CUSTOMERS as well! Put your customers first! Once I bought an ebook just to realize it's not the typical PDF I'm used to.

- it required me to download and install some special reader
- this reader was slow and hard to use
- printing was not possible
- reading on any other computer was not possible, or it was - by following some complicated procedure of "unregistering" it first on original computer

I didn't even read the book entirely, and I sure didn't enjoy it, despite valuable info. Of course, later on when I replaced my computer, the book was lost too as I didn't wanna bother with transferring it to a new one.

Feeling cheated out of my money, and will never buy anything from this author again. He sure protected himself from me paying him any more money.

3) To anyone who disables the right click on their websites to "protect content" - it's intrusive and rude towards regular user - maybe someone wants to open link in a new tab because they find your content so interesting that they want to read multiple pages. They're giving you a COMPLIMENT. How are you returning it?

If someone really wanted your content, they can get around this "protection" so easily it's a joke.

How might such a thing work "to my advantage"?

4) Brand and name building, and exposure of your work to many people who otherwise might never know about it. Also upselling of various seminars/products or whatnot...

Paulo Coelho, the famous writer, actually encourages pirating of his books, and says it increased the physical book sales:

Promo Bay

Check out the article linked in that article too, as a writer you might find it very interesting.

 

[SloMoNoMo]

Thank you for your thoughtful responses everyone.

So, it seems that the Fastlane Forum is unanimous in it's assessment to just do the eBook.

I've got a lot of research & work to do in order to implement this stuff and re-tool my website, etc. etc.