But how do you create your own ebook? And, more importantly, what tools do you use to sell your own ebook?

Below you’ll find the (very few!) tools I use to create & sell my digital guides. By & large, these tools are extremely inexpensive and worth every penny – and probably a few thousand dollars more.

I’m a Mac so I use Pages – available in the App store for $19.99 – to format, design, & convert to PDF. Pages is great because it’s actually designed to be a page layout tool – not just a word processor. Finally, Pages allows you to export to ePub format, meaning iDevice users can read your work right in fully-featured iBooks.

Of course, you can use Microsoft Word for this part of the process, as well. And I’ve even heard of people using Google Docs to do create their ebooks. It’s free & has many of the same functions as Word.

I use e-Junkie to sell the ebooks. e-Junkie will walk you through the process of uploading the product, naming it, pricing it, etc… You can even customize the email that gets sent to buyers and even suggest additional products.

Best of all, e-Junkie starts at $5 per month. Meaning you’d have to sell zero books to lose any money on it.

e-Junkie works with PayPal – my choice of payment processor! – to allow people to check out seamlessly. e-Junkie also allows you to establish an affiliate program so that friends, satisfied customers, and enthusiastic strangers can help you sell your product.

For a step up, you might want to check out 1shoppingcart which comes with a lot more features (for a much bigger price tag, too).

Other tools you might find handy dandy in the ebook writing process:

• Ommwriter – an app that gets you into a focused, zen environment for writing (now available for PC!)
• Calendar – put deadlines, dedicated writing time, launch dates on whatever calendar program you use
• Evernote – jot down notes, record inspiration, and cite sources using this web clipping app
• Mind Mapping software – lots of resources available for this (here’s an example), really helpful for brain dumping!

***
This post was inspired by a question from Nicole at The Wardrobe Code!

Step 2. Turn off the computer. Put down the paint brush. Close the journal. Drop the pencil.

Step 3. Walk away.

Step 4. Keep walking.

Step 5. Do something you love: Read a book. Listen to music. Make love. Drink coffee. Sip tea. Take a nap. Talk to a friend. Play dress up. Go see a movie. Take your time.

Step 6. Breathe. Repeat steps 5 & 6 as needed.

Step 7. Accept your “a ha!” moment. Even if it doesn’t look like you thought it would.

If you got the itch, you could start a business – right now – by setting up a free blog, emailing 10 friends, or announcing on Facebook that you’re for hire… all whilst leaving your credit card in the other room. The barrier to starting a business has never been lower.

This is well documented. And… at this point… boring.

Starting a business for free is great. But starting is just one step – albeit an important one – on the way to truly leveraging your time, energy, and expertise into a world-changing, money-making venture.

You simply can’t afford to stay in the beginner stage of business very long.

It’s not good for morale or for your bank account. But where to go? What to do?

Take a look at the businesses that are where you’d like to be. No need to look at multi-million dollar corporations, take stock of other solopreneurs and passion-driven business owners. How does your business stack up? Do you look like a beginner? Do you sound like someone “faking it til she makes it?” These are difficult questions to pose to yourself, let alone answer.

People are making judgement calls about your business every day. And it affects where their money goes when it’s time to make a purchase.

While there are many levels of this question to consider, here’s some direction on what your business needs in order to be taken seriously online. Again, you don’t need all these items in place to begin hocking your wares or offering your services but you should be checking more & more items off this list the longer you are in business.

To give you an idea of what to budget, I’ve included approximate costs for each item on the list!

• Website at a domain name that’s all your own. This small cost makes a huge difference in how others perceive your business. You can still run a free platform and trick it out with a domain or you can invest in web hosting and build a more professional site using WordPress. $10 per year for domain, $90 per year for web hosting.
• Email address at your own domain name. For the love of money, stop using that AOL address and take 10 minutes to create your own email address! There are plenty of services that allow you to do this without web hosting but, since you really should have web hosting anyhow, take a break from Twitter today to figure out how to set up your own email account through your provider. Hint: my email addresses all forward to my Gmail account – where you can also send from private email – so I can maintain my easy peasy email integration. Free with web hosting.
• Website that is custom looking. No really, custom looking is fine. You can achieve this with a little help from limited edition graphics, like a header from By Reese, and a WordPress theme like Headway or StudioPress that don’t require code skills to customize them. $90-500 depending on needs.

  Michelle nails this one (via Google+):

  The design doesn’t have to make me go “Oh wow, who designed this website?!” but, if I land on the page and my first thought is “Ouch, they shouldn’t have done this themselves,” then there’s a problem.

• Great photo of you. This is one I fought for a long time. When I finally put up a pro head shot on my website, I really felt like I was being taken more seriously – and that was after my first 6-figure year. It’s really, really worth it. Don’t forget to put your full name – unless you have some good reason to have a business under an alias – under that pretty pic! Don’t laugh: I have a hard time figuring out who some business owners really are. $175 for a session with a pro photographer. Check with photography students for a discounted rate.
• Nothing on your website that you didn’t deliberately put there. Several website platforms include ads – either for themselves or others – or other text that have nothing to do with your business. Often times, you can get rid of them by paying a small fee. If you love that platform, it’s well worth the small expense. $15 per year.
• Smart email signature. I get a lot of business question emails from people with no email signatures! Don’t miss this crucial marketing opportunity – include your website, a brief explanation of what you do, and another spot to connect with you. Any more than that and it starts to get annoying – any less than that and you’re wasting your time. Free!
• Well-written copy. Let’s face it: we’re not all great writers. And even good writers need help with their website copy. This isn’t just avoiding typos or bad grammar – it’s about clearly communicating who you are, what you do, and how you do it. With style. $250 per page.
• Elegant way to handle payments. There are lots of ways to jimmy your payment gateway & invoicing. Sadly, when you choose to jimmy instead of choosing elegance, your business doesn’t look as serious or trust-worthy. The easiest & cheapest way to improve your checkout process is with e-Junkie. Use it with a digital product to guarantee immediate downloads. Use it with a service to provide extra instruction via URL redirect. Or go to the next level and try out a service like 1shoppingcart. $5-100 per month.

This is not a comprehensive list. These are the items that most often catch my eye as disappointing mistakes in businesses that are struggling for attention and trying desperately to get ahead.

If you’re wondering where to invest your time & money now that you’ve been at this for a bit, these are the things that need to get taken care of as soon as possible. If you’re only getting started, don’t let this list hold you back but keep it in mind when you’re making decisions.

What’s missing from this list? What do you need to see to really take a business seriously?

***

By the by, if you’re in need of some help in the website department… Check out Website Kick Start – it’s my not-so-crash course in creating a website you’re proud of.

Before I pack up ye olde Mac Book and hop on a flight to sunny California, I wanted to share some of my tools of the trade.

I’m keenly aware that DIY culture doesn’t stop at knitting needles and paint thinner. If you’re running a small business or just trying to keep up with the glory of technology, there is plenty to DIY right on your own computer.

video interviews

After I posted my video with Dyana Valentine, many of you wanted to know how I achieved the cross-country side-by-side video. It’s so much easier than you might think.

I use Skype to “call” via video. If you’re talking to someone else with a Skype account (you do have one, don’t you?), it’s always free. Then I hit the record button on my handy Ecamm Call Recorder. You can set up your preferences for your video output directly from the Skype controls.

Once Call Recorder creates my video, I load it into iMovie and edit away. If you’re on a PC, your video editor of choice will do just fine!

writing

For serious writing, I love a hot little application I found recently called Omm Writer. It turns your computer screen into a low contrast, high focus zen wonderland of creative flow.

digital downloads

For all my digital downloads (ebooks and the like), I use e-Junkie. Not only is it insanely inexpensive, it is pretty easy to use. You can set up a nice little affiliate program for your products and spread the love accordingly. You can also create cart & product discounts.

advertising program

I do still have some semblance of an advertising program over at Scoutie Girl and for that I use a little WordPress plug-in called AdRotate. You can manage click thrus, expiration dates, and ad rotation all with the same lovely little program.

ecourses

For my ecourses (and The Creative Empire) I have used both Buddypress – a plugin that turns your WordPress installation into a social network – and bbpress – a WordPress add-on that creates a forum with a familiar interface. I like both for different reasons.

bookkeeping

I am a big fan of Outright.com for their no-nonsense approach to bookkeeping for microbusinesses & freelancers. They’ll even help you get organized for your taxes and keep you on schedule for your quarterly payments. Input your bank account & PayPal account and you’re off to the races!

twitter

Twitter tools seem to need their own category nowadays, don’t they? I’ve recently been turned on to HootSuite and really enjoy it. It brings together all the benefits of a desktop client with the quiet simplicity of going straight to the source. You can schedule tweets, run multiple accounts, integrate with Facebook and other networks, and get stats on individual messages. It’s lovely really!

photoediting

Don’t have Photoshop but want to dabble in advanced photoediting? I use Pixelmator, a long time sweetheart of Mac users. You can’t beat the free trial & $60 price tag.

email marketing

I’ll admit it, I have the hots for Mail Chimp. It’s silly, easy on the eyes, and ridiculously robust & full-featured. What’s there not to fall in love with? (Don’t forget to sign up for my free email program on creating action towards your goals!)

Have questions about other tools I use? Have your own recommendations? Share them in the comments below.

{ image via flickr, by le petit pig }

If social media has changed anything, it’s made us all think more about how our businesses and ourselves are one and the same. That’s why I recommend to all over my web design clients that their mug shot & a tiny bio appear in a prominent place on their website.

Customers & clients want to understand who they’re sending their money to.

Rightfully so.

Watch the video above to find out how to add an “about me” blurb as a widget in your sidebar on your WordPress blog/site. Then share the know-how with your friends by clicking the share buttons below.

Here’s an example of the code I used in the video that you can copy & paste!

<img src="http://yourdomain.com/your-upload-image-url.jpg" alt="your name" style="float:left; padding-right: 5px; padding-bottom: 5px;" />

Need more help kick starting your website? My ecourse, Website Kick Start, is now open for registration! To find out more, click here.

If you’re selling your art or craft on Etsy, adding an Etsy Mini to your blog or website is a must!

If you’re using WordPress (self-hosted), it’s also a snap. For my web design clients, I like to suggest using very large Etsy Minis to mimic the look of a custom ecommerce site, even if they’re not ready to make the leap off of Etsy. Take a look at the example below to see how that looks:

Watch the video above to learn how to add this detail to your website or blog – then use the Facebook Like or Twitter buttons to share it with your friends.

Need more help kick starting your website? Sign up to receive advanced notice – and a sweet discount! – of when my Website Kick Start ecourse reopens: click here.

Just wanted to let you know that you can find another excerpt of my new ebook, Storytelling for Creative Biz Success, up on Crafting an MBA today. This one is about the brainstorming process you can use to create a whole blog or website full of usefull, story-driven content.

This is the very first – and most important?! – step in creating content that generates inbound links, retweets, likes, comments, and thoroughly engaged customers.

Check it out – my gift to you for being awesome.

CMBA Business Growth Planner

Last week, Megan told me she was in the final stages of a snazzy Business Growth Planner. She wanted to create something that would help people FAST – and be ridiculously affordable: $10. There’s lots of great information from someone’s who has grown her business through many different stages. There are also pages of worksheets to print and fill out to keep yourself organized.

As creative people, it can be so difficult to keep our eye on the things that grow a business and keep it profitable. We can pour so much time and energy into our passion but you need that grounding in good business sense (cents?) to keep you on track – or it won’t last long or be fulfilling in the end.

If you’re interested in taking your creative business to the next level – or taking your hobby and truly making it a business – you’re going to love (no, really you will!) the Crafting an MBA Business Growth Planner.

Blog Post Engineering

On the flip side, if you’re ready to get into a completely different kind of nitty gritty, I would highly recommend Dave Doolin’s Blog Post Engineering.

When I’m designing a website for a client, one of the services included in the package is some keyword research and top-level SEO engineering for the site. Well, that’s awesome. But, if you don’t take it to the next level by actively working the basics (and I do mean basics) of SEO into your blog posts, you’re just not going to rank in search engines for the keywords you’d like to hit.

Generally, I like products & information that are geared to a specific group of people – namely, a group that I’m in. However, this ebook really lays the information out in such a way that many people with many levels of expertise can benefit from. If you understand the basics of SEO, start from the back, Dave explains. If you’re looking to start from scratch, start at the beginning.

If you’re completely new to keyword research, SEO techniques, and copywriting for the net, this guide will give you a great starting point and help you to get your brain in the right mindset. If you’re a seasoned web writer looking to gain traction, you can use this guide to jumpstart your search results. And at just $20, it’s way cheaper than paying me to work with you one-on-one on your SEO.

Check out both the CMBA Business Growth Planner and Dave Doolin’s Blog Post Engineering and let me know what you think!

Fine Print: All those links are affiliate links. I really love both these products and think they just might benefit your business too. But I do get a commission if you buy one. Win-win – thanks!

lazy sunday evening meets the retail drones

i really can’t stand just sitting around the house doing nothing. so sunday evening i begged my husband to take a trip into the great wide world with me. we targeted at target: razors were a necessity. then we proceeded to barnes & noble as i have no company loyalty anymore!

mike watched lola run around the children’s department like a crazy person (i hear they call them toddlers now…) and i picked out a couple new board books. when we were tired of chasing the toddler, we high-tailed it to the check out line where about 5 people stood in line. luckily, the line moved quickly and we heard the requisite “i can help the next customer in line here,” we approached the desk.

i placed the books on the counter and reached for my debit card. the bookseller – that’s the proper term! – said hello, told me my total, and asked if i had a member card. no. would you like to hear more about the member card. no. would you like to hear more about non-member email coupons. no. okay thanks have a nice day.

seriously?

this is how you’re going to woo me away from your competitors and amazon? i don’t think so. of course, this scenario isn’t isolated to mega-chain bookstores. each retail company has a gimmick, a script, a sure-fire-something-or-other to get you to “engage” their brand. who are these marketing people?? it doesn’t work. in fact, it makes me a bit nauseous.

a little deep rewiring

chris brogan just wrote a piece where he described employees as needing a shift in “deep wiring” and, if i understand him correctly, he means that this robotic retail speak isn’t going to cut it. whether it’s live and in person or tweeted from corporate headquarters. what does work is having company values drive every customer interaction, it means being invested in the brand & the products you sell, it means engaging customers around the brand not against it.

instead of facing a barrage of questions about services i don’t want, barnes & noble should teach their employees to have actual conversations with me about the products i’m purchasing, give recommendations, and then approach me about a service i might be interested in.

3 things you can learn from retail drones

1. use short form social media (facebook, twitter, and the like) to help share your story and engage potential customers. offer insight into your creative process, your creative psyche, and your all-round creative life. provide information & address people’s problems, whether directly related to your business or not.
2. use long form social media (your blog, email newsletters) to share how your personal story informs the products you create. the hard sell becomes a lot softer when your focus is on the back-and-forth of natural conversation over your brand.
3. don’t be afraid to cut it short. sometimes you just need to shut up! sometimes, your customer is more interested in making a purchase than listening to your script. make sure that your blog, your twitter account, your facebook page, and any other web interface your customers might use gives them the opportunity to say, “i like what i see – here’s my credit card.”

what pet peeves do you have when you’re out in the retail world? what can you learn from it and how can you apply it to your own business?

need help engaging your customers & readers? no problem. you should definitely check out my ecourse, between the lines, where i’ll teach you to tell your story in a variety of ways! class starts may 1 and registration is limited!

{image credit: tucker reece}

Within the last few weeks, I’ve really tried to reinvest in my business and feed my professional soul. A new habit I have is plugging ye olde ear buds into my MacBook and listen to pro bloggers wax poetic about the finer points of blogging. Fascinating! Well, it is for me.

I *just* finished listening to the above video post from Darren at ProBlogger: don’t let your blog be like my sock drawer. Well, I love an edifying analogy and this was a good one! Darren wants you to inspect your blog – specifically the sidebar – and check for holey, mismatched, and ugly socks. Then throw them out!

Does your blog’s sidebar support your creative business?

I was discussing sidebars with a client this week. She had been blogging for quite a while and she was experiencing what I refer to as “sidebar creep” – the sidebar was full of what was probably useful information at one time but was now mostly noise. Your sidebar (the skinny column that stays generally static throughout your blog) is a key place to display secondary information. Links to your store, contact information, further reading, newsletter subscriptions, etc… are key things that need to be displayed in this area.

Here’s a list of things that should be in your sidebar:

• short “about” blurb that links to your “about” page
• contact information
• prominent link to your store, shop, or services
• search
• list of your columns, categories, labels, or tags
• subscription form (rss or newsletter)
• links to connect with you elsewhere (social media)
• blog archives
• friends

Things to avoid in your sidebar:

• links that don’t enhance the content of your own blog
• “sunshine” or “nicest little blogger” award badges
• ads for other people’s stuff
• mis-matched styling – your sidebar should “match” the rest of the blog
• anything that completes with the content of your blog

How’s your sidebar?

Your task tonight is to approach your sidebar ruthlessly! Ask yourself if each gadget, widget, or whose-a-whatsit is supporting, promoting, and enhancing your business. Get rid of, edit, or makeover each one that’s not.

While you should never obsess over the design of your blog to the point of distraction, you’ll want to regularly inspect this area of your site to see how you can enhance or edit it.

What’s in your sidebar?