Can Ebooks Help You Make Money?
Posted on May 25, 2009 by Melvin
LOLz, I know I’m probably gonna be biased in talking here because of I, myself having an upcoming ebook but trust me I’m not. 
A lot of people who are starting usually ask ‘if ebooks can really help them start making money online’ or if it’s just a complete worthless crap. Most people who ask this are probably getting lost because they see a lot of people selling ebooks but on the other side they see different types of people saying 99% of ebooks are scam and worthless. Can ebooks help you make money?
The short answer to the question is no! Ebooks can be informative and rich in content but we also need to take a look at the fact that most ‘gurus’ who sell ebooks aren’t really making money online outside of selling their books! I once bought an ebook w/c exposes how to do your own make money online book w/o being an expert in the certain niche and I was flabbergasted. Not only I discovered how anyone can easily make a book but also how idiots can make big bucks writing ebooks they don’t even implement. Another thing is that most ebooks are effective for just a very short period in time as it easily gets saturated. It’s not timeless. Most guru would discover a new way to make $100 a day, then test it more and more. After it they would sell the information only to find out that its not as profitable anymore as it once started.
Theoretically the answer could be yes as well. Over the course of my young internet marketing life I have purchased over 50 books related to mmo. 80% are junk, 20% ‘can’ be useful but not really implementable. I say yes, because there are really some useful infos on an ebook that’s not about getting rich but is about something you think is more trivial yet, can really be a good find. What I normally do is just pick something from the book and implement it to my own ideas. I’m not saying my ideas are better but it’s far better to believe more in your own skills (so not to blame anyone).
So to end this one, if a good friend of mine asks about that question my answer would definitely be no! I really used to have grit with ebooks as most marketers who market other people’s product rather than creating their own do. Buying ebooks ‘may not’ be a good way to start or it could be. And since ebooks are way cheaper than buying a pair of Nike shoes, there really isn’t anything to lose in buying one. So my piece of advice? If you have the money (and good faith in that certain ebook/s), then go ahead and buy as much ebooks as you can. Just don’t expect too much from it and stop being a crybaby afterwards.
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Discussion: 47 Comments
47 Responses... What Say You?
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My Info Product Has Gone Really Far | The Melvin Blog - 1st Sep, 09 02:09pm
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bbrian017
- 25th May, 09 02:05pm
I considered reading a few e books but still haven’t gotten around to it.
I think the hardest part is determining whose e book you should be reading.
I’m assuming the majority of them are crap and junk filed with bogus information and referral links.
bbrian017’s last blog post..Thai-Eyes Thailand Lifestyle Blog
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Melvin Reply:
May 27th, 2009 at 10:57 am
yep I agree. when i was just starting i have loads of ebooks on my hard drive and info-overload kinda swallowed me, LOLz.
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pooh pooh Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 7:16 am
thats true many people that have them have crappy books on them,and i probally would pop up referal links.
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pooh pooh Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 7:17 am
i should be it sorry
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Harish
- 25th May, 09 02:05pm
I do accept what you say. There is no use of buying and reading an ebook without implementing the ideas given in the ebook. Everything depends on how we do things. Ebooks may give you just some ideas but it is we who must take action. Lovely post melvin.
Harish’s last blog post..32 Things To Do For Bloggers
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Melvin Reply:
May 26th, 2009 at 10:43 am
The problem I think is that not all ebooks are ‘implementable’ for a certain buyer. Example is sometimes the buyer is needing a way to make money w/o any cost at all and he came across an ebook then bought it. Problem is if the ebook requires the buyer then to spend at least $100, then the buyer would shed away from the ebook bcoz spending 100 bucks is not what he is expecting. The ideas from the book wouldn’t be implemented even if its really worth implementing
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InternetHowBlog
- 25th May, 09 04:05pm
EBook can help you in many ways. You can build your list by giving it away for free. Also, you can out your affiliate links in the EBook and earning money that way. However, buy just selling it, it got to be very unique and very well written. Also, you will need to a lot of good reviews to encourage other potential buyers.
Anyway good luck with your ebook
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Melvin Reply:
May 26th, 2009 at 10:47 am
i actually am talking about the other way. if the buyers can benefit from ebooks.
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LithiumMind
- 26th May, 09 01:05am
If you ebook is unique and worth buying then it will not be a problem. However now there are just ebooks that just use to promote the products that they are selling. It’s more like 90% marketing and 10% actual contents.
LithiumMind’s last blog post..Use IDEA To Write Quality Blog Post
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worstjoke
- 26th May, 09 03:05am
nope, nope, nope.. ebook is still a worthless crap. the only goal of ebooks is to make money from idiots who are tad lazy to do their research! most info w/c are free can just be found in forums…
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Melvin Reply:
May 26th, 2009 at 10:51 am
i still agree about the general thoughts that an ebook is almost always worthless. But as you said, ‘maybe’ most people don’t have time to research hence they want to speed up the process by buying an ebook..
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worstjoke Reply:
May 30th, 2009 at 4:09 am
so guys like you capitalize on it? wat a lame reason
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Melvin Reply:
August 16th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
its not the point, mr. bastard..
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Royle
- 26th May, 09 03:05am
“because there are really some useful infos on an ebook that’s not about getting rich but is about something you think is more trivial yet, can really be a good find.”
Like what? Care to be more specific?
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Melvin Reply:
May 26th, 2009 at 10:57 am
Like tools used, or something that you really haven’t come across yet. Others are also useful websites or resourceful content sites and so.
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Forest
- 26th May, 09 03:05am
I stayed away from ebooks for a long long time and now if I buy them I am very cautious…. Best boom I have recently purchased is “One Week Marketing” but I am yet to find the time to put it into action.
Forest’s last blog post..Musically Motivated Monday – Middle Of Nowhere!
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Melvin Reply:
May 30th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
same as me, I have stopped being a douche by purchasing tons of ebook
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agentmango
- 26th May, 09 06:05am
I don’t purchase e books. I get it for a review copy or someone sharing it to me.
Making e books and selling it is a good source of money for newbs but not for pros.
agentmango’s last blog post..Simple Tips on Website Designing
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francis
- 26th May, 09 10:05am
Ebooks can help you make money, but it would be a waste if there will be ebooks better than the ones you previously made and a lot cheaper than your product
francis’s last blog post..The World Ends With You NDS Review
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Best CSS Gallery
- 26th May, 09 10:05am
I never buy ebooks, I prefer reading blogs of the most prominent marketers, they share a lot of useful stuff…
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Donace
- 26th May, 09 11:05am
ebooks…one of the few things I hate about the MMO business. Information should be freely available and not packaged as an ebook!
Make money by services and real products not ebooks.
Donace’s last blog post..Beware the smiling man
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Agent 001
- 26th May, 09 04:05pm
To me the best way to earn money would be to learn it directly from people who are earning (not through their ebooks). Its good to have a one on one coaching.
I know quite many methods to earn money but I cannot use them as I have no means to implement them. Most of them are pretty useless for me. There are many factor affecting your earning.
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fas
- 26th May, 09 06:05pm
Well its a new trend, every tom, dick and harry has their own ebook for sale.
fas’s last blog post..6 Tips For Affiliate Marketers To Increase Sales
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catering supplies
- 27th May, 09 04:05am
This is quite right because books are always provide us every type of knowledge. your opinion is right. Thanks to share it.
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catering supplies
- 27th May, 09 05:05am
ebook is not a solutions of any problem. It can give you just ideas. It depends on us that how we implement these idea and how we do things. Its good for than how can utilized it in right way.
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Evelyn Roberts
- 27th May, 09 10:05am
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Melvin Reply:
May 27th, 2009 at 11:06 am
please tell me more. send email to melvinATmelvinblog.com
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Palabuzz
- 27th May, 09 01:05pm
Ebooks won’t make you money if you read them. you will need to apply them to be able to see the results.
Palabuzz’s last blog post..Tyson daughter died because of treadmill
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Paul Ubiadas
- 28th May, 09 07:05am
It all depend on the one who write the ebook. If it is written by someone who doesn’t really make money then what are your chances of making some good money?
Paul Ubiadas’s last blog post..Miscellaneos Ramblings
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GoBusiness101
- 29th May, 09 12:05am
Yep! ebook is a good start of making money online. i’m planning to write an ebook also of inspirational stories of millionaires which i have done in my site.
GoBusiness101’s last blog post..30 Websites That Sold For A Lot Of Money
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Charles - Big Idea Blogger
- 29th May, 09 07:05am
I’ve bought only one e-book – Rich Jerk. I felt so CHEATED paying so much for such terrible content. So I tried to get a refund since it was a guarantee, but they rejected it. Since then I’ve NEVER bought another ebook.
Instead, I’ve bought courses. I’m talking about audio, video and books that come in physical packages. They cost more but they contain much higher quality information. It’s also more costly to produce, that means only marketers who are committed to their products would fork out the money to produce them. There are also online courses in the form of membership sites, but fewer percentage of them are good.
I’ve also got some ebooks but all of them are FREE from opt-ins, and they contain far better information than that Rich Jerk ebook.
In my opinion, don’t buy ebooks. If you buy a little here and a little there, the money you spend adds up very quickly. It’s better saving up your money and go for the courses. They are far more worth your money.
Charles – Big Idea Blogger’s last blog post..How to Win Friends and Influence People through Disagreements
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Melvin Reply:
May 30th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
the rich jerk is really a big waste of money, really! I agree that buying ebooks only adds up the cost quickly w/c may lead to one spending really higher that what he thought he would…
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Charles - Big Idea Blogger
- 29th May, 09 07:05am
I’ve bought only one ebook in my life – Rich Jerk. It was such a terrible experience – I felt so cheated paying so much for such poop content and they even rejected their refund guarantee. Since then I’ve never bought another ebook. All my ebooks are FREE from opt-ins.
Instead, I’ve bought courses. These are audio, video and books that come in physical binders and packages. They cost more, but FAR more worth your money. They are also costly to produce, so only marketers who really believe and stand behind their products would fork out the money to produce them. Online courses are also around, but the good ones are fewer.
In my opinion, if you pay a little here and a little there on ebooks, it can add up pretty quickly. It’s far better to save up the money and go for the courses. You get FAR more than you pay for.
Charles – Big Idea Blogger’s last blog post..How to Win Friends and Influence People through Disagreements
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Kayla
- 29th May, 09 07:05pm
I think it depends on how well an e-book is greated. If you create a genuinely wonderful and informative e-book, then it will go viral, and you can make money. Otherwise, a bum e-book can make someone little money, and really probably isn’t worth the time creating it.
I’ve paid for e-books myself, as long as their relevant and have good reviews. I think with the right implementation, it can be just as successful as any other product that is being sold online.
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Melvin Reply:
May 30th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
yea. I guess it just doesn’t end w/the product itself but also with the way it’s going to be marketed
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Sarah
- 30th May, 09 09:05am
Most of the time, I would not pay for eboos. I like to search for free ebooks, which not all are useful but most of them time, they are very informational.
Sarah’s last blog post..Say No To 9 To 5 – Can You?
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George Serradinho
- 1st Jun, 09 02:06pm
Hi,
I have a downloads page of ebooks I have bought and ones that I have downloaded for free. I must say that there are many different ebooks and they do take some time to go through.
Some might be of use, but there are also ones that are a waste of time and money. I guess if buying ebooks, you have to research the ebook first.
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Melvin Reply:
June 9th, 2009 at 1:56 am
yep, most of the testimonials of the book are fake and it makes it harder to find out if the book is worth buying
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Web Career Girl
- 2nd Jun, 09 06:06am
I completely understand – I’ve also come to realise that some eBooks can just be written by anyone to make a quick bit of money. One day I’d like to write a really detailed eBook (not on the make money online niche) and I know it could last longer than many of these ones that come and go – but then again it’ll also take a lot more planning to write it!
Web Career Girl’s last blog post..Evaluating May
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francis
- 4th Jun, 09 03:06pm
We will be looking forward for your ebook.. hopefully it will a cheap ebook but with a quality content..
francis’s last blog post..A WordPress Experience I’ll Never Forget
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Blogging Experience Shared
- 6th Jun, 09 06:06pm
Having abundant source of information, is meaningless in comparison for having few but doing more
I like that line of yours
“how idiots can make big bucks writing ebooks they don’t even implement.”
but hey, who’s got lured for the freebies in the first place?
Blogging Experience Shared’s last blog post..Another Free Domain Giveaway!
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Curious Little Person
- 10th Jun, 09 05:06pm
Few of the e-books are good, no doubt! The problem is that these books might teach you methods to make money – but we never really implement them
I thinking taking action is the most important thing in the internet world
Nice informative post!
Cheers
Sandeep
Curious Little Person’s last blog post..Monetize your Blog the Right Way
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Samuel Munro
- 19th Nov, 09 06:11pm
an eBook can be useful to a point. But with so much PLR out there you. And most of it is outdated. Let’s get away from the Squeeze Page style sales pitch and let visitors make there own mind up as to how much of an expert someone is.
A website should already be content rich and unique.
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infopediaonlinehere
- 8th Mar, 10 10:03pm
I read your ebook
though I knew all the tips you mentioned therein, everytime I rea ebook from people like you it reassure that I think like an internet enterpreuner… So, it can be thought as a moral support
infopediaonlinehere´s last blog ..Google App Engine technologies, Google App Engine SDK, Google cloud computing google app engine
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Gagan
- 3rd May, 10 11:05am
I usually call this stuff as C-Factor (creativity Factor) writing ebooks, design WordPress themes, doing such things really brings a lot of traffic and yes, increase subscribers too.
Gagan´s last blog ..Inspirational & Attractive Header Designs : Blog Design Series Part 2
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