When one freelance writer was asked how and why she managed to publish 50 ebooks on Amazon in just 12 months, she responded:

“I’ve been writing and selling ebooks online since 2004. Once Amazon made it so much easier to self-publish, I quickly realized the revenue potential and jumped on the bandwagon. I published my first ebook on the site in December 2010, and got my first sale a few days later.

After experiencing this success, I was hooked because I knew that it just a matter of writing and publishing more ebooks to learn more money. So, I set a goal to do just that and in 2011, I published 50 ebooks in one year. My earnings are increasing and within 24 months, I fully expect to be earning in the mid-four to low five figures per month.”

If you want to write and sell ebooks online, it’s easier than ever to do so. Following are the exact steps to take.

How to Self-Publish Your Ebook on Amazon: 5 Simple Steps

1. Write: Many wannabe writers never even get past this step. So, set a timeframe within which you will commit to simply getting your book done.

2. Create a high-quality, professional ebook cover: Covers sell and too many self-published authors overlook this all-important step. Don’t! FYI, it’s very easy to create amazing, professional-quality covers using ebook cover creation software. There are many affordable options available. Simply conduct an online search for some good ones.

3. Convert file using Mobi software: This is just a software that converts your file from MS Word, for example, into the type of file it needs to be in order to upload it to Amazon. FYI, this software (Mobi) is free.

4. Write a detailed description page: This is the page that tells potential buyers what your ebook is all about. It is a critical selling tool – one too many self-published authors don’t take full advantage of. On Amzaon, you get approximately 4,000 characters for this page; use as many of them as you can. Don’t skimp here.

5. Upload to Amazon: Once your file is converted, all you do is upload it via Amazon’s interface. This is one step – extremely easy! That’s it. It only takes about a day (if you’re in the U.S.) for Amazon to make your ebook live on the site so customers can buy it.

Selling Ebooks Online: The “Secret” to Making Money

The above five steps are easy because once they’re done, they’re done. “Promoting your ebook – the not-so-secret “secret” to making good money selling ebooks — is where the real work comes in, for it’s a never-ending process. But, it’s what leads to sales.

Want to make money selling ebooks? Get insight from a freelance writer who has published over 50 ebooks on Amazon in “SELLING EBOOKS ONLINE: How I Published 50 Ebooks on Amazon in One Year” at http://inkwelleditorial.com/selling-ebooks-online-how-i-published-50-ebooks-on-amazon-in-one-year.

Although sometimes this technique has often been overused, it’s still an excellent way to promote your business provided you follow a few simple guidelines.

If you want to get the most from your promoting free ebooks, here are the steps you need to take:

1. Write a quality ebook.

This seems pretty obvious, but it’s really not. Some people will use their ebooks as just an upsell. They provide no real information. What’s unfortunate is that ebooks like this just get deleted.

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. There are plenty of ways to create your content without writing it yourself. What’s key here is offer information your potential customers want. Give them a taste of what the full blown product is like and how it will solve their problems.

2. Include “vital” information in your ebook.

Include things like contact information, as well as links back to your site or to the product. Make sure your links work, and that they’re pointing to the right place. Just don’t include too many offers. One or two is plenty. Write several short reports promoting different products. You’ll get more mileage that way.

3. Offer your ebook in different formats.

Different readers will want to consume your content in different ways. Turn your ebook into a video, audio, podcast, and even a Powerpoint presentation. The more ways you present your material, the more places you have where you can post it to promote it.

4. Submit your ebook to the ebook directories.

Ebook directories will be one of the first places readers will look for your content. There are some top notch ebook directories out there that get a lot of traffic. Make sure your ebook is included.

5. Submit your ebook to the software directories.

Most won’t consider submitting here, but it’s actually easy to do. All you have to do is create a what’s called a PAD file. Upload it to your server and then submit the link to the Shareware Professionals website. Your ebook will then get picked up by 100s, or even 1000s of software sites.

6. Consider an ad swap with another list owner.

An ad swap is where you exchange solo ads with another list owner. You mail their ads to your list, and they mail your ads to theirs. You’ll need a list of about 500 to get started, so make sure you’re list building while you’re promoting.

7. Write a press release to announce your new release.

Make sure what you’re doing is news. The whole thing with free ebooks has been done. Look for a special hook that makes your promotion different and then promote it.

Jinger Jarrett will show you how to market your business online for free. Read this entire series of articles when you visit her blog: http://www.askjinger.com. Get your free internet marketing membership here: http://killermarketingarsenal.com/ezine/

You may be wondering, what took me so long to find success selling ebooks online? Following are three keys I nailed down that can earn any aspiring ebook writer a steadily increasing four figures per month writing and publishing their own titles.

I. Learn about search engine optimization (SEO): Specifically study what keyword research is all about. Why? Because this will teach you not only how to figure out what sells online and what doesn’t, but how to market so you can make money online.

My ebook sales (and internet marketing career in general) literally took off once I learned the intricacies of SEO. If you don’t know at least the basics of SEO, it’s like marketing online in the dark. As I discuss in the ebook, “How to Make Money Online: A Simple Tutorial for New Internet Marketers,: you’ll needlessly struggle to make money on the internet for years – and perhaps even give up – all because you didn’t take the time to learn HOW to market on the web.

There’s a lot – and I do mean a lot – of money to be made online. And learning SEO can help you to achieve success that much quicker.

II. Niche It: I was doing some research for the aforementioned ebook recently, and was simply astounded to learn that almost 750,000 new web presences are registered and/or go live – every day. That’s not a typo.

When I did a report for a client back in 2008, it was just 100,000. My point? The web is a very crowded place – and is getting more so every day. But, this is a good thing – if you carve out a niche for yourself.

So if you want to make money selling ebooks online, carve out a niche for yourself – and market the heck out of it!

III. Don’t Do It Just for the Money: I don’t care how much money you think you can make selling ebooks, if you don’t love the subject matter (the niche), you won’t stick with it long enough to be successful at it.

And that’s just the plain truth of it.

Case in point, I publish a few minisites to earn money via Google AdSense. One of them is about weddings. But, I don’t update the site very often because I don’t like the subject matter. The site still earns about $30/month, even though I rarely update it.

If I loved the subject matter, this is a site I could easily see earning four figures a month within six months or so. But, because I have other projects that are labors of love, I don’t bother with this site much.

To make money online as an ebook writer and self-publisher, you have to market, learn new technology, answer customer inquiries, update your blog/website, etc. In short, you marry your ebook business. And if you don’t like who you’re married to . . . well, we know how that eventually ends now don’t we?

There’s much more to making money online selling ebooks. But, in my opinion – and experience – these are three of the biggest factors that must be in place to ensure success.

Yuwanda Black has self-published over 30 ebooks. She is the author of the best-selling title, “How to Write an Ebook in 3 Days, Market It and Start Getting Sales in a Week — Really!”, found at href=http://inkwelleditorial.com/how-to-write-an-ebook-fast-and-start-getting-sales-fast