7 Strategies For Finding Best-seller Ebook Ideas
By Michael Hopkins, Sat Dec 10th

One of the biggest difficulties facing people who are gettinginto the ebook business for the first time is finding the rightsubject ideas for their ebooks.

It's important that there's a market for the book. It's alsoimportant that you stick to the things you know, the things thatinterest you or the things you would enjoy researching.

Here are 7 strategies you can use for finding that perfectsubject. Try them out...

1.) THINK ABOUT THE THINGS YOU KNOW

One piece of knowledge or one experience is all you may need tocreate a top-selling ebook.

For example, we've all had negative experiences during thecourse of our lives (ripped off in a scam, serious illness,death of a loved one, addiction, backache, etc). Perhaps you canshow others how they can prepare for - or cope with - a negativeexperience that you've already been through.

Do you know a great way to lose weight? Do you know a way to getthrough the working week without suffering from stress? Do youknow a way of saving $200 on taxes? Do you know how to wallpapera bedroom? Have you recently bought a house and learned animportant lesson that can benefit others?

Imagine the title "Buying a home? This one tip will save youover two thousand dollars!". If I were buying a home, I wouldspend $20 or $30 no problem to find out what that tip is.

There's an infinite amount of simple ideas you can turn intogreat products. You just need to identify them.

2.) TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR HOBBIES AND INTERESTS

You probably have ten potential books inside you just based onthe things you enjoy in life - cars, sport, cooking, gardening,beer, Spielberg movies, jazz music, pets, computers,...

The fact that you'll be writing about something you enjoy willmake researching, writing and promoting your book much easier(and much more satisfying than tackling a subject that you knowwell, but don't enjoy).

3.) RESEARCH SPECIAL OFFERS OR SERVICES

People are always looking for ways to save money or save time.

Provide information that will help them save money on theirinsurance, their mortgage, their vacation, their shopping, andso on. Do you know some great research techniques for quicklyfinding information on the Internet? Provide people withinformation that will save them time with their work, theirsurfing, their housework, and so on.

If you know a computer company that's offering quality PC partsat bargain prices then that could be the basis for a valuableebook.

Okay, you're effectively giving great advertising to those thatoffer the product or service, but at the same time if you'remaking $10 on every sale and your customers is getting theinformation you've promised, then everyone's a winner.

The Internet is a great place to research just about anythingand, as long as you're giving people something of value, you canfind the basis for a great ebook online.

=====SIDEBAR====== This idea can also be used to make freeebooks. Imagine you are selling an ebook related to dogs. Youcould put together a simple ebook that catalogs dog-relatedbooks that sell online. Tie the idea in with a few affiliateprograms (like Amazon.com) and you can earn a little extraincome as well as get free publicity for your site.=====SIDEBAR======

4.) ASK YOURSELF WHAT INFORMATION PEOPLE WANT

The fact of the matter is, there are tens of thousands of bookswaiting to be written. Every minute of every day people searchfor information they can't find. Think about those things you'vesearched for and had difficulty finding. Locate a gap in themarket and fill it.

Identifying peoples wants, needs, goals and desires, and thenresponding to them, is a sure route to success.

A great place to start

is online newsgroups, forums and so on.Visit forums on topics that interest you and see what people aretalking about. What are the common questions? Identify thecommon problems experience by people interested in the topic.

Leave very specific questions like "What's the hardest thingabout...?", "What would you most like...?". Solve the commonproblems these people encounter.

Follow these links to find forums, newsgroups and discussionlists on a vast range of topics:

-Topica: http://www.topica.com/ -Google Groups:http://groups.google.com/ -Delphi: http://www.delphiforums.com/

Another way to find out what people are interested in, is byfinding out what they're searching for on the internet. Followthese links to see what surfers are looking for:

-Search.com Top 100 Searches: http://www.search.com op-AskJeeves: http://sp.ask.com/docs/about/jeevesiq.html -OvertureSuggestion - see how many people have used Overture search inthe past month for the keywords you enter:http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

5.) BRAINSTORM

Brainstorming is about getting a group of people together toshare ideas. This technique works best when all rationaljudgement is suspended. Nothing should be ruled out, every ideaand contribution should be welcomed. Even ideas that, at first,might appear useless may lead to other ideas or further trainsof thought.

The more thoughts that are introduced the better thebrainstorming will work and the better the chances of coming upwith really good ideas. Do this with family or friends and youmay find yourself wondering which book to start first.

Also, ask family and friends to tell you the things thatinterest them. Is there a particular problem that they wouldlike to see solved. Could you solve it?

Often this questioning will provoke joking responses like "a bighouse, loads of money and a flashy car". Don't disregardflippant responses like these. They can tell you a lot aboutpeople hopes, dreams and aspirations.

If you can tap into people's dreams and make a product that willhelp them (even in a small way) to realize those dreams, you'reon to a winner.

6.) LOOK AT THE BESTSELLERS LISTS FOR 'REAL' BOOKS

Go to your local bookstore and browse the non-fiction sections.Take special note of which books are displayed most prominently(especially in the "how to" and "self-help" sections).

This will tell you a lot about what people are interested in.You can also explore the bestsellers on the Internet at thesewebsites: -Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/ -Barnes & Noble:http://www.bn.com/

Try taking a look at the headlines in glossy magazines. Thoseguys know how to push all the right buttons to get people to buy.

You'll probably find ten things you could research and writeabout just by browsing through magazines that interest you(health, beauty, fitness, money, sport etc). The most inticinglines are always written on the front cover.

7.) MAKE A DIFFERENT VERSION OF AN EXISTING PRODUCT

There are some areas of knowledge that are already well coveredby numerous authors (real-estate, for example).

Perhaps, however, you can identify a specific aspect of a givensubject that hasn't been covered (real estate in a particularstate or region, real estate aimed at a particular type ofbuyer, and so on). No matter how specialized, the marketingpower of the internet can be used to reach almost any nichemarket.

And there you have it! Seven ways to go about finding theperfect ideas for your next ebook.

Have fun!

About the author:Michael Hopkins is a Successful Web Marketer and Owner ofBizzyDays Ebook Publications. Visit Now to Download OriginalEbooks for Free at: http://www.bizzydays.com This Article FirstAppeared in Michael's Newsletter, Ebook Times. To subscribevisit: http://www.ebooktimes.net