How do you know if an ebook is good?

[runningbird]

Is there a site that (legitimately) rates ebooks? I don't want to sell something (or buy) something that sucks. Selling a bad product is not much different than running a scam. One option would be to actually buy them and read them before I advertise them, but that might get kind of time consuming and expensive, plus - I still wouldn't know if there was something out there that was better.

[Dimond]

google reviews. amazon has most reviews. otherwise ask on a forum devoted to the topic.

[DummyChef]

you can try some online book subscription. they have free trials. try them and find books you like before make purchase.

[runningbird]

Originally Posted by Dimond

google reviews. amazon has most reviews. otherwise ask on a forum devoted to the topic.

I have tried searching for several ebooks on amazon and they did not sell a single one.

[Brutha]

I generally don't check out books when I haven't heard about the author/book through some other source that I trust.

[oscardelben]

Amazon usually don't sell e-books. Search on forums with google. If something is too good to be true, pay attention. There are a lot of scams out there.

[dave marshall]

hi,

eboks are a not really different to any other product, marketing itself will determine if it sells and the market will decide if they like it..

dave

[runningbird]

Originally Posted by dave marshall

hi,

eboks are a not really different to any other product, marketing itself will determine if it sells and the market will decide if they like it..

dave

Yeah, that's how the majority of scams work. A marketer sells garbage and the market decides they don't like it.

[BlackFalcon]

If the book have a 60 day refund policy it means it's good, if not just refund, what ebook are you looking for?

[runningbird]

Ah, there's a good metric. No book in particular, just need a way to assess value for possibly selling in the future.

[Rebecca800]

I'm coming from the other direction - I have a brand new e-book on lucid dreaming with some great testimonials - now I need to get it out there. I'm making sales on my own website and in the ClickBank marketplace, but these e-book review sites sound like another good outlet.

I looked up a couple of review sites and they had no contact page... I'm also wondering if they only review e-books for profit (as affiliates) which would make their reviews less-than-independent. So I'm looking for unbiased websites with lots of traffic. Any suggestions and links to submission pages would be great - in the meantime I'll keep up with my own research - thanks guys.

[Brutha]

I'm coming from the other direction - I have a brand new e-book on lucid dreaming with some great testimonials

How many people believe testimonals that are posted on the website of the person who sells the product?

[Daffy Duck]

Good question. I don't, unless it's linked to an actual person I can talk to. But if it's just some random guy named Mike who liked the product... well, that's not very convincing.

[jendoe]

Hey Runningbird,

If you're going to sell the book and want to make sure it's high quality, I've heard that often times you can contact the author directly and ask for a review copy. I haven't tried it yet, but I've had several people tell me that they don't mind giving out copies to their affiliates, because they really want you to be an affiliate - they want people selling their stuff.

You'd still have to actually read it, of course Which you should, because it seems like 99% of the reviews out there are really thinly veiled sales pitches from affiliates!

The other option is, if you're someplace like Clickbank, you can buy through your own affiliate link to get the discount, and review it that way. I was just reading a thread on this, and *most* authors don't care if you do this - although one or two get upset. Most just see it as another sale...

Of course- the best option is to write your own ebook, so you know it's high quality - and then get other people to sell it for you !

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by Brutha

How many people believe testimonals that are posted on the website of the person who sells the product?

I believe them if I trust the person in the first place, or if they are associated with a person I trust. For example, if Steve puts up testimonials, then I'll believe them because I have learned to trust Steve's honesty. I also trust Anna Colan's authenticity because she has a testimonial from Steve that seems to have been authorized by Steve and since I trust Steve, than I'll trust Anna is providing authentic service. And so on.

But yeah, testimonials from people I don't know for people I don't yet know enough to trust are worthless to me.

Didn't Steve say that he didn't put testimonials on his PDSP book for the reason that most testimonials in the market aren't truthful - they are just friends writing testimonials for friends without really having read the book?

[hkalchemy]

I would say:

• testimonials (from people who have some credibility, though not necessarily famous)
• give away free copies to would-be affiliates
• give away a free sample to anyone who wants it

I have employed these methods for my e-book.

But I guess the only way to be sure is just to take the plunge and buy the book you're interested in. Some books are going to be poor - I've bought some of these!

I personally try to make sure that my books are of outstanding quality.

[hkalchemy]

Originally Posted by seeker5

I believe them if I trust the person in the first place, or if they are associated with a person I trust. For example, if Steve puts up testimonials, then I'll believe them because I have learned to trust Steve's honesty. I also trust Anna Colan's authenticity because she has a testimonial from Steve that seems to have been authorized by Steve and since I trust Steve, than I'll trust Anna is providing authentic service. And so on.

But yeah, testimonials from people I don't know for people I don't yet know enough to trust are worthless to me.

Didn't Steve say that he didn't put testimonials on his PDSP book for the reason that most testimonials in the market aren't truthful - they are just friends writing testimonials for friends without really having read the book?

It's true to some extent, but I would insist that anyone reviewing my book read it proprly and give an honest appraisal. The people who review my books must be credible, otherwise, what's the point?

[Rebecca800]

Originally Posted by Brutha

How many people believe testimonals that are posted on the website of the person who sells the product?

I think you are too cynical thinking that all testimonials are made up. We are not all corrupt, there are honest entrepreneurs out there who gather real testimonials from real people. Whether you believe a particular marketer is up to you - its a judgment call. Personally, I think if you cite the source and its an author or high profile figure, its got to be worth something - certainly better than nothing at all, IMO.

Perhaps I should get Steve to review mine

[hkalchemy]

Originally Posted by Rebecca800

I think you are too cynical thinking that all testimonials are made up. We are not all corrupt, there are honest entrepreneurs out there who gather real testimonials from real people. Whether you believe a particular marketer is up to you - its a judgment call. Personally, I think if you cite the source and its an author or high profile figure, its got to be worth something - certainly better than nothing at all, IMO.

Agree. It's so easy to be cynical, but many of us try to be honest and genuine.

[Brutha]

I think you are too cynical thinking that all testimonials are made up.

That not what I said.
You don't even have to make up testimonials to tell a false story. Just filtering out 1000 different responses and choicing the best 5 as testimonials in itself screws the picture a lot.
It also very easy when you have a negative 5 page review of a product to pick 3 lines that are positive and uses them as positive testimonial.

Agree. It's so easy to be cynical, but many of us try to be honest and genuine.

I don't now many marketers that put up negative testimonals but nearly everyone picks testimonals in a way to tell a specific story that he wants to tell.

If I choose the third parties myself I get a picture of the product that isn't as distorted by the story that the marketer wants to tell about his product.

Whether you believe a particular marketer is up to you

If I already believe that Steve is a good guy that has something to say, why do I need to read testimonals anymore?

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by Rebecca800

Perhaps I should get Steve to review mine

Heh, he already has a whole blog post about what you did. I don't think he would have interviewed you if he didn't find your material to be beneficial for people, even if he didn't read your ebook yet