The world has been digitized; people now prefer reading books electronically to buying the hardcover/paperback version.
Not just book enthusiasts but even educational institutions have started using eBooks to educate their students. Corporations also make use of these digital books to train their employees.
eBooks offer flexibility, ease of use, and better engagement – this is what makes them successful, .and this is why there are 1000s of authors creating eBooks week in and week out to meet the growing demands.
One major problem all these authors face is publication. Choosing popular publications is great, but they risk losing their book among millions of other books in the same category.
So, authors are looking for a fresh start, a new eBook marketplace where they can sell their books to a newer audience. Now is thus the right time to start an electronic bookstore. Here’s how to do it.
What is an electronic bookstore?
An electronic book store or eBook store is a marketplace that sells eBooks of various categories from different authors.
It is one of the main publication channels for authors to reach their audience. Amazon KDP and Apple iBooks are some examples of electronic bookstores.
5 Simple Steps to Create a Successful eBook Store
Conduct Market Research
Before starting any online business, it is important to perform thorough market research and a feasibility study. Why?
Market research will reveal the following:
- The existing players are in the same vertical. In this case, other eBook stores.
- The demand for a new online store with more perks and benefits.
- The retail markets and their customer base.
- Your target audience.
- Untapped niches that you can focus on.
- What you must do to differentiate from other stores.
One major thing market research will reveal is the demand. Are readers in need of an online store? Based on this, you can create your business plan and how you will build and promote your business.
For example, if you’re living in a city with a higher number of educational institutions like schools and universities, then you can build an electronic bookstore that sells academic books. This will make it easier for you to market your store as you can organically generate word of mouth as people prefer local brands.
Find Your Target Audience
After performing thorough market research, you’ll know the market demands and how to fill the resource gap. Now, it is essential to identify your target audience. Who are you going to sell to? What age group of customers will you target?
As we said in the previous section, if you’re just starting out, it is recommended to focus on one particular niche until you gain popularity and organic word of mouth.
If your city has a large number of industries, then you can focus on selling corporate training eBooks by collaborating with those local industries.
If the existing online eBook store doesn’t sell children’s eBooks, then you can sell eBooks for kids and gain an audience. It is recommended to take it slow initially, and once you have a considerable volume of loyal customer base, you can expand your library.
Create an Online Store
Multiple platforms exist for you to build an online store. The most popular one is WordPress, which can help create a website. You can use WooCommerce to add eCommerce functionality to your WordPress store.
You can also create an eBook store using Shopify. The choices are limitless. There are more affordable solutions like KITABOO, which lets you build a dynamic eBook store using the eCommerce engine.
The best thing about the Kitaboo eBook store builder is that it has its own eBook reader. Readers can easily purchase eBooks from your store and read them using your reader app, just like Amazon KDP.
You can add multiple payment gateways, optimize for SEO, and design a user-friendly website for your readers to use.
One thing that you must remember is the ease of use. Your eBook bookstore must deliver the best customer experience with no complex navigation.
Once you’ve built your eCommerce store, test it by sending the beta version to your potential leads. Get feedback, make improvements, and launch it for everyone.
Create Mobile Apps
eBooks are flexible, and mobile phones are the reason for their flexibility. Not everyone will have access to desktops; most readers will use smartphones to access your online store.
So, make it easy for them to purchase from your store by building a mobile app. It will increase your brand’s credibility, organic traffic, and sales.
KITABOO is one of the best platforms that come with a mobile app for your electronic book store, and it also has a mobile-compatible reader that your customers can download and use to read the eBooks.
Promote Your Store
Your store and the mobile app are ready; you’ve added products to the store and added multiple payment gateways for easy purchases as well.
Now it is time to let the audience know about your store. You can start by optimizing your landing pages and product descriptions and include a blog page on your website to increase organic traffic.
Managing your store and marketing can be hard, so hire a professional to take care of your social media presence. Throw in some expenses and run Google and social media ads to increase your brand’s visibility.
Organize a book viewing event or join an event to promote your online store. You can seek the help of social media influencers to spread the word about your store and attract traffic.
Marketing your store is crucial; without it, your store will be undiscoverable to your audience. So, do not shy away from spending a few bucks for promotion, as it can double your profits easily.
Conclusion
There you go; that’s how you build a successful eBook store in five simple steps. The demand for eBooks has risen, and now is the right time to start your eBook store.
Follow these five simple steps to build your electronic bookstore. Perform detailed market research to understand the demand and identify your target audience for better marketing purposes.
Though WordPress is great, you can have a better advantage by using KITABOO to build your eBook bookstore. Kitaboo was built solely for eBooks. It offers better functionalities than other website builders, and its most significant aspect is the Kitaboo reader.
You can build your website using Kitaboo and let customers download your own reader to read the eBooks, as well as create a complete reading ecosystem for them. These features are better selling points that can propel your marketing. So, start your electronic bookstore now before it’s too late.
Discover How An Ebook Conversion, Publishing & Distribution Platform Can Help You
Kitaboo is a cloud-based content platform to create-publish & securely distribute interactive mobile-ready ebooks.
You May Also Like