Ebook Management

Ebook Management

If your package came with an ebook, here are the details on how to edit/manage it.

What will be covered:

1. Where to find it in your site package (and the rights you have)
2. How to edit the ebook and ebook graphics
3. Uploading Ebook and editing the thank you page
4. How to create a custom PayPal button (if you are selling it)
5. Protecting your product from digital theft

1. Your Ebook Files
Inside your site package files that you unzipped, you will see a folder named Source Files. Inside that folder will be an Ebook folder (if your blog package included one) that contains a PDF and a .doc file. The PDF the ebook as is and the .doc is the source fle that you will edit.

2. How To Edit Your Ebook  And Ebook Graphics

Basically, all you have to do is open up the .doc file in Word (or another prorgram that opens .doc files) and edit anything you want.

Inside the Ebook folder will also be a License/Rights file that will explain the rights you have for this ebook. Any ebook that I have included will at least have the rights to sell and edit as you wish though, and typically that's all you have to worry about.

However, sometimes you might want to give the book away or add it to a memberhsip you have, etc. The file included will tell you what you can and can't do.

If there is no license, consider it ok to do whatever you want with the ebook.

After editing your source .doc file, save it, and also export one as a PDF.
If you want to edit the ebook cover, or the ebook ad (if there is one included), then you will need to do the same as you did with header image.

The ebook ad is coded directly inside the sidebar.php file located at domainname.com/wp-content/themes/gazette/sidebar.php

If you want to edit it, it is the code snippet at the very top of that file that looks something like this:

<a href="ebook"><img src="http://rockguitargod.com/wp-content/themes/gazette/images/ebook-ad.png"></a>

In your unzipped folder, you can find the PSD files in Source Files/PSDs named Ebook-Flat.psd and there will be a PSD file for the ebook ad as well.

Note: If you are going to edit the ebook cover, you will notice that the design is flat (meaning, there is a spine and a cover section but it is not shaped like a book). This is because ebook cover designs are typically created like this initially and and then turned into a book image using a Photoshop action.
You basically have two choices - you can get yourself some Photoshop ebook actions, or you can hire a designer to edit it for you.
I use very expensive actions but there is a high quality, inexpensive set I also have used called BlackBeltCovers.
If you choose to hire a designer to edit the ecover, all you would have to do is send him or her the PSD file. If it was minor changes, you could likely find someone on the Warrior forum to do it for you for very cheap.
If you have any questions about ecovers and actions, just ask. J

3. Uploading Your Ebook And Editing The Thank You Page

Before uploading your Ebook, you're going to create a folder for it to be in.
Just login to your domain via FTP and create a new folder, name it something like download-ebook, or whatever you want (tricky name is better so people can't guess where it is)

Once you've create the folder, upload the eBook PDF file. For this example let's say you named it myebook.pdf and uploaded it into a folder you named download-ebook.
Now the direct link to download that ebook would be:

http://mydomain.com/download-ebook/myebook.pdf

Linking to your ebook from from the thank you page

I've already set up a thank you/download page and you can see where it is from your Wordpress admin. 

The  thank you page, as you may have noticed, has a wacky title. That's so that scammers and theives have a harder time guessing your page name and stealing your content without paying. I have also excluded it from any navigation and set that page to not be indexed.

This works well enough for some niches, but if you want ultimate security, then read the section on protecting your content (a little further down).

Here's how you'll link to your ebook from your thank you page:

First, log in to your Wordpress admin and then go to Pages/Edit from the left sidebar menu.

Click on the thank you page to edit it.

Click the HTML tab for the post editor

Scroll down to where you see the download link. It'll look something like this:  <a href='http://domain.com/download/ebook.pdf'>Click here to download ebook</a>

Change the current URL in that code to the one that you created for your own ebook above.

Click Update Page and you're done!

Ok, your ebook is all set up, now let's create the PayPal button so you can start selling copies!

4. Creating A Custom PayPal Order Button
Before you log into PayPal to create your button, you're going to grab have two URLs handy.

1. The URL of the thank you Page
2. Image location URL of your order button.

To get the URL of the Thank You page, just click Pages/Edit from the Wordpress admin sidebar menu, and then hover your mouse over the thank you page. Now click view and it will open up and you can copy the URL in your browser address bar.

To get the URL of your order button, open your browser and go to the ebook order page on your blog.

Right click on your order button

Click copy image location (in Firefox)
In Internet Explorer, I believe you have to right click on the image, then choose properties, and then highlight the url and copy it. But, why aren't you using Firefox!? ;)

Let's go make a PayPal button.

1. Log into PayPal and click Merchant Services tab at the top.

2. Choose "Buy Now Button"

3. Go To Step 1

4. Accept Payments from products in the drop down menu

5. Choose No; create a “Buy Now” button

6. enter a name and a price in the corresponding fields

7. Click customize appearance in the box titled customize button.

8. Click the radio button that says use your own button image

9. Enter the URL of your buy button (that you copied, remember?)

10. Go To Step 2

11. Check Save button at PayPal and forget the rest.

12. Go To Step 3

13. Click No to ‘quantities, message, and needing shipping address’, and also leave the cancel page unchecked.

14. Now you will see:
Take customer to a specific page (URL) after successful checkout:
This is where your visitor will be taken after they purchase. Enter the URL of the thank you page
Need the URL? In Wordpress admin, go to Pages/Edit. Now hover over the title of the thank you page and a little menu appears underneath the name of the page. Click the one that says view. When the page opens up, copy the URL that is in your web browser.

15. Click "create button". This will generate html code for you to paste into any page/area where you want the button to appear. Copy it in a notepad or word document to save it.

Ok, now you have your PayPal button custom code and you can
add it to your ebook order page.

Log into your Wordpress admin and go to Pages/Edit and then the ebook order page.

Click the HTML tab on the page editor

Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you’ll see the order button link that looks like this:

<a href=”http://domain.com/order”><img src=”http://domain.com/wp-content/themes/gazette/images/order.png”></a>

Delete that snippet of code and replace it with the custom PayPal button code that you saved.

Now click Update Page from the top right of Wordpress admin.
Your custom order button should appear on the ebook page now.

5. Protecting Your Product From Digital Theft
The set up you currently have now is ok for if you're just getting started but if you plan to get serious in this business then I'd highly recommend that you get some heavy duty protection for your digital downloads.

There are quite a few options available ranging anywhere from $20-150 that will secure your downloads well enough that you don't have to worry about getting ripped off.
Here are a couple of the industry's most popular choices (and the most reputable):

DLGuard: This is the number one choice among most Internet Marketers and used by many (including me, you likely purchased this package via DLGuard!)
It's a bit pricier than other options but this is one area of business that you actually get what you pay for and I was seriously impressed with DLGuard. Also, in my opinion, security is not something you want to skimp on in your business so you might want to look into it.

LinkLok: LinkLok is a cheaper option but a very reputable one. The price is lower because you actually get less flexibility and have to buy a license per payment option. This might suit you well if you're just getting started. Check out the features at their site.

E-Junkie: E-Junkie isn't a self-hosted security like LinkLok and DLGuard so you don't have nearly as much control and flexibility, but it is a service that protects your downloads. It's cheap and easy to set up.