EBook Mania
By: Jacob Ruytenbeek

As the community of Second Life continues to grow and grow, competition for money making ideas is becoming more and more intense. The trick to making money on Second Life is the ability to put aside the fact it is a virtual world, and strip down to the bare ones of normal everyday business. What makes YOU buy in real life? What makes YOU visit a particular shop in real life? Once you are able to move back into the "real" world, then you can easily translate your efforts across to Second Life.

In one phrase, what attracts people to a business? FREE GIFTS

Free gifts are one of the most powerful tools you have in retail. They attract attention and register on every buyers radar because everybody wants a "freebie". But what can you do, and how can you translate free offers into real money?

Over the last few years one of the major boom areas of the internet has been eBooks. EBooks are electronic books which are downloadable and stored on your PC. At the click of a button you can read the information on screen, print out a copy or forward the eBook file to a friend. These are also the one of the easiest products to sell!

Why not consider setting up an eBook store on Second Life and using the store as an actual link to your "real" online store? Make your eBook store in Second Life easy on the eye, well designed, bright and colourful and pack it with Free eBooks, maybe offer a free drink and a couple of snacks. Let them read a few in store, let them make suggestions as to ideas for new eBooks, but above all, keep them interested and they will stay longer. The longer they stay in your store, the more chance of them moving on to your online store - and hopefully purchasing real eBooks.

Even better, why not open a store specialising in eBooks on Second Life and how to open a business and make money? You have a ready made market in the virtual world itself and everyone who enters your store is a potential customer. They know that you are in touch with Second Life, the way it works, and how to make money on it. This type of business could easily go "viral" as people tell their friends, who tell their friends, etc. Develop an insightful, quality eBook on a topic that you are interested in. Grab the attention of a niche market and you could be the leader of that market very easily.

As your store grows in popularity, there is also the opportunity to sell eBooks from other eBook authors, charging them a commission for each sale through your store, or a flat rate for showing their eBook in your store. Once you have grabbed the attention of the Second Life population your business could start to grow as the word spreads. As with every business, marketing is the key. If you market well and attract attention, the sales should follow shortly.

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