Selling ebooks online can be a profitable venture to explore. Anyone with some writing experience can do it, and the ability to earn some passive income as an author can change your life for the better. Selling ebooks can also be a great way to build an audience, grow your business, and cater to your loved ones. These among other reasons make learning how to sell ebooks very important. 

Kenya boasts of one of the highest literacy rates in Africa, with 82.88%​ of people above fifteen who can read and write. With over fifty million people living in the country, there’s a huge market of ebook readers waiting to be unlocked. 

You may be wondering how to begin, afterall, the process might seem daunting, especially if you don’t have much experience in writing or sales. You’d need to do everything from coming up with a fantastic ebook idea to implementing the right marketing strategies.

In this article, you will learn how to sell eBooks in Kenya. The strategies shared will give you a hand-in-hand knowledge of what you need to know about selling e-books to a Kenyan audience. With these tips, anyone with a device and a working internet connection can become a successful E-book author. Without further ado, let’s dive in! 

1. Pick the right e-book idea

Before writing anything, you should choose the right idea for your ebook. There are thousands of ideas you can come up with, brilliant stories from your imagination, fresh insights into old topics, and very instructional how-tos. 

The amount of ideas at your disposal presents a problem: How do you choose the right one? No one wants to buy a product they don’t need, so the first step is to identify people’s needs or pain points and use them as a prime indicator of what you should write. Maybe you’re a content creator, entrepreneur, or professional in your field, and people are always asking you the same questions. You can take these questions and use them to fuel your brainstorming process!

For instance, a gardener living in Nairobi could have thousands of followers curious about her plants. They may ask her questions about the best indoor plants, pruning methods, how to deal with pests, etc. Identifying a need from this, she could then compile all the answers to their questions in a book, upload the book on an ebook platform like Selar, and refer people to the book whenever they ask her questions. This way, she reduces the amount of stress answering individual questions can cause, gives her audience a readymade tool they can read whenever and wherever, and makes money from her knowledge! 

So the bottom line is this: the right idea is anything you are knowledgeable about, and people are curious about. Writing an ebook that falls within this intersection is a great idea, because the writing process will not be very stressful, and you will have a ready audience of readers to sell the book to once it is published. 

Read: Five Tips for Finding Inspiration as a Creator

2. Find the right name for your ebook

Once you have your idea down, you’ll need to come up with a title for your eBook. Running with the first title you have in mind might not be the best idea. This is not to say that your first idea won’t be good, but generally speaking, titling your book should not be taken so lightly, as it plays a huge role in your ability to sell.

A good, compelling title can significantly influence a potential reader’s decision to purchase your ebook. You’d be doing yourself a great service by finding successful examples to emulate. 

Go to online bookstores, and glean inspiration. You’ll find everything from thriller novels to business books depending on the sub-category you are interested in. Some books may catch your eye while others may not. You want to figure out why that is the case. What is it about those books? What are some of the patterns you can identify? It may be a short, to-the-point title like “The Book Thief” or a longer one like “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” Find out what works and let that guide you in your title creation process.

AI language models like ChatGPT are also worth considering when seeking potential book titles. You can get several title-subtitle pairs with a single prompt describing your book and target audience. However, you should exercise caution when using these models, as some answers they provide may be unoriginal in nature. Perform due diligence by running the titles they provide with Google to avoid potential problems. 

Lastly, don’t just come up with one or two titles. Try to come up with as many as possible before choosing the best one. You can also ask people whose opinions you trust for feedback. Implementing these strategies will help you sell ebooks in Kenya.

3. Create the e-book

After you have your idea down, the writing process begins. Writing an e-book can be hard. Why? It requires discipline and time. Develop the habit of blocking out time during the day to cover some pages. Set writing targets and goals for yourself. If you run dry of inspiration, shut your writing device and take a walk, then come back when you feel inspired again. 

Many people use Microsoft Word or Google Docs to write. Both have their respective advantages, and your choice will truly come down to your preferences and needs. If you don’t have stable internet access, and you want a variety of formatting options, Microsoft Word is a great option. If you want a simple yet powerful tool to get the job done, and access from anywhere in the world, then Google Docs might be the perfect fit for you. There are many other writing platforms available, just find what works for you and commit to it. 

When you’re done writing the book, you can use Canva to design your cover. The site has hundreds of eBook cover templates that can be customized to fit your vision. If nothing there works, you can always use free image sites like Pexels to find pictures that capture the vision you have for your book, or leave the work to a professional graphic designer who would make your vision come to life. 

4. Select a platform to sell your e-book

After creating your eBook, choosing the right platform to host it plays an important role in how successful your e-book will be. You want a platform that supports digital sales, gives you a variety of payment options, is local friendly, and easily accessible. A great option to try out is Selar. 

Selar is an African e-commerce platform that gives students, content creators, entrepreneurs, and individuals from diverse backgrounds a chance to earn from selling digital products. With a free plan, you can start selling your digital products online. Selar currently supports creators in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, and South Africa, and also supports over eight currencies, so you won’t have to worry about currency conversions, or payment gateways, as with foreign platforms.

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You can upload your cover and PDF, set your price, launch your book easily, and have it ready to sell within 24 hours. What’s more, Selar also has an affiliate marketplace you can take advantage of to make more sales. Onboard affiliates, and set the commission on your Selar creator dashboard. From there, the affiliates will help you sell your eBook while they earn commissions.

What does this look like in practical terms? Let’s say you have written your book, and you’re trying to sell it on Selar. Tell your friends about it, and ask them to become affiliates so they can earn. Once they agree, onboard them, and have them post the affiliate links on their social media accounts. With more people willing to help, great profit awaits. What’s more, your affiliates will be motivated to tell more people about your book, thanks to the financial incentives! 

Read: How to Increase Digital Product Sales with Affiliate Marketing

5. Market your e-book

You’ve brainstormed an appealing idea, chosen a good title, created the ebook, and uploaded it on Selar. The next step is to develop marketing strategies to drive your ebook sales to the level you want them to be. A lot of creativity and experimentation is needed here, so refining old strategies and knowing when to pivot will be essential to your marketing success.

A good place to start is to share your ebook online. Place the link to your Selar store on social media. If you have a YouTube channel, put your Selar link under the description of your videos. If you have a newsletter or blog, you can publish posts with links to your store attached at the end of them. There are many ideas you can adopt to effectively sell your eBooks. 

As a beginner, it pays to stick to your strengths and preferences when choosing the right social media platforms for your marketing efforts. If you’re good with visuals, you’d probably be more successful marketing your ebook on Instagram than on sites like Twitter. If you’re funny and relatable to a young demographic, then maybe TikTok might be the perfect platform for you.  

In all this, don’t forget to pay attention to what the numbers say. If you observe that your short-form content leads to more conversions, then direct your efforts to YouTube shorts or TikTok. Don’t hesitate to play to your strengths. It will pay off in the long run.

Finally, marketing is a long game. People may not buy your ebooks the first, second, or third time they come across it, but that’s okay. It may require a little more exposure or time but with the right strategies, and patience, you’ll start making those sales. 

Read: A Guide to Earning Money Writing Ebooks

Final thoughts

Selling eBooks online can be a viable source of income for any aspiring author who wants to make a living out of writing. The process can however be shrouded in an air of mystery if you don’t know how to begin.

In truth, creating and selling eBooks is not as hard as some people may think. With the right knowledge and mindset, you can learn to sell eBooks and improve your strategies over time as you learn from your experiences. All that’s needed is the readiness to learn and the patience to keep at it, even when you don’t see your desired results.