You don’t need to be a great writer to earn $2000+ writing an ebook

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

“I can’t write an ebook. I don’t have any special knowledge that someone would pay for.”

I understand this thought because I used to think the same thing…until I actually tried it. I’ll show you how to write an ebook (and make money, too) in just a few simple steps.

You don’t even need to be a great writer!

You just need 2 things:

1. Something you’re good at
2. The ability to convey it like you would a friend

Then all you need to do is:

1. Come up with a topic and how it can help people.
2. Do some easy keyword research to see if there’s interest.
3. Create an outline and plan your chapters.
4. Choose where to write it.
5. Load it onto a platform where you can sell it.

These are the exact steps I took to make over $2000 in sales with my ebooks.

I’m certainly not a great writer.

I just learned the steps.

1. Come up with a topic and how it can help people

You’ll want to come up with a topic that you know something about. I know exactly what you’re thinking.

“I don’t know anything unique. I only know what other people already know.”

That’s what I said to myself too!

But there’s two important things to realize:

1. Not everyone knows what you know, even if you think they do. Everyone starts as a beginner, no matter what the topic is. If you have experience making the best scrambled eggs, you might think everyone else knows how to make them too. But if you’ve ever seen my husband cook them, you would know not that’s not the case. (Sorry, babe!)
2. Even if people know your topic, they don’t know it from your perspective, which is 100% unique. I love watching YouTube videos. And I will watch 27 different people talk about the same exact topic because I like to hear all the different perspectives. It’s the same with writing.

Here are a few ideas to help you brainstorm a topic:

• think of a problem you solved for yourself, then document what you did to solve it (my favorite strategy)
• think of a current problem you’re having, then document it as you’re solving it
• go to your favorite groups on Facebook or your favorite subreddits and see what questions people keep asking that you can answer
• use what you do for work and teach people what you do and how to do it better
• think about the things people come to you for when they’re looking for your advice. What problems are you awesome at solving?

2. Do some easy keyword research to see if there’s interest

You don’t need to go crazy with the keyword research, but you do want to see if there’s an interest in your topic.

No interest = no money.

And we want you to make money.

You can use research tools, and there are plenty out there that are free or have free trials. They’re great to use because they will give you detail about how much competition your topic has.

But my favorite way to do keyword research is much simpler.

I go to Google, and I type in my topic.

Then I scroll down and look for a few key things:

1. People also ask
2. Questions on Quora or Reddit
3. People also search for

This gives me an idea if enough people have an interest in the topic, and if there’s enough material to write about it.

(If you see questions on your topic, that’s a good sign! You can answer those questions in your ebook.)

Let me show you an example of a topic that *probably* won’t do well as an ebook.

Yes, sorry to burst your bubble if this was your topic, but “how to make pie for aliens on Mars” is not a great topic. (You can see what the search looks like here.)

I know this because:

• it’s a little too specific
• there’s no “people also ask” section
• there aren’t any questions about it
• the “people also search for” section isn’t relevant to my topic:

You can also use Google Trends (free) to see if your topic is (or was) trending.

There’s a little spike there, but I don’t know why because it shows up with “0” searches. Dang! I had hope for a sec.

Now that you’ve made sure your topic is of interest to enough people, you can start planning your content.

3. Create an outline and plan your chapters

This part is already halfway done for you! Remember above when I mentioned the Reddit and Quora questions, “People also ask”, and “People also search for”?

These make excellent chapter topics.

You can also use the help of ChatGPT.

You can ask it to be your writing assistant and to give you an outline:

This is just a snippet of the outline ChatGPT gave me.

Don’t use this outline word-for-word because you don’t want your book to sound like an AI bot.

But it’s a good starting point to give you ideas of what to write about.

You could even take one part of the outline and create a mini ebook from that. For instance:

You can see that ChatGPT can be an awesome writing assistant.

You can keep drilling down on a specific topic to make an even more focused book. (Just be sure to do your keyword research as you drill down.)

4. Choose where to write your book

When I say “choose where to write your book”, I’m not saying you need to decide to write your book at the beach or in your bed. That’s up to you! Write where you’re most comfortable.

What I’m referring to is the writing platform.

You can write your book on Microsoft Word, Canva, or other platforms.

My favorite place to write my ebooks (because it’s the easiest) is Google Docs. You only need a Google account to use it, otherwise, it’s completely free.

If you want your book to look extra pretty, then I recommend using Canva.

However, don’t waste too much time making your book look perfect. The most important thing is to get it done so you can start to sell it!

5. Load it to a platform where you can sell it

My favorite place to sell ebooks is Gumroad.

Gumroad is a platform you can use to sell digital products. It’s super easy to use, and it’s also free!

Gumroad makes money when you make money. (They take a 10% cut of your sales.)

As a beginner, this is what I recommend using because it’s a trusted platform.

I can’t get into how to set up your Gumroad page for selling in this article because this article would be way too long!

But…

I am working on a new ebook that will walk you through everything step by step.

NOTE: The Gumroad Guide is finished!

In the meantime, you can take a look at my Gumroad page, check out my books, and see how I have things set up. (The new book will land here once it’s done!)

That will give you some ideas of how to set up your Gumroad products to catch attention.

Here are my 3 biggest tips…

1. Use bold images

I made my images in Canva. It was simple to do! (And I am definitely not a graphic designer!) Try to make yours eye-catching.

2. Clearly spell out what problem(s) your book will solve

In my Medium Money book, my problem was that I wasn’t making money from my Medium articles.

But I figured out how to solve it, and that’s what my book helps other Medium writers do, too:

I also show exactly what you get in the book:

This helps people make a buying decision.

3. Get reviews as soon as you can

You can ask for reviews within the Gumroad system, and you can also send a follow-up email via Gumroad and ask for reviews that way.

(These will be covered in my new Gumroad ebook!)

You can also give your book free to a few trusted friends and ask them to review it if they like it. (You always want honest reviews. If someone has feedback to make your book better, be sure to listen.)

Once you get some reviews, more will come in naturally.

This makes people feel comfortable that you can help solve their problem. Once they see others have been helped, they feel more confident in what you have to offer.

Final Thoughts

I hope this helps you see it’s not hard to learn how to write an ebook and make money.

I was recently on a Reddit thread and it made me sad.

Someone asked:

“Are writing and selling ebooks a legit way to make money?”

The people on the thread were so negative, even though writing and selling ebooks is legit. Plus, it’s fun!

Don’t let people who have never done something dissuade you from trying.

Anyone can write an ebook and make money with it if you follow the steps above. Yes, you’ll need to market your ebook too. That’s not hard if you have a Medium account, Substack, Pinterest, or some other way to get in front of people.

I can help tackle that another day.

For now, I hope you’ll take action and get your ebook started!

If you like these kinds of topics, I document everything I’m doing over on my Hustling Housewife Substack. I’d love to see you over there!

About the Author

Hey! I’m Christina, an introverted metalhead 🤘, mom, and wife.

I’m also a Hustling Housewife on a mission to make $5k+ per month with writing & simple digital assets. See how (and how I can help you too) on my Medium About page.