And, this article is only concerned with ebooks that I have purchased from January to June 2002. The best book of all, dollar for dollar, is very excellent 'Make Your Site Sell' by Ken Evoy. But that came out in 2001. You can download a free trial version of this book, to give yourself a taste (with no obligation to buy) from http://www.BizE-zine.com/special_downloads2.htm

What do I look for in an ebook?

1. It has to be well written. I like an easy, friendly read. It must flow logically and not run off at tangents.

2. It must teach me something. I really don't appreciate books that simply rehash stuff that I already know, or can find online for free - however well written they may be.

3. It must be eminently practical. I don't want to be taught theory that is too complicated for my simple brain to put into action.

4. I have to be able to see right away that there is a real money-making potential.

So which of my purchases meet criteria?

1. Mini Site Profits, by Phil Wiley.

Phil Wiley is an affiliate marketing expert. He has developed a system of producing quick, easy websites that pull in a disproportionate income.

His book, which comes with a whole host of extras, takes you by hand and leads you to profit.

All tricks and tips that Phil uses himself are here, with clear examples. He shows you how to select a product to sell, how to identify an audience, how to set up site, where to get content, how to take money. Everything you need to know.

Note that I say that he shows you. This is not some technical journal full of theory and long-distance advice. Every lesson is backed up by real-life examples from Phil's own sites.

Phil Wiley is one of life's 'super doers'. This book shows you how you can join him in that elite group.

http://www.BizE-zine.com/minisitesecrets.htm

2. eBook Secrets Exposed, by Jim Edwards and David Garfinkel.

The subtitle of this book is 'How to make massive amounts of money, in record time with your own ebook!'

Sometimes they're side-splittingly hilarious, and other times they just don't make grade -- it's a question of taste I suppose.

Anyway, I was cleaning up my folders in Outlook Express recently to make some space on my hard disk (I've got a whopping 20 Gb and I'm already getting low on space -- must be all those MP3's...)

Well, anyway, I knew that my 'Jokes' folder was taking up a lot of memory (it's full of images, video files and so on), so I decided that a major cull was needed.

As I went down list, I had no problem deleting turkeys, but it broke my heart to delete jokes that could still make me laugh second time around.

And then it hit me. Why not make an ebook full of all funniest stuff? That way, I can delete them from my hard disk and pack them all neatly into a single, compressed ebook file. And, thus, idea for "101 Hilarious Jokes To eMail Your Friends" was born.

It was never my intention to actually sell this ebook, (which is why you'll find it free on BizzyDays website). However, it was never my expectation either, that it would prove to be such a resounding success.

Sure, I knew it would be popular with visitors. After all a joke collection is always a popular idea and, if it's free, well hey, all better.

The point though is, I never fully appreciated just how much additional traffic this funny little book could generate. I get at least 100 extra visitors EVERY DAY thanks to a book that I just put together to save disk space.