Posted by: Bob Bly
November 11, 2008
Issue #543

How to Profit From Idea Thieves

A common concern among would-be information marketers is illegal copying. Because their products are downloadable and easy for their customers to share, many think that will be the downfall of their business.

The reality is, only a tiny and insignificant fraction of your customers will even attempt to rip you off by copying and distributing your info products without paying for the right to do so. The incidence of this type of fraud is so rare that you can just shrug it off as a small cost of doing business.

However, there are steps you can take to reduce the pirating of your content to near-zero - and even make money from the few copies that do get pirated.

Let me explain … 

There are all kinds of high-tech systems and devices for foiling would-be bootleggers of content - from music and movies to software and information products. But, eventually, all of them are defeated by hackers.

A better way to prevent your customers from illegally copying your e-books, audio CDs, and DVDs is to ask yourself what motivates them to steal your content in the first place.

Answer: Aside from the Internet making it easy to duplicate and distribute digital content, the main reason a customer will illegally copy an information product they have bought has to do with its price and value.

By that, I mean that customers are less motivated to pirate content that is (a) reasonably priced and (b) gives a fair value for its cost.

For instance, if your 50-page e-book on starting a small business is only $29, your customers - if they like it - will simply recommend it to their friends. “You should buy it here,” they’ll say, pointing others to your website.

However, had you priced the same e-book at $299, your customers might feel that it was too expensive. So after they print out your e-book for themselves, they’ll pass on the PDF to a few friends - illegally, of course.

Even when the price is high, you can still reduce illegal copying by providing great value for the money.

Say that 50-page e-book contains dozens of forms needed to start a business … forms a lawyer might charge thousands of dollars to create or review. In that case, $299 would be a reasonable price to pay. The customer would feel he is getting a fair value, and, therefore, would not want to rip you off.

On the other hand, if your 50-page e-book is nothing but general advice about small businesses, $299 would be excessive. In this instance, the customer might think you are ripping him off. And he might choose to get back at you by freely - and, yes, illegally - sharing the e-book with many other people.

So, really, the best way to prevent customers from illegally copying and sharing your content is to create information products that are reasonably priced - and give the buyer more than his money’s worth.

To further discourage bootleggers, my e-books now carry this warning on the title page:

——————————————————————————————————-

This is NOT a free e-book!

Purchase of this e-book entitles the buyer to keep one copy on his or her computer and to print out one copy only.

Printing out more than one copy - or distributing it electronically - is prohibited by international and USA copyright laws and treaties, and would subject the purchaser to penalties of up to $100,000 PER COPY distributed.

——————————————————————————————————

Don’t be too much of a hard case enforcing this policy. If a customer calls and wants to print an extra copy for his business partner, brother, or friend, let him.

The main reason to put the warning on the e-book is not to frustrate the buyer who wants to print out a few extra copies. I say let him. The warning is designed to discourage unscrupulous online operators from taking your e-book and selling it - or giving it away - to their own customers.

An even better idea is to make sure you profit from your information products, even if pirated copies do make the rounds.

How do you do this?

In every one of your information products, include plenty of links to the micro-sites for your other products. That way, the more your e-book is passed around, the more clicks you can expect to get on those links - and the more additional sales you can expect to make.

One more idea …

My colleague FG puts a boxed notice in his e-books. It says that the reader can go to a special URL and claim a valuable FREE bonus gift. The catch: He has to be a registered owner of the e-book to do it.

FG says that people are so intrigued by the free bonus that those who already have a pirated copy of his e-book will go online and buy it - just to qualify for the free bonus.

Robert W. Bly
Guest Contributor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE™

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9 Comments »

1. Comment by Marcelino Latorre — November 11, 2008 @ 4:47 pm

   Your the man Bob, this sure was helpful.. Thank you

2. Comment by Richard — November 11, 2008 @ 5:15 pm

   Great information Bob, It came at a time when I was thinking about looking into creating an e-book.

   Cheers mate.

3. Comment by Alison — November 11, 2008 @ 9:37 pm

   Hi Bob,

   Thanks for these great tips. The tip about giving out bonuses in the ebook is an idea I never thought of. Fantastic!

4. Comment by Kevin Dawson — November 12, 2008 @ 2:33 am

   Bob and Clayton:
   That one idea about the bonus will probably give me a 15% or more boost to my bottom line.  I’m going to use this suggestion with my copywriting clients.

   Thanks tons!

5. Comment by Tony 'Tips For Dads' Smith — November 12, 2008 @ 4:38 am

   a brilliant, brilliant article.

   I had heard somewhere that no matter what, people will redistributeyour e-book, so the best thing to do is include links back to the micro-sites, but the references to the bonus for owners is brilliant!
   Thanks!

6. Comment by Tony Tips For Dads Smith — November 12, 2008 @ 4:40 am

   It’s also worth noting that Russell Brunson has a product that ‘locks’ e-books but I know nothing about how it works.

7. Comment by Jeremy Reeves — November 13, 2008 @ 8:40 am

   Now that’s a different way to think about things…

   I like the idea about the free bonus only to people who are registered. Sounds like it’d work wonders

   Jeremy Reeves
   http://www.controlbeatingcopy.com

8. Comment by Armando Ortega — November 13, 2008 @ 4:00 pm

   I have found that the readers of my books do not like that I mention the names of my other books whenever I feel neccesary.  For example: one chapter in one of my books has a lot of information on customer service, and, at the end of the chapter I mention my full bok on customer service.
   My readers don’t like that.
   In retrospect I am re-reading a Tyler Hicks’ book (how to make a quick fortune) and I find myself resenting him mentioning his other books in the text.
   Can somebody explain what’s happening?
   Armando Ortega
   http://www.armandoortega.com

9. Comment by Destin — November 15, 2008 @ 4:11 pm

   Armando,

   I think the reason you are getting that reaction is that customers feel that you are just trying to make money out of them, instead of adding value from your products. Instead of having links to books etc… at the end of each chapter, rather put a section at the end calling it something like: Further Resources

   Then put links to all the additional info there. This way the customer feels they have received value before they are told to spend more money.