... would they accept anything for free ..
like a fortnight in downtown Baghdad?
I think I have a plan

In my opinion, they are the same people that are slowly rotting this country from the inside out and putting us in even more debt.

Being that Social Security payments make up a larger share of our national budget than any other item, including the entire military budget, including paying for Iraq, (check your paycheck, one is federal deduction which covers paying for the government including the military budget, the other similarly sized deduction is Social Security/FICA) I'll assume you're dissing all the wealthy Senior Citizens receiving monthly handouts from the government. :)

But I don't think those are the same people asking for freebies. I run a website that is full of expert advice given out for free and in response to a tidal wave of questions simply opened up a web forum. It was off and running after about four or six months and is growing into a great resource in it's niche.

So what I'm trying to say is that if you find a demand, try to fill it in a way that benefits you without taking up extra amounts of your time. I never answer questions from site visitors, I just send them to my forum. I never answer questions on my forum, the enthusiastic members and moderators do all the heavy lifting. My site ranks for tons more stuff now and is known as a resource.

I sense some hostility. ;)

Seriously, read what you just wrote. Read it a few times. Start with the message title. Read that a dozen times. You've got a chip on your shoulder. Dare I go so far as to suggest that you are crying out about being victim yourself? Can you feel the irony yet?

Have a nice, polite, canned response (or two, or three, or a dozen variations), thanking them for their interest/feedback/suggestion/whatever and reminding them of your money-back guarantee.

Then let it go.

If you can't, there's a simple solution: let somebody else handle the e-book sales for you, or perhaps just the customer contact.

Decide where your skills lie - a good writer isn't necessary good at marketing or customer service. You may be better served by paying somebody else to handle part of the business. You may find that it not only removes the stress, but also results in greater sales and profits.

"Seriously, read what you just wrote. Read it a few times. You've got a chip on your shoulder."

I will agree. I don't argue that. However, I have good reason. There are people in this world that seriously believe everyone owes them something for nothing. I (unlike others) simply don't have the patience for it.

Like I'm sure, many other entrepreneurs at this forum have, I have worked hard my entire life at everything I do. I have had very few breaks. I have had to make my own luck.

So when someone looks at me like I owe them something for nothing, I am reminded of the price I have had to pay in life for the things I have wanted. I simply believe they should have to pay a price as well.

Furthermore, 37.00 isn't much to ask.

Perhaps I feel more stronger about this issue because I deal with it more than most.

Have a nice, polite, canned response (or two, or three, or a dozen), thanking them for their interest/feedback/suggestion/whatever and reminding them of your money-back guarantee.

I dont have the patience for this lol I will end up pulling my hair out, jumping through my computer and grabbing someones neck (kidding).

Then let it go.

If you can't, there's a simple solution: let somebody else handle the e-book sales for you, or perhaps just the customer contact.

Sounds like a great idea!

Decide where your skills lie - a good writer isn't necessary good at marketing or customer service. You may be better served by paying somebody else to handle part of the business. You may find that it not only removes the stress, but also results in greater sales and profits.

agreed. thanks

I hate some people too, it's those people who think other people owe them something and that they should simply just do what they are told by the powers that be because they are always right -

First of all - it's an ebook. It's very easy to distribute when just one person has bought it - just requires to post it on different places on the internet - and when people search for "title of ebook + pdf" they would get it for free. The ebook was your first bad business mistake.

The next thing is that everybody on the internet promises and crosses their hearts that if THIS doesn't work or whatever, anybody who has bought their whatever it is that they'll get a full refund. Nobody believes that anymore - and probably never will. Dream on.

The third thing is that you might have worked hard on the ebook, , but did you think about the media you made it available through or how it actually works and not what or how you think it should be - because you're somehow really special? No, you didn't.

The fourth thing - you might have a family to feed, but so does everybody else - it's not like you are the only person in the world who actually has some commitments and obligations, and not unlimited resources to throw around. But yes, it's frustrating dealing with yourself and your own choices - but YOU made the choice.

The fifth thing - You're the real victim here, because you feel sorry for yourself - to tell you the truth - you should be excited that somebody actually think you wrote or knew something of a substantial value to them. You have no idea how the real world of publishing anything is like. You are the irresponsible one - it's not the other people.

The sixth thing - What does your ebook has to do with politics, or how people act in general, and what actual data do you have to support your wild claims about these special type of people? (generalization warning...!) Besides, if these people were putting the country in more debt - they would simply buy your ebook and charge it on their creditcard - they chose to do something different - and you blame them for it?

Now, sincerely and have fun,

Reminds me of an ex boss who in replying to a customer who wanted something for free.

" Madame, your expectations exceed reality " she was so befuddled with the
reply she left the store.(quietly)...KF

"Hate" is such a strong word.

Hate embodies bitterness
Provokes feelings of destruction

if you have a blog/site you can have like contests on there. The prize could be an e-book giveaway. That way you will reach a lot of people, they won't argue that you haven't been generous, an your blog/site will be more likely to increase its traffic, thus you will get more sales.

Or deliver seminars and get your book bought as well as increase hits

cleaner a couple things are really wrong with your logic. Most of it was pointed out by random but I will add to that list.

How do you return an eBook? Just curious... is that when they email the attachment back to you with the promise that no copy was made?

Second.. you created a product... it is gaining interest... and what do you do? You complain and talk about hating potential customers... wow.. just wow.

It is called customer service and if you want customers you are going to have to give them some service along with a product.

Imagine you go into "major book store" and ask about a book and aren't sure you want to buy it but you want to get some more info on it so you talk to a sales person and they treat you as you have treated your potential customers....Would you buy something from someone who talked about you then way you talk about your "customers"? It is pretty sad way to do business.. yes?

A good sales person will work to make some sales from these types of people with charm, wit, and with and a good salesman attitude..

A frustrated business man (AKA you) will piss off his customers by showing frustration at any question from someone who hasn't given over any money yet.

Either hire someone with tact to field sales calls or just give up.

[edited by: Demaestro at 3:09 pm (utc) on Sep. 27, 2007]

Perhaps I was a little to harsh. The truth is I simply had a bad day. Sorry if I upset anyone with my rant. Next time I will keep it to myself.

Just to take a look from the other side of the coin here..

A frustrated business man (AKA you) will piss off his customers by showing frustration at any question from someone who hasn't given over any money yet.

I don't think that was what the op was saying, or even implying, by his post. We're not talking about answering questions regarding the material or even questions about the business, we're talking about giving away something that is typically sold. I also sell an ebook on one of my sites, and I regularly get e-mails asking for handouts. Even though the op's comments were a bit harsh, I can certainly feel where they're coming from. Typically an e-mail requesting a handout will sound like this:

I'll tell you what. If you're such an expert on this subject, why don't you give me some free information... and if it works, I'll buy your book.

I'm sorry, but that isn't my business model. If you want the information I have... buy it. If not, don't. That's usually exactly what I tell them as well. I don't 'need' their business enough that I'm willing to pander to their expectations of a free sample. If they were to e-mail me and ask nicely (which has NEVER happened... it's always been in the form of, 'I'll make you a deal Mr. Expert'), then I would certainly put on my sales face and do whatever I can to make the sale. If they come off as nasty however, then I really don't need their business.

I feel lucky that I'm in the position that I can afford to lose a few sales because I'm not willing to be nice and considerate to those who show me no respect whatsoever right out of the gate.

So I can see where thecleaner is coming from, even if the post was a little on the harsh side. Sometimes venting is healthy.

[edited by: Duskrider at 3:41 pm (utc) on Sep. 27, 2007]

Venting is totally healthy..... don't keep it inside.

Just try to keep your feelings out of it when dealing with these people. My suggestion that you get a sales person was a sincere one.... like you said you put a lot of work into the final product... do you now want to put that much or more in selling it? If not then hire someone who will.

If you are really bad, and I mean next to impossible at dealing with customer service, you can also make a business out of that - just do it in reverse, if somebody asks about anything about anything you're selling or even dares to contact you on some matter - be as rude, negative and harsh as you can possibly think off, and make it a "concept" that you in general do not care or give a .... if you're a good writer, and is a little creative, and do it as a publicity stunt it could become a trend - when your weakness becomes your strength ;) High Risk profile though...

Anyways, there's other possibilities with those people who wants it for free without giving anything in return. Just ask them what they'll give you instead of money for the information provided. Perhaps they know something you could benefit from? Do you want a date with their girlfriends or boyfriends sister? What can they possibly give you to start with before you did anything for them in return - At least you would probably never hear from them again if they were just leeches.. and you could smile and do something else than actually think about them - just make it a standard feedback reply, so you don't have to get all personal and spend time on their three line letter.... waste of your time and resources.

Anyways, back to business, as usual, sincerely and have fun.

Next time I will keep it to myself.

Please do. Some will find it ignorant and simplistic to blame any one group for "rotting this country from the inside out..." (did Hitler say that, too? Or was it Slobodan Milosevic?) and then turn around and tie that in with your email issues related to your e-book.

Your personal social and political issues don't have anything to do with your business issues anyway, so why bother posting it, right? Sometimes it's best to chill out before posting.

[edited by: martinibuster at 9:26 pm (utc) on Sep. 27, 2007]

What you call stupid emails are in reality interested customer inquiries that require some sales skills in order to possibly convert a few.

If they just want a snippet of the book, give it IMO because the alternatives are worse:

a) Someone gets annoyed, buys a copy and posts the content of the eBook for all in a free hosting account in some country that doesn't honor copyright and will ignore all your emsils, not good.

or,

b) They begrudgingly pay the $37 to get a copy and then call the credit card company and claim you "ripped 'em off" and do a chargeback. Then they will get that $37 back, uncontested, plus you'll be out an extra $35+fees for the chargeback.

Sometimes it's best just to give a little goodwill sample and hope that leads to a purchase than risk the alternatives.

FWIW, many people make a living giving it away for FREE because it generates tons of traffic and anyone with half-way decent monetization skills can turn that traffic into 6 and 7 digit incomes. May not work with your material, but some sites make more money than they would charging for their service.

yeah, give them a free chapter that deals with their query. if it's good stuff and it helps them out then they might buy the rest. you could even give them a link for buying it with a couple of quid knocked off, if they visit it within a week. it's still money made.

There might be a sales opportunity here.

If you find that a lot of the questions are about the same topic, why not create a special canned response that addresses the topic in way that will steer the prospect back towards a purchase?

An off-the-cuff example of what I'm talking about:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for your inquiry! I'm delighted to learn of your interest in raising two-headed iguanas!

A lot of people ask me about the problem of food competition. As you might imagine, when an animal has two heads, it is often the case that both sides will fight for the same food.

There are several effective ways to deal with this problem. It's a little-known fact that even though both heads will like the same kind of food, there are small differences in taste preferences. The left head will generally prefer a mixture slightly to the "red" end of the taste scale, while the right head will gravitate towards the "blue" end.

(For more information about the taste scale, you will want to read Chapter 12 closely. I cover it in great detail, complete with recipes and a list of reputable food suppliers.)

You will also want to construct a special feeding tray with a divider mirror. Since the left head tends to be sociable, that side should have a mirror. The right head tends to prefer eating alone, so no mirror there.

Please note: There are important safety considerations in constructing the tray, and the dimensions must be exactly right for the size and age of your two-headed iguana, so you will want to study the chart in Chapter 15 to get the scale and dimensions exactly right. If you get the dimensions wrong by even a millimeter, the iguana won't eat at all. Also, you'll need to pay special attention to Chart 4, which explains exactly the shade of tinting the mirror needs to have, as well as the proper coloration of the non-mirror side.

As you know, iguanas prefer live crickets, so it's important to sedate the crickets with small doses of Valium so they will stay on their respective sides of the tray. (I show you how in Chapter 16, as well as how to obtain cricket Valium from your local veterinary supplier. Dosing is very important here, as you do not want your iguana to become addicted to Valium.) Then you coat the crickets with the flavor mixtures as explained in Chapter 12.

Thanks again for your interest, and I look forward to seeing pictures of your budding two-headed iguana family!

[edited by: texguy at 11:27 pm (utc) on Sep. 29, 2007]

good idea

That was really just an amazing teaser - where was the "buy" button again? I actually want that .. *wakes up* - oh, I don't have a two headed.. nevermind.