On the surface, turning an eBook into a physical book seems like a horrible idea. For one, the expected sale price drops dramatically. Most eBooks sell for around $47, while most books sell for $6 to $15. Your profit margin also plummets from nearly 100% to 15% or less. There’s a lot more work involved – you don’t just upload a PDF, you have to go through a whole production process.

That’s what most people see when they think of turning their eBook into a physical book. No wonder so few people actually do it. In reality, turning your eBooks into a physical book can be a brilliant business decision.

==> The Bookformercial Concept

The bookformercial takes its name from the infomercial. Infomercials are “TV shows” written with the sole purpose of getting you to buy a product. Likewise, a bookformercial is a “book” whose primary purpose is marketing.

Unlike infomercials, however, a bookformercial isn’t about hard selling. Instead, it’s about demonstrating credibility. About 90% of the bookformercial contains content. The other 10% is well-written sales material that blends smoothly into the rest of the book.

==> The Magic of “I’m a Published Author”

Having a book of your own adds immense credibility. Imagine yourself walking through a trade show. For this example, let’s say we’re in the TV advertising industry. You’re looking to buy TV ads for the first time and don’t quite know where to start.

You might visit a dozen different trade booths. Each of them will try to sell you on the idea of buying advertising from them.

But one booth in particular stands out. The man there was a published author. His book, “TV Advertising Explained” looks highly professional. He gives you a free copy.

Now when you get home, you’re going to have a stack of 12 business cards and a professional-looking book. Assuming the book has high quality content and demonstrates professionalism and credibility, who do you think you’ll end up working with?

==> The Conventional Book Publishing Route

What about the traditional book publishing route of getting your books on Amazon, in Borders, in Barnes & Noble?

What most publishers won’t tell you is that very, very few published books will ever sell more than 10,000 copies. And few of those that do will make it to the bestseller lists.

In other words, going the traditional publishing route is a precarious path to success. While it’s possible your book will be a home run, it’s much more likely to simply flop, as so many other books do.

If you’re going to turn your eBook into a physical book, do it for the credibility and for the bookformercial selling power. Use it to give to potential clients and to display at professional engagements to increase trust. You can try to take a shot and traditional book distribution, but don’t rely on it for your success.