If you play a popular online game, then you could be an expert with valuable information to sell. The market for guides for playing the many popular online role-playing games is particularly hot, and these guides can be produced easily as digital products that can be sold on the internet.
Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are played by millions of people around the world and these players spend their money on more than just their subscription fees. A common problem that confronts new players within a virtual game world is that the game offers very little guidance. Although part of playing the game is figuring out the environment, some players are definitely looking for a little help. A gaming guide that provides useful information can sell very well. For example, guides for the game World of Warcraft sell regularly on eBay in the $10 to $30 range.
If you possess the knowledge of how to succeed in a game where you are an advanced player, you could write a guidebook and market it to your fellow players. The guidebook does not necessarily have to be a beginners’ guide either. Every online game has its unique challenges that get progressively more difficult as the player’s character rises in level. If you know what players need to do to succeed at various stages, they will be willing to part with money to learn from your lessons and strategies.
One of the many great things about digital products is that they can be produced and brought to market very quickly. You could write a report or guidebook, create a pdf file of it, and have it ready to distribute online in a matter of days or weeks. The bulk of the time is spent writing it. Another significant bonus to making a business from digital guidebook selling is that you will not have to store inventory and worry about packaging and shipping. Delivery is accomplished entirely through the internet and payment processing can be done with the PayPal service. Although PayPal is integrated with eBay, you can also use it independently of eBay and sell products from your own website. Most guidebook sellers tend to employ both methods, selling from eBay and a business website.
An excellent service you could consider using for the automatic and instant delivery of your digital guidebook is called PayLoadz found at www.payloadz.com. This service can be fully integrated with PayPal and it completely handles the delivery process by sending your customer a download link as soon as payment has cleared through PayPal. Fees for the PayLoadz service are based on a tiered scale according to your monthly sales amounts. PayLoadz also has a store where you can place your digital product.
An auction site that focuses entirely on the online game market is Player Auctions www.playerauctions.com. Gaming guides are sold there all the time, and this is an excellent location for expanding the reach of your market.
Although digital guidebooks have many benefits, you do not have to limit yourself to the digital format. A guidebook can easily be offered in print as well by using one of the many print on demand book making services. A popular one is Lulu at www.lulu.com, which lets authors offer their publications in both digital and print formats. Gaming guidebooks are sometimes among the top sellers at Lulu too. Depending on your sales volume, you might even consider producing a small print run of your books.
Keep in mind that offering your guidebook in print would require more investment on your part. Digital goods are much more affordable to produce and they can be updated with new information very quickly. There is no chance of having physical books around with outdated information.
The selling of digital guidebooks to online gamers is part of a much larger market that revolves around online gaming. Billions of real dollars are spent each year by gamers on game accounts and game items so they can enhance their playing experiences. With digital guidebooks claiming a piece of such a large pie, they offer the person with useful information a practical means of making money.
Aaron Crow is an expert on the online game market and the author of Gaming Pays! Insider Secrets to Making Money with Online Role-Playing Games. More information about this dynamic market is available at http://www.gamingpays.com.
Written by: Aaron Crow