How does starting a blog works if you are planning to sell an ebook in the long run? Is it better to sell the ebook first or start the blog first? How can I avoid giving up the best content on my blog and running out of content for my ebook?

Hello, Thanks a lot for the answers. I ended starting a blog and wi...

When selling any digital good online you need a community in place. You either need to create a community of your own (blog) or be a valued member of an existing one (group or forum). In your case, you should develop the blog first. You'd be surprised that you can, in fact, give the entire book away in pieces over time in your blog posts and still make a good amount of sales by consolidating the content into an ebook. A bunch of blogs do this, iwillteachyoutoberich comes to mind.

If you start the blog first then you can use that to get the ball rolling while you finish up your ebook. Then when your ebook is ready you'll have some search engine presence and maybe even a few followers of the blog ready to buy the book (be sure you have a 'subscribe by email' option on your blog so you can stay in touch with your readers). As for the content of the blog, it's hard to say without knowing more about the topic of your ebook but with most topics you can get real creative with content ideas. For example are there any current events or holidays related to the topic of your ebook? Even if it's only related in a small way these can make for easy post ideas for your blog and generate interest in the ebook you're selling.

If you are planning on becoming a self-published ebook author, then you absolutely want to have a blog.  If you're self-publishing, then you are the one who is going to have to do all the marketing for your book, and your blog will be your HQ from where you can congregate your audience, receive feedback on your work, grow your audience, and keep your audience updated on when your book will be coming out.  I understand how you're worried about giving up your best content, so what's stopping you from having different, but related content?  Without knowing what genre you are writing in it's hard for me to give specific examples that might help you, but let's say you're writing fantasy books.  On your blog you can provide advice for people interested in fantasy on how you go about world building, character creation, plot development, etc.  You can also share news on other works of fantasy, release short stories that tie into your novel, but are not included  in it, etc.  The limits on what content you can place on your blog are really defined by your imagination. If you want more information on how you can utilize your blog to further your chances of success, and other advice on self-publishing, then check out the articles below:1.   http://tenkainternational.com/2015/09/18/the-fall-of-the-traditional-publishing-industry-shattering-the-prestige-effect/2.  http://tenkainternational.com/2015/10/13/stop-whining-start-blogging/3.  http://tenkainternational.com/2015/09/22/how-to-build-an-online-audience-with-the-principles-of-the-art-of-seduction/Footnoteshttp://tenkainternational.com/2015/09/18/the-fall-of-the-traditional-publishing-industry-shattering-the-prestige-effect/http://tenkainternational.com/2015/10/13/stop-whining-start-blogging/http://tenkainternational.com/2015/09/22/how-to-build-an-online-audience-with-the-principles-of-the-art-of-seduction/

There are many examples of successful books which were based on the authors former blogs - an example is "Waiter's Rant". http://waiterrant.net/ However, you have to be careful because Amazon checks their ebook content against the web and the book must differ somewhat from stories which you have made public. This can be done by shortening or removing the offending entries (those used later in your book). Don't worry about giving up your best content - there are still enough people who want a better formatted reading experience and will buy the book.

Andy Weir just did an awesome Q&A session here on Quora which answers all of your questions wonderfully: http://www.zbooks.co/2016/02/andy-weir-case-for-self-publishing-HUGER.html%20(http://www.zbooks.co/2016/02/andy-weir-case-for-self-publishing-HUGER.html)BENCHMARK Him!He published his entire book on his blog first.Then he took his fans to Amazon with him -- the rest you know.Here is also a freakin' awesom infographic which answers your SEO and Ebook questions:http://www.zbooks.co/2015/11/zbooks-interview-with-dave-chesson-of.html%20(http://www.zbooks.co/2015/11/zbooks-interview-with-dave-chesson-of.html)%20

I call it repurposing. That's the process of taking your blog content and bundling it into eBooks. I began doing this on my website back in 2013 and got two books from the two blogs I run. I've kept it up over the years, though I don't do a chapter-by-chapter posting schedule like I did back then. Now I release a few chapters here and there. I'd suggest my route if you're just starting. The reason is you have no following so not a lot of people will see those posts. What it will do is get Google to notice and index your site, especially if you're doing some social sharing on Twitter/Facebook/Google+. When you get a bit more traffic, say 300 hits a day, maybe you could take some of those old posts down, repurpose them. Or just keep them up. Old content is great for sharing on social media. I've only had Amazon contact me once about duplicate content, as Craig mentions, and this was on my first Montana history book back in 2013. That was one I'd put on my blog. I simply sent them links to my site and told them I'd put that up there. It was no problem and the book was published right away. I'd like to add that your blog is the best way for readers to find you on Google. Also, it's under your control, unlike a Facebook page or something. Give one a try today. I've used Weebly for 3 years and it works fine for me. Find one that works for you and give it a shot.

If you want to start a business (blogging and selling ebooks is a business), then you better get used to doing it now. Should you start a blog? Yes. When? Now. Should you write an ebook? Yes. When? Now. Do it now. The order in which you do it does not matter. You start now and you create awesome content every day. That is how you succeed. Waiting until the timing is just right is simply an excuse for being afraid to start. You should get over that fear. When? Right now.

A lot of your question depends on your marketing plan.  If you are doing all the marketing yourself, then start the blog.  Instead of blogging on the book you are writing, blog about other things as well. Such as creating your cover out booking appearances.If someone else is working on some marketing for you and good at it, then I would write the book before starting a blog.  With appearances, you can inform people about your new blog and let them know it will announce your future books.However you plan to do it, keep in mind that you control the flow of information. So if you don't want certain plot points released, don't talk about it out write about it.