How to Sell Ebooks Online | Ultimate Guide for Selling Ebooks in 2026

Why Sell Ebooks Online? Ebooks vs Print Books

There are several reasons why you might want to sell ebooks online:

1. Earn passive income

Creating and selling ebooks typically requires minimal upfront investment. Unlike physical books, there are no printing or distribution costs involved. Once you’ve written and formatted the ebook, it can be reproduced and distributed indefinitely without incurring additional expenses. Ebooks can be sold online through various platforms, such as Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks, or your own website, using free platforms like Payhip. These platforms handle the transaction process and ebook delivery automatically, allowing you to generate income even while you’re sleeping or focusing on other activities.

2. Reach a bigger audience

Millions of people read books electronically on a Kindle device, their phone, or an iPad, which means selling ebooks can help you reach a larger audience than print books. While flipping through the pages of a new book can be fun, reading on a device is becoming increasingly common, especially with backlit, ink-screen devices. Additionally, ebook prices tend to be more affordable than print book prices, making them more accessible to those with less money to spare.

3. Improve accessibility

Ebook formats offer advantages such as adjustable font sizes for visually impaired readers, the option to sync with audiobooks, and backlit screens for easy reading in the dark without eye strain.

Where to Sell Ebooks Online

Let’s start with the basics: where can you actually sell ebooks online?

1. Amazon

Amazon is a huge online marketplace and have been known to have sold at least 487 million Kindle books. Most people who use an e-reader device use a Kindle, so if you put your book into multiple online bookstores, you’re likely to see that most of your sales come from Amazon. If you sell your ebook exclusively on Amazon, you can get some extra promotional help in exchange. For example, enrolling your book in the “Kindle Unlimited” program allows readers with a Kindle Unlimited subscription to borrow it for free. You will get paid for each book borrowed and read with this program. The key drawback to using Amazon is that they take a hefty percentage of your royalties. If your book is priced between $2.99 and $9.99 (inclusive), Amazon takes 35%. If your book costs $2.98 or less (or $10.00 or more), Amazon takes 70%. Your earnings are also threatened whenever someone returns your book. You also won’t get your money very quickly. Amazon only pays out monthly, for sales made 60+ days before the payout date.

2. Smashwords

Smashwords distributes your ebook to multiple channels, including Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and Apple Books. Readers can also buy your ebook directly from the Smashwords website. If you want to sell your ebook through several different online stores, Smashwords is a great way to do it. They make sure your ebook file is in the right format and upload it to those stores on your behalf. The dashboard is also much cleaner and easier to navigate than Amazon’s. One major drawback of Smashwords is that your ebook file must be formatted to their exact specifications before you upload it. This may involve stripping out unique formatting (chapter headings, italics, bold, etc) from your ebook, then putting it all back in again manually. There are a number of individuals and companies that can format your manuscript on your behalf for a fee. But that cuts into your bottom line. It can take a long time to get your earnings. Smashwords only pays out quarterly because of the 30 to 60-day lag in receiving funds from online ebook stores.

3. Payhip

There are lots of online platforms that let you sell ebooks directly from your website, and Payhip is one of the best. Rather than filling in a ton of information on Amazon about your ebook (like keywords, categories, etc), listing your ebook on Payhip is easy. All you need to do is create an account, upload your ebook file, and set a price. You’ll have full control over your ebook. With Payhip, you can upload multiple files to package your ebook with bonuses like video content or PDF worksheets. This can be very valuable if you want to position your ebook as a premium product. When someone buys your ebook, Payhip immediately delivers the file to them on your behalf. You make money from the sale instantly. There’s also no minimum payout. Even if your ebook sells for only $1, you’ll still get paid right away. This is a big advantage over sites like Amazon and Smashwords, which don’t pay out until long after the sale. Payhip doesn’t take a hefty chunk of royalties from your ebook sales. On Payhip’s free plan, you pay a transaction fee of just 5% of the sale price of each ebook. If you find you’re selling a lot of books each month, you can upgrade to a paid monthly plan with lower or non-existent transaction fees. (Note: You will still need to pay the applicable fees for your payment gateway, such as PayPal, Stripe, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or 100 other payment gateways.) Consider reading our comprehensive guide on how to create an author website so you can create an engaging author platform for free.

How to Sell Ebooks Online in Three Simple Steps

Finished writing your ebook? Here’s what you need to do to start selling it online and set yourself up for bestseller status:

Step 1: Getting Your Ebook Ready to Sell Online

Editing and Proofreading

Your ebook needs to be well-edited and proofread. That’s non-negotiable. In fact, many ebook authors pay a professional editor and/or proofreader to ensure their ebook has no errors and the story shines through. If you can’t afford that, at least run your manuscript through automated editing software, such as ProWritingAid. This can help you catch any typos and grammatical mistakes. If possible, have a friend or family member look over the manuscript to see if they spot any mistakes. You might also get feedback directly on how your work “reads” to someone who doesn’t know the subject or story as well as you.

Cover Design

Cover design is critically important. In most cases, you don’t want to do it yourself unless you’re a professional designer and have researched what works in your niche. It’s all too easy to end up with an amateur-looking cover that puts readers off buying your book. If you can’t afford professional cover design, use a tool like Canva to create a simple cover, and pay special attention to the typography. The good news is that if you’re using Payhip, you can instantly update your cover whenever you want. Fiction authors in particular need to pay special attention to cover design. The right design will signal your book’s genre. Some subgenres have specific cover design trends that readers look for when searching for their next book.

Add an “About the Author” Page

Make sure you include an “About the Author” page at the end of your book, where you can encourage readers to check out your website as well as your other ebooks or digital products. You can also include information like a short biography, an explanation of what else you offer, and a “call to action” that encourages the reader to do something, like subscribe to your mailing list or download bonus material. The best place for these links is at the end of your book, but you can also add links to your other books or websites in the acknowledgements or copyright page.

Consider Bundling Your Ebook With Bonus Materials

With Amazon and other ebook retailers, bundling your book with extra materials is tricky. You have to host the bonus files on your website and provide a link in the ebook. With Payhip, it’s really easy to include extra material. You can simply upload those files along with your ebook itself. You’ll be able to add great bonuses like:

• Video walkthroughs that demonstrate a key technique discussed in your book.
• Interviews (audio or video) with experts in your field, to bring a different perspective or add more depth.
• Printables to help your reader remember or put into practice what they’ve learned. You might have a printable summary of a key framework in your book, or a worksheet to help the reader put a principle into practice.
• Tools the reader can use. 

Box Sets include all volumes in a book series that can be purchased at once (perhaps for a discounted price per volume).

Step 2: Pricing Your Ebook

Many authors struggle to price their ebooks. With a physical book, you need to charge a certain price simply to break even. But with the minimal distribution costs of ebooks, you can set a low price or even make your ebook free. You can also charge highly for specialised information; some ebooks sell for $97 or more. Read our in-depth guide on ebook pricing here. A good place to start is by looking at other ebooks in your genre. What are other authors charging? With fiction, you’ll probably be pricing at $4.99 or lower, unless you’re selling a box set of multiple titles. Many ebook authors launch their ebook at a special, temporary low price. For instance, they might have a regular price of $19.99 but launch at $9.99. This can be a great way to bring in an initial burst of sales (which is very important the first day and week). Raising and lowering pricing is easiest on a platform like Payhip, where you can make changes to the listing that reflect immediately. If you’re selling through Amazon, it can take several hours for the price to be changed on the listing after you change it in your KDP dashboard. Some other key things to keep in mind when pricing your ebook are:

• If you’re selling on Amazon, pricing between $10 – $19.99 will get you less money than pricing at $9.99 because of Amazon’s royalty structure. Plus, you’re unlikely to sell any ebooks above $19.99 on Amazon: buyers on that platform are used to cheap price points.
• Your aim is to maximise profit, not just sales. For instance, if you could sell 10,000 copies of your book at $2 (making $20,000) but 5,000 copies at $5 (making $25,000), it would be better to charge $5.
• A higher price can reassure customers by positioning your ebook as a premium product. If you charge a much lower price than other ebooks in your niche, that may send the wrong message about the quality of your book. If you’re writing fiction, you’ll need to stick to the standard pricing for similar books in your genre, most readers won’t pay $9.99 for a novel from a new author.
• If you’re really stuck, try “pay what you want” pricing. This lets you set a minimum price for your ebook (e.g. $5), and customers can then pay what they want, so long as they meet the minimum price.

Step 3: Make Your Ebook Available to Buy

Once you’ve got your ebook ready and set your price, it’s time to make it available for readers to buy. With Payhip, this is really easy to do. Just go to the Payhip home page, enter your email address, and click the ‘Get started’ button. You’ll be prompted to choose a password. Type in the password you want to use, then click the ‘Create account’ button. Remember, Payhip accounts are free! Tip: Set up a way for people to pay for your book. Just click on the Setup checkout button. If you don’t already have a PayPal or Stripe account, create one first. Your Payhip store means you don’t even need a website! You can just send people to your store page. For more help  on this part of the process, check out our post on selling ebooks on your own website.

How to Market Your Ebook (Before, During, and After launch)

Simply making your ebook available isn’t going to make you rich. You need to market and advertise it so your ideal readers can find it. Marketing isn’t a one-off event. It’s a constant and integral part of the process. Here are some ideas you can work into your marketing strategy:

Before You Launch Your Ebook

• Get reviews or testimonials you can use in your marketing (e.g. on your book’s sale page or on your website). The easiest way to do this is to send out advance copies of your ebook for free to reviewers and bloggers. Then, use snippets of their review in promotional materials.
• Build an email list. You don’t even need to set up a full website to do this. You could just have an attractive “coming soon” page with a sign-up form so people can join your email list. You can then send updates on your work, alert them to events, and provide useful content that keeps them reading!
• Set up social media profiles for yourself as an author. You should keep these separate from your personal profiles so you don’t bombard your readers with photos of your kids or your latest vacation. Your friends and family probably  don’t want to read constant posts about your ebook, either.
• Use data and analytics to your benefit. Some ebook statistics can help you understand your readers better and thus give you the ability to make your marketing strategies more targeted and effective. If you’re selling from your own website, remember to review your store analytics to find useful insights.

During Your Launch

• Make sure people know about your new ebook. Don’t be afraid to tweet or post about it multiple times. Remember that social media algorithms mean that most people in your networks won’t see every post. Definitely send out more than one email to your newsletter list if you have one.
• Encourage your affiliates to promote your ebook. Hopefully, you already have some affiliates on board before your launch. Now is the time to remind them about your book. Send them images they can use (like the book cover) and suggested text they could use for promotional emails and social media posts. If it’s easy for them to promote your ebook, they’ll be more likely to do it.
• Write guest posts for blogs related to your ebook’s audience or subject. This is a great marketing technique for nonfiction, as it lets you reach an audience that’s already interested in your ebook’s topic. By guest posting, you’re getting a sample of your writing and ideas in front of them. Use the bio of your guest post to let people know about your ebook, and link to the best place for them to buy it (probably your website or Payhip store).
• Consider a blog or podcast tour. If you’ve written a novel or other fiction book, a blog or podcast tour can be a great way to get the word out. This is a bit like a traditional book tour, but online. You write guest posts or have interviews with different blogs and podcasts, usually with a post going out on a different site each day. There are companies out there that will arrange blog tours for you, or you can contact blogs yourself.

After You Launch

• Keep promoting your ebook. Lots of authors launch their ebook with a big fanfare, then do nothing. As a result, they’re missing out on a lot more ebook sales. Keep promoting your ebook by running occasional flash sales, mentioning the ebook in your email newsletters, writing more guest posts, or setting up automated social media updates. Even something as simple as adding a link to your ebook in your email signature or your blog’s sidebar can help.
• Write the next ebook. Successful ebook authors very rarely stop with just one book. You might write an e book on a related topic, or even a sequel to your original book. People who’ve bought one ebook from you will often buy another. You’re also more likely to show up in search results!
• Keep an eye on your sales. Payhip provides detailed reports on your sales, and regularly checking these can help you spot what’s working (e.g. whether you made lots of sales on a particular day when you ran a promotion). To see these reports, simply log in to your Payhip account and click the Analytics tab.

Tips for Successfully Selling Ebooks

• Host on your own ecommerce platform. Selling ebooks exclusively on Amazon Kindle can be a great way to generate passive income. However, that’s only one place to sell ebooks. You can also promote on Google Play and, of course, your own website. Most ebooks can be found on an author’s website, so why not consider that an active part of your strategy? You can use Payhip as your digital products ecommerce platform to host your own ebook on your site. Plus, you can also create a landing page for your ebook on your own site where you detail exactly why someone should buy it.
• Write a compelling book description. It’s time to use those writing chops to help with sales. Writing a book description that excites people to read is a key piece for an author. Before someone buys a book, especially if they’re sceptical, they’ll read the description to make sure it’s the right read for their specific situation. So, tell a compelling story that encourages impulse buying.
• Don’t pay for reviews. Honest reviews are key. Even though it can hurt to see a 1 or 2-star review, that feedback can help improve your future books as you continue self-publishing. Don’t be afraid to ask for reviews, but be okay even if it isn’t what you want to see. Those five-star reviews are coming for you. You’ll continue to improve your craft with practice. You can get beta reviews to get early feedback on your books and ensure it’s exactly what people want to read.
• Don’t forget about piracy. Ebook piracy is all too common, especially when selling on a third-party website. If you host your ebook on your own website using Payhip, you can reduce the number of times people download your book, stamp the book with an id, or some other tactic. On Payhip, you can choose the number of times someone downloads your book, most authors choose a maximum of three times, if it’s much more than this it’s possible someone else is downloading your book that didn’t pay for it.

Ready to start selling your ebook?

Create a Payhip account today (it’s completely free) and start exploring what features make this a great platform for ebook sellers.  You can upload your ebook whenever you’re ready! If you need to make changes at any point, you can instantly add or remove files, edit your ebook’s description, change the price, and more. You have the power to make your book exactly the way you want—and get paid for it in a timely and efficient manner. Get started publishing your ebooks FREE today!

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