E-Covers are great for helping your customers visualize your information product.  Whether you’re selling software or an ebook, your sales will improve if you have a visual representation of your product on your site.  This is because your customer will actually perceive your product to be more valuable because we are all accustomed to buying books and software in boxes. 

So, how can you create an e-cover? 

If you have a copy of PhotoShop, you can buy a set of action scripts to automate the process.  These action scripts will allow you to focus on creating a nice flat design for your book or software cover.  You may then run the action script to have a box or book cover generated from the flat design.  The script will use Photoshop’s perspective tools to give the cover a 3D look, and it will also add a reflection and shading to make the image appear more realistic.

You may also purchase a software program specifically designed for creating eCovers.  I believe one of the best programs is The Web Graphics Creator.  It’s often difficult to find in stores, but you can purchase it on Amazon for under $30.  No, it isn’t a perfect solution.  You can certainly make better images yourself using PhotoShop.  But if you don’t want to spend $300+ for PhotoShop, or you’re not really comfortable with your artistic skills, this program may be just what you’re looking for.

Anything classified as “public domain” is free to use for your own purposes.  When you hear the term “public domain” in the realm of online business, it is being applied to creative works of some type.  This may include books, movies, works of art, music, images, photographs, etc.  The reason public domain works are so valuable is that they can often be converted into information products that you can sell for a profit.

How to know if a work is in the public domain

Copyright laws vary by country, so you will need to become familiar with the laws in your country before you utilize public domain works.  In the United States, there are three general rules for evaluating the public domain status of creative works:

1. Works published in the United States before 1923 are in the public domain.
2. Works created after March 1, 1989, even if not published, are copyright protected for 70 years after the author’s death. Works made for hire (corporate authorship) after March 1, 1989 are copyright protected for 120 years from creation or 95 years from publication, whichever is sooner.
3. Works published in the United States between 1923 and March 1, 1989 are also copyright protected, provided that the formalities are observed.

To help clarify the rules, use the following guidelines when determining the public domain status of a work.

A work is in the public domain if it was:

• Published before 1923 
• Published between 1923 and 1978 without a valid copyright notice  
• Published between 1978 and March 1, 1989, without a notice and registration 
• Published between 1923 and 1963 with a copyright notice but author failed to renew it (According to a report, only 7% of copyrights issued through 1958 were renewed)

A work is not in the public domain if any of the following conditions apply:

• Published between 1923 and 1963 with a copyright notice, properly renewed before its expiration for the first 23-year protection term 
• Published between 1963 and March 1, 1989 with a valid copyright notice 
• Published or created any time after March 1, 1989 (Works after this date are deemed automatically under copyright protection)

Where to find public domain works

1. Using your favorite search engine, search for the following keywords. But, always be sure to double-check any results to be certain the works are actually in the public domain.  Failing to do this can land you in hot water for copyright violations.

• public domain music
• public domain images
• public domain books
• public domain movies
• public domain works
• public domain library
• public domain software

2. Check some of the more well-known online public domain sources:

• bartleby.com
• ibiblio.org
• readprint.com
• gutenberg.org
• retrofilm.com

3. Research for available books at your local library that meet the public domain criteria.

Once you’ve found some material that you can use to put together a product of your own, there are many ways to go about creating a great product.  You can produce ebooks, audio CDs, videos, newsletters, membership websites, etc.  The sky is the limit.  So, do some research up front to find a good niche, dig into the public domain and find some material to make a product for that market, produce the product, and make some money. 

Of course, this is an oversimplification of the steps involved.  But it should provide you with enough information to get you started in the right direction.  Public domain works have created fortunes for many individuals and businesses throughout the last century.  You, too, can utilize the public domain to build your own information product empire.

If you’re doing business online, you’re well aware of the numerous products and services that you may use to operate or improve your online business.  This includes services like autoresponders, shopping carts, and web hosting accounts.  Although some of the services are optional, you must have a web host to operate a website. 

And choosing a good web host can be a difficult task.  Even if you follow the advice of the hosting review sites, you’re likely to end up regretting your decision.  That’s because many of these so-called review sites are simply affiliate sites.  The reviews are made simply to drive traffic through their affiliate links to make them some money.  They don’t care which host you choose as long as they’re getting their cut.

So, the better choice is seeking the advice of someone you know and trust.  If you can find someone that has used numerous web hosts and learned the good, bad, and ugly about them, you will be able to avoid the problems and set up your site with a host that provides the service and stability you need.

I’ve been operating websites since the late 90’s, and I’ve gone through dozens of web hosting providers.  I’ve hosted on Windows and Linux.  I’ve used the “big names” and more obscure local companies.  I’ve dealt with downtime issues, email delivery problems, spam complaints, etc.  Some hosts talk a good game but fail when it comes time to deliver.  And you’ll often see them named on review sites as having “superior service.”  You won’t know the truth until you’ve signed up and put your site online.  That’s when the nightmare begins.

So, I’m going to help you out here.  I’m going to tell you who you should be hosting your sites with.  Yes, I’ll also make a commission if you purchase through my link.  And yes, this makes it sound like I’m operating just like those review sites I so despise.  But there’s a difference.  This is the host I use.  In fact, the site you’re looking at right now is hosted with this company, along with dozens more.  That’s because they provide enough space and bandwidth to allow you to host multiple sites on one account.  And if you have sales letter sites, one account may be all you’ll ever need.  Just think about how much money you’d save.  Plus, the price for that one account is far less than you’d pay for a lower quality package somewhere else.

Not only will you get lots of drive space and bandwidth, you’ll also have one-click access to all kinds of useful scripts.  This blog was hosted with a simple click through their script installer.  I didn’t have to install it myself.  It was a piece of cake.  You can also install forums, shopping carts, content management systems (Joomla and Drupal are both available, just click and install), image galleries, wikis, and more.  It’s so simple that you’ll wonder why everyone isn’t using this web host. 

You can host as many domains as you can fit on 300GB of drive space with 3 Terabytes of data transfer (great for podcasts or video streaming).  (You might as well say you can host an unlimited number of domains.) You can have up to 100 MySQL database instances, unlimited email accounts (with up to 250MB on each account - if you’ve ever used a host with a 10MB limit, you’ll see this as a huge plus), and simple site stats reporting.

So, if you’re serious about doing business online, and you want to be able to grow without needing to lease a dedicated server, this just might be what you’re looking for. 

Here’s my affiliate link to their site:
http://www.profitwithyour.com/hostwithmost/  

You can also get the exact same price if you go straight to their site at HostMonster.com.  Although I obviously would appreciate the commission, I really just want to provide you good information on what works for creating a profitable online business.  And, in my experience, this host fits the bill.