Everything You Need to Know About Selling Ebooks on Your Website

Selling ebooks on your website? Is it worth considering when you can sell your ebooks and print books easily on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Apple Books?

For many of us, the idea of selling ebooks on our website isn’t something we want to focus on.

After all, it’s not easy to convince readers to buy directly from you when it’s a lot easier for them to buy your books from retailers.

And let’s not forget the technical aspect of setting up an online store. Most of us will just turn tail and run because of this thought alone.

Well, here’s the hard truth about selling direct – it’s no longer optional if you want a sustainable author career.

And it’s even more so when it’s harder to get traction on the retailers’ websites without spending tons of money on ads.

So, going back to our original question, should you consider selling ebooks on your website, at the very least?

My answer is a definitive yes, but only tackle this if you already have your books available on the retailers’ websites.

Beginner authors who have yet to publish a book can put selling direct on hold. Focus on getting your book published on the retailers’ websites first, and then you can focus your effort on selling directly. 

Getting your author website ready for selling ebooks on your website

Okay, I admit that selling direct is easier said than done when the technical side of the online store can be overwhelming for some.

But the good news is that there are many ways for you to sell directly to your readers these days. You can opt for the simplest solution you can find, or you can go down the rabbit hole with the technical stuff.

And the best part of all?

Many solutions offer a free plan, which is perfect for testing the water if selling direct is right for you.

While there are tons of solutions out there for selling direct, these are the ones that many authors use, with what I personally use being one of them.  

WooCommerce

If you already have your author website up and running, then you may as well use WooCommerce to sell directly to your readers.

The reason is that WooCommerce is a WordPress e-commerce plugin. And that means you can easily install it straight from the WordPress plugin directory.

What I love about WooCommerce is that it can integrate with so many services, from payment gateways and email marketing platforms to print-on-demand services. 

The only caveat about WooCommerce is that it can be highly technical to set up. So, I recommend that you find a tutorial video if you plan to do it yourself.

Or you can ask Claude Cowork to do the setup for you. 

Even if you don’t have access to Claude Cowork, you can still use Gemini. ChatGPT or Claude to guide you on how to configure the WooCommerce settings.

WooCommerce is what I currently use on my fiction author site, Sekina Mayu.

Payhip

If WooCommerce is a total nightmare for some, Payhip, on one hand, is total bliss, even if you have a huge backlist.

Not only can you get your online store up and running as quickly as possible, but it even offers a free plan, too.

Of course, you can opt for their paid plan for a reduced transaction fee, or none at all if you opt for the highest tier. But the free plan is already good enough for those who are just getting started.

Thinking about selling online courses, membership, and even consulting and coaching?

Well, you can do that with Payhip.

Don’t want to deal with the sales tax hoopla? They can be your merchant of record for the US, Canada, UK, and European sales tax collection.

The only caveat with Payhip is that it doesn’t have that many integrations. So, you will need to depend on Payhip’s API if the apps you want to use don’t have a direct integration with Payhip.  

While I no longer use Payhip as my main online store, I still use it to cater to readers from the UK and Europe. 

Shopify

Want robust features and tons of integrations like WooCommerce, but without the setup headache?

That’s Shopify for you.

It’s no wonder that so many authors use Shopify as their preferred online store.

You can get your online store up and running without having to worry about breaking something along the way.

The only caveat about Shopify is that it doesn’t have a free plan. Even their Basic Plan will cost you $19 per month.

Of course, you can opt for their Starter plan, which will only cost you $5 per month. But it’s only a one-page store, which is perfect for selling on social media.

If you’re on a budget and want to use Shopify for selling direct, I still recommend that you get their Basic Plan instead.

While Shopify may have all the bells and whistles you need for selling direct, I will only recommend you to use Shopify if you’ve already made a killing with selling directly to your readers.    

Curios

While Curios is more like an online marketplace for digital products, it’s worth mentioning here since creators get to keep 100% of their sales.

That seems rare, considering that online marketplaces are notorious for charging all sorts of fees they can think of.

But not Curios, though.

Rather than charging listing fees and whatnot, they offer subscription plans to suit your author business’s needs.

Of course, they also have a free plan. But you can’t do much with it other than to share your book pages with your email list or on social media.

So, what is it that makes Curios worth including in the list, you ask?

It’s the fact that you can use their direct checkout link on your website.

Rather than the usual redirect where your readers will land on your Curios book page, it will lead them to the checkout page instead.

This is a perfect setup if you want Curios to be your merchant of record. They even have their own app, so all the books they purchase from Curios will be accessible on the app. 

While I do have my books on Curios, I still treat it like I would with having my books on the retailers’ websites.

Except that I get to keep 100% of the sales.      

Make selling ebooks on your website more seamless with this service

When you’re selling ebooks on your website, your readers will receive an email with the download link. That may not be an issue if you only offer a PDF file, since most people are familiar with it. They can download the file and read it using a PDF reader like Adobe Reader.

But that’s never the case for the EPUB file, though, which is the ebook format widely used on Kindle, Kobo, and other e-reading devices. They will have to manually upload the EPUB file to the reading apps or devices they use, which many people aren’t aware of. Many seem to assume that the book will magically appear on their reading app or device after they bought the book from your store.

So, what should you do to solve this issue?  

Well, you can do like me, where I will send an automated email with instructions on how they can do just that after they have completed their purchase. Or you can use this service instead for a much more seamless experience for your readers.   

BookFunnel

Want to make the ebook and audiobook purchase seamless like you would on the retailers’ websites?

Well, this is what BookFunnel is here for.

When you upload your book files to BookFunnel, not only will it automatically stamp your book files with the invisible user watermarks upon checkout. But it will also provide instructions on how readers can upload the EPUB file to their preferred reading app.   

Yes, it’s not that seamless since readers will still need to upload the books to their reading app themselves. But at the very least, you don’t leave your readers hanging after they purchased the ebooks from your store.

Another thing about BookFunnel is that it can deliver audiobook files as well. It’s best that you let BookFunnel handle the delivery for you, considering how big the audiobook files can be.  

The only caveat about BookFunnel is that you will need to sign up for their Mid-List Author plan for the direct sales delivery and watermarked files feature. These features aren’t available in their First-Time Author plan, which is the basic tier.

Just to let you know, this is optional. You don’t have to sign up with BookFunnel when you’re just starting out.           

Yes, you can sell print books on your website as well

Back then, you would need to order your books in bulk and fulfill the orders yourself if you wanted to sell print books on your website.

It’s because of this reason that many authors will shy away from selling print books on their online store.

But now?

You can sell print books on your website with the help of a print-on-demand service. Just integrate your website with any of the print-on-demand services, and it will print and fulfill the orders on your behalf.

Running a Kickstarter campaign? You can use these print-on-demand services to fulfill orders for your backers as well.

The only thing you need to consider is that these print-on-demand services can only integrate with a select few e-commerce platforms.

If the print-on-demand services you want to use don’t integrate with the e-commerce platform you use, then you will need to connect your online store with the print-on-demand service through API.

Yes, this is a complicated setup, for sure. It’s because of this reason what e-commerce platform you choose matters so much, as far as the integration is concerned.

With that said, here are the print-on-demand services that you can integrate to sell print books on your online store.  

Lulu

If you’ve been self-publishing your books for such a long time, then you may have heard about Lulu.

After all, it’s one of the print-on-demand services you can use if you want to publish your books in print.

Whether you want to print one copy or 100 copies, Lulu can do just that for you. And they offer a wide selection of print books, too, from trade paperbacks and hardbacks to spiral-bound books.

Integrating with Lulu is pretty simple. All you need to do is pick the platform, connect your online store to Lulu, and you can begin the setup process from there.

The only caveat is that Lulu only integrates with Wix, WooCommerce, and Shopify.

If you don’t use any of these platforms, you can connect your store to Lulu using the Lulu API. But that will require the technical know-how.

Lulu is what I use to have my print books available for purchase on my online store.

Bookvault

Just like Lulu, you can use Bookvault for selling your print books on your online store or doing fulfillment for the Kickstarter campaign.

But what makes Bookvault different from Lulu is that you can create a special hardback edition for your book. Think of having a special hardback with sprayed edges, cover foiling, endpapers, ribbons, and head & tail bands.

Do you always dream of seeing your books as a box set, and you’re not sure if that’s even possible?

Well, guess what?

You can use Bookvault to create a custom box set and a slip case for your book.

Whether you’re thinking about selling a direct-store-only box set or offering a special hardback edition for your Kickstarter campaign, Bookvault has you covered.

The amazing thing about Bookvault is that it also integrates with Payhip in addition to Wix, WooCommerce, and Shopify.

But the not-so-amazing part?

You will have to pay for the setup fee per title unless you’re a member of ALLi or the IBPA. Members of the ALLi and IBPA have access to unlimited free title upload codes every month.    

What you should know about setting up the shipping rate and sales tax for your online store

Not going to lie, that selling direct can be the best move you’ll ever make in your author business. But unless you’re selling purely digital products, you will have to configure a shipping rate for the print books.

Even if you opt for the selling digital-only product route, you will still need to configure sales tax.

Let’s start with configuring the shipping rate first. Unless you use Shopify, which has a live shipping rate, you will have to configure the shipping rate manually.

But the good news is, you don’t have to set up a shipping rate for all countries. If anything, a print-on-demand service like Lulu already did the legwork for you. Just set up the shipping rate for the major countries that Lulu ships to, and you’re halfway there. You can set up the rest of the countries with flat-rate shipping.

As for the sales tax, most modern e-commerce tools handle the calculations automatically. And yes, even for WooCommerce, if you use Stripe as your payment gateway. But you can use the free WooCommerce Tax plugin to make your life easier.         

Which one should you use on your author website?

With so many options to choose from, it can be hard to decide which one you should use on your website. So, the best way to approach it is to decide on the workflow and outcome you want for your online store.

For those who want to have a seamless buying experience, no redirect is required

Do you prefer the entire purchase to take place natively on your website without sending readers to an outside platform? Are you fine with handling the technical aspects of your online store? And do you want to have full control of optimizing your online store for search engines?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, then consider using WooCommerce. It’s the only solution where the purchase will take place in your own online store. And you can optimize your product page for the search engine, as you would with the normal WordPress post and page.

Other options, such as Shopify, Payhip, and Curios, host your store infrastructure on their own servers. While this simplifies the tech, it means you are building on rented land.

For those who want something similar to WooCommerce, minus the technical headache

Do you have a budget for running ads to drive traffic to your online store? And you don’t mind paying for a solution that is similar to WooCommerce, as long as the technical stuff won’t make your head spin?

If that’s you, then you can opt for Shopify. While you can optimize your Shopify store for search engines, it’s not as robust as WooCommerce, though. So, you will have to rely on ads to drive traffic to your online store.

Of course, you can run ads for your WooCommerce or Payhip store as well. But you don’t need to do so unless you do have a budget for running ads.

Shopify is pretty pricey, even for their basic tier. So, only consider using it if you already have a sizeable fan base and you’re already making money from your books.

Alternative to Shopify, but budget-friendly

Do you want something similar to Shopify, but you don’t have a budget for it, even the basic tier?

Well, you can use Payhip instead since it offers a free plan. But keep in mind that it doesn’t offer as many integrations as WooCommerce and Shopify.

The simplest setup to sell direct

Do you prefer a simple setup, where you only need to upload the book somewhere and put the link on your author website?

If that’s you, then Curios’ direct checkout link is the way to go. Rather than redirecting your readers to the book page on Curios, it will go straight to the checkout page on Curios instead.

Of course, Curios and Payhip can also be your merchant of record for sales tax. If handling sales tax is your bane of existence, then Curios or Payhip is for you.

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