All ebook authors and epublishers could benefit from an automated system that delivers the ebook to the customer after authorizing their purchase. Manual credit card authorizations and emailing each customer one by one is fine for a small business, but it can be quite cumbersome for larger operations.

Using a few simple techniques, I can show you how to automate your system to save you time and money.

Here are a few delivery methods to consider:

Via Email:

This method involves customers having to wait until they check their email to receive their ebooks after purchasing the ebook from your site.

Advantages: No chance of customer sharing download links with others and it is very simple to set up. A message on a thank you page stating for them to check their email is all that is required. Works well with manual credit card transactions.

Disadvantages: Customer must wait for delivery which decreases satisfaction. Time consuming to manually send each copy of the ebook, which ultimately decreases your efficiency. You may end up having to hire extra staff to handle the workload. Plus, there is still the possibility of customers sharing ebooks with others via email but not the download url.

Via Autoresponder:

You could utilize a form on the thank you page that they would fill out (name and email address) to confirm their purchase. The form would be connected to an autoresponder which would send an automatic email to your customer.

Examples of autoresponders include:

ProAutoresponder -- $17.95 per month

Getresponse -- free or $17.95/month (for pro version)

Sendfree -- free service due to email ads in each mailing

Autoresponse Plus -- $99 for script to use on site

The customer receives an automatic email after purchase with the download link. Then they can download the ebook via your download url at their leisure (you could put a time limit on the download url too.)

Advantages: More automated since you don't have to manually send the emails to the customer. The form would be easier to track unwanted visitors to the site since they wouldn't be able to "guess" your download url. Works well with automatic payment systems such as Clickbank, PayPal etc.

Disadvantages: Still the possibility for the ebook or email being passed around once it has been downloaded unless some form of security is used (which we will discuss in a future article.)

Via Download:

I have noticed that plenty of self-publishers use PayPal or Clickbank. Clickbank seems to be more popular since a customer has to be a client of PayPal first before they can use it. Most customers are automatically re-directed to a download page (also known as a "thank you page") after Clickbank or PayPal approves the payment.

If you want to automate your ebook downloads, you need to create a "thank you" or download page which is very easy to implement. You create a "thank you" html page with a direct link to your ebook such as:

<.a href="yourebook.pdf">Click here<./a> to download ebook.

I used a period in front of "a href" and /a so it will show up in your email software. You would need to remove this when you place the code on your page. Make sure to mention that they should right click on the link to save it to their hard drive for pdf files if they are using Windows.

Or you could zip up the file with Winzip and the ebook would be "yourebook.zip". You could even password protect the zipped file for a little extra protection.

Advanced Clickbank Authentication is a script offered by William Bontrager of Willmaster.com that incorporates secret keys into your download pages for Clickbank. A low-cost but valuable resource for Clickbank users.

Advantages: Instant delivery which boosts satisfaction. Saves you time and manpower since everything is automated -- then you can focus on writing and promotion instead. :-)

Disadvantages: If people can right click (view source) your page, they can see where your thank you page is for PayPal. This is a serious problem. Luckily, there are some simple ways to prevent this from happening through Javascript codes or encrypt them using software such as HTML Sentinel.

Also has the highest possibility of fraud or theft due to easily accessed download pages and urls. You can minimize these using protective scripts such as easyClickMate which will hide your download page using PHP scripting (takes a bit of knowledge to set it up but it would be well worth it if you have a host that supports PHP.)

Other Options:

eBot from DigitalRiver.com is another automated way to deliver your ebook downloads more securely. Kagi.com, Digibuy.com, and RegNow.com are other options to consider.

Master Shopper CB Shopping Cart:

Master Shopper CB can use the Secret Key method of authentication, like Advanced ClickBank Authentication, but it also provides temporary download links for ebooks. According to its developer, the script creates a temporary copy of the ebook and then it displays the URL to the temporary copy. (The location of the original is never revealed.)

The webmaster uses the control panel to specify how long the temporary URL shall remain valid. The program was built specifically to address the problem of download URL sharing.

Advantages: Low cost. Makes it easy to use the "Secret Key" method of ClickBank purchase authentication for those who aren't advanced enough to code scripts on their own. Can use temporary download links for your downloadable products so that others won't share the download urls with their "friends". The script can handle one to the maximum number of products per account (50) at ClickBank.com

Disadvantages: Works with Clickbank and not other services. [Note that Master Shopper CB is not a shopping cart in the sense of gathering together items before purchase. ClickBank requires one-item purchases only.] Does not address the problem of ebooks being passed about by email attachment.

Ashop Shopping Cart

If you are looking for an all-in-one shopping cart to integrate into your secure real time payment processing gateways, then take a serious look at Ashop for Downloads. This script would be ideal for any product that can be downloaded electronically such as software, reports, graphics etc.

If you are selling ebooks, this script will deliver your digital downloads securely and manage your affiliate marketing system all in one easy to use online administration interface.

Intermediate or Advanced Webmasters will find the program easy to install on any server that supports PHP and mySQL. I would recommend that beginners have the software installed by the Ashop support team for a modest fee.

Advantages: Full customization, valuable features, an easy admin interface, and an extremely detailed online support manual that was very helpful (when I was installing and using the script) make up the strengths of this script. The manual and support staff made it a breeze to install and utilize the script.

Disadvantages: There were several limitations that I need to mention to help improve the script even more in future versions. I noticed that the script only allows for downloads, but ebook packages or download urls aren't supported. I understand that this does help keep the delivery system more secure... but offering these options would expand its use to selling services such as memberships.

Another small point was that a customer wouldn't have the option of choosing PayPal or credit cards. It would be great if a future option allowed for several payment gateway options (ie. PayPal and/or 2Checkout.com in the same shopping cart) The email messages do not keep the format of the original message, so your messages need to be pre-formatted before sending.

Royalty Lock

RoyaltyLock allows you to lock a portion of your ebook and keep the rest of it free to read. Then, simply make your ebook free to download from your website and the reader must register it to read the locked part of your content.

When they receive their unlock code (which is sent to them seconds after their payment is processed) they are granted full access to your ebook. And if they decide to copy your ebook or pass their registered copy to someone else, the ebook will automatically revert back to the locked state until it is registered for the new computer.

Advantages: Affiliates can obtain ebooks coded with their affiliate urls embedded within (separate fees added for the customization and processing of affiliate ebooks though)

Disadvantages: Locked ebook is an exe file and you need to use Royalty Lock's services to accept payments. Processing fee is 7% + .75 cents. $75 set up fee.

Via Automated Software:

An example of a completely automated ebook delivery system would be Quick Pay Pro. This system fully automates ebook delivery with a cloaked feature so your customer doesn't know the actual download url. It will instantly process the credit cards for you and their ordering system doesn't require any installation.

Other features include:
- Autoresponders
- Marketing Campaign trackers
- Single order or shopping cart options
- Recurring billing
- Customers can choose from PayPal or another option when ordering from you
- Automatic Download Expiry
- Real time statistics

Disadvantages:
- Requires a merchant account or third party payor
- Monthly fee to use
- More time-consuming to set up all of the modules (but then it runs automates your delivery for you)

Some DRM Solution Providers:

I am by no means an expert on DRM, which is short for Digital Rights Management, a technology that uses encryption to protect your content from illegal sale and distribution.

DRM controls how people view, print, or distribute your ebooks and other digital media such as MP3s. Since I receive so many questions about how people can secure their ebooks from piracy, I thought I should list some DRM Providers in this article. They use more sophisticated methods to secure digital content than the standard password-protected PDF or EXE formatted ebooks distributed by most self-publishers.

1. Adobe's Acrobat Commerce Server

In summary, this service provides content authors with a digital rights ticket that assigns rights to the person purchasing the ebook. Only the reader with the correct ID installed will be able to view the ebook on their PC.

2. Lightning Source

According to their site, Lightning Source offers a full suite of digital fulfillment services ranging from digital rights management to secure ebook delivery on behalf of retailers. With established alliances with major technology partners such as Adobe Systems Inc., Microsoft and others, they deliver ebooks in Adobe Acrobat ebook Reader and Microsoft Reader ebook formats. They provide one-stop ebook service that carries the order through to delivery and provides help desk support on behalf of the bookseller.

3. Digital Showcase

OverDrive's Book Publicity Service uses eBooks with DRM Microsoft, Adobe, and Palm eBook Formats, provide low cost review and galley solutions.

The book marketing service enables publishers to upload and control distribution of DRM-protected versions of their titles in popular eBook formats for distribution as review and galley copies.

Digital Showcase has been designed to allow book titles to be immediately accessed by reviewers, book buyers, internal sales personnel and librarians securely through the Internet. You can distribute pre-release eBook versions of new titles in all eBook formats and prevent unauthorized copying and distribution.

4. DMD Fusion

According to their site, DMDfusion is a flexible and scalable DRM framework that enables 3rd party DRM software and the distribution, licensing, access to and usage of digital content (music, video, text, software) with matching rights.

5. DRM for Windows XP

Microsoft® Windows Media Rights Manager lets content providers deliver songs, videos, and other digital media content over the Internet in a protected, encrypted file format.

Windows Media Rights Manager "locks" digital media files with a license key to maintain content protection, even if these files are widely distributed. Each license is uniquely assigned to each computer. This prevents illegal distribution of digital media files.

6. RightsEnforcer

They encrypt digital content, meter usage, authenticate your readers, provide rights management authorization, and create a transaction log for reporting and billing purposes.

RightsEnforcer offers a range of services such as wrapping and setting permissions to secure PDF/MP3 files. They can also provide an end-to-end solution containing everything you need to get up and running quickly and cost effectively (catalog, eCommerce, branding) according to their site.

Disadvantages of sophisticated DRM solutions:

Some options are very expensive! They can be up to $5,000 per year or more. Digital Showcase services are priced at $1,495(US) and include one year of hosted services including DRM. You are also at the mercy of that company's service. If they close down, then you could have troubles distributing your ebooks until an alternative solution is found.

Many customers are not thrilled with encrypted ebooks -- some even refuse to purchase from publishers who utilize strict DRM rules. All authors and publishers need to think about balancing customer satisfaction with security issues.

© 2003 Eva Almeida

Eva Almeida is the owner of eBooksnBytes.Com and is the publisher of eBooks N' Bytes Informer. Subscribe to her newsletter by sending an email to ebooksnbytes-subscribe@topica.com.
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