If You Sell Anything Online Your ePockets Are Being Picked

You and I are a lot alike. We are both software publishers and ebook authors getting hosed on a regular basis. You and I, my friend, are victims of software piracy that accounted for over $24 BILLION dollars in lost revenue over the last two years*. There are so many ways people can get your product for free these days. If we continue doing nothing we will lose even more money this year as potential customers become more and more aware of just how easy it is to obtain digital products without paying for them.

The question is, why do we put up with this? When we sell our downloadable products they are being easily and freely distributed (read: STOLEN) by the very same people that we are trying to get to purchase. And don't be fooled, this still occurs very regularly today even though a lot of us take precautions against it. This confirms that people want our products, they just don't want to pay for them ?because they don't have to. In fact, 70% of potential customers won't if they can get it for free*.

We know the ideal scenario; what's supposed to happen. Consider Bob Jones and his knot tying eBook, "Scoutmaster Bob's Guide To Knots". Bob uploads his ebook to his web server and creates a sales link to sell it, and this sales link goes through to his payment processor. After the order is placed the customer is redirected to the download page, or "Thank-You" page, in order to automate the delivery process.

Now Bob figures he's all set up and starts his massive promotion efforts. He spends lots of time and money getting people to visit his site and convinces them to place an order because it really is a great product. So, the customers place orders via the sales link then are redirected back to the download page automatically to get what they've paid for. Perfect automated system, right? Sorry Bobby, in a perfect world maybe. But here's what really happens.

"Back Door" #1:

Our boy Bob sets up a sales link, a download redirection link (where people go after successfully ordering) and spends time and money promoting his site. People come and visit his web site and feel that they could really use such an extensive knot tying resource and want a copy of it. A couple people place orders and Bob is happy. Because Bob has created such a great product they tell their friends about Bob's eBook. But instead of telling their friends to check out Bob's web site they simply email them a copy of the actual eBook. Why not, it doesn't cost Bob any money right? Those people then tell their friends, who tell their friends, who tell their friends. A couple of weeks later Bob's knot tying ebook is in the hands of hundreds, even thousands of people?for free. And this is just the first "back door".

There are three (3) "Back Doors" that people use regularly to easily obtain free access to your product:

Back Door #1: Get a copy via email, newsgroups, forums, ebay, MSN, ICQ, ... whatever

Back Door #2: Get refunded and keep the product

Back Door #3: Locate the download page without paying

And here's another scary fact: For every 10 copies downloaded, 4 of those are stolen*. How lightly would you take it if you sold a tangible product, like a t-shirt, and only 6 out of ten t-shirts that left the store were paid for? These are lost sales and income forgone, there's no more blunt way to put it. If you can guarantee that the only way they can get your product is through your payment process you've just stopped that leak and increased your profits.

But right now online merchants have no idea who is really downloading their products, or what happens after the downloaded. They lose total control of its distribution. Some thieves/weasels/snakes ?whatever you want to call them? even go so far as to sell stolen software