Not really! This is something I go through with nearly all of my new clients who just starting with the idea of making money from the internet. They write an ebook, get the website done, create the autoresponder series and get started on the promotion… and then ask me which software they should buy to protect their ebook from thieves.

I always give the same answer: don’t bother. Let me explain.

Firstly, nearly all ebook protectors are software-based, which means they convert the ebook into an exe file… which means Macs not running Windows won’t be able to run it. So you’ve just pee’d off 10% of your target market.

Not really an issue I suppose - my Subliminal Desktop doesn’t yet work on a Mac, but I’m not too worried about it. I accept that I lose some orders because of it.

Secondly, it can become a support headache. Six months after buying, customers go back to it and can’t remember their password. OK, so it’s not the end of the world sending a 60-second email, but if you’ve got thousands of customers it becomes a pain.

And thirdly, a lot of these protection software apps require the end user (i.e. your customer) to be connected to the internet to be able to view the ebook. Now THAT is a pain, especially in the niche markets because a lot of people don’t spend their time permanently connected to the ‘net because they fear security problems and getting hacked etc. So they have to get online just to read your ebook. Very inconvenient for them and doesn’t do your credibility much good.

If you’ve got decent PDF software then you can password-protect the file and do away with the software, but it then creates a support headache as mentioned above. And what’s more, if you’re the sort of person who insists on having that protection then it takes up even more of your time because you’ll end up looking through your sales just to be sure the person asking for the password really did make the purchase.

It’s swings and roundabouts. For me, the whole idea of running a business is to have more time for the things I want to do. Spending time with my family, playing golf, lying in the garden soaking up the rays (or rain as it is in the UK at the moment)… not typing out emails to customers who’ve forgotten their passwords or explaining why I’ve locked the ebook down like a prisoner on Death Row.

I accept some piracy will take place. I accept some of my ebooks will be (and have been) distributed illegally. I accept it because the loss of income is far outweighed by the minimal customer support I have to do.

Which would you prefer?