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Creating an EBook to Promote Your Business: Why Everyone is Doing It Today
If you are looking for new ways to promote your business and you find that the average blogging effort you have been making so far isn’t actually wielding the results you had in mind for your business, this blog will have the right answer for you. Creating an eBook is something everyone is doing today. Some businesses have even specialized in putting together tens of these fine marketing tools, hoping they would say more return on investment, more leads, and overall better content marketing success. They are right to do so.
A stunning growth
Here are a few facts for you. An industry projected study shows that by 2018, the industry of eBook making will hit a staggering $8.7 billion. While the figure may not appear too impressive to you at first, this would be a notable 3,000% increase compared to 2008. Here’s a market everyone can tap into and still take advantage of.
Source: authorearnings.com
Why eBooks?
No matter what you may have heard (that everyone is doing this, so why bother, that they are not always working), eBooks are still the top tool for marketers, be they B2B or B2C ones. A well-executed eBook can bring in a lot of interest from potential leads. It can help position your brand as a thought leader in your specific industry.
Competition has changed so much in every industry that is represented online nowadays. It is no longer sufficient to just have a well put together website and sell through it. It is no longer sufficient to have a blog where you can present your industry news and facts, informative attempts at selling with content. Your competition is probably doing all of the above already and they are probably doing them the right way. Otherwise, they would be totally non-existent on your market.
So, how can you stand out? And what can you offer your potential clients to make them stick to your site, sign in for your newsletter, buy your product and return? The simplest and most elegant answer is: an eBook that puts together essential information from your specific industry. A tool any interested client can use to navigate through the intricate waters of that specific industry. An answer to their most frequent question about your product, your business’ specific industry. A solution to a problem.
Warning: Keep in mind that putting together an eBook about how great your company is and how relevant and useful your products will do exactly zilch for your marketing efforts. So stay away from that. Focus on content that actually tells them what to do in a specific situation, how to use a product, how to solve a problem. Make it interesting and so useful that people will start wondering: how come I didn’t need this until now?
5 Essential Steps Before Creating an eBook
So you just sit at your desk and start writing, correct? Nothing can be more wrong than this. Creating an eBook takes some planning and you will require a few analytics tools to make sure you are doing the right thing and putting together something that will ultimately pay off.
Step 1: Choose a topic that provides the right value for your audience. Making your topic more accessible to your audience and as simple as possible, you make sure you don’t alienate your readership and keep their interest alive. Research your market, look for possible problems that users of your specific products or services may encounter. Try to find the answers to those issues. Show them how to use your products, how to solve malfunctioning problems. This is where the real value stands for your readers.
Step 2: Make sure this is a timely topic and that it is in line with your industry’s events. What is happening in your industry? What is everyone talking about? Will people benefit from your topic and what can you bring new to the table? Researching these aspects and acting upon the momentum created by a certain problem, news piece or new product will definitely spark interest in your eBook.
Step 3: Look for ways to educate first and then focus on selling through your tool. Creating an eBook has to be done out of a wish to inform, first. Bring something new in the conversation. Find an interesting spin on a particular issue or situation. Give new and relevant information. People will be attracted to an interesting perspective and will want to actually spend their precious time reading what you have to say.
Step 4: Make your eBook design something irresistible. Let’s face it: an eBook is not made to be read cover to cover. Very few are. People don’t have the patience nowadays, with all that media craze out there. But if you make your eBook skimmable and easy to navigate, organize it on clear chapters with very alluring titles and a great design, you have completed a successful project. People will consider it, use it when they need it. They will reopen it for answers and design pays a crucial role in that. Visual memory is something mostly everyone relies on today. A great, responsive and colorful design will help them remember your titles and will keep them interested in your product.
Step 5: Consider your distribution channels. First things first: make sure you don’t try to make an actual profit by selling the eBook. This can be a real faux-pas that will cost you in the long run. Offer your free eBook as an incentive to customers and potential leads. Make it a free offer when they download your tools, buy your products or services or do something online that will benefit your business. There is no stronger incentive than that. By putting a price tag on it, you will tell them that your sole interest is selling, no matter what. And people are quite resistant to the idea today. But if you offer it as a free incentive, they will appreciate your great marketing talents, consider the value your business can bring into their lives and become customers in the long run. You win a lot more.
A Few Essential Don’ts When Creating an EBook
As easy as it may seem, creating an eBook may backfire, if you don’t exercise caution and don’t do it properly. Execution is really important.
Don’t misjudge your audience
Before you even start writing your piece, make sure you have clearly established what your target audience should be. Create a buyer persona for your eBook. Treat it as a product and consider who you will be “selling it to.” What is the demographic you will address it to? What are their interests? What keywords will they be using in a search for a fix to their problem?
Don’t write on a worthless topic
Make sure your research of a topic is pretty thorough and that there is real value in your content proposition. If you will just create the eBook for the sake of it all, without a clear aim in mind, your efforts will have been in vain.
Don’t try to write about more things at once
Focus on a particular topic, a problem you would like to help your audience solve and don’t digress. Make it an exhaustive solution that you are offering, one that will provide the real value your audience is looking for.
Don’t overlook a professional design
You may want to cut some corners or make sure your expenses are not up through the roof when putting together this piece. Understandably so. But, if you neglect your design, and especially the cover design, you are making a huge mistake. Use simple graphics, but impactful images. It doesn’t have to be something fancy or particularly expensive. What it needs to be, though, is unforgettable. Something your readers will remember. Do not make the mistake of designing it with Paint or other unprofessional tools. Your cover has to sum up your entire eBook creation effort. It has to create a visual and communication impact. Use an online designer’s services, not all of them are expensive. This may pay out more than you imagine, in the long run.
Don’t forget to create a specific landing page to promote
How do you promote your eBook? People will just not happen upon it. Make sure you put together a short and sweet landing page that tells them it is out there and it is theirs for the taking. Use the landing page as a gateway to this specific marketing project and make sure you make the most of it.
The key takeaway in all this is that your eBook needs to be created with a clear audience in mind. If you will just write it as a tool for your business ego, you shouldn’t even bother. But the more useful and appealing you are making it to your public and your potential customers, the better.
Not sure how to put together such a project for your business? Let us help. Iris Content can help you from the planning stage to eBook creation and design. We can help you find the right topics and plan execution of an eBook. Use our services to create a full library of eBook content that will provide informative value to your clients.
Act upon it today and you can get one for free with our special summer vacation offer.
Annie has 18 years’ experience as an editor and content creator and manager. With work in television and written media, she has dedicated her past 10 years to learning the ropes of online content creation, from writing to editing, from SEO to content management.
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