Whether the ebook's free or costly, you're wasting your own time, and more importantly, reducing your brand value by promoting a worthless product. So make sure that your ebook has 'added value' for your consumers.
Why write an ebook?
An ebook is either just a marketing tool or both a revenue generator and a marketing tool. If you choose to charge for your ebook, then its value as a marketing tool will be diminished. You have to decide whether you'll gain more long-term value from selling the ebook or telling your readers about an additional product or service. Just bear in mind that if you've chosen to sell the ebook, the information that you provide should be original, unique, and it should be difficult to offer a free alternative quickly.
How do you write an ebook?
An ebook is generally written in HTML, although many of the top pieces of ebook software generally have WYSIWYG editors as well. My ebook has been written using eBook Pro which is one probably the leading piece of ebook software in the marketplace. There are of course other packages available, but I'm happy to recommend this one. Before you buy your software, make sure that you get a decent set of instructions or preferably some practical 'how to' videos as well as some reliable backup support. It's important to make sure that your ebook looks as professional as possible.
What are the marketing benefits of writing an ebook?
Conventional marketers will tell you that you need to get the press talking about you. Free editorials give a business the opportunity to appear in a newspaper or magazine at no charge. A free ebook has the potential to have just as much impact. Once the ball starts rolling, your ebook could be distributed by recommendation without any effort. A 'viral ebook' has a button on it that lets readers click to automatically email the download link for the book to a friend. Click on the 'Email a friend' button at the top of this ebook and email a few of your friends to see how easy it is. As you can imagine, this could have an exponential marketing impact.
David Bain is founder of the independent business articles resource, http://www.BuildYourOwnBusiness.biz. BuildYourOwnBusiness offers the latest business news & management advice on how best to build your own business - business articles on Strategy, eBusiness, Change Management & much, much more. | |
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