to optimize, promote and create an ebook

An ebook is a great lead magnet.

An ebook that is well-written, designed, and optimized can be a tempting appetizer for your customers. This ebook is a great example of your brand voice and expertise in a portable, easily sharable format.

Your ebook is a great appetizer. If your customers are impressed, they will be more likely to order your main course (your products/services).

43% of marketers believe ebooks produce the best results.

An ebook is, in other words, a crucial part of a brand marketing strategy. Let’s now learn how to optimize, promote, and create your ebook.

What exactly is an ebook?

An ebook in marketing is a digital book that teaches your audience about a topic related to their interests and problems.

Brands offer ebooks as downloadable files in formats such as PDF and EPUB that can be viewed on smartphones, tablets, or other devices. Some readers might even print them.

An ebook typically contains a few key elements.

• Written content formatted in book format with chapters and page numbers.
• Graphic design elements are a professionally designed ebook cover, pages or charts, graphics, or images. Your ebook content should be the main draw.
• A page for an author with a bio and “About us” section if the author is a company.
• Calls to Action (calls to actions) encourage readers to look at your products, services or other related content.

This ebook, The Freelancer’s Bible, has all of the above to make a highly effective package.

Why make an ebook?

An ebook is a trust-building, credibility-creating, illustrated digital book that should nurture your audience and pull them further into your marketing cycle.

An ebook can have many benefits. It is obvious that ebooks have many benefits.

• Download it to read on your smartphone or tablet or print it.
• 
  Producing it is relatively inexpensive
  
  Either you’ll have to put in the effort and time to make your ebook, or hire a writer and designer to do it. It will pay off over time if you create an evergreen ebook.
  • It can be distributed infinitely without the need to print or ship.
  • You can charge readers a flat fee to download your ebook if it contains a lot high-value content. This will help you cover your production costs.
• An ebook can also be interactive. You can add CTAs to readers’ screens so they can tap or click on them to engage further with your brand.
• You can make it accessible. If your ebook is available in other formats like EPUB, readers will be able to adjust the text size.
• Ebooks don’t intimidate: Ebooks created for marketing usually range from 5 to 50 pages long. Ebooks are easy to understand and quick so your audience will not be intimidated by them.

Ebook creation: How do you write and design content?

Now it is time to make your ebook. Before you can write even one word of content, it is important to have an ebook topic that you are familiar with and which your target audience would love.

Then you can start content creation and design.

1. Select your ebook topic

Be sure to carefully research the topic of your ebook. You can’t guarantee that your readers will download your ebook if you pick any topic from the hat.

These are some suggestions to help you choose the right topic.

Follow your content strategy

Your strategy should provide guidance about the content creation topics that your brand is focusing on. These areas can be used to help you find the topic that is relevant to your audience as well as what your product or service offers.

Look at your blog content for inspiration

Are you able to write about a topic that you have only scratched? You can expand on this topic in an ebook. One blog got a lot of traffic? You might consider repurposing your most successful blog and making it into an ebook format.

Get customer feedback and questions to help you create

Which is the most frequently asked question by your customers? What are their top questions? What topic could you make into an ebook?

Do your research to ensure you have the right depth

Some topics are not too complex to be explained in an ebook. Some topics are too complex and require more than 50 pages. To determine if the topic you are interested in can be covered in an ebook, take a look at what others have done.

Search your topic online to find out what other content exists about it. Check out the length and number chapters of books you find.

Check out the topic aspects of articles you have found.

Do keyword search about your topic

You should pay attention to how competitive your topic appears in search engine rankings. It will also show how many searches it receives each month, which can help you to understand its popularity.

2. Make a table with contents

Once you have chosen a topic you are happy with, create a table to outline the contents of your ebook.

You don’t need to be elaborate right now. For example, you may not have any content yet so don’t worry too much about page numbers. You can simply list the chapters that you want to include and then brainstorm your titles.

For example, the Intercom ebook (called “The Sales Handbook”) has a table of contents that is simple to read, but tells you which section of each topic it covers.

(The topic is, of course, sales strategy and methods to achieve growth.

3. Outline the topics you will be discussing in each chapter

After you have laid out your chapters, you can outline the topics you will be discussing in each one.

Outlining is a must. This gives you a guideline to follow while you write. It is especially helpful when creating long-form content such as ebooks. If you don’t organize your content, it can quickly become overwhelming.

You can go as deep as you like with your outline. You might prefer it to be loose and simple, so just write down the key points for each chapter. Perhaps you’d like to make a point-by–point outline of each paragraph. You might be somewhere in between.

Whatever way you do it, create a guideline that you can use later to help you with the bulk of the content writing and fill in the gaps.

Keep in mind that your outline may not only contain text.

You could, for example, add placeholders or ideas for visual elements to your ebook. These could include charts or graphs or photos that you need to source or custom-made graphics. You can also create a list of resources that you would like to refer to or inspiration content.

This is your outline. Make it work for yourself.

4. Make a compelling title for your ebook

Now is the best time to come up with a captivating, descriptive title for your ebook.

Do not be tempted by the temptation to fax this section in. The title is what people first see. If it doesn’t speak to them immediately, they may not be motivated to read more.

These are the three main rules to follow when creating your ebook title.

Keep things simple

A short title is better than a complicated title. This is especially true for ebooks. Your ebook should be clear and concise. Let me show you by referring to the ebook examples I gave earlier. These ebook examples are short and sweet but very effective.

• The Sales Handbook.
• The Freelancer’s Bible.

Keep it simple

What if “The Sales Handbook” was replaced by “The Handbook of Sales Strategy to Faster Business Revenue?” It’s not quite the same ring, is it?

Be descriptive

Your title doesn’t have to be filled with a lot adjectives. Consider one word that best conveys the purpose and intent of your ebook.

These words are “handbook” (or “bible”) in the title. They both indicate that these ebooks can be used as a guideline or an exhaustive source of information. This is the power of one powerful word.

5. Visual elements that complement the text can be brainstormed by Brainstorm

Now, think more about the visual aspects in your ebook.

And, yes, you do need visuals. These visuals are a standard feature in marketing ebooks and make your content more engaging.

Highlight key quotes in the content with pull quotes Here’s an example taken from The Sales Handbook

Stats – Similar to pull quotations, you can use graphic elements to make valuable or interesting stats stand out.

Charts and graphs: Help readers visualize research data by using a chart or graph. This Dropbox ebook has simple bar graphs.

Infographic-style images : Help readers see what you are talking about. Infographics can be used to highlight your most important points.

Photography – Photos are captivating and even more engaging when they’re unique for your brand.

Design elements – Consider adding design elements to your text such as call-out boxes or borders, accent colors, custom illustrations, and typography.

Talking Shrimp’s ebook is an example. It features simple illustrations of shrimp, but it has a lot of information. It also has blank space that allows readers to reflect on the concepts in the content.

6. Place CTAs strategically

CTAs should be added to ebooks in strategically placed places. You could, for example, add a CTA to the end of each chapter encouraging readers to visit related content.

Add a CTA to the end of your ebook pointing to the best landing page for your most relevant product or services.

Many ebook formats allow embedding links within your document. Don’t forget links to your website and social accounts as well as a link to sign-up for your email list.

7. Get graphic design and editing help

Your ebook design can be done by yourself using templates from tools such as Canva, Issu or Adobe InDesign. If you don’t have the time or resources to do it yourself, hire a graphic designer to customize your ebook and align it against your brand.

Consider hiring an editor to help you with your design work. They can also look over your ebook and spot any mistakes or grammar errors. You will have a better chance of creating a flawless final product if you get more eyes on it.

An editor can help you structure your ebook and create engaging titles. This person will help you fine tune your copy/content.

Optimize your book

Optimizing an ebook will make it easier to read and more likely to rank on Google. These are some simple ways to optimize your ebook.

8. Include relevant keywords

You can optimize your ebook using keywords. These are the most important places to add keywords:

• The ebook file name.
• The ebook title and the chapter headings.
• Include the anchor text of any embedded links.
• If possible, include image captions and image alt text.

9. Make it easy to understand

Your ebook should be optimized for easy reading. Your audience shouldn’t have to zoom in 200% to read your text. This will make it difficult for them to enjoy or learn from your content. Without these value factors, your audience may not be able to see the value of engaging with other content.

Make sure that your ebook is easily readable. For the majority of your text, use a clean, clear font. It should be easy to read on all devices. Make sure that graphical elements do not interfere with the reading experience.

You can enlist a graphic artist to help you make your ebook easy to read and not just beautiful to look at.

10. It can be offered in several formats

Each reader may not have the same access to the technology. You can make your ebook available in several formats, such as PDF and EPUB. This will increase the number of people who are able to access it.

Promotion for Ebooks

Once your ebook has been written, formatted and designed, you can promote it.

11. Make an ebook landing page

A landing page should be number one in your promotion of your ebook.

A landing page is a page that you create on your website to promote and describe your ebook, so people want it.

This page is where your ebook can be downloaded. This page will be linked to in social media, emails, and blogs.

What should your landing page include?

• Descriptive/promotional copy: Include your ebook title, a summary of what it’s about, and the benefits of reading your ebook (what will your readers walk away with in terms of education, information, entertainment, growth, or value? ).
• A photo of the cover To entice readers, display a picture of your ebook cover.
• A preview : This preview will give you an idea of what lies inside . It could contain the table of contents, or even a full-page spread. This is particularly important if your ebook is longer.
• A form Your ebook will convert casual readers to subscribers. Attach a form to your landing pages that allows readers to download your ebook by filling in their contact information.
• SEO – Don’t forget about optimizing your landing page for search. In the page title, meta title/description and summary, include the keywords that you have searched earlier.

Crowdstacker has an example:

12. In your relevant website and blog content, add CTAs to the ebook

After your landing page has been created, you can add CTAs to your website and blog content. These are some good guidelines to follow:

• If it is relevant to the topic, only add a CTA in your ebook. If a link to this topic is available, point readers towards your ebook.
• CTAs should not be used to spam your audience. They should be included at the most important points on a page, blog, or website – not more and not less.

13. Promote your ebook via social media and email

To increase the number of downloads, share your ebook with a larger audience. Reach beyond your website and:

• Share your ebook link on social media. Include a photo of the cover and a preview of its contents.
• Notify your subscribers by sending an email letting them know that you have just published a new ebook. Include a link to the landing page, and images of the cover.

Your ebook can be optimized, promoted, and created – to convert your audience

Ebooks are a popular content type and for good reason.

An ebook that is well-designed and packed with value converts well. Your ebook should be carefully designed, from the presentation to its content.

It should look professional when done well.

It’s worth the effort when you consider all the ways ebooks can be distributed. You’ll always have a way to convert your ebooks, as long as it is a timeless topic.

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