Free eBooks are a powerful viral marketing tool that can
literally provide you with an entire network of people
who promote your business, absolutely free. Here are a
few quick tips on how to benefit from your free eBook...
1. Provide Real Content.
This is the most basic tip, but it's vitally important.
A simple "click" of the mouse is all it takes for someone
to delete your eBook. Don't offer a simple sales pitch;
provide your reader with valuable information. This will
both capture his interest and build your credibility.
He'll be more inclined to view your other products if
he likes what he sees and even better, he may refer
other business to you.
2. Use What's Already Available.
Creating an eBook doesn't have to be a long, painful
process. For example, you could put together a related
group of articles and simply add a few comments or an
introduction. Or if you get a lot of questions about
a particular topic, pick some of them and put together
an eBook that offers the answers to these questions.
3. Make Your eBook Attractive and Easy to Read.
eBooks are usually either in 'EXE' format or 'PDF' format.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both formats, but
regardless of what you choose, create a layout that's clean,
attractive, and easy to navigate. Offer links to the major
sections of your book and to places on the web where the
reader can find more information. Use graphics sparingly,
though; the more graphics you use, the larger the file
size (and thus the longer it will take to download).
4. Provide Links Back to Your Site and Products.
For example, you can:
Put your website URL and logo on the cover page.
Embed affiliate links within the context of your
articles, where appropriate.
Write up a dedicated sales page at the end of your
eBook to promote a related product.
Refer to your own products and how it can help the
reader. Keep it brief and use it only where appropriate;
you don't want your eBook to sound like a sales pitch.
5. Encourage Your Reader to Pass It On.
Make it clear that your reader is welcome to distribute
the eBook, so long as nothing is changed. He can put it
on his own website as a nice gift to his visitors, or offer
it as a bonus when people subscribe to his newsletter. The
more places your eBook appears, the more free exposure you
get.
6. Offer Co-Branding or Re-Branding.
To encourage other webmasters to distribute your eBook to
their guests, you can offer to 'brand' the book with their
URL and logo. Some eBook compilers include this as one of
their features. One of them is the Activ E-Book Compiler,
a solid affordable option available at
http://buildyourhomebiz.com/ebookcompiler.html.
7. Promote, Promote, Promote.
There are plenty of ways to promote your eBook. These
include:
Listing it in eBook directories.
Promoting it in your email (or message board) sig file.
Posting to appropriate 'announcement' groups or lists.
Creating a special page just for the eBook and submit
that page to the search engines.
Offer the book to your list of business contacts and
let them know that they're welcome to distribute it to
their own guests.
There are many other ways to distribute your eBook; be
creative!
8. Consider Selling Advertising.
If you have a heavily trafficked site and the stats to
prove it, you may be able to sell advertising within
your eBook. Naturally you won't want too many ads...
but a banner at the top and bottom of each page is
fairly common.
You can also choose to use that space for your own ads
... or offer them to select webmasters in exchange for
some additional promotion.
9. Build Your File of Testimonials.
Chances are, if people love your eBook you'll start to
receive unsolicited testimonials. Ask the person for
permission to use his or her testimonial within your
marketing materials. It will show that you have a lot
of happy customers - and help to persuade visitors to
make a purchase.
10. Consider Using an Autoresponder for Follow-Up.
You may want to offer your free eBook in exchange for
an email address. This gives you the opportunity to
repeatedly market to the reader. Instead of giving
him a free eBook and then never contacting him again,
you 'grab' him while his interest is at a peak and
continue to offer more free information through your
follow-up autoresponder. At the end of your message,
encourage the reader to take a look at what else you
have to offer.
About the Author
Angela Wu is the editor of Online Business Basics, an
exclusive newsletter for eBusiness beginners. Visit her online today at
http://onlinebusinessbasics.com/article.html