In the past 6 months, a new form of Books has grown in popularity on the
Internet: EBooks. An EBook is simply an Electronic Book distributed via
download in Windows, Macintosh, or Palm Pilot file formats. With the
widespread acceptance of EBooks, savvy marketers are finding that there is
even more opportunity in this area than was first thought.
Creating your own EBooks is not time consuming or expensive but they must be
well thought out before they are put on the market for sale or download.
First, decide what the purpose of your EBook is.
1. Will it be in an advetorial format? The editorial feel of this approach
is beneficial for drawing more attention and traffic to a specific website,
product or service.
2. Will it be a how-to manual that teaches the reader about something
specific? This approach is flexible because you can give it away free as a
traffic generator, or if it is comprehensive enough you can actually sell
it as a product.
3. Will it be a full fledged book that you will sell? This is becoming more
and more popular in the online publishing world because it is relatively
quick to create and there is very little cost. We suggest that you also make
a free advetorial to promote the full EBook if you go this route.
Once you have decided how your EBook fits into your business plans, you then
must decide on the topic. The topic should always relate to your website
content or business area of expertise. This will make your EBook more
credible and will enhance the chances of generating site traffic or sales
from those that read your EBook.
Almost any area of expertise can be utilized successfully in an EBook. If
your area of expertise is Real Estate, your EBook could contain information
on hidden finance secrets, or things to beware of when looking for a new
home. If your website is about Japanese tourism, your EBook could contain
the best and worst night clubs to visit while in Japan. The list of ideas
can go on for pages, but you get the general idea. Write what you know and
your EBook will be downloaded by people that want that information. This
gives you a very targeted audience and increases your chances of selling
products or services to them.
The next thing you must consider, is what format you would like to offer
your EBook in. As with anything web based, the more audiences you can reach
the better, so keep this in mind when creating your EBook. If you are able
to offer it in multiple formats then by all means do so! Most EBooks are
offered in Windows file format. Some are usable on Macintosh and some are
made for the Palm Pilot handheld computer.
With each of these mediums, there also comes a wide range of software
options. The most widely used of course is simple HTML. When using HTML for
an EBook, you must still keep things such as screen resolution and browser
version in mind. Some people prefer to use Adobe PDF files for their EBook
distribution, however be aware that this file format is very difficult to
read for long periods of time on a computer screen. PDF files are most
appropriate for EBooks that you intend to have the reader actually print out
and read on paper.
Palm Pilot Handheld computers also have a variety of software to choose from
when it comes to reading an EBook. The good news however is that almost all
of the software for that platform can read an EBook regardless of the
software program it was created for. This makes the Palm Pilot EBooks much
more versatile in addition to being portable.
Once your EBook is ready for distribution, then you must market it.
Marketing an EBook online is similiar to marketing anything else. Put it up
for download if it is free, give it away to your survey respondants or as a
contest prize. Send it to your newsletter subscribers or post it in free
EBook directories.
Continue creating EBooks! Once you have created your first EBook, be sure to
create additional ones as you have the time. EBooks are getting very popular
and should provide the perfect additional boost to your current online
marketing efforts.
Additional Resources:
EBook Libraries
http://carver.bizland.com/submit.htm
http://www.the-ebook-directory.com
Professional EBook Creation Software:
http://www.webcompiler.com/product.html
http://www.html2exe.com/
About the Author
Kathy Burns
http://www.sasezpublications.com
http://www.palmpilotfiles.com
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