If you are about to write your first marketing ebook for your business, congratulations – it’s one of the best ways to share your expertise and build thought leadership. If done right, your ebook will educate and entertain – thus becoming highly shareable.
Here are 7 things to keep in mind as you write your first ebook:
1. Write in a conversational tone
Your ebook is the complete opposite of a doctoral dissertation, so keep the tone light, friendly, and conversational – talk to your readers, not at them.
2. Use stories
Open your ebook with a story to hook your reader, and illustrate your points with stories whenever possible. This will make your content more fun, interesting, and relatable – you want your reader to say, “Oh yeah, I have that problem too!” – and then turn to you for the solution.
3. Teach your readers
Add tips, tricks, helpful hints, or other actionable information that your readers can easily do themselves. Highlight this information in the sidebar or at the bottom of the page.
4. Focus each page
Stick to one point per page – this will help ensure your layout is clean. If you have a lot of information about one particular topic, break the information out with subheads, and use one subhead per page.
5. Integrate visual elements
People respond to strong visuals, so include relevant images that emphasize your point and graphics that illustrate survey results or statistics. Use subheaders that stand out and a bold, easy-to-read font.
6. Add interactive elements
Since ebooks are digital, you can embed videos, surveys, or games – just make sure they are relevant and don’t overshadow your other content.
7. Write one strong call-to-action
Resist adding a call-to-action (CTA) to each page; your company name and website address are sufficient. Instead, write one strong CTA for the last page of your ebook. Tie the CTA back to the subject of your ebook and explain the benefit of working with you or buying from you. Finally, make it easy for them to contact you – include your website address, an email address, phone number, and social media buttons.
Do you have any favorite ebooks that other companies have published? What makes them stand out?
Image courtesy of amoderngal.com
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