What is an ebook?

An ebook is a book in digital format that is offered to the user for free or for a fee , usually through an Internet download.

In Inbound Marketing not all the importance falls on the content or the strategy. Giving the user a diversity of formats is a great help to conquer our target audience . This format is one of the most used, do you know why?

What is an ebook?

The purpose of creating content with this format is to give our users deeper content on a topic of interest. An ebook is a good way to convert our user, who has read a post, into a lead .

Creating an ebook is a complex process that requires large doses of planning : What is our goal? Who do we want to reach? What is the topic to be discussed?… The more questions we ask ourselves, the better the planning of the digital book will be, and the easier it will be to decide on such important aspects as whether it will be a free or paid ebook or how to distribute it.

Knowing what content our users demand is just as important as knowing how to offer that content. The format, once again, becomes a fundamental aspect in Inbound Marketing .

If you want to know more about this format, check out this post about the difference between whitepaper and ebook .

How to create a good ebook

1. Why have you decided to make an ebook? What are you going to talk about? Who is it for? Have you taken a look at other types of ebooks of your style? These are the key questions you have to ask yourself before you start.
2. How to find a catchy title for your ebook?  It is the great unknown. How am I going to call him? Remember that a great title must present the benefits of the ebook, it must be short and explicit, reach the reader's heart and be easy to remember.
3. Collect all kinds of questions from clients and your target audience , and create an ebook to provide answers. In this way, you will create a most useful ebook in a compilation format.
4. Before you start writing… Do some research!! Browse all kinds of blogs, websites and other types of referential content that will help you shape your ebook, read and read again. This simple gesture will help you catch up on what's going on and see what you can really contribute to others with your ebook.
5. Make an outline of what you want to explain in the ebook , it will help you organize the information you want to tell. Propose a small outline with the content that you are going to put and create a small index that will serve as an outline, it is essential. Remember that an ebook has to have some fundamental points such as the introduction, enter into the problem, give the solution, offer tools, include other types of recommendations and end with a good conclusion and mentioning your sources.
6. What tone are you going to use in your ebook?  Make it close, like a conversation with a friend giving you advice. Your fundamental objective is to connect with the user and the best way to do it is to create a close bond with him. Get away from that “fucking” tone that is so boring and that makes the reader not approach you. You have to put yourself in his shoes and try to explain things so that he understands them. Clarity and simplicity of language are essential.
7. Account testimonials, examples, case studies and experiences . Many of the successful ebooks are those that are useful to the user and help them understand a certain topic through practical cases.
8. Design does matter.  Whether we like it or not, there are thousands of things that enter our eyes, and the ebook is one of them. Design an attractive cover and content that is also attractive. Take care of everything in detail.
9. It is better to launch a free ebook to generate buzz and virality than to launch a paid ebook that no one downloads. You have to think about what you prefer, everything has to go little by little, and it is better to hook the user with good free content, create that purchase anxiety to gradually build loyalty and obtain benefits with your ebook.
10. Move your ebook  on all kinds of websites, social networks, blogs, platforms, etc. It is clear that an ebook does not move just like that. It is essential to create a strategy in which you contemplate how you are going to move that ebook to get downloads.
11. Surround yourself with interesting people who can contribute to you.  Why not make a collaborative ebook? It can contribute a lot, and above all you can get a greater impact online. The authors of the ebook will move it on social networks, and among their contacts.
12. Don't forget to link to provide an extra dose of information.  If within the ebook you want to delve into a topic a little more than what you have explained, give your ebook added value by using links that can lead the user to expand their knowledge.
13. If it's paid, create a small free appetizer.  It costs you nothing and in addition to serving as a cover letter, if your ebook has a hook, it will encourage downloading.
14. Visual content is a must.  Once you've started writing and capturing all your knowledge in this project, don't forget to give it an attractive shape. Make it visual, create reading breaks and above all try to add visual content such as images, diagrams, infographics and all kinds of content that make your ebook more attractive to read.
15. Check, check and… Check!!  Once you have finished your ebook, do not forget to review it carefully. The spelling, the topics you have dealt with, the index, the conclusions and the sources. Do not leave anything to improvisation.
16. Say thank you and leave a wake up call.  Keep in mind that you do not know everything, and that the people who read you can contribute a lot. A good way to end your ebook is by saying thank you to connect with your reader. Ask for their feedback, it will help you to continue improving.
17. How should you viralize your ebook?  Ask your contacts for help. Move it through posts, create a specific landing page to download it for free or for a fee, use email marketing to make it known among your users, publish it on your social networks, etc.
18. Once you have launched the ebook and have created a strategy to move it, do not forget to  analyze how it has worked . Monitor each of the actions you have done, the downloads achieved, from where they have been made, the visits to the landing page of the download, the virality in social networks, the comments that have been made to you, etc.