Seth Godin, bestselling author of “Permission Marketing : Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers
EBooks are free to create – you just need an idea that is worth sharing with people, especially your target market. You can use programs like Microsoft Word or whatever it is that you’re more comfortable with. Our staff uses everything, from Microsoft Word to Adobe InDesign (if we wanted to get fancier with our eBooks). Of course, you’ll need to have a purpose and reasons as well.
Know your ‘Why’ and be clear
Knowing your “Why” to write an eBook is really important, as this will affect the level of success that you want to achieve. It’s always good to list down your reasons, your passions all on paper (I personally like to write them on paper, it creates motion for my mind to have the juices flowing.) The more reasons you can list, the more your motivation sticks, especially through mental challenges. These could be for earning profits and income; another could be to generate prospective leads for your business, maybe even establish yourself as an expert.
I cannot stress how much important this step is. So many people like to go into the production stage already without being clear and only waste their time doing so. I, myself, am guilty of this, because I like to see results. But that can backfire if you don’t know your why. So spend more time on this.
One example is your passions. I have this huge interest in Digital visual art, plus I love to draw and paint. Over the many years as a Multimedia artist, I discovered techniques that may be of interest to budding digital artists and even professionals as well. Of course though, my niche would mostly be those people who are willing to purchase my eBook – this is most important.
Once you’ve written your reasons, the next thing you may want to do is research and find a niche. You can do this by searching on Google and checking out the top ten competing sites. It’s also a good idea to check out blogs to see what people are talking about and if there might be a potential solution to people’s problems, using your passions, of course.
Write down all these problems that people are discussing – the ones that make sense to you. Then start listing some solutions that you can think of. Afterwards, begin setting up your eBook structure.
You can also call this a “thesis” or “mission” statement. It basically keeps things clear for you and is usually no more than two lines. But, however, that is totally up to you. My statements for clarity are usually more than two pages long (like a business plan) and after I go back to it, I find that I can scale it down even more to make it even clearer, especially if you’ve done more research or have had some “ah-ha” moments.
Title says all
Just like in web sales copy, you only get a few seconds to grab your reader’s interest and attention, before they click the ‘back’ button and never return to your website. This means forever.
It’s worth the time brainstorming ideas for your eBooks’ title. Of course though, you want to also make sure that it is clear and not confusing. At the same time, it also needs to solve a problem that the reader is looking to do.
My wife and I recently bought something called Magnetic Poetry, which I think is great for helping you generate ideas when you’re experiencing creative block. The way to do this is to know what you are going to solve. Then, find two words that match what you are going to solve. Once you do, then take a bunch of other words in your hand (you don’t even need to look at them yet), then drop them right on top of your two words. Then, sort them out until something connects to your two words, along with the random choice of words.
You also want to make sure that it is not too long as well. Keep in mind that the title is the foundation and doorway to your eBook. If it does not catch and open the door to your reader’s mind, there will be no connection, so take your time on this.
Know your readers quickly
You may ask me what I mean by that. Well, have you ever found yourself among the wrong crowd and wished you had made better judgments and decisions? If so, then you probably know what I mean. In fact, you cannot sell a pot roast of beef to a Vegetarian, no matter how hard you try. Bestselling author Brian Tracy mentions that a person convinced against their will is of the same opinion still. It’s vitally important to know your readers, know their habits, their buying habits, and what is most important to them.
Your EBook format Delivery
There are many ways you can create an eBook. There are two standard ones that many eBook authors use: Executables (.exe) and Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf) files. Some things to keep in mind though:
If you have skills in programming or have a program that can generate a standalone eBook that doesn’t require a commercial reader, then the (.exe) route is the way to go. If, however, you’d like to have your work viewable in a web browser as well and want some compatibility with many readers on both PC and Mac, you may want to consider (.pdf). There are advantages to each one. The thing with the (.exe) format of eBooks is that you can customize the user experience, but your audience will need to have a PC, since the (.exe) format doesn’t work on Macs. Plus, the (.exe) format can be susceptible to viruses. Many email programs discourage opening emails that contain (.exe) files, so you may have to use a different means of delivery. The upside to this is that it is a good viral marketing tool and can run on its own.
PDF files on the other hand are industry standard and just about everyone can read it on either a browser or a mobile device. You pretty much can use plenty of 3rd party software that’s available on the web to create your eBooks. I myself like to use a program called “CutePDF”, which is a free application that makes itself available to all your software programs, such as Microsoft Word, Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, pretty much anything that can print or save. Make sure to research it first though, things do change and improve on the web.
Enjoy writing your eBook
If you’ve done the above, then you’re ready to write your eBook. If you are really clear as to what you want to write about, you will most likely be motivated enough to finish a first complete draft within a few hours.
Hey, that’s passion!
Once you’re finished, take a break, maybe even a day off if you’d like – that’s totally up to you. Whatever recharges your batteries, go ahead and do it. Then come back to your eBook and re-read it from the viewpoint of a first-time reader. This is critical and key to your success. Make all the necessary changes until it makes sense to you and is clear.
You may also want to include some links back to your website, in order to keep a relationship going with your readers. You can even offer them a discount if they subscribe to your website. Just do some homework on this, but make it fun at the same time!
Consider having someone proofread your work as well. I myself am lucky enough to have access to professional copywriters who are both family and friends, so I can definitely pass my work on to them whenever they have some time to review it. It’s important, however, that these people you choose for proofreading are also supporters in your road to success (positive-thinking people help a lot, but they should also be realistic and honest too.) You’ll be surprised what they can tell you based on what they understand.
Keep an open mind when they make suggestions or critiques.
Get Testimonials
It’s a good idea to get some testimonials if you can from people who have read your e-book and have benefitted from your advice. But what if you don’t have any people to provide testimonials?
Here’s what you can do. Find up to five people you know personally who may benefit from the eBook. For example, if my eBook is about creating digital art and has some great tips, I would send it to my Graphic Designer/Computer Animator/Illustrator friends or even friends who have told me that they are thinking about getting into the creative profession and are doing something about it. I wouldn’t send it to my doctor or someone who may waste my time.
Congratulations, new Author!
Once you’ve put the finishing touches on your eBook, then you can have it ready for sale! You may want to talk to a web developer or a company that specializes in setting up a shopping cart system on your website, so that the only thing you need to do is check the sales regularly and collect the money. Of course as well, you’ll want to have a good relationship with every person who buys your eBook.
One thing to consider is that you will want to copy protect your book, so that it doesn’t duplicate. We live in an age where if people can make copies of music, they can do it as well to anything that is digital. The advantage of an eBook is that it gets into your customer’s hands quickly and you make money right away. The down side is that it can be duplicated as well if you’re not careful.
There is lots of software out there that let you put security measures on your eBook. You can even track to see if someone, who bought your eBook, has opened it or has made copies of it without permission. The software should be able to let you send a word of caution to the purchaser or even control how that eBook is used.
Otherwise, you’re totally ready to start marketing your eBook!
Rodney Ronquillo
President of Landings Media
