The great thing about eBooks is that you can usually offer them for free in exchange for the users contact information. This is a great way to gain leads, but what should you be doing to make sure that you’re delivering a well-written eBook? Here are some important components that you need to incorporate.
Cover and Title
Your eBook should give off a sense of professionalism from the cover page. It’s the first thing that readers will see, so you want to make a good first impression. Social media sites are putting a greater emphasis on images, so your cover should play to that.
Your title should also be interesting and engaging, because just like the cover page, the title has to grab the reader’s attention and make them want to read your eBook. It’s especially important if your eBook is going to get posted around the web that your title correlates to the contents.
Topics
The topics that you choose to write about in your eBooks will appeal to different audiences. Some readers won’t be able to grasp the information of a more advanced topic while others might already know what you’re covering in a beginning or intermediate eBook topic. If you distinguish the skill level of your eBooks, it will be easier for readers to know which ones they will be able to benefit from.
Author Page
A valuable aspect of your eBook is an author page, especially if you have several contributors. By describing the author’s skills and including a bio, it’s a good way to add credibility to your eBooks. Including an email address or Twitter handle will make it easy for readers to contact authors if they have any questions.
Table of Contents
Just like with any book, a table of contents will organize your content so that it’s easier to find by relevancy or if readers are trying to find a certain section at any moment.
Chapter Title Pages
Chapter title pages will make each chapter easier to identify. It’s also able to work as a landing page for the table of contents.
Social Media Sharing Buttons
Like you would with any part of your website or blog that has valuable content, by adding social sharing buttons throughout your eBook, you’ll make it easy for readers to share your eBook with their friends, coworkers and those they feel would benefit from it.
Be Visually Appealing
By using images throughout your eBook, you’ll grab your readers’ attention and make it so that they don’t get bored halfway through. By breaking up long groups of text, it will be more enticing to read, because readers won’t feel like they’re going to drown themselves in too much information.
Increase Product Awareness
Throughout your eBook, whenever it’s fitting, include a subtle product call-out so that readers know you offer a particular service. Some might be new to learning about your company, so they might not be familiar with all that you offer. Just make sure you aren’t pushing too many products to raise awareness. The eBook’s main focus should be on enlightening your readers with important information.
Be Printer and Mobile Friendly
When you go to print an eBook, it’s frustrating when it isn’t formatted properly. Even today when people are using their smartphones and tablets to read on the go, you still want to provide the option for readers to print your eBook out. By being printer and mobile/tablet-friendly, you’ll make it easier for people to read your eBook on the go. Test it out yourself before you publish it.
Call-to-Action
At the end of your eBook, offer a final call-to-action. That’s the whole point of your eBook anyway, right? Make them want to use your products/services by convincing them throughout the eBook that they can really benefit from what you offer.