A guest by post Tess Marshall of The Bold Life.
If we advance confidently in the direction of our dreams, and endeavors to live the life we imagine, we will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. ~ Henry David Thoreau
I recently completed a free eBook to put on my blog in exchange for a subscription to my newsletter. The names and email addresses I collect, will be used to build traffic as part of my internet marketing plan to monetize my blog.
A mailing list, allows me an opportunity to create value, build relationships, and gain prospects for products and services. It enables me to increase my online presence and create income.
My newsletter will be used to inform my list of updates, tips, contests, surveys or announcements of services, products, and changes to my blog. Electronic email has replaced the postal service and is the most common use of distribution of mass mailings.
The power of a freebie in exchange for a name and email address is often overlooked and underrated. There is a temptation to avoid your best effort and save your best content, out of haste, lack of commitment or because it’s free.
When you give your subscribers an unforgettable eBook they will look forward to doing business with you in the future. Happy subscribers become happy customers and members of your tribe.
Some believe a blog is only as valuable as the size of one’s list. I would like to add a list is only as valuable as the quality of one’s products. It’s wise to make all products and services uncommon and outstanding.
Read on to learn how to attract readers with an irresistible eBook.
1. Do and give your best to build trust.
Build a stable and solid internet marketing business by always using your brilliance to provide quality content, perfect solutions and products that enrich lives.
With an extraordinary and useful, free eBook, subscribers will thirst for additional content and products. You’ll build your list, become known as an expert, and sell future products.
It’s good business to be generous and give more than is expected, always produce top-notch, unique and remarkable goods and services.
As your business becomes appreciated and profitable, you’ll gain respect, build trust, and establish cherished life-long customers.
2. Establish connection through trust.
Creating and selling on the internet is an enormous opportunity for establishing heartfelt, lifelong, friendships and connections throughout the world. I believe everything we do, say, and create as bloggers counts.
Our work has the ability to bring joy, happiness, calm, courage, faith and hope. Every product or service we create and sell with integrity will stand out, provide value, establish, and enhance our relationships.
By revealing our hopes, dreams, hurts and pain to one another, we will grow. Through mutual respect, listening, and acceptance, we’ll develop relationships and friendships for the duration.
Look at your list as more than names and emails or a method to make money. See your list as your friends who deserve your best. Their names are sacred, their addresses private. Put a priceless value on the list. Never sell or share your list with anyone.
3. Use what you have and make it even better.
If you have been blogging for several months, read through your blog and gather two or three of the most popular, well written and important posts. Next, gather three more posts related to these. Look for a theme or topic to appear.
For example, when writing my eBook, I recognized themes on relationships and happiness, purpose and meaning, connection and love, gratitude and inner peace, and fearlessness and courage.
Place your gathered articles in a logical order. Use your articles to create chapters. Do more research and expand on each chapter. Use quotes, personal stories, and stories of others to further enhance your material.
If you are a brand new blogger, with little in your archives, consider your niche and research ideas and themes that fit your blog. Expand on your research as well. Get creative. This is your chance to make a good first impression.
Another option for a beginner is to create a special report based on your specialty and knowledge. This may seem less daunting.
My eBook is only 17 pages. However, it does create a strong impact. The power lies in the choice and meaning of every word, photo, color, and line in the design. The power lies in my message.
You want it to move readers emotionally. You want your readers to learn, enjoy, think differently or feel differently. When a person is changed by your work, you have succeeded.
4. Hire or barter with a creative genius.
Next consider your design. For mine, I wanted to use the stunning photos belonging to my blogging buddy, Caroline Manrique. I chose one for my cover and one for every page to create added value. I credited her in exchange for the free use of her photos. If you choose photos, it’s necessary to resize and format them so your eBook will download quickly.
Another friend, used her artistic and technical talent, time, and energy to design my eBook. It’s visually aesthetic enough to print and frame every page.
The value of an eBook cover can’t be overstated. The average buyer will spent 8 seconds looking it. As one marketer said, “Make them want to reach right through the screen and grab it.” You don’t want to lose subscribers because of a poorly designed cover! Make all of your work count!
5. Ask everyone to share your eBook.
Because you’ve done excellent work, it’s highly likely your friends, family, and colleagues will forward your eBook to others. Ask your readers to pass it on.
Place an invitation on the final page of your eBook suggesting it be shared with everyone who will enjoy or benefit from it.
Also, ask others to share it using social media.
In conclusion, create an e-book that is useful, enjoyable and relevant to your blog or website. Customize it to build and reflect your business. Put your unique spin on it. Create something a subscriber can’t get from anyone else. Make it hot property!
The blogosphere is made of trillions of words and photos, forming endless stories, sending out a ripple effect of possibility and positivity.
Creating your eBook to be a magnet for new readers will also send out ripple effect of undeniable quality of your blog, website or business.