In a previous article we looked at what an eBook was & how to use in our small business. Here Karen Leland continues with how to write an eBook in 4 simple steps.

Karen Leland

Step #1 Choose a topic: Brainstorm ideas that that use your expertise, knowledge base or specific information and/or research. Consider smaller slices of bigger topics for eBooks. Books that can fit into the “how to” topic area are some of the most popular.

Step #2 Create Your eBook Outline: Decide what five to ten basic topics you are going to address in your eBook, and then outline the three main points you are going to make under each of those topics.

Step #3 Begin Writing Your eBook: Oddly enough, the easiest part of eBook publishing is getting the finished product up and running for distribution. Many can be uploaded with just a click of a few buttons. But where most entrepreneurs face a challenge is in finding the time, or having the writing chops, to craft the eBook in the first place. I get weekly calls from small business owners asking me to ghostwrite their eBooks because, although they have great content and ideas, they don’t have the writing skills.

Even if that’s the case, it’s no excuse, since there are scads of eBook-savvy small businesses whose sole purpose is to ghostwrite, edit, design and publish your eBook.

Step #4 Edit and design your eBook: A few things to keep in mind:

Unless you were an English major, hire a proofreader to go through your manuscript to check spelling, grammar and punctuation.

Unless you were a graphic design major, hire a designer to create the layout, cover and formatting of your book.

Unless you are an illustrator, hire a graphic artist to add pictures or drawings to your eBook.

Consider embedding video in the eBook.

It sounds simple, but no doubt takes time and effort to produce. Possibly less expensive than printed options that often get thrown away, and you do have the option of having them printed as well. Remember to  update to keep the information fresh and  current.  This is a great way to spread the word about your business,and how to get it out into the world? 

• adding to your blog
• sending an email to existing customers
• sending out to new ‘likes’ on your facebook fanpage
• adding to newsletters
• sending excerpts to other bloggers who could link back to your site
• sending excerpts to twitter, linkedin etc

 I would love to hear from you if you have any examples that have worked for you

E-Book? Yes I know about Kindles et al, but how does an eBook fit in with my small business marketing plan. Are the pamphlets & flyers I produce still going to cut it in today’s world? Here’s an interesting article by Karen Leland who explains

What & How eBooks can be used.

Karen Leland

Common Questions on eBooks for Small Business

In the world of small business marketing, it sometimes seems like there is a never-ending tension between the “what’s hot now” social media to-do and the actual way to execute for maximum business benefit. Consider for example all the small businesses that have a Twitter account because they know they “should” but are really not using it effectively. The current darlings of small business branding — eBooks — are no exception.

Despite their meteoric rise in popularity — American publishers reported that in February of 2011, eBooks ranked as the #1 format among all categories of trade publishing — I still find that many small business owners are confused about the part eBooks play in their overall marketing plan. Here are the four most common questions I get asked about using eBooks to build small business brand.

What exactly is an eBook?

In short, an eBook (electronic book) is an electronic document that can contain text, images, audio and video. They can be viewed on a personal computer, smartphone and eBook reader, such as a Kindle, and are sold through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and dozens of other outlets.

One important distinction to note, however, is that only eBooks that are created as PDF documents and downloaded as such retain their formatting and graphics. eBooks that are not downloaded as PDFs fall into the category of e-publishing, and when viewed on a Kindle, iPad or other device, they are simply a straight translation of the text only. Currently the Kindle and other such devices can only support the text from these documents, not graphics.

Most of my small business clients find that because they are creating eBooks primarily for branding and marketing purposes, they use the PDF format — being able to include graphics, format, audio, video, etc is a distinct advantage.

How could an eBook help my small business become better known?

eBooks can be the perfect calling card for potential customers. Offering an eBook free on your website in exchange for a prospect’s email, providing a link to a free downloadable eBook via your newsletter, or even having a link to your eBook in your email signature line provides a much greater opportunity to show your client your knowledge, expertise and point of view.

A great read, I hope you enjoyed this introduction to eBooks for small business marketing and are thinking of ways you can use this technology . The next post will explain how to make an eBook.

Click here to visit the original source of this post