If you’re going to give away an e-book, make it more than a
glorified ad.
By
Patrysha Korchinski
I read a
great article today. I found it resonated strongly with me
because of its beautiful description of relationship marketing.
I love the concept of relationship marketing and am working to
perfect the technique within myself so that I can help my
current and future clients. Since I have this interest, I
clicked on the link in the bio. That’s where the experience
started to turn sour.
The web
page was full of hyperbole and the same old catchwords and
phrases that become stale after your first week of working on
the Internet. I was taken a bit aback, but remembering the
article, I thought it possible that the free newsletter and
e-book offered would be worth the effort of signing up. I was
sadly mistaken.
The only
good thing about that book is that it made me upset enough to
write about it. The content was so self-serving that it was
little more than a long and obnoxious ad. That particular
company is not going to be getting my business, nor will I be
referring anyone to them. The steps were there, but the value
was not.
Writing a
good e-book, one that holds value, takes no more effort or time
than producing a bad one. The difference is seen in the results.
The former will endear a potential customer to you, building
trust and recognition. The latter makes you immediately
forgettable and soon to be deleted from their lives.
Here are
three tips to keep your e-books (even the free ones) in the
former category:
-
Establish your purpose.
Do you have something useful
or insightful to offer? If not, why would customers want to read
it the first time, let alone hang on to it. If you aren’t
providing them with a product that is either educational or
entertaining, then it’s not likely to make the cut to finding a
place in their permanent hard drive.
-
Keep it concise.
Shorter is sweeter when it
comes to computer generation. Unless you know that your target
audience has a more laid back and relaxed nature than the
average internet user, assume that they are short on time and
don’t want to read your life story before getting to the meat of
the matter. Choose your words wisely and avoid technical jargon
to ensure a pleasant reading experience.
-
Don’t depend on your spell
check.
Print your e-book out and
manually check for spelling and grammar errors. Then send it on
to a proof-reader. This can be a family member, friend or
trusted business contact rather than a hired professional as
long as they are able to catch anything that you may have
missed.
