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How to Harness the Power of eBooks
By: Michael Fortin, SuccessDoctor.com

(Editor's Note: Normally I like to write my own articles, but
on my search for detailed information on ebook marketing I
came across Mike Fortin's article on ebooks. It was so good I
decided to use it as this week's feature article instead of my
own. So sit back and enjoy!)

The underlying drive behind the Internet is the speed at which
information can be retrieved -- especially at little or no cost.
People can literally find out pretty much anything about
anything at the simple click of a mouse. They are more
informed, more educated and certainly more sophisticated
than ever before.

Time, however, is becoming a scarcer commodity. People
don't have the time to search the Internet in order to find the
kinds of information that they really want, let alone the time to
read it once they have found that for which they are looking.
In short, time is money. And this is especially true for those
who pay for their Internet connection by the minute or hour.

And in their attempts to retrieve that information, most people
will have to swim through an ocean of commercial messages
that are now drowning the web. As a result, finding useful,
relevant information -- that is not overtly promotional or
misleading -- has become a challenging process.

A mentor once told me, "Implication is more powerful than
specification." It is more effective to imply one's superiority
than it is to outright state it, in other words. Thus, self-serving
information often found in fancy brochures, glitzy websites,
blaring banners, and blatantly promotional email messages
certainly counter that notion let alone turn people off.

However, there is a solution. A recent trend that is masterfully
amalgamating all of the above important points -- i.e., speed,
economy, and implication -- is in electronic self-publishing.
Why are electronic books (or "ebooks," as they are often
called) taking the Internet by storm? And why are they also
becoming an essential marketing ingredient?

The Benefits of Publishing Your Own Ebook

The cost of publishing and delivering an ebook is assumed by
no one -- neither the publisher nor the reader. There's no
postage, no waiting, no handling, no printing, and no hassles
involved. Best of all, people can download it almost instantly,
or ask for it through an autoresponder and receive it within a
matter of seconds. In short, the delivery is instantaneous.

While producing one may incur some costs (such as the cost
of a software program that compiles your ebook), it is very
little compared to its physical version. You only need one
copy. There's no need to mass-produce your book and pay for
the printing and distribution, let alone the physical storage
space it requires -- you may have to pay once but only once.

Self-publishing is on the rise. And since the web is a major
player in today's "information revolution," ebooks play active
roles in helping self-publishers to profit from it -- also known
as "infoproducts." Even non-publishers jump on the
bandwagon and create their own ebooks in order to use them
as promotional tools, traffic generators, lead generators or
back-end products.

If you want an ebook, there's no need to visit a bookstore or to
wait for it to arrive in the mail. Access is quick -- almost
instantaneous in most cases. And there's no need to read it
online or bookmark the site on which it appears, with the
possibility that it will be forgotten somehow. It remains on the
recipient's computer and can be read at his or her own pace.

Self-publishing also helps would-be writers and information
marketers to avoid many of the inconvenient hoops through
which one must go in order to get published in the real world.
There's no need to send a manuscript to some publishing
house in the hope that it will at least be considered, or to have
a literary agent promote your book idea for a commission.

Ebooks Are Powerful Promotional Tools

It is also safe to say that people will need to visit your website
in order to retrieve the free, valuable information that you
offer. And by the same token they are given the opportunity to
surf your site -- especially since they can read your book at a
later time. In that case, give a URL that they must visit in
order to download the book instead of the book by itself.

If you have a brochure or media kit, it can also be converted
into an ebook and thus carry more weight. Since "implication
is more powerful than specification," ebooks that act as
brochures or catalogues will be read more like educational
tools instead of self-serving, promotional ads. And
consequently, they will communicate your expertise more
effectively.

If you use a multi-step marketing process (as discussed in my
own ebook, "The 10 Commandments of Power Positioning,"
which can be downloaded for free at
http://SuccessDoctor.com/offer.htm ), ebooks can also become
powerful lead generators. People who ask for your book are in
fact qualifying themselves beforehand. They are leads of
higher quality, as they are far more interested than those who
you would have otherwise only assumed that are.

If you do use your ebook as a lead generator, don't offer it
directly to your visitors. Capture their information beforehand.
Use a form on your site in order for these leads to identify
themselves to you. Simultaneously, you can ask them if they
wish to be added to your mailing list (such as your ezine) or
do so in the subsequent "thank you" page.

More important, an ebook is an effective viral marketing tool,
either by itself or in concert with others. By giving away the
book for free you can also give the recipients the permission to
distribute your book freely among their own subscribers,
visitors, affiliates, and clients.

Another example is the fact that ebooks also make great gifts.
If you use referral systems such as the one at
http://SuccessDoctor.com/referral.htm , your book could be
used as an added incentive for others to use these referral
processes on your site. Also, ebooks can be used with contests,
surveys, subscriptions, special offers, giveaways and bonuses.

You can easily conduct a survey with your website visitors or
ezine subscribers -- especially for marketing research -- and
offer the book as a gift for their participation. In fact, it could
become a bonus item in order to entice visitors to subscribe to
your ezine or affiliate program.

Ebooks as a Source of Income

If you plan on selling your ebook, delivery can be automated
and even sales can be put on auto-pilot. Once your customers
buy for example, they can be redirected to a special URL
where they can download your book, transferred to a
password-protected web page that contains your book or
receive the ebook in an autoresponder email message (even as
an attachment).

For an idea of how you can accomplish this, think of the times
that you have come across certain online businesses selling
ebooks as part of their portfolio. You may have even stumbled
onto some websites that are exclusively dedicated to the sale
of self-published materials -- including ebook affiliate
programs. A great example is
http://bizweb2000.com/prod02.htm

As a lead generator, selling ebooks can become an even
greater qualifier. If a person is willing to pay for the lead
generator, chances are higher that he or she will pay for
subsequent products or services. Furthermore, ebooks don't
have to be sold directly. You can also sell them at wholesale --
in other words you sell licenses, not books (i.e., reprint rights).

You can generate revenue by selling advertising space in your
ebook or even use that space for cross-promotional purposes.
You can also generate additional revenues through joint
ventures by combining your book with the products or
services of strategic alliances.

But more important, you can develop your own affiliate
program in order to multiply your book sales. Your affiliates
are, like sales representatives, helping you to distribute your
materials almost effortlessly -- especially since the
commission structure can be higher than the norm due to the
low (or no) cost of producing your book. You can use tracking
programs such as:

http://affiliatetracking.com,

http://www.affiliatezone.com,

http://www.commission-junction.com

Information Sources for Ebooks

Ebook compiling software is one with which you are able to
transform your documents (created with either a word
processor or HTML editor) into a single, self-executable file.
People can simply click on the one file to read your ebook.
Sites that offer such compiling programs (at varying prices)
include:

InfoCourier -- http://www.smartcode.com/

WebCompiler -- http://www.webcompiler.com/

Hyper Maker HTML -- http://www.bersoft.com/

Acrobat --
http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/main.html

E-Ditorial -- http://www.e-ditorial.com/

Web-Source -- http://www.web-source.net/

BookLocker -- http://www.booklocker.com/

Publicity guru Phil Wiley offers a great synopsis and a review
of these various programs on his website (see
http://www.ozemedia.com/ebooks.htm ). But if you want to
produce your own ebook at no cost at all, you have two
options:

Create your ebook in HTML (as you would an ordinary
website) and place all the files in one downloadable zipped
(e.g., ebook.zip) file;

Use KeeBoo (it's freeware) at http://www.keeboo.com (they
offer a user-friendly HTML compiler with a nice drag-and-
drop feature, an integrated library and URL tracker, a
highlighter and a notepad);

Or use HTMLDOC (a free PDF file compiler, Adobe's file
format, that makes your ebook viewable in browsers on both
PC and Macintosh platforms), which can be downloaded at
http://www.easysw.com/ .

Once your ebook is ready for distribution or if you plan to
conduct a contest where your book is the prize, you can write
a news release that announces either your new book or your
contest. Then submit your news release to the media, ezine
publishers, book reviewers, list moderators and webmasters.

Moreover, you should submit your ebook (or news release
announcing your ebook) to the following websites -- sites that
exist for the express purpose of offering free stuff or making
free contest announcements:

http://www.download.com

http://www.thefreesite.com

http://www.free-stuff.com

http://www.free2try.com

http://www.freehound.com

http://www.free-sweepstakes.com

http://www.huronline.com

And http://www.freecontests.com

You can also take one or two of your ebook's chapters and use
them as teasers, or even convert parts of your book into
separate, distinct articles that you can submit to other ezines
read by your target market. Conversely, you can take a bunch
of your articles and compile them (or articles of others, with
the permission of their authors) to compile your ebook.

As for writing a book from scratch, don't rack your brains over
it. Just write. Let it flow. Do some research and gather useful
information that you can use or on which you can write -- but
don't ignore copyright issues, though. Reference your material.
Use footnotes, or add a bibliography or a links page at the end.
Start with an outline if you think it's necessary.

Once done, you can then edit your book. However, if you still
don't feel comfortable with your command of the written
word, you can simply find an editor who would be willing to
edit your book in exchange for some free exposure (such as
with an acknowledgment and link in the ebook). If the editor
understands viral marketing, he or she probably won't mind =)

-------------------------

About the Author

Michael Fortin is an author, speaker and marketing consultant
dedicated to turning businesses into powerful magnets. Visit
http://SuccessDoctor.com . He is also the editor of the "Internet
Marketing Chronicles" delivered weekly to 125,000
subscribers -- subscribe free at
http://SuccessDoctor.com/IMC/