Jan
How to Write an eBook
As I mentioned in my previous post, the hardest part of writing is the first sentence. Same thing can be said when trying to create an eBook. eBooks are great ways to showcase your knowledge on a particular subject. You don’t need to write a 250 page book, but write a more focused eBook on a particular niche. Provide useful information, and you’ll have yourself a successful eBook that can be used for effective viral marketing purposes. You can even sell your eBooks if you feel the quality is worth it, and you’re not concerned with the viral aspect of a free eBook.
When viewing this as a whole project or from an overall perspective, it’s going to seem daunting and you may procrastinate or decide against compiling an eBook. When putting together your idea for an eBook, it’s important to break things down. You can do this by topic or section. As with anything, you’re road to a complete eBook may be bumpy with detours, but the only way to the finish line is by going step-by-step.
The first step in compiling an eBook, is deciding on your topic. It’s helpful if you’re knowledgeable in the topic beforehand. This way you can provide useful insight for your readers and it showcases your skill as an expert in the field. Once you have identified your target market and topic, then you’ll want to get organized. Set up folder on your desktop. Add notes, ideas, and images if you’d like, also compile a list of resources you plan on using. Keep things organized and well structured from the beginning, and it will pay dividends in the end.
When you’re prepared to start writing your eBook, its helpful if you have a working title in mind. Helpful, but not neccessary. Having a title helps your writing focus and keeps your overall story in perspective. Your titles should be clever, but concise. Always strive for clarity in your titles so reader’s will know the topic by reading the title.
Whether you’ve settled on a title or not, you’ll next want to focus on a thesis statement. This doesn’t necessarily have to be something that’s published in your eBook. Your thesis statement should be short, two or three sentences, and define the topic you are addressing. Typically you want to identify a problem and how your book will help solve that problem. Chapter ideas will spring from your thesis statement. Once this thesis is fine-tuned, you’ve built the foundation for your eBook. This foundation will allow your eBook to grow chapter by chapter. It’s important to remember that all chapters must support your thesis statement. This will help you keep focused while writing your eBook.
Something that most eBook authors fail to do, is keep your eBook user friendly. Your writing needs to remain engaging. Images, advice, tips, photos, graphics, testimonials and anecdotes are successful ways to keep readers reading. You can also include cliff notes on the side for quick access to information that help break up the density of the pages. Since eBooks are read on screen, its important to give your readers eyes a break.An effective strategy for this is using bullted and numbered lists. This makes information easy to absorb and provides the necessary mental break from paragraph after paragraph of information.
When you’re putting the final touches on your book, you should ask yourselves these questions:
Does your book present useful information and is that information currently relevant?
Will the book positively affect the lives of your readers?
Is your book dynamic and will it keep the reader’s attention?
Does you book answer questions that are meaningful and significant?
If you can answer yes to these questions, you can feel confident about the potential of your new ebook.
Once you have your eBook written, don’t forget to spell check and proof read for any minor punctuation errors. You can ruin a promosing eBook with poor grammar and run-on sentences. Lastly, you need to focus on an eye catching design. Find a font that’s readable and stick to it. Using dozens of fonts will just tire your readers before they even open your eBook.
When you have your eBook complete, you can determine your goals in terms of publishing. Will this be something you sell as a product, or will you offer it for free in exchange for completing a survey or signing up for a newsletter. Do you plan on creating an e-course, or will you use the ebook to attract affiliates? Chances are, if you have yourself a quality eBook you’ll find success with it one way or another.
Justin McGill is a web marketing professional and runs a successful Small Business SEO Firm. He is the founder and CEO of SEORCHERS (read: [surch-ers]) - a local web marketing firm specializing in organic search engine optimization (SEO) with a focus on converting visitors into clients. He is available for SEO Consulting and now you can connect with him on Google+!.
