Deciding to Write an eBook
Whether fiction or nonfiction, electronic books (ebooks) remain an effective method for marketing your writing or expertise. Similarly, ebooks inform others about you as a business owner of a particular product (e.g. novel) or service (e.g. consulting). Digital books are the simplest way to reach niche audiences. They also serve as marketing tools, proving your level of knowledge in a given field (nonfiction), or to entice a new fan (fiction).
In the nonfiction arena, people read books to answer some question(s) regarding a specific topic (i.e. niche). Books are where writers demonstrate their authority about a subject/niche. Nonfiction readers diligently read to pursue answers to their questions, learn about subjects piquing their curiosity. Success centers around delivering solid content about your subject or niche to your readers. Over delivering on the material isn’t a problem; go for it. But, where to begin?
Baby Steps
Author a short book first. Shorter books are ideal for getting started in the eBook arena. Write about your niche topic on a smaller scale such that it generates interest in your readers to learn more. Overviews are always a good place to start and help introduce potential customers to your area of ‘expertise.’ Seasoned ebook writers often package their niche works as ‘reports.’ Write ten to twenty pages of your book and include some images. Potential customers won’t mind paying ten, twenty dollars for a twenty-page book—if it’s packed with quality material. With fiction, an ebook featuring chapter one of your novel fits the bill. Start small: write a mini ebook, get a ‘feel’ for the ebook generation and distribution process and grow from there.
Once your intro-to-niche ebook is out there, the follow-up work shouldn’t be far behind. This ebook gets into more detail related to your niche, provides a little more ‘meat’ to chew on and show more of your specialized knowledge on a subject. With planning and organizing follow-up ebooks, use the lessons learned and experience gained from composing your shorter, ‘overview-intro’ ebook.
Sign of the Times
Print books are a traditional medium not likely to ‘die out’ any time soon. But the technological immediacy of ebooks supports and addresses how times have changed. Producing a twenty-page print book for sale won’t likely be cost effective. An ebook, on the other hand, is much easier to create and format into a finished product. It’s ‘ready’ for distribution almost as easily as clicking ‘Save.’ As such, ebooks have more promising cost effectiveness. Don’t be afraid to test the waters with an ebook. It’s a great way to foster your expertise and believability with the net community.
An added benefit is the exposure. Even on a small scale, your mini ebook will make people aware, possibly bring them to your site. Just remember: it’ll depend on the quality of the product you create.
