Enhancing Site Traffic with
Easy Ebooks
It seems like free ebooks are
everywhere on the web today, so much so that it
will soon be a waste of time to go to the
bookstore or even to the library. If you know
where to look, you'll find ebooks on every
conceivable subject: search engine optimization,
herbal medicine, pet food, collectibles,
practical law, building miniatures, travel – the
list goes on and on.
It's an impressive thing to have
an ebook downloadable from your site. The secret
here: you can do the same thing, even if you
don't have any real writing talent.
Creating Special Reports
If you already run articles on
your website or within your emailed newsletter,
you already have most of the content for an
ebook. If not you can even have a book written
for you by a professional writer for
surprisingly reasonable rates.
The key is that you want to have
easily-accessible, useful information that your
customer can't get any other way. This starts
with the best content you already have on your
site. Compile that, put a good table of contents
on it, index it if you know how (pretty simple
in MS Word), give it a nice cover and put in a
copyright page, then PDF the whole thing.
The PDF is the hardest part;
most people don't keep full copies of Adobe
Acrobat lying around. If you want to create PDFs
for free, download a free copy of OpenOffice;
it's fully compatible with MS Word and will
create PDFs for you with its own software.
Give Away Ebooks and Reports
Now you're ready to give away
your ebook. Why give it away? Because it's a
marketing tool. If you've created your report
properly, it's composed of articles that are on
your website anyway; you've just repackaged it
into an easy-to-use format.
What you're really doing is
giving away recycled information – information
that costs you nothing because you already own
it. In addition, the information you're giving
away should have your information everywhere
inside the book. In particular, your name and
the name of your website should be on the front
cover.
But don't just give it away to
your own customers; they've already read most of
the articles anyway. Instead, give it away to
people who have never been to your site. Better
yet, put it where other people can give it away
to people who've never been to your site. This
is a form of viral marketing.
Upload your ebook to an article
directory. These are large repositories of
articles and ebooks, free for anyone to use
provided they include a resource box with your
name and web address along with the free item.
Every time someone downloads
your book and puts it on a website, you get a
free link back to your website from someone
you've never met. And every time one of this
person's site visitors sees your book, they also
see your name and web address.
Link Back To Your Site
You should also link back to
your site frequently throughout the book. Don't
cheat and leave important information out so
that the reader has to click to read it all;
instead, give them a full dose and a teaser:
"For more information about XXXX, go to
www.bjweb.com."
This is especially important for
people who've downloaded it from other sites
besides yours; it gives them a real incentive to
go to your site.
You should also place a
resources list at the end of the book, just
before the index. Don't be greedy here; give the
reader good resources that you use yourself, as
long as they aren't direct competitors or
otherwise could impact your sales.
But include your own website as
well, noting that it is your website and you
have much more information on this topic there.
Instant Guru Status
Once your book has been included
on someone else's website, you are accorded
Instant Guru Status. That is, other people in
your niche industry (particularly if it's a very
focused one) will start noticing and recognizing
your name.
You may start getting odd emails
asking you questions about your specialty.
Always answer them. A guru is there to impart
wisdom and knowledge. But gurus also make much
more money in the long run than people who are
in your niche just to make a buck.