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At Chilli, we love a good eBook, so much so that we have published 13 of our own and countless editions for our clients. eBooks are a fantastic way to really explore a single topic in great detail. As a valuable lead generation tool, they are a must for any inbound marketing strategy employed by your organisation. For a marketing and communications agency like Chilli, a lot of our eBooks are based around Inbound Marketing, Social Media, Creativity, and Branding, in an effort to provide useful information to our clients and website visitors. No matter what your industry or area of expertise, you can create an engaging and insightful eBook of your very own. Here’s how:

Step 1: Choose a topic

The goal of an eBook is to generate and nurture leads; therefore, you should pick a topic that will interest your readers/clients, and prompt them to act  (i.e. starting a conversation with your team). Think about what your area of expertise is as an organisation, and what it is your clients are looking for, and develop content that connects the two.

Step 2: Plan and outline your content

The introduction is vital for establishing the contents of your eBook to the reader. It is important to address what your eBook will cover, and what benefit the reader will receive after reading it. An effective way to approach your content planning is to think of each page as a new blog post. While the eBook will be focused on a single topic (i.e. inbound marketing), each page should address a new and exciting element of that topic (i.e. content creation, marketing automation, lead generation). Overall, the content does not need to be too lengthy. Either eight (8) or ten (10) pages would suffice. The important thing is to outline enough information to educate your audience about the topic.

Step 3: Write your content copy

The language you use is very important. Don’t be too sophisticated or academic; instead, keep it simple, clear, and concise. The same language rules apply here as they do with email marketing, blogging, website copy, and call-to-actions. Utilising keywords to trigger SEO is an effective writing tool to utilise when writing your eBook. This will help boost your content online, particularly with Google search rankings.

Step 4: Design the eBook

Generally speaking, design and writing skills don’t always go hand in hand. This is where you may need to ask for help from the graphic designers in your office, or the local printing house. However, designing an eBook is largely about content structure, about making the content easy to create and consume. Personally, I like to sketch out in two columns my pages and assign content to each. If you are running short on content and want to emphasise the creative and visual aspects; highlighting a ‘hero’ page with a large image and pull quote can be an effective tool. This page will also give the readers a quick break too.

Step 5: Choose the right colour palette

Ideally, you want your visuals and colours to match that of your company’s branding (i.e. align with the design of all marketing collateral and the company website). For more information on selecting colour palettes that will work for your business, check out our blog “Colour Theory: How To Create A Rainbow” here.

Step 7: Highlight pull quotes and statistics

Enhancing important quotes and statistics by highlighting them within the design of your eBook can be a highly effective tool. But it is important to only use quotes or statistics that will add value to your content and topic. It is important to note that these pull quotes or statistics must first be mentioned within the body of your copy, then ‘pulled’ out and highlighted on their own with a hero image, for example, to really emphasise the point being made.

Step 8: Include an appropriate Call-To-Action

Call-To-Actions (CTAs) are vital for prompting your readers to do something. They would have followed a CTA to read your eBook in the first place. Now you must give them a CTA after they have read the book, to act further. Whether it be to get in touch with your organisation, share with a friend, or to find out more about the topic of the eBook, your readers will need a push in the right direction.

Step 9: Develop a dedicated landing page

The best way to ensure readers can access your content with ease is to make it available on a dedicated landing page from your website. This landing page will promote and describe your eBook, and provide a dedicated form that visitors will need to fill out with their contact details, in order for them to download. This is an effective inbound marketing strategy, and will significantly aid in tracking your readers online, making it easier for you to convert website visitors into business leads (and potentially sales).

Step 10: Promote!

Now that your eBook is all ready to go, promote it! Send a dynamic eBook link to your eNewsletter subscribers, promote the eBook via your social media networks, advertise your eBook on your website, or create a dedicated blog about your eBook. There are so many different ways to get your information out there to your clients and potential new leads. Leveraging these channels effectively will ensure your eBook’s success.

What are you waiting for? Start writing your very own eBook today! To learn more about the partnership of content and context, download our FREE Inbound Marketing Methodology eBook here, and get your very own eBook started in the right direction.