There’s no denying the appeal of ebooks: sleek and lightweight, these can live on your iPad or Kindle and are so popular that they even outsell physical books on Amazon. While a major moneymaker for publishers, ebooks also have great applications for your marketing strategy. So what are the advantages of ebooks, and how can they enhance your content marketing?

One quick answer: sales leads.

Relationships are a key part of sales in B2B, and giving information away for free in an ebook is a great way to build up trust — a key part of any business relationship — with potential customers. See how this works its way into serving your brand!

There’s Value in Information

Consider this three-step process: 1) Teach me, don’t sell me. 2) Teach me something valuable and I will trust you. 3) When I trust you, I’ll probably buy from you.

Ebooks can offer a wealth of information, and if the content speaks to a base’s needs, you’ll have hooked them and make them want to learn more from — and work with — you.

Bulk Up Your Mailing List

One of the other advantages of ebooks is that they can beef up your mailing list with qualified leads. Provide the ebook to people who opt-in by giving you their contact information, and you’ll gain access to a pool of people who are already interested in your industry and products. Plus, since ebooks are designed to be read on a screen, they are perfect for marketing to today’s omnichannel shoppers.  

Find Your Niche and Dive Into It

What should you write about in your ebook? Be the expert your title says you are, and talk about what you already know — and what you know well. Some good places to start are industry trends, how-to explainers, or unique insights about your industry that outsiders may not be privy to. The more you can lean into a specific niche, the easier it will be to attract a target market. 

Release Books Serially

You don’t have to be a big company or partner with an existing publishing brand to be successful with ebooks, but what you can do is release content serially. This disperses information in waves and gives you time to build an audience and reframe strategies as you go. Brand the series, because it’s not just the written content that matters. Packaging counts, too, so maximize the impact of your information by using visual elements like charts and graphics. You do not necessarily need to hire a designer, but at least make some graphs in Excel to give your data the extra “oomph” in the interest department.

Make Sure You Are Solving a Problem

The purpose of ebooks in content marketing is to solve a problem or fill a need in the market: a prospective customer needs information and you provide it for them. Consider what areas your customers may need information in and then think like a publisher to articulate these answers or ideas in engaging ways. Avoid writing your ebooks like whitepapers. Whitepapers tend to be boring. Instead, be creative and unleash the power of storytelling to make your ebooks interesting.

How will you harness the advantages of ebooks in your content marketing strategy? Reach out and we’ll work with you on customizing an ebook so you can gain new followers and up your brand awareness.