• Before You Start: You use social media for your business.
• Learning level: 4 | Creating Solutions
• Article Last Updated: Friday, December 2, 2011

Ebooks And Social Media

Ebooks provide a great way to share information with your current and potential customers. They are easy to promote and distribute through social media to your online community.

There are two different types of ebooks people talk about using the same name. The type I’m talking about today are the PDF files that you create and people download to their own computers. In this post, I’m not talking about ebooks for e-readers like the Kindle or Nook.

I published my first business ebook more than three years ago. Since then, they have become an important part of how I share information with my online community. Here’s an overview of what I’ve learned from own experiences and from watching how other people create, use, and distribute ebooks.

Define Your Business Goal

You must be clear about the business goal for your ebook. For example:

• Do you want to increase your visibility by writing an ebook that a lot of people will want to read?
• Do you want to increase your email newsletter subscriber list?
• Do you want to prove your expertise so people want to purchase your products and services?

The business goal for your ebook is a major factor in the following types of decisions:

• Will you give away your ebook or charge for it?
• Will you make your ebook available for anyone to download (low threshold), or will you require them to subscribe to your newsletter or join your website (high threshold).
• What topics will you include or exclude? If you want people to purchase your products and services, you only want to give them a taste of what you share in those items.

There is one really important idea you must understand to add a successful ebook to your business. Your ebook must serve your community. It’s not about you showing off what you know. It’s also not about cashing in on your online community. It’s about giving people something that solves problems, improves their lives, and inspires them. If your ebook meets that criteria, it won’t matter if you give it away or charge for it. Your ebook will build loyal fans in your online community.

Make sure your ebook provides real value to your community.

Create Your Ebook

The most important aspect of your ebook is the content. It’s not enough for you to write about something you know and are passionate about in your ebook.

You must always keep in mind your reader.

• What does your reader already know about this subject?
• What does your reader need to learn about this subject?
• How can you help your reader solve a real business (or personal) challenge with your ebook?

You know the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover, ” but in truth, people will evaluate your ebook by the way it looks. You can have the best content in the world on your topic, but if your ebook doesn’t look professional, people will discount the contents.

It’s important that your ebook has a clean, functional layout, consistent design throughout, and that all language and grammar errors are removed.

I don’t know anyone who has all of the skills needed to create a great ebook alone. Start looking now for people who can help you with the parts that challenge you. You may have to pay for their services, or you may be able to work out a barter or collaboration deal with them.

Distribution Decisions

Before you tell the world about your ebook, you have to get your distribution mechanisms in place. For example:

• Your ebook is free. Write a blog post that explains the features and benefits of your ebook to your target audience. Include a link to the ebook file with a download button. You may also want to add your ebook to your blog sidebar for increased visibility.
• You require a sign up. Write a blog post about your ebook, and include the sign up form at the bottom of the post. Set up the form with your membership software or email list service. Mention your ebook in your blog sidebar with a link to this blog post.
• Purchase required. Write a blog post that explains the features and benefits of your ebook and include an e-commerce link in the post. Depending on your site, you may add a purchase button at the bottom of the post, or a link to the ebook inside the e-commerce portion of your site. This is the most complicated option, and may require additional technical assistance. You also want to make your product visible to all of your site and blog visitors.

It’s critical that you test your distribution before you tell the world about your ebook! Make sure that you have things set up correctly and that your customers will have a smooth experience getting your ebook. I can’t stress this enough! Test it many times.

Launch Your Ebook

After you complete your ebook and have the distribution system ready, it’s time to tell the world. There are many websites, ebooks, books, and courses online today to help you successfully launch your new ebook. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

Instead of saying “you must get my amazing new ebook,” focus on the features and benefits your ebook provides to its readers. Talk about the problems your ebook solves. Go back to your writing decisions when you were thinking about the readers, and emphasize those points in your launch.

In general, you want to use all of your social media and customer communication tools to spread the news.

• Use your existing tools and publication devices (blog, mailing list, website, etc.) to announce your ebook to the world.
• Send notices to people who can share your ebook with their audience (bloggers, authors, PR agencies, customers, etc.)
• Post notices using your social media tools. Post it on your Facebook wall, share it on LinkedIn, and tweet about it.
• Include ebook information in your email signature.

It’s really important that you don’t do anything that seems spammy. If it seems like it might be spammy, don’t do it. For example, don’t send an auto direct message (DM) to your new Twitter followers with an ad for your ebook!

Related Articles:

• Getting Started With Ebooks
• It’s Not Obvious To Anyone Else
• Find Social Media Topics For Your Business
• Talk About Your Business (Part 2)
• Social Media Press Releases

• Before You Start: You use social media for your business.
• Learning level: 2 | Getting Started
• Article Last Updated: Friday, December 2, 2011

Getting Started With Ebooks

I published my first business ebook in 2008. Since then, they have become an important part of how I share information with my online community.

Here’s a behind the scenes look at the process I go through to create and publish my ebooks. Use this information as a checklist to start your ebook publishing journey.

Why Ebooks?

Your company has a message, and ebooks can be a great publishing tool to reach your audience for these reasons.

• There are no printing costs.
• There is no distribution cost if you already have a website, email services, or social media accounts.
• You don’t need to court and win the affection of a publisher to go to market.
• The information becomes available to your audience quickly, while it is still timely.
• The popularity of e-readers opens up another publishing option for reaching a wide audience.

What Kind Of Ebook?

You can create an ebook that becomes a PDF (portable document format) file that people download and read on their own computers. You can also create an ebook for e-readers like the Kindle or Nook. Or, you can write the same ebook and publish it both ways.

I publish all of my ebooks as a PDF file that people download to their computers. I prefer this publication format for several reasons:

• It is the easiest to produce. All you need is a way to create a PDF file from your completed document.
• PDFs don’t require my customers to have any special equipment.
• My ebooks can be read on the computer screen or printed out.

I have prepared and submitted ebooks for the Kindle for clients, but not for my own business.  In general, the process of converting your completed ebook to an e-reader format is more complicated than you might imagine. You may need to purchase conversion software or hire someone to help clean up your converted file so your book displays properly in the reader. Also, you have to complete the conversion process for each of the most popular e-readers because they don’t use the same file formats.

For simplicity, I recommend that you start by creating a PDF ebook to learn how to write and distribute ebooks. You have enough to learn your first time through this process without adding that layer of technology puzzle to your challenge.

Design Before You Write

Before you start writing your ebook, there are many design decisions that impact how you write your ebook. These questions will help to guide you through the content design issues.

• What business goal does your ebook support?
• Out of all the information you could share, what information will give you the most benefit?
• Who is your audience?
• What does your audience need to know about this subject, and what do they already know?
• Will you design the layout yourself, or will you hire someone to design for you?
• Will you write the content yourself? Who will provide proofreading and editing services?
• What action do you want your audience members to take after they read your ebook?

I can’t stress enough the importance of a good layout and editing to give your ebook a professional look.

In addition, you need to think about the presentation design for your ebook. These decisions impact how your finished ebook looks to your readers.

• Will your readers mostly print your ebook, read it on a computer monitor, or use an e-reader?
• Should you build in controls to help readers navigate your ebook (PDF ebooks only).
• If your content includes pictures and images, how will you incorporate them on the page?
• How often will you use headings to break up your paragraphs?
• How will you include supporting and additional information not in your ebook?

Develop The Content

Once you have decided these issues, you are ready to start the writing process. While writing, stay focused on these issues to keep your writing clear and effective.

• We live in text-message and tweet world. Brevity is the key to engaging your audience.
• Write in chunks so people can skim easily.
• Stay focused on your business goals.
• Keep your audience in mind with every sentence you write.
• Use pictures and images to convey as much content as possible.

Layout And Publishing

You can use almost any word processing or layout software to create your ebook. While there are tools that make layout easy, like Adobe InDesign, they are expensive and a challenge for new users to learn.  You should use a tool you know to make the writing, layout, and publishing process easy for you. For example, you could use:

• Microsoft Publisher, PowerPoint, or Word
• Apple Keynote or Page

After you complete the writing, you need to convert your ebook into a PDF file. There are many software tools and services that can help you quickly and easily create a PDF.

You may decide later to distribute it for e-readers like the Kindle or Nook. There is an additional layout process to prepare your ebook for these services. Contact each service to learn their requirements. There are software tools and services that can help you prepare you ebook for e-reader distribution, also.

Copyright And Distribution

The copyright decision you make determines how your PDF ebook can be distributed by others. I’m not qualified to give intellectual property advice, but I recommend that you check out the options available with a Creative Commons license. I’ve given some of my ebooks a Creative Commons license so my readers can legally distribute my ebook to others.

Your business goal for your PDF ebook impacts your distribution options.

• Free. Make you ebook available free and easy with a website download. This option is the easiest to set up and may give you the widest possible distribution.
• Free with a catch. Make your ebook available only if people give you their contact information (or they sign up for your newsletter, blog updates, or RSS feed).
• Purchase required. Sell your ebook from your website or from ebook distribution services like Amazon. This option may be the most technically challenging to set up the payment service and

Do Your Research

I’ve given you the information you need to get started creating your first ebook. But before you travel too far down this road, take some time to really research the options out there.

• Read as many ebooks as possible.
• Make a list of smart things other people do in their ebooks and with their distribution.
• Read David Meerman Scott’s book, ebooks, and blog.
• Read Seth Godin’s books, ebooks, and blog.
• Get educated about copyrights, intellectual property, and Creative Commons licenses.

Related Articles:

• Travel Channel’s Social Media Smarts
• Free Ebook: Twitter For Beginners
• Talk About Your Business (Part 2)

• Before You Start: You want to start using Twitter. Some of the topics make more sense after you have a little experience using Twitter.
• Learning Level: 1 | Social Media Basics
• Article Last Updated: Tuesday, August 2, 2011

New Version Available!

I wrote the original version of the Twitter for Beginners ebook back in February 2009. Since then, Twitter has grown and evolved, and so has my ebook! Now 32 pages long, this short guide explains everything you need to know to begin using Twitter or to master the basic features of Twitter to talk with your online community.

If this is your first time learning about this ebook, you should read the full ebook description! If you are here to pick up an updated copy, here’s the link:

What’s New In This Edition

This is the seventh version of this ebook and is updated and expanded from the previous version. It is one page longer, and now includes information about using new Twitter and its features. If you have an older version, download the new version today!

Download Now!

Related Articles:

• Twitter Is Like Attending A Party
• Understanding Your Twitter Community
• Twitter Profile Checklist
• Your Twitter Web Link Options
• Twitter Search and Saved Searches
• Grow Your Twitter Community
• Communicate With Your Twitter Community
• Help! My Twitter Account is Suspended!!
• Twitter Conversation Checklist
• 6 Reasons Why Potential Customers Won’t Follow You on Twitter
• Using Your Twitter Goals

• Before You Start: You want to start using Twitter. Some of the topics make more sense after you have a little experience using Twitter.
• Learning Level: 1 | Social Media Basics
• Article Last Updated: Wednesday, August 17, 2011
• Ebook Last Updated: May 13, 2011

Twitter For Beginners Ebook

Note: Updated version (version 7) is now available!

Twitter is a great communication tool for companies who want to embrace social media. But Twitter is something brand new, and is unlike anything else you have ever used. That makes it a little harder to understand at first. The Twitter For Beginners ebook is designed for anyone who is thinking about using Twitter, or anyone who has jumped into the Twitter swimming pool but isn’t happy with their Twitter experience.

Ebook Contents

This short ebook (only 32 pages) covers the basics and explains many of the Twitter features. Here’s some of what you learn in the Twitter For Beginners ebook:

• Basic overview of Twitter and how it works
• Importance of defining your Twitter business goal
• Best practices for setting up your Twitter account profile
• Strategies for defining your Twitter community
• Guidelines for crafting effective messages
• Procedures for using each message type
• Deciphering message components and their importance
• Planning weekly activities that build your Twitter success
• Start using Twitter on your text-message enabled cell phone

Reading & Printing

The ebook is designed to be read on your monitor. You can read it online, or you can download it to your computer and read it there. You can click on any of the links (in orange) to access the articles and information mentioned. If you don’t want to read it on your screen, you can print the ebook, but you won’t be able to click the links.

Share This Ebook

This ebook has the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. This means you can email it, print it, tweet about it, post it on your Facebook wall, and share it any way you like with two exceptions. You must not change the ebook in any way, and you cannot sell it.

What’s New In This Edition

This is the seventh version of this ebook and is updated and expanded from the previous version. It is one page longer, and now includes information about using new Twitter and its features. If you have an older version, download the new version today!

Download Now!

Related Articles:

• Twitter Is Like Attending A Party
• Understanding Your Twitter Community
• Twitter Profile Checklist
• Your Twitter Web Link Options
• Twitter Search and Saved Searches
• Grow Your Twitter Community
• Communicate With Your Twitter Community
• Help! My Twitter Account is Suspended!!
• Twitter Conversation Checklist
• 6 Reasons Why Potential Customers Won’t Follow You on Twitter
• Using Your Twitter Goals

It’s been several weeks in the making, but I’m pleased to announce today that my ebook, Twitter For Beginners, is freshly updated and ready for distribution! I first published this ebook a year ago. This is the fourth update since that original publication.

The Twitter For Beginners ebook is designed for anyone who is thinking about using Twitter, or anyone who has jumped into the Twitter swimming pool but isn’t happy with their Twitter experience.

Twitter seems very simple on the surface, but it actually takes a bit of effort to wrap your head around it. It’s a totally new way to communicate. The people who developed Twitter pulled together features from email, chat, IM and other communication tools to create something new. In the short time since Twitter appeared on the scene, the concept of status updating has become ubiquitous and has impacted almost every other social media tool on the planet. Pretty impressive stuff for a simple tool like Twitter.

Here’s some of what you learn in the Twitter For Beginners ebook:

• Framework for understanding and using Twitter’s features
• Importance of defining your Twitter business goal
• Best practices for setting up your Twitter account profile
• Strategies for defining your Twitter community
• Guidelines for crafting effective messages
• Procedures for using each message type
• Deciphering message components and their importance
• Planning weekly activities that build your Twitter success
• Start using Twitter on your text-message enabled cell phone

This ebook has the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. This means you can email it, print it, tweet about it, post it on your Facebook wall, and share it any way you like with two exceptions. You must not change the ebook in any way, and you cannot sell it.

Let me know how you like it!