Does My Business Need an eBook?

You may already recognize the value of custom written content for your business, but it can be challenging to nail down which specific types of content you need to effectively promote your company and give consumers the information they need. An eBook may be something that you have considered, but you might be unsure if it’s really worth the investment—after all, will anyone even read it?

If you publish a high-quality, well-researched, engaging eBook, chances are it will get read and shared. However, writing an eBook is not something that happens overnight. eBooks are so named for a reason: They are long. Most eBooks will be at least 20 pages, but some are full-length books simply converted to an electronic format. And, you need to be sure that the eBook your business puts its name on fits the professional theme of your branding and offers something that readers will want to engage with. So, we’ll take a look at the possible perks of an eBook to help you recognize if it is going to be worth publishing one for your business.

Signs You Can Benefit from an eBook

Almost any subject can be the basis of an eBook, so businesses in any industry may benefit. If any of the following signs are familiar to you, it’s probably worth commissioning an eBook to make available for download on your website.

You have a successful blog series you want to expand on.

Often, eBooks are not completely original. They may come from existing written content that deserves more depth on the subject. For example, if you’ve posted an ongoing blog series that has gotten a lot of reactions on your website and shares on social media, then that might be the basis for a more detailed eBook that covers the same subjects on a deeper level.

You have content ideas that are too big for a blog.

Blogging is a great way to regularly post content related to your business and build a base of followers, but it is not the only type of content that matters. And, it is not always appropriate as a medium for certain subjects. If you have content ideas that are not easily boiled down into a few hundred or even a few thousand words, an eBook may be a better option. For example, if you run an accounting firm, you might consider publishing an eBook on how startups can find seed money to grow their businesses or how to manage their first year of bookkeeping for a small business. These subjects deserve in-depth instructions and analysis to get the right information to your audience, so you will want to invest in a long-form medium where you won’t be limited in the knowledge you can share.

Your customers are constantly asking for more info about a product or service your business offers.

Another sign that it’s time to write an eBook for your business is when existing customers or potential customers are constantly asking to learn more about a given product or service. Let’s face it: Some businesses are not things that everyone knows about, so customers may need more background before making any purchase decisions. B2B businesses are a perfect example, as their services are specialized and not something that regularly gets shopped for, so more information is a must.

Perks of Publishing an eBook

With an eBook, you’ll have another branding opportunity to grow the professional image of your company and increase your exposure. Especially if you utilize custom graphics and design for the eBook layout, you can put out a product that reflects your business’s mission while offering valuable information to your current and future clients.

Expand Your Content Offerings

Any new content you add to your website will increase the number of indexed pages on the site, which work to boost your visibility in terms of SEO. While the eBook itself won’t consist of indexable pages, the download page for the book can add some SEO juice to your site and boost traffic, since people will come to your website just to download the eBook.

Create a Gated Content Opportunity

When you have an eBook available on your site, you can just make it readily available for download, or you can gate the content, meaning that users must provide something in return, such as signing up for an email newsletter or participating in a survey. These extra steps can provide you with useful data to further shape your marketing strategy, allowing you to continue driving up your visibility online as well as your profitability. Alternatively, you can create a revenue stream through the eBook itself by listing it for purchase on your site rather than a gated content piece.

What to Remember When You Publish an eBook

If you want to fully tap into the benefits of an eBook for your business, your first step will be to hire a professional writer. Even with a clear vision of what you want the finished product to look like, you may find yourself needing much more time than you imagined to get the book written and formatted correctly. A professional writer will allow you to get the project done without having to dedicate hours of your own time each day. Additionally, you will want to remember a few other key facts when you are looking to publish an eBook.

eBooks are not sales pitches.

The goal of your eBook should be to provide useful, helpful, or interesting information to your readers, which can in turn influence their purchase decisions later.

eBook content is valuable, so think twice before simply giving it away.

Consider rolling an eBook into a larger marketing plan, such as the launch of a newsletter – new signups for the newsletter can be prompted by gated eBook downloads.

eBooks should be more than just words.

Design elements should be incorporated to make the whole book more readable and approachable, and the layout should be logical and easy to search, so readers can find exactly what they’re looking for with ease.

To find the writer with the research skills and eye for design you need to put together a professional, share-worthy eBook, use Writers Work to post job listings or browse profiles of freelancers currently looking for work in our Writers Marketplace. It’s never been easier to find exceptional writers for your business than it is with Writers Work.