Should you write an e-book? Admit it: you’ve thought about it.
The publishing revolution has democratized the book industry. No longer must a writer find an agent, wait for months or years as an agent shops the idea to publishers and then go through the edits necessary to make the book marketable to the publisher’s already established niche markets. Writers don’t depend on publishers for distribution or marketing. In fact, even traditional publishers today leave marketing largely up to the writer. In short, if you’re earnest about creating an ebook, there’s nothing standing in your way.
Today anyone can publish an e-book, and many people are writing an ebook. In fact, 1,000,000 or so e-books are published in the US alone every year. With so many e-books available for sale and download, is it worthwhile for you to spend time writing an e-book and publishing one yourself?
As an inbound marketing company in BrookIn, we think in many cases, yes. And here’s why:
Writing an e-book establishes you as an expert in your field.
With a book credit to your name, you gain credibility as a thought leader in your field or industry. You can add “author” to your list of credentials, and this can be very important, especially in some industries, especially ones that focuses on content creaton With a book to show your prospects, you may even be able to command higher rates. Even if people don’t necessarily read your e-book, the fact that you’ve written one will get you noticed.
An e-book gives you a solid social media platform.
With inbound marketing, you want to show up in as many corners of the online universe as possible. Writing an e-book will help you to spread your online presence and provide knowledge to your audience. Not only will you have more to offer on your own website or blog, but you can also establish a presence on social media or other sites like Amazon, the Apple Store, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and a host of other sites where people look for information. You can do this with the help of a marketing agency.
An e-book can help you to grow your fan base.
If you’ve been looking for a way to build a community of loyal readers or a self-selected email newsletter list, an e-book can help. You can offer your e-book as a free download for people who sign up for your email list. This is an effective inbound marketing strategy because it allows people to find you instead of you having to go out and find them. You can gather the information of potential clients, and they will receive your e-book, which will convince them that you truly are an expert in your field.
Your e-book can bring in royalties for many years.
Authors of e-books earn much higher royalties than authors of traditionally published books. Authors of traditionally published books usually earn 15% of the sale price minus 15% for their agents. If you publish your e-book through Amazon, you’ll earn up to 70% of each copy sold, and you’ll continue to earn royalties as long as the e-book continues to sell.
As you can see, there are many reasons to write an e-book. If you feel that writing an e-book would be an asset to your company, your brand, or your personal career, there’s no time like the present. Talk to us at Park Slope Softworks about writing an e-book to work into your inbound marketing plan.
