Welcome back to the second part of this 3-part series. So, in the first part, I went over the importance of creating a solid concept for your eBook, focusing on quality, rather than quantity and then wrapped things up by going over some important stuff on the design and layout of your eBook.
Today we’re going to be focusing on the reason behind WHY we have created an eBook to give away for free in the first place (above and beyond helping people with our awesome content, obviously!). In other words, to help build our brand, promote our mission online and to market ourselves, our products, or our services (or perhaps all of the above!). We’re going to look at our email list provider, a simple tool that will increase our sign-up’s by over 200% on average, as well as a technique that will actually allow you to make money from your ‘free’ eBook, after all.
But, First!
The best way to distribute your eBook is in the format of a PDF document. PDF’s are great, because they are low on size, they are quick to download and cant be edited, so you know your content is going to be seen and enjoyed the way you want it to be!
Also, you can include links in PDF documents that when clicked on, automatically open up in a browser. Which we’ll go into a little more in a while.
Converting your eBook, regardless of how, or in what software package you’ve created it, is easy. In fact a lot of programs will now have a built-in function to do it automatically. If not, don’t fret – click here for a ton of freebie options.
It’s All in The List, Baby…!
Personal branding to one side, the main reason why most people giveaway free eBooks online nowadays comes down to one thing and one reason only – to build a list. This list is more than just a collection of email addresses of people that want to read your free eBook and subscribe to your blog (although for some people thats enough!). As an online marketer – its your most powerful tool. The better the list, the better your earnings online.
See how I said better, and not BIGGER!? Personally, I’d rather have 1,000 people that really enjoyed what I did, loved everything that I put out online and genuinely would have no problems putting their hands in their pockets (or Paypal accounts!) when I came to them with a product I had created to sell, or an affiliate offer of some kind, than having 10,000 people on my list that either rarely opened my emails, or did open them and never took any action!
So, below are, in my humble opinion, the three most important things you’re going to need to be able to benefit from all that hard work you put into creating your labor of love, before giving it away for absolutely nothing. Enjoy.
Dependable Email List / Auto-Responder Provider
This is your lifeblood. This is what controls your entire email list set-up. Utilizing the services of a solid, dependable email list auto-responder provider is probably the most important investment you’re going to make as an internet marketer / web entrepreneur.
There are a few good, solid providers out there in this space. However, I use AWeber for a number of reasons:
- Cost Effective
- Very Easy to Use
- Great Sign-Up Form and Email Templates
- Flawless Auto-Responder Set-Up (if I can do it, anyone can!)
- Brilliant Reports and Analytics
- Awesome Customer Service
- Lots More!
Check out these screenshots from one of the lists I have built for a niche site I have… Great info!
I did a hell of a lot of research on this subject before I actually put my free eBook live online and starting promoting it. Since I’ve been with AWeber, they have never let me down and have even updated their API and other customer service side of things several times since being with them. I’m impressed and suggest you use them and no one else. Simple.
Powerful, Cool Sign-Up Partner!
A lot of people hate ’em. I used to be one of them. However, pop-up’s, lightboxes, or whatever you want to call them, WORK! Plain and simple.
When I first came across PopUp Domination I was a little concerned as to how it was going to work for me. After all, I had been using my AWeber form to capture my new eBook subscribers, and it was working well. However, I went ahead with it because of my relationship with its creator, Michael Dunlop (be sure to catch my interview with Michael on the VBL Podcast!) and was absolutely BLOWN AWAY with how many more sign-up’s I was getting daily.
That was months and months ago, and I am still surprised when I check my sign-up’s from time to time now. Before, I was averaging around 4-5 sign-up’ a day, which I was happy with. Nowadays, I average around 15-20. And the number one source is the PopUp Domination plugin.
The other really cool thing about this plugin is that it works with any website set-up, and any email list provider, too. And… this is super-cool… you get all of the original PSD source files, too. Meaning you can even play around with the design! Above you’ll see that I’ve had my designer tweak the template a little to ‘funk up’ (careful if you’re reading that aloud!) the design a little – it really makes a difference.
Adding Links to Your eBook to Make a Little $$$
As I mentioned at the top of this post, the best way to distribute your free eBook is in the form of a PDF document. There are a ton of reason behind this, but one of the main reasons why I like it is because it allows you to include hyperlinks. This is good because you can send people to other useful resources, such as different blog posts, or websites – to help them in their continued efforts to learn more on whatever subject your eBook is focused on.
However, one of the most under-utilized type of links in free eBook’s are links that send people to products and services that you are an affiliate of. They click. They buy. You make money. Simple as that.
Seriously. Think about it. No matter what subject you’re writing about there MUST be at least a couple of products or services out there that you can help promote and make money from, whenever anyone clicks on your links. Even an Amazon Affiliate can do that for books related to your topic – and there’s tons of books related to EVERY topic!!!
I know of one marketer that gives away an 18-page eBook on the subject of travel for teenagers. He makes around $600 a month on affiliate commissions from that eBook! Links to shoe stores, apparel stores, Amazon, and a couple of additional online resources / guides. He doesn’t lift a finger and is making $600 a month, month-in-month out.
That’s a beautiful thing!
So, that wraps up the second part of this series. In Friday’s final installment I’ll be breaking down my Top 5 ways to ‘get the word out there’ about your eBook and what it stands for, to enable more sign-up’s, downloads and followers! See you then.
