If you’re new to the world of e-books, it may be hard to know where to start. There are so many different kinds of e-books out there, and it can be hard to know which one is right for you. To help with this, we’ve compiled a list of everything to consider before writing your own style e-book. It’ll help you choose the perfect vehicle for your personality and brand, and give you some great resources along the way.
The Purpose Of The E-Book
This is a big decision, and there are plenty of reasons why you might want to write an e-book. Maybe you’re looking to gain more visibility in your niche or find new ways to connect with your audience. Or perhaps you’ve just got an interesting story to tell and want to try your hand at publishing. Whatever the reason, find a use for your e-book that feels right to you and your personal brand.
An e-book allows you to build a longer-lasting, more personal connection with your audience. Instead of popping up in and out of people’s lives as you would with a short blog post or a social media post, your e-book acts as a jumping off point to establish yourself as an expert in your industry. If you’ve got a compelling personal story to tell, an e-book is a great place to do it. We’d recommend against using an e-book if you’re looking to sell your products or services directly to your audience. However, if you’re able to find a balance between the two, you’re in for a treat.
Form
The first thing to consider when writing your e-book is the form. When deciding which one to use, it’s important to think about the size of your audience and whether you’ll need something that’s easily accessible on all devices.
A PDF is a great option for e-books. With a PDF, you don’t need to worry about form at all. Just make sure that you keep your font sizes consistent throughout. If you decide to go the e-book route, try to keep the file size under a few megabytes so that it’s easily accessible. Also, since a PDF can be opened on most devices, it’s a perfect choice if you’re looking to create content for the web and want to make sure that your audience can access it easily wherever they are.
If you’re aiming for a more traditional audience, it’s a good idea to go the e-book route and use a paperback copy. Since they’re often cheaper to print, you may be able to find a good deal on a used or out-of-print book. Make sure to buy a copy that’s in good condition so that you can enjoy reading it without any distractions. Also, if you decide to go this route, be sure to buy a nice fountain pen (yes, the kind you use to write with) to give it that special handwritten feeling.
Content
The next important thing to consider when writing your e-book is the content. As we mentioned above, an e-book is a great place to tell your story. However, if you were planning on writing a how-to guide or something similar, stick to the facts and avoid overly opinionated statements. Since this is content that you’ll be distributing for free, it’s important to think about the language that you’ll be using. If you’re using wording that’s too sophisticated for your audience, it may come off as condescending.
It’s always a good idea to write in present tense. This way, you make the content more dynamic and pull the reader into the story. Instead of writing about a problem that you’ve had in the past, write as if you’re talking to the reader now, giving advice and tips on how to solve their current problems.
The purpose of the content is not to solve the reader’s problem. It’s to build a relationship between you and your audience by providing value and expertise. Try to keep the language simple and straightforward, as if you were speaking to someone with no background in the subject matter. Even then, you may want to write some extra content to explain some of the more technical aspects of the subject matter.
Design
Besides the content, your e-book needs a design. Although you don’t need to go overboard and invest in a fancy designer outfit, it is a good idea to have a look at some of the templates out there to get an idea of what to expect. If you’re designing a legal document, it may be a good idea to have a look at some of the nice templates that LegalShield has to offer. You don’t want to risk looking unprofessional, especially if you’re aiming for a more traditional audience.
The design of your e-book can be anything you want it to be as long as you stay true to your brand. If you’re starting from scratch, take a few minutes to think about what you want your book to look like. It may be a good idea to look at some of the other books in your industry to get an idea of what to expect. Once you have an idea of what you want your e-book to look like, it’s easy to start putting it together.
Distribution
Finally, we come to the most important part of the process: distribution. Once you have your e-book ready to go, it’s important to think about where you’ll be sharing it. Just like with traditional books, you may want to consider physical books vs. digital distribution. For digital distribution, it’s important to consider the various readers that your e-book will be available on.
You may want to think about creating a landing page for your e-book. Just like a traditional book, you may want to consider doing something small, like putting together a spreadsheet with all of the info about the book or posting on social media to increase the odds of someone finding it.
Whatever you do, make sure to put the url of the page somewhere in the book so that readers can find it easily.
As you can see, there are a lot of considerations to make before you start writing your own e-book. It may be a good idea to take some time and think about what purpose your e-book serves. This will help you choose the right form for the content that you want to share. If you’re looking for some help, feel free to reach out to us: we’re here to help and can point you in the right direction.