An increasing number of businesses are offering eBooks on their websites. An eBook can provide valuable information to customers or potential customers, either leading to increased sales or deepening relationships. That being said, businesses should fully understand how an eBook can be used as a marketing tool before they simply post one of their website. Just offering an eBook alone is a missed marketing opportunity.
If you want to give the public an eBook on your website, your page cannot have any issues with running smoothly, otherwise downloading the eBook will take far too long. Using a virtual hosting service is one way to avoid this common and unfortunate problem. With any website problems taken care of ahead of time, you can turn your attention toward learning how to make an eBook offer work for you.
First of all, despite what many businesses might think, an eBook does not have to be a certain length. Because you do not have to print the book, you can make it any length you so desire. This means your eBook could be as short as twenty or thirty pages, if it communicates the information you feel is necessary. Of course you should gauge how long your eBook should be based on your customer base, since some groups will appreciate more information and others want a faster read. This means as a company you do not have to dedicate a mountain of resources toward producing the book.
A company can easily offer an eBook as a free download instead of charging customers for it. Many customers appreciate getting a free item from a business, especially if that item is perceived to be valuable. Your eBook should contain valuable information relating to what your business does. As people read the eBook they will be impressed with the information they are learning and realize that your products or services are worth more than they thought before. This in turn will lead to more sales leads, helping make up for any resources that were directed toward producing the eBook.
Giving an eBook to customers also increases trust, deepening your relationship. By passing on a body of knowledge to your customer for free, your customer will feel more trusting of your business. He will dedicate a few hours out of his busy schedule to read the eBook, and hopefully will feel that he gained something of value for his effort.
Using an eBook also provides businesses with the unique opportunity to teach potential customers how to interact with the business. Teaching potential customers how you do business cannot be done as a sales pitch, otherwise those potential customers will run the other way. Instead, you need to sprinkle throughout the book in a very matter-of-fact way details about how your business operates. This includes setting realistic customer expectations on delivery times and methods, potential problems that can come up in the delivery of a good or service and how they are handled as well as how your business fosters long term relationships with customers.
Gavin Carter is a published author. He loves to share his tips for using books wisely on small business blogs. Learn more about the VirtualHosting.com services and how they can enhance you site.
