Content marketing is all about riding the wave of the future. Blogs, social media, video — you name it, once it became popular among consumers, marketers wanted a piece of it too. Ebooks, however, are the one digital resource that marketers and online businesses have largely ignored. Compared to a blog post or a 30-second video, an ebook seems like a large investment. However, unlike smaller bits of content, ebooks have the potential to be a valuable source of information that doubles as a marketing tool, lead generator, and loyalty builder — all in one neat little digital package.
Putting the Information in One Place
Information about various products and services is scattered all over the internet. For example, let’s say you’re a residential roofing contractor, and you install shingles, metal roofing, slate, clay, tile, composites, and about 50 other roofing products. As a homeowner, I speak from experience when I say it takes a week’s worth of evenings to fully research all your roofing options.
This is your chance to make things a little easier for your potential customers. Hire a writer to put all of your information into one simple downloadable ebook and your customers will thank you for the all-in-one resource. As a bonus, you’ll look like an expert — after all, you wrote the book on it!
The Ultimate Lead Generator?
Check out this landing page for Hubspot’s “The Ultimate Guide to Creating an Ebook for Lead Generation.” See what they did there? Hubspot is getting leads from people who want to learn more about getting leads.
When you market yourself with ebooks, you’re taking advantage of more than just the data collected from your landing pages, however. You can include several things inside the book to help boost website traffic or make sales, such as:
- Coupons and promotions
- Calls to action
- Links back to your website and blog
- Links to your social media profiles
- Videos, graphics and charts
Unlike blogs or social media profiles, ebooks don’t need regular grooming and feeding. Once you’ve written the ebook, it becomes a permanent asset that can keep on generating new leads for weeks, months, and maybe even years.
But Wait, That’s Not All!
People love free stuff! That’s why you can go to any trade show or conference and fill a free canvas tote bag with free branded pencils, rulers, note pads, and the occasional t-shirt. The thing is, marketers don’t intend for people to sit around and read the slogans on their free pencils all day. It’s more psychological. When you give a customer a pencil, it’s as if a tiny version of Christmas just happened. The customer received, and now he’s more inclined to give — hopefully, by purchasing whatever it is you’re selling. Ebooks work the exact same way, except that, unlike a pencil, an ebook is something that potential customers can sit around and read all day.
The humble ebook has it all. It’s an excellent way to provide information, put your brand in front of customers, generate leads, and build good will towards you and your business. Lead the way into the future of marketing by starting on your ebook today.
As a freelance write, Amber K spends the majority of her time experimenting with coffee and tasty things to put in coffee. Maybe it’s the shocking amount of caffeine she consumes, but she always finds time to write blogs, copy, and the occasional ebook for her clients.
