E-books: Your Viral Marketing Weapon

by Rick Carbone

Although there will always be a place for the printed word, ebooks are the future and the future is now. Once, the printed word on paper and bound into books used to be the only way information was given and received. The touch and feel of a printed book will always and should have a place for many decades to come. Let us not forget that without the printed word we would lose much of our social and religious history. That being said, the ebook is here, it's the future and it has an undeniable place within our current technology.

Why?

eBooks can be written and published by anyone with a computer, some basic software, a point of view and of course an Internet connection. That is why eBook publishing will continue to grow and become one of the primary technology platforms for the written word. Almost every commuter purchased today has a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on it. This allows you to open an eBook in .PDF ( Portable Document Format ) You'll see this format mostly for online brochures and Operations Manuals. There are other formats but the .PDF is the most universal and has most all of the eBook market. It's also the perfect "tool" to start an online business selling information. and I don't mean classified business or government information. That could get you in a whole lot of hot water. When I say information I mean topics that tell people how to find, do or otherwise make things.

First, the marketing eBook, for example, is a slightly different animal from just an ebook. Marketing ebooks contain text, images, links to web pages and navigation controls. The marketing ebook has become a very important part of ecommerce marketing on the Internet. With a marketing ebook you can present your story in an effective and illustrative way and include links to your web sales pages. Your ebook can become your best salesperson.

Next, be sure that you have a distinct section telling readers that they are free to give your ebook away. Let them know that they can post it on their site as a free download, that they can use it as a bonus, and that they can bundle it with other products. This is the way to create viral marketing for your products or services. Remember those links back to your site contained in the ebook?

Last but certainly not least before you send your ebook out to the world, double check spelling and grammar and be sure that you have tested every link to verify that it goes where it is supposed to go. Obvious errors will reflect badly on you and will not be of much value to you, it could even by damaging.

Post your ebook to some of the ebook directories. Many let you post it for free, or will let you post a link on their site to your E-book.