Business savvy entrepreneurs know that blogging is a great way to spread the word about their business but did you know that if you pen an e-book or even offer free, downloadable material from your website, you can drive even more traffic?
Before you say, “there’s no way I can write a book!” stop and consider for a moment, all of the content you 1) have on your blog, or 2) the insider expertise you – and only you – know about your business. An eBook doesn’t have to be as long as War and Peace, and could even be as short as 25 pages. Putting together an eBook is an efficient use of resources you already have on hand, it will add value to your business and the services you offer, drive traffic to your site and build your mailing list. Even more powerful, it sets you up as a bona fide expert in your field and can also score you speaking gigs.
As an efficient use of existing resources, the material for an eBook is already in printed material you have on hand and have likely already written in some form or another. Choose a topic on which you feel passionate and see how you can expand it into an eBook format.
To use an eBook to drive traffic to your site, if you offer it as either a free or low-cost download people will come. Prospective customers and visitors to your site love resources and if you provide it (in the form of your eBook) traffic will increase to your site.
Blogs and by extension an eBook adds value and additional resources to a readers’ life or business. If they’re coming to your site for the resources you offer, by extension, you are becoming their go-to person for information and your click through rates will soar.
Think about the blogs and websites you personally visit when you are looking for resources. Wouldn’t you like your blog to be the resource that others immediately think of? If you put together an eBook, it can happen. Even if you decide to offer your eBook as a free download, make certain your website asks readers to register first; this way you capture their information and build your mailing list.
Speaking of building your list, you need to be continually doing this so you can market to them in the future. Make certain you treat those who sign up at your site with respect; don’t spam them and only send out an email when you have useful or new information to offer.
Remember, too, once you’ve written your eBook, you have to market it. Shamelessly self promote through your Social Media sites and by connecting to others with whom you feel will benefit from the information you offer and ask them to link back to you.