Materials summarized in slides such as PowerPoint are called ebooks, and many companies have introduced them, and some of the companies that have introduced them are seeing an increase in sales due to ebooks. Many companies want to incorporate ebooks into their own companies for efficient sales promotion, but they don’t know what ebooks are or how to make them. Masu.
In this article, we will comprehensively explain the meaning and outline of an ebook, as well as points to consider when creating one. If you are in charge of a company considering creating an ebook, please use this as a reference.
What is an ebook? Meaning in marketing
An ebook is a document compiled into slides such as PowerPoint. Unlike
white papers
, etc., it is displayed as
or image file, so users do not need to download it.
On the other hand, ebooks place more emphasis on the ease of understanding the information than on such specialization, so they can serve as a means of gathering information for a relatively wide range of users. Typical examples of ebook content include information that is useful to the target, the results of your own company’s own research, and collections of other know-how, and the content is often useful information.
The main purpose of an ebook is to generate
leads
by providing this information to users visiting your website. Compared to making inquiries or requesting information, downloading an ebook seems like a lower hurdle for customers to take action. Therefore, by allowing ebooks to be downloaded from your website, you can expect to gain more leads.
Meaning of ebook in marketing
The meaning of ebook in marketing is “content that can easily and completely introduce the appeal of products and services.” In other words, ebooks are a medium originally developed for reading books on digital devices, but by using them for marketing, it is possible to efficiently provide information to users as the optimal means of information transmission. .
One of the useful features of ebooks is their ease of access and portability. Ebooks can be read on laptops, smartphones, and tablets, so no matter how much information there is, the only luggage you need is one digital device. An increasing number of users are choosing ebooks over paper media because they take up little physical space and can easily view information anytime, anywhere.
Given this market background, it is expected that the use of ebooks for marketing will continue to expand in the future.
Advantages of ebooks
The advantages of ebooks are as follows.
I will explain each in turn.
be free
An ebook is basically a material that is distributed free of charge. This allows you to capture leads from users who are not yet willing to spend money to use your service.
A wide range of targets
Compared to requests for information or inquiries, ebooks can target a wider range of targets. This is because ebooks can be downloaded for free, and even users who are not interested in your company’s services may download them to collect information.
It can be said that the strength of ebooks is that you can reach not only actual customers but also potential customers and educate customers through ebooks.
low barriers
Ebooks have relatively lower barriers to creation than white papers. The white paper must include analysis results based on data collected in an appropriate manner.
On the other hand, the purpose of an ebook is to convey the content more easily, so there is no need to include a lot of specialized content. Therefore, it will be easier and faster to complete everything from planning to creation than creating white papers or materials for requesting information.
Differences between ebooks and other materials
We will explain the differences between ebooks and other materials.
What is the purpose of an ebook?
Just as it is important to clarify the purpose when considering a company’s
marketing
measures, it is also important to clarify the purpose when creating an ebook. When determining the purpose of an ebook, separate it from the overall purpose of your company’s marketing measures and formulate individual objectives.
For example, the overall purpose of a company’s marketing efforts may be to “increase sales” or “increase the number of leads acquired.” On the other hand, the following are desirable purposes for an ebook:
Once you have decided on the purpose of the ebook, be sure to check whether it will be connected to the company’s overall marketing measures.
Differences from paper media
Paper media allows you to hold the real thing in your hands, and because it does not emit harmful visible light such as blue light, you can concentrate on reading. It is characterized by high visibility and high reliability. However, the disadvantage is that it requires physical space to store, and there is a limit to the amount of information that can be posted.
Manual content creation is also inefficient and requires a lot of resources. On the other hand, ebooks do not require physical space to store the media, and much of the content creation can be semi-automated by making good use of software.
Difference with PDF
Overview PDF requires users to download the PDF to their device to view the contents. If the PDF contains a lot of information, the file size will be large and it will take time to download. As a result, users may lose interest in viewing the materials due to the hassle of downloading and opening the PDF.
However, ebooks are made up of HTML and image files, so they can be viewed at the same time as the web page is displayed. It does not keep the web page user waiting and is less affected by internet communication conditions than a summary PDF, which helps prevent opportunity loss.
Ebooks allow for “cross-search” that cannot be done with PDFs.
You can use the “full text search function” to search the entire text within a single file for both PDF and ebooks. This feature allows you to search for the desired content within a file. Basically, with PDF, this function is only effective within one file.
However, with ebooks, you can use this full text search function for multiple ebooks. This function is called the “cross-search function.” This cross-search function allows you to find what you are looking for from a huge amount of information, making it a much more user-friendly medium than PDF.
Difference from white paper
As mentioned earlier, a white paper is a document that deals with a specialized topic and is compiled using research data. In the first place, a white paper was originally an annual report of a public organization. Since it is now being used as downloadable content by companies, professional and technical content is written in a very elaborate format.
However, with ebooks, there is no need to write in a formal format. Unlike a white paper, which is compiled based on detailed data and analysis results, it needs to be summarized in an easy-to-understand manner using charts, illustrations, etc. Therefore, you can provide information to a wide range of targets and promote your company to users other than those in your industry.
Advantages of using ebooks in marketing
The benefits of using ebooks in marketing include:
Attract customers (lead acquisition)
If you use ebooks well in marketing, you can efficiently attract customers (lead acquisition). This is a method known as content marketing, in which users provide their own useful information in exchange for user information such as email addresses and personal names.
The mechanism is the same as email newsletter registration, only the medium is different. Users who want to read ebooks by providing personal information are likely to have a high level of interest in the same field. From this, you may be able to acquire unexpected “hot leads = instant customers.”
Distributing email newsletters as a form of content marketing
By distributing e-books as a form of content marketing, you can spread the word to many users. You can efficiently guide them to ebooks as a means of approaching a strong target group that has already subscribed to the e-mail newsletter.
Increase usefulness and promote on SNS etc.
If you can increase the usefulness of your ebook, you can post it on SNS and use it for promotional activities. If you can get people interested in your ebook on SNS, there is a higher chance that users will spread the word about it voluntarily, which will lead to increased brand awareness. By making good use of SNS in this way, you can carry out promotional activities efficiently and without incurring any costs.
Points to remember when creating an ebook
The points to keep in mind when creating an ebook are as follows.
I will explain each in turn.
Consider ebooks as one way to attract customers
Of course, ebooks are just one way to attract customers. Therefore, you need to think about how to get your ebook downloaded and take measures to get the most users to view your ebook.
Also, consider where you want to place your ebook on your web page. The download rate varies greatly depending on where you place the ebook download link and the surrounding text. When creating an ebook, consider the position and context in which you will place the ebook download link.
Consider ways to reuse ebooks
Ebooks can be reused for other purposes or tasks. For example, if you have an ebook with detailed information about your product or service, you can use it as a reference for customer support, or you can use the content as a brochure.
By digging deeper into the content written in an ebook, you can use it in
your email newsletter
or blog to deliver even more in-depth information to your customers. By creating an ebook that can be reused for the materials and content needed for sales promotion, you can significantly reduce the effort required for sales promotion.
By the way, it is also possible to reuse existing presentation materials, pamphlets, etc. as ebooks. If you are having trouble planning an ebook, or if you want to create one with as little effort as possible, it may be a good idea to create one based on existing materials.
Create ebooks on various themes and see the reactions
An ebook is only effective if it is useful to the customer. On the other hand, it is also true that until you actually publish an ebook, you won’t know if your customers are looking for the content. Therefore, when creating an ebook, create ebooks with multiple themes and compare customer reactions.
The more downloads and inquiries a theme receives, the more likely it is that it is a genre that users are looking for. If you know the genre that your users are looking for, you will be able to create an ebook that will appeal more strongly to your users.
If you only have one ebook, you won’t know which topics your users are interested in. Be sure to create ebooks on multiple topics and provide information that meets the needs of your users.
Useful themes for ebooks
Useful themes for ebooks include:
I will explain each in turn.
An ebook that summarizes the differences between your company and your competitors
When planning an ebook, a typical theme is a summary of the differences between your company and your competitors. For customers at the comparison stage, what they are most interested in is the differences between each product or service, and the superiority of the product or service they are currently looking at.
By compiling these into an ebook, you can not only provide information that meets customer needs, but also emphasize your company’s superiority, which increases the likelihood that it will lead to a purchase. If you want to bring customers who are in the comparison stage to purchase, an ebook that summarizes the differences between your company and your competitors is extremely useful.
An ebook that “compiles things you can do starting today” tailored to your company’s products and services.
An ebook that summarizes “what you can do from today” using your company’s products and services is extremely effective because it allows customers to see what the future holds for them after their purchase. When customers are clear about what they can do after purchasing a product, they are more likely to feel positive about purchasing the product.
By summarizing what you can do immediately after purchasing a product or service, you will be able to imagine the future after purchasing the product or service, and you will feel the convenience and effectiveness of it. Additionally, after purchasing a product or service, the ebook serves as an instruction manual and customer support, which can reduce the amount of effort and personnel required for after-sales support.
How to make an ebook
An ebook is created using the following steps.
Determining the purpose of creating
First, in order to create an ebook, decide on the purpose of creating it. For example, clarify the “purpose of creating it” such as “to acquire users for distributing an e-mail newsletter,” “to convey an overview of your company’s products and services,” and “to brand users as part of your branding strategy.”
Be careful not to have ambiguous objectives such as “I just need to be able to do both list acquisition and branding.”
Deciding on content
Once the purpose has been determined, it is time to decide on the content. The content of the content is very important, and if you don’t make this clear, you will lose focus during the creation process, and you will not know what kind of target you are sending the content to.
Content that does not have a defined target audience will not resonate with anyone, and creating it may be a waste of effort. To prevent this from happening, clearly define the content to be sent.
Creating a configuration plan
For the composition plan, consider the overall structure of the ebook, including the table of contents. Organize related themes and information by arranging headings and content so that users can easily understand and read the content. The process for creating an ebook is basically the same as the page creation process for a website, so we create it with the assumption that it will be an easy-to-read web page.
Insert graphics
As you write your ebook, you will add visual elements such as graphics. Visual elements are very important to keep readers engaged. It looks more gorgeous and has a higher quality content than text-only content.
You can also include videos in ebooks, so if you have information that you want readers to pay attention to, providing it as a video is also an effective method.
Create an attractive cover and title
Once the content is complete, create a cover and give it a title. The cover and title are very important, and users look at these covers and titles to decide whether or not to read the ebook. The cover and title, which serve as the entry point, are carefully designed to attract the user’s interest.
Another thing to keep in mind is to decide on the cover and title after creating the content. If you decide on the cover and title first, the content you create afterwards will be tied to the cover and title, and you will not be able to flexibly change the content.
For this reason, after all the content has been created, we create the cover and title based on the content.
CTA settings
Once the ebook is almost complete, place a “CTA = Call to Action” in the content. A CTA is a call to action, and it means getting the user to take an action. This refers to buttons such as “request information,” “download software,” and “get products for free.”
An ebook without a CTA will simply provide information, so we will place as many CTAs as possible to encourage users to take action.
summary
In this article, we explained the outline and purpose of ebooks, as well as points to consider when creating them. By effectively using ebooks, you can not only collect a list of customers you may have missed out on, but also connect those who are in the consideration stage to purchase.
Furthermore, creating an ebook does not require any specialized knowledge and can be created simply by reusing the contents of existing pamphlets and materials, so the barrier to creation is extremely low. Please consider creating an ebook using this article as a reference.