Use An eBook To Build Your Brand

Posted: 06/ 6/11 01:45 PM ET

Amanda Hocking, the 26-year-old current indie queen of eBooks, was rejected by so many New York publishing houses that she decided to go the entrepreneurial route and put out an eBook instead. To date, she's sold more than 500,000 books and made more than $1 million dollars. The movie rights to her popular "Trylle Trilogy" series have been acquired and, a few weeks ago, she closed a US$2 million deal for her four-book "Watersong" series with (yes, you guessed it) St. Martin's Press -- a traditional publishing house.
While Hocking's paranormal romance novels are probably not what the typical entrepreneur is looking to publish, the best-practice business point is that eBooks are now a viable way of building your brand and getting word out about your company and expertise.
Here are the basics: An eBook (electronic book) is an electronic document that can contain text, images, audio and video. They can be viewed on a personal computer, smart phone, PDA and eBook reader, such as a Kindle, and are sold through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and dozens of other outlets.
Depending on the length and content of the eBook, they sell from between 99 cents and $99. But the current rage is pricing eBooks at the lower end of the spectrum for around $2.99, or even giving them away for free as a promotion.
The five best reasons why you should be writing an eBook, beyond the immediate financial return of book sales, include:
• Increases name recognition for your company and personal brand, as well as drives traffic to your Web site via links from book excerpts, free samples, reviews, newsletter distribution and blog mentions.
• Introduces you to potential customers looking for what you offer via press releases about the book, an Amazon listing and book reviews from bloggers.
• Provides a perfect free, downloadable giveaway on your blog to entice visitors to sign up and give you their contact information.
• Makes a great calling card to send before you meet with a potential client to show your knowledge, expertise and point of view.
• Forces you to develop content you can then repurpose for marketing collateral and turn into podcasts and Webcasts.
Oddly enough, the easiest part of eBook publishing is getting the finished product up and running for distribution. Many can be uploaded with just a click of a few buttons. But where most entrepreneurs face a challenge is in finding the time, or having the writing chops, to craft the eBook in the first place. Even if that's the case, it's no excuse, since there are scads of eBook-savvy small businesses whose sole purpose is to ghost write, edit, design and publish your eBook.
Still not convinced? Consider this: According to the Association of American Publishers, Americans spent US$440 million dollars on eBooks in the first quarter of 2011, and the Book Industry Study Group found that one in four Americans reads eBooks -- and that's a whole lota brand to be built.
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Karen Leland is a best-selling author and President of Sterling Marketing Group, where she helps entrepreneurs promote their businesses through writing, publishing and promoting e-Books, blogs and other social media.

Amazon says e-books now outselling paper books

Reuters

5:45 p.m. CDT, May 19, 2011

Amazon, which does not divulge exact sales figures for the Kindle or e-books, said that for every 100 print books it has sold since April 1, it has sold 105 e-books. That includes both paperback and hardcover books, but excludes free downloads.

• X

Apple iPad

Apple Inc.

Amazon.com Inc.

Last month, Amazon introduced a Kindle for $114, or $25 less than its next most expensive version, featuring advertising.

The Kindle has been fighting with Barnes & Noble Inc's Nook and Apple Inc's iPad for e-book sales. The Kindle was launched in 2007 and is by far the best-selling device made specifically for reading digital books.

Barnes & Noble is holding a press event on Tuesday in New York to unveil a new e-reader. Last month, Barnes & Noble introduced improvements to its Nook Color.

The Benefits and Advantages of Ebooks

by Remez Sasson

An ebook is a book in electronic format. It is downloaded to a computer, PC, Mac, laptop, PDA or any other kind of computer, and is read on the screen. It can have numbered pages, table of contents, pictures and graphics, exactly like a printed book.

Ebooks present many benefits and advantages, and this article shows some of them.

It is very simple and easy to purchase and download ebooks through the Internet. It is exactly like purchasing any other product. The only difference is that after payment you will either be directed to a download page or receive the download link in an email. All you have to do is click on the link and the ebook will automatically download to your computer, to a folder of your own choice.

After download you don't have to be connected to the Internet in order to read the ebook. You can stay offline. If you wish to have it printed, it is very easy. Just click on the print button in the ebook, to print it with your home printer.

So what are the benefits and advantages of ebooks?

1. Ebooks are delivered almost instantaneously. You can purchase, download and start reading them within minutes, without leaving your chair. You don't have to go to a bookstore to buy them, neither wait for them for days, weeks and sometimes more to arrive in the mail.

2. No trees are required to manufacture paper for the pages of ebooks.

3. When you need certain information, you can get it immediately, by downloading an ebook.

4. Many ebooks are sold nowadays with bonuses, which you usually do not get with a printed book. This adds value to your purchase.

5. Ebooks take up less space. You practically don't need any space to store them. You don't need a library or a room for them. You can store hundreds and thousands of ebooks in your computer.

6. Ebooks are portable. You can carry a whole library of hundreds of books with you, on CD, in a laptop, notebook or any ebook reader, without worrying about their weight.

7. With today technology you can read ebooks anywhere, on the bus, train, airplane and while standing in line.

8. Ebooks are more safely stored and carried from one place to another, than ordinary books. They also withstand time more than books.

9. Ebooks can show links, for easy access to more information and related websites.

10. Ebooks are searchable. You can easily search for any information in an ebook, instead of turning page after page.

11. Ebooks can be interactive and contain audio, video and animations, which can enhance the message that the author is trying to convey.

12. As ebooks are delivered through the Internet, there are no packing and shipping expenses.

13. Ebooks can be printable, so that if you wish to read an ebook in the traditional way, you can very inexpensively print it with your home printer or at any printing shop.

14. Fonts in ebooks can be resized, making it easier to read for people with disabilities. With an additional software it is possible to turn some of the ebooks into audio books.

15. Ebooks are very easy to to sell and distribute.

16. It is very simple and easy to purchase and download an ebook. People living in big modernized cities, in a remote village in a far away country or on a small island, can equally access an ebook. It takes them the same amount of time to purchase and download an ebook, provided they have an Internet connection.

17. It is possible to purchase an ebook 24 hours a day, every day of the year, from the comfort of your own house or office. You can purchase and download an ebook, even if you are on a vacation, if you have a laptop and wireless Internet connection.

18. People are already spending a lot of time in front of their computers, so why not read and ebook, instead of doing something else?

Nowadays one can find ebooks about every possible subject, fiction and nonfiction, free and not free.

Considering non-fiction ebooks, such ebooks disseminate knowledge not pages, which means that it is not correct to evaluate the price of an ebook according to the number of its pages. The price should be determined by the information it contains, its usefulness and relevancy, and on how much it gives you in terms of practical knowledge, inspiration, motivation, tips and advice, and also by the uniqueness of the information it contains.

© Copyright Remez Sasson

Remez Sasson teaches and writes on positive thinking, creative visualization, motivation, self-improvement, peace of mind, spiritual growth and meditation. He is the author of several books, among which are "Peace of mind in Daily Life", "Will Power and Self Discipline", "Visualize and Achieve" and "Affirmations - Words of Power".

Visit his website and find articles and books filled with inspiration, motivation and practical advice and guidance.
Website: http://www.SuccessConsciousness.com
Books: http://www.successconsciousness.com/ebooks_and_books.htm