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If you think you have something important to say, and your site can benefit from some extra attention, you might want to try publishing an electronic book. E-books, as they are typically called, can serve multiple promotional purposes. If the book is well done and informational it can: * establish you as an authority on a specific topic * become another source of revenue * ignite some viral marketing on your behalf * serve as a valuable giveaway to customers * act as a thank you for a newsletter subscription or "recommend-a-friend" programs
You can write the book yourself or hire someone to do it for you but if you choose not to use your own words, give the author the byline with a production credit to your site. Choose a subject that will interest your readers and write in an engaging and compelling manner. Be careful not to use terms or jargon that will get outdated quickly; a good e-book can be around for a very long time.
Don't be in a hurry to release it into cyberspace; the time you spend perfecting it will be a worthwhile investment. Since the readership potential is high, spelling and grammar definitely count. Read and proofread it a number of times to ensure that information is accurate and mistakes are non-existent.
Keep your e-book to a manageable size since it will be a downloadable file and there are many Internet users that still dial up. Including hyperlinks in the e-book will direct traffic to your pages and help you keep the file small without having to trim content.
Plan on making the e-book available to your customers through Acrobat Reader. Both Windows and Mac platforms can use this free utility and there is even a version specifically for e-books. However, you will need to invest in the Acrobat component that converts your document into the universally accepted PDF.
Once the e-book is complete, promote it through your marketing campaign. If you are making the publication available for free, include the link to the download in your signature file. With persistence, you could become a best seller.
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