How to write an ebook for your business? Guide

We won't kid you - an ebook is a substantial investment, requiring a lot of commitment. Researching the topic, writing, editing, design, publishing - it's not a one-day task. Nevertheless, at least 37% companies declare that they regularly create ebooks (according to data from the Semrush report 'The State of Content marketing" of 2020). Wondering why they simply choose not to create blog posts? Do you want to find out what benefits an ebook can bring? Are you looking for tips on research, structure and content for your publication? Check out this article where we give you tips on how to write an ebook for your business.

Why write ebooks?

If there are any of you still unconvinced about writing ebooks, it's time to change that. Here are the reasons why you should invest time and money in them. First of all, they can be used to 'push' your company's potential customers down the purchase funnel. People expect in-depth analyses and reliable information on topics of interest to them and are willing to share an email address or even a telephone number in return. In turn, the company, by creating an insightful ebook, establishes its position of the expert in the field. 

However, it is worth noting that not all ebooks are equally good. If you do not want to let your readers down, you should be involved in the creation of the publication at every stage - from the beginning (research) to the end (promotion). 

What marketing objectives can the ebook achieve?

An ebook can serve many purposes. Depending on which one a company chooses, the ebook will differ in its approach to structure, content and distribution. We will now outline some of these objectives.

Lead generation

The immediate availability of valuable and free content effectively encourages recipients to provide you with the data enabling you to direct communication - email addresses or telephone numbers. If, with the help of an ebook, you want to start generating leads, you must create a landing page with a form. Add in social media advertising and you can build your contact list.

Becoming a thought leader

In today's world, with an abundance of information at every turn, accurate data is highly valued when making decisions. The ebook is an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and gain recognition (both in personal and B2B sales). Consult your customers, identify their pain points and then confront them in the content of the ebook.

Educating readers

Some ebooks are created to educate readers about a brand or product. This type of publication offers help, support, is almost always free and is based on a knowledge "from within" the company. These could be, for example, ebooks outlining the company's mission and values or user guides for specific products.

Confidence building

When most of the communication between your company and your customers takes place online, you need to find a way to visualise your credibility. The data-driven nature of ebooks makes them great for this purpose. You can include case studies, for example, and show the tactics by which you manage to achieve success.

How to write an ebook? - step by step

Research target group and topic

To make sure that people will be interested in your ebook, you must first of all know who they are and what they want. Choosing a topic is very important - it is better to spend more time on research than to spend months writing content that no one will read. Also create a persona. A tool can help Market Explorerwhich will quickly analyse each internet niche in terms of users' age, gender, interests and location, among others.

The next step is to identify where purchase funnel are the potential readers of the ebook. This is a particularly important time for those who are writing to gain leads and conversions. Different formats will work differently depending on the stage the reader is at in the buying journey. 

At the top of the funnel are those who are not yet ready to buy, and may not even have heard of your company. The aim is attracting their attention. You will do this by offering the best answer to their questions. All kinds of tutorials, tutorials enriched with infographics will work well for this. In the middle of the purchase funnel are those people who will be happy to interact if you encourage them. This is also where tutorials will work, where you can mention your case studies and successes. At the bottom of the funnel are those most likely to make a purchase. Contentthat you create for them must respond to a very specific questions concerning a product or service. 

Structuring the ebook

An ebook, like any other content, has a structure. It needs to be well thought out to respond to the needs of the reader. The first, very important element is catchy title. You can create a working title at the start of your ebook, but be sure to come back to it at the end and make sure you have delivered in the content what you promised in the title. 

The next part of the ebook is admission. It should be short, specific and encourage further reading. Tell readers what they can expect from each chapter and what benefits they will gain from reading it. A table of contents is also necessary. In an e-book, a "clickable" table of contents not only presents the structure of the book, but also allows quick access to the different parts of the publication. Time for individual chaptersYou will be able to find out what you need to know about the content based on your prior research. We cannot tell you what to include. However, remember that they should be logically connected and contain as much data as possible.

The penultimate part of the ebook is summary, sources and author's note. In the conclusion, present the most important findings; you can enrich them with tables and infographics. By indicating your sources, you will help readers find material that is interesting from their point of view. Include in the "about the author" note not only information that increases the credibility of the author, but also links to social media accounts. 

The final element of the ebook is CTA button - which is a call to action. By placing these, you encourage your readers to find out more about your company. If your ebook is a guide to a specific solution, you can use the CTA to take the reader directly to a particular product page, for example.

How to write an ebook? Summary

As you might have seen by reading our article, creating your ebook is a difficult task. It requires a detailed plan, extensive research and perfect knowledge of the topic. In case you would like to write an ebook for your company, but don't feel up to it, it is worth using our help. Based on the information you provide, we will create a professional text that meets the expectations of potential readers.