While it may sound like whistling in the breeze to put together 10-15k word b2b ebooks for B2B marketing purposes, there’s definitely method to madness. It’s no coincidence that most, if not all by now, of the heavy hitting B2B marketers follow certain protocol, or construct their ebooks in certain ways.
While ebooks as a technology are still in their adolescence, a certain golden standard has emerged that nearly always leads to high and detailed conversion rates.
First, the Basics
We’ll get into the more juicy details of self-publishing B2B ebooks, but to be prudent the things you should already know must be covered.
- Outline: This is your mind-map. Structure is going to make writing and formatting far easier. Incredibly easier! Shoot for 5 to 7 chapters with catchy titles, and 2 to 3 subsections with compelling subtitles. After that it’s about filling in the blank, and furthermore, once this is done it makes outsourcing a cake walk.
- Write & Format: Get to the point or get packing. Get rid of salesmanship and pitches. Write it with a professional and yet conversational tone. Shoot for short snappy paragraphs, but stagger overall sentence length. Formatting is about one thing: scan-ability. Lots of quotes, bullet points, and things that visually make the data easier to digest.
- Polish: Obviously editing and proofreading are necessary. However, there’s no reason to break the bank here on some super professional high-brow copy editor. Through the magic of outsourcing, or perhaps drawing on people close to you, an ebook can get polished for a premium price. It’s necessary!
- The Cover: Artistic predispositions and bias aside, there are a couple things that matter here. First, make sure that the title is readable even when looking at the cover in basically thumbnail size. Less is more when it comes to tiny details and nuances. State the title/point clearly and precisely. No muss no fuss.
Include Knowledge Experts
For an ebook to be successful in the B2B realm, it needs to include lots of expert content that would no doubt be of high quality. Shoot for including 2 to 3 experts for every ebook. Interviewing them doesn’t have to be a big deal: a) they almost never decline an interview and, b) this content will have many other applications outside the ebook once you’re done.
- Make sure to get some kind of “story” from each one. How did they make their first dollar? What are the core “character building” experiences of youth that make them such experts in their field? That kind of stuff is like virtual gold.
- The more experts you praise in your ebook, the higher its value. Seriously. It’s one of those strange Inbound Marketing quirks. Lavish and embellish your ebook with as many experts as possible.
- The content is layers delicately into the ebook, complimenting and enhancing the persuasion or educational material.
Incorporate into Larger Inbound Marketing Platform
Ebooks crafted for B2B marketing or information products are most efficient when used as audience & platform builders. Don’t slap them on Amazon. Convert them into a great looking PDF and offer them to prospects and current customers for free.
- “Get this fabulous informational ebook by simply opting-in to our email list.”
- “Sign up to be included in our regularly updated information stream and get this heavy hitting new ebook for free!”
- “Subscribe to our blog and we’ll give you this powerful and influential ebook for free!”
Yes, the realm of ebooks in general is a topsy-turvy tumultuous sea, but using them expressly for B2B marketing purposes is rather calm sailing when approached correctly.
If you wish to learn more about B2B Ebooks, contact us and we will assist you.
