Pop-ups on your Website and the Advantage of Offering an eBook
Pop-ups are annoying, don’t you agree? Yet, commercials are annoying as well. And billboards and flashing neon signs, and on and on. But they work. As long as you use these options in an ethical way, it doesn't seem like a problem to me.
Pop-ups work, asking people if they want to receive a newsletter usually doesn’t. Who wants another newsletter? It’s better to tell people they will receive useful tips or inspiring stories when they subscribe. Or even better, give them something like an eBook in exchange for their email address.
I have a couple of tips on how to quickly make an eBook. Some are the usual tips you can read anywhere, and some are personal preferences I have developed in the past 20-some years.
Is every eBook an actual eBook?
First of all: what kind of eBook am I talking about here? After all, there is EPUB, Kindle format, or PDF.
If you have an e-reader you will probably know what I mean - not every eBook is a proper eBook. It’s almost impossible to read a PDF on an e-reader even though the technique allows us to. A ‘true’ eBook has reflowable text, meaning the reader can choose the size of the font and sometimes even the font type. A PDF is static.
If you plan to have a lot of images and/or color in your eBook, a PDF is better than an EPUB or Kindle. So, I am talking about PDFs here, because images and color are more attractive.
Deciding on the content of an amazing eBook
If you have a clear idea about the topic of your website, it’s easy to know what your eBook will be about. The quickest way is to bundle a couple of the best-read articles, maybe supplemented with tips that you have taken from the comments.
You can buy a quality PLR product.
The third method is to write it from scratch. “X Tips to…” - “The Best Way to…” - “How to…” You get my drift. Just the way you would write an article, yet a bit longer.
Help, I am not technical
Assuming you have WordPress for your website, you’re not without capabilities and skills! The beauty of the internet nowadays is, there are many non-techy possibilities to produce eBooks.
Making a document in MS Word or Google Docs is the most simple way. The pitfall is that the result will look like an "office document". The font too small, a boring layout, and pretty straightforward.
Google “Making an eBook” and you’ll see several ads from websites that make it easy for you, like Designrr or Kitaboo. I have no experience with those myself but I am sure they will be helpful.
Canva - a free platform that is also useful to make images, cards, ads, etc - has templates for eBooks as well.
I make my eBooks in either Apple Pages or Adobe InDesign.
Divide your eBook into chapters and sections
It really is no different from writing articles on your websites. The same rules apply: make it easy for your reader to grasp your point, use sub-headings, make your sentences not too long, highlight important parts, and have images. Use contrast to emphasize things.
When you have a lot of text it is useful to make a table of contents.
Your eBook will also be read on a phone!
I hate it when an eBook has columns. The scrolling all the time. And I often lose track of the beginning of the next column. It’s better to have just one column. OK, that can be boring, so you’ll have to think of ways to make the layout interesting anyway. :)
Another phenomenon that sometimes pops up in eBooks is something I call the electric horse tram: blank pages. This is a throwback from the paper books. Those regularly contain empty (left) pages, because it is customary to start chapters on the right page. Totally unnecessary in an eBook.
Make sure the chosen size of your font is big enough. As explained above, a PDF has no reflowable text, and you want people to be able to read your text.
My wish: Have an amazing give-away
What do you think, did I forget important tips? I hope the ones I wrote down here are helpful and if you have any questions, I am all ears.
xxx
Hannie
Recent Comments
31
Excellent post, Hannie.
You mentioned the need to get the font size right for a pdf to be readable on mobile.
In you experience:
1. What font and size would you recommend for mobile?
2. Is there an easy way to make a pdf page width work well on mobile?
Thank you
:-)
Richard
Thanks, Richard.
You can solve part of the problem by not using an A4 format, but using a smaller size. You will be more inclined to have a smaller column that way.
It's hard to pinpoint an exact font size because it depends on the size of the page, but I use either 12 or 14 points myself.
Does this give you something to hold on to?
The easiest control is making one page and checking it on mobile before making the complete eBook.
xxx
Hannie
You're welcome!
I bought an e-book program a few years ago, yet, alas, I have not yet used it to make a book....lol
I when I think of 'book' I see a couple hundred pages. What you have described is viable for me.
Rudy
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Thank you for the blog post. Very helpful 🙀I am still in a quandary with the E-books decision- do I create one from scratch or join a PLR site and get one. Most of the PLR programs I searched only allow the good products for bonuses but not as free giveaways. This is compounded by my sites being Lead gen sites. Decisions decisions 🌞
Thanks, Chris.
I am amazed that the PLR you found doesn't allow it as a giveaway. I don't see much difference between a bonus and a give-away. But what you can also do is rephrase the sentences of a good PLR article you found. Or just use them as inspiration.
Good luck,
xxx
Hannie