Ebooks are part of the new frontier of cyberspace.

They are an entirely new medium for sharing marketing

information, ideas, techniques, and expert knowledge.

Each day the number of people accessing the Internet

grows, causing the exposure of your ebook to increase

incrementally. It's obvious why electronic

self-publishing has become so popular so quickly.

The publishing industry, I hope, does not intend to

forever banish the printed word to the dustbin of

history. Books in print have their own special

qualities and merits, and the world would be

diminished by their disappearance.

Having said that, let's look at what makes ebooks so

important and so unique. Ebooks have certain abilities

and qualities that other mediums do not possess.

For example, ebooks are fairly easy to produce, and

their production cost is inexpensive. Just think about

it: you don't need a publisher, an agent, a printing

press, offset film, ink, paper, or even a distributor.

You just need a great concept, the ability to write it

or to hire a writer, and the right software.

Additionally, ebooks are easily and rapidly

distributed online. They are also easily updated; they

do not require a second print run. All you need is to

go into your original creation and modify the text or

graphics. Because of this flexibility, ebooks can

change and grow as fast as you can type.

Ebooks are also immediately obtainable. You don't have

to go to a bookstore or search through endless titles

at an online bookstore. All you have to do is download

it from a website, and presto! It's on your computer,

ready to be read.

Ebooks are interactive. This is one of the most unique

and specific qualities that ebooks offer. You can add

surveys that need to be filled out, order forms for

customers to purchase your products or goods, sound

and video that draw your reader into the virtual world

of your ebook, even direct links to relevant sites

that will expand your ebook outward. The potential is

virtually limitless.

Ebooks have a particular kind of permanence that other

mediums do not possess. Television shows and radio

shows air once, and then may rerun a few times. Ebooks

remain on your computer for as long as your choose,

and they can be read and reread whenever you choose

to. They can even be printed out and stored on the

shelves of your traditional home library.

Another wonderful quality is that ebooks have no

barriers in terms of publishing. You don't need to go

through the endless process of submitting your

manuscript over and over again, and then once you land

an agent, having the agent submit your manuscript over

and over again. Nor do you have to shell out thousands

of dollars for printing a self-published book. All

ebooks require is a writer and appropriate software.

Figure out your market, write your book, post it on

your website, and with the right business savvy, your

audience will come to you.

Finally, you have creative control over your ebook.

You don?t have to compromise with an editor or the

publishing trends of the time. You don't have to

haggle with a designer or wait for copyedited galleys

to arrive by snail mail. You are in complete control

of the design and the text.

How to Use ebooks for Marketing and Promotion

There are innumerable ways to use ebooks to promote

your business and drive quality traffic to your

website. Once posted on your site, you can turn them

into a daily course, which brings your customer back

to read the next chapter. You can use them as a free

gift for making a purchase or for filling out a

survey. Put your ebook on a disc, and you will have an

innovative brochure. Blow your competition away by

inserting the disc into your sales packages.

The most effective marketing products are those that

are unique. Copyright your ebook, and immediately, you

have a powerful tool that you, and you alone, can

offer to the public. People will have to visit your

site to acquire your ebook, which increases the flow

of quality traffic and the potential of sales and

affiliate contacts.

Make sure that you keep your ebook current. Update it

frequently as the market and trends change. Add new

advice and techniques to show your prospects how your

goods or services can enrich their lives. By

constantly keeping abreast of new trends and

techniques, you can continue to see profits from your

ebook for years after your original creation.

Another phenomenal advantage of ebooks is that you can

test their marketing potential without putting out

hardly any cash at all. You can even produce an ebook

one copy at a time, each time you receive an order,

eliminating the need for storage and inventory. By

this method, you can gauge the saleablity of your

ebook, and make adjustments as necessary until the

orders start pouring in. Ebooks allow you to learn

about your market and customer habits and motivation

over a period of time, without risking your precious

financial resources. They also provide you with an

invaluable way to gather marketing information, which

you can use in many different facets of your business.

Use your ebook to discover what the specific goals and

problems are in your specific industry. Then figure

out how to solve these problems, and publish an ebook

with this invaluable information. This will increase

the value of your business, upgrade your reputation,

and get you known as an expert in your field.

You can extend the value of single ebook by breaking

the book down into chapters for a serial course, into

special reports available on your website, or into

audio or visual tapes. Ebooks can be broken down into

several different promotional materials by excepting

some of the articles and using them to promote your

product. You can include a catalog in your ebook to

promote all the products or services you sell. You can

include a thank-you note for reading your book and an

invitation to download a trial version of your

product. Or you can include a form for your audience

to contact you for further information or with

questions, thereby building your business

relationships and your mailing list.

Using ebooks in this manner helps to cut the cost of

individually producing separate promotional materials.

You can use a single ebook to entice new prospects and

to sell new products to your current customers.

No other medium has this kind of flexibility and

ability for expansion. Think of your ebook like a

spider spinning a beautiful and intricate web. Now go

and create that web, and see how many customers and

prospects you can catch!