It seemed not so long ago that the idea of being able to download a book to read on a screen, be that a laptop, tablet, smartphone or dedicated e-reader, would be hard to imagine. However, fast forward a few years and we are now in a world where the eBook has become part and parcel of our digital lives, including when it comes to thought leadership.   

If you are a consultancy firm, then being able to share an eBook that you have created can be a hugely beneficial part of marketing yourself. Not only because it allows you to showcase all of your wonderful knowledge in the area, but also because it can be used as a tool to collect email addresses and information that relates to your potential clients in the future.   

For your eBook efforts to really hit home, you are going to need to make sure that what you create is going to not only be useful but also is going to be effective in what you want it to do. Which ultimately is to show your firm in the best light possible.  

To help you try and achieve this, I have put together some of the winning eBook strategies that you can use for your consultancy.   

Get the basics right  

For your eBook to be successful, you are going to need to encourage people to want to download it. One of the simplest ways that you can do this is by choosing a descriptive and interesting title that is going to capture the interest of the right people and ensure that they want to learn more about what it is.  

Whilst the main aim should be that you want to get their attention, you also need to make sure that the title that you create for your eBook is going to give a clear message about what your eBook will contain.  

Introduce the author  

Aside from the content that is going to be found in the book, someone who reads an eBook is also going to want to know more about the person (or people) who are writing it. This means that you need to try and introduce the author(s) to the person reading the book.  

This doesn’t have to be a huge amount of information, the idea is that you are just giving an overview of the person whose words they are reading and what makes them an expert in the area too.   

If there is not too big a team behind the eBook, then you may also want to include photos and social media profiles.   

Tag it to make it easier to find 

In order to make sure that people know what to expect from your eBook and to properly target it to that key audience, you are going to need to create relevant tags for the content that is found in the book.   

Tags will help your eBook to be found, not only by anyone but also by those targeted audience members that you want to get it in front of.    

Have chapter pages  

Depending on the nature of the eBook that you create and share, you may have distinct chapters that either need to be read flowing from one to the next, or perhaps they can be read as a standalone piece of information.  

Either way, it is important to have a clear definition between those chapters, something that individual chapter pages can do.   

Not only will this help to showcase what that particular chapter is about but can help the person reading to decide whether or not this part of your eBook is going to be relevant to them.   

Design the cover with great visuals

We all say that we don’t, but the truth is that everyone is responsible for occasionally judging a book by its cover. This means that you need to give some careful thought to how the visuals look for your eBook.   

First and foremost, the cover is going to need to be visually appealing, however, it also needs to be in keeping with your consultancy as a brand, or else they may not tie it into the rest of your marketing efforts.   

The title should not only be highlighted but should always be easy to read. The imagery that you use should be eye-catching, but it should never be too busy, else this may take away from what you are trying to say.  

If your eBook is part of a series, or you have several out there in the world, then you are going to want to have some kind of design feature that is going to be able to tie it all together.   

Don’t forget the table of contents  

Even the smallest of eBooks are likely to be packed full of information. Whilst this makes them incredibly useful of course, it can mean that it is harder to find the information that you want, that is most relevant to you and your individual needs.   

The best way to try and combat this is to create a table of contents. A table of contents is a user-friendly way to present all of the key facts that are going to be found within the pages of the eBook and to make sure that those who are reading it can jump to the exact part that they need.   

Use the power of visuals  

Whilst the words are vitally important within a book, you should never overlook the importance of good quality visuals too. Visuals will, above everything else, break up all that text and make it so much easier to read and digest.   

Visuals make pages more interesting and can also ensure that key points in your content are emphasised,that they are clear and that they cannot be missed.

There are lots of visuals that you can include, depending on the topic of your eBook, these include images, screenshots, bolded text and even charts and infographics too.   

Ensure it is readable  

There are plenty of people who are going to want to read your eBook in the format that it is meant, digitally, but this is not true for everyone. This means that you need to make sure that you make it readable across devices and types. This may be making it readable on mobiles, as well as tablets and laptops, or it may be making it able to be printed as a PDF and read this way instead.   

This means that you need to consider the layout of the content and make it appeal to everyone who may want to read through it.   

Make it shareable  

An eBook should be easy to share with others, one of the best ways that you can do this is to create social media sharing buttons within the book. These should be found a few pages into the book when the reader has settled in and made their decision about whether or not they want to recommend it to their friends and network.   

These buttons do not need to be hugely obvious, as this could be seen to be too pushy, but they should be obvious enough that the reader is encouraged to use them.   

It has to be said that eBooks are a great way to promote your consultancy firm and try your best to find clients that are going to want to know about what you can offer them and the help or advice that you can share with them.   

Take a look at some of my other blogs you may be interested in:

Top 10 tips – how consultancy firms can be authentic on social media

Why a marketing mentor can be pivotal for your consultancy business

Need help?

If you would like help with your marketing then bringing on a marketing consultant with a fresh pair of eyes can make all the difference. I work with B2B businesses and professional service firms in London, Kent, UK and Europe as well as specialising as a Legal Marketing Consultant. Please get in touch or book a free 30-minute consultation.