Are you thinking about creating an ebook to promote your business?
You’re on the right track for an effective marketing tactic. People love free stuff just about as much as they love an authoritative resource, who really knows what they’re talking about.
Great ebooks aren’t about lip service or trendy ploys — they’re about in-depth analysis that’s affordable, convenient, and packed with a variety of actionable content. The perspective and expertise you present gives the hungry reader just a first course of the further value they would get from being your client.
Do you know what your ideal client is really asking from your industry? Do you have in-depth insight ready to go? But are you feeling paralysis about how you should even start brainstorming a topic for your ebook?
It’s okay — the best of us need a little boost sometimes to get our creative juices flowing.
Just as AI is a helpful resource for getting started on a first draft, let this guide to 10 ebook ideas and topics be your entryway to brainstorming a winning ebook resource of your own.
10 Ebook Ideas for Attention-Grabbing Marketing in Minimal Time
First, some essential ebook marketing guidelines
Before we dive into specific ebook ideas your brand can leverage, let’s zoom out and refresh. An ebook is a commitment that, if done correctly, can yield excellent marketing ROI and strategic lead generation across the sales funnel.
Some questions to consider before you invest the time and energy to write an ebook for marketing purposes:
- Will your ebook marketing target a niche audience with specific needs, concerns, or qualifications?
- Are you ready and willing to expand the topic’s value with in-depth analysis, infographics, video segments, expert perspectives, and actionable content?
- What’s your plan to adequately promote the ebook beyond a landing page, an email to your clients, and a quick LinkedIn post?
Even with a crunch for time, you can take a deliberate and collaborative approach to creating ebook content that bolsters your brand’s authority, and builds quality connection with clients and peers in your industry.
Some key reminders as you prepare to take the dive into developing an ebook:
- Don’t try to cover everything — select one niche query clients in your industry are searching for. What are people really asking, right now? Your ebook is a direct answer.
- Link to other external resources that you have fully vetted as credible and authoritative to bolster your own authority on the subject..
- Research and optimize keywords for your ebook content, or hire an agency who can help you do that. Even if your ebook is formatted as a downloadable PDF, Google can still search and rank it like your blog content!
- Gather insight on the demand your topic is generating. What have your competitors written? How did they distribute it? Use these insights to inform your unique approach to the audience you are reaching.
- Interview people! Talk to other experts as part of your in-depth research. And talk to your own happy clients as case studies.
- Got great blog content? Don’t be afraid to repurpose blog content into your ebook, if the information is relevant!
- Ensure a consistent brand voice throughout your writing — or hire a professional marketing content writer to do this.
- Your content should be actionable throughout, and speak to every stage of the content marketing funnel — with calls-to-action that match.
- If you need a refresher on the concept of promoting to these funnel stages, The Content Marketing Institute has an excellent resource for planning and promoting ebooks according to this funnel approach.
Now for some winning ebook ideas
Now that you’ve honed in on a question your desired client is asking, present an answer in one of these topical formats. Remember: this is both 1) actionable content that your reader can implement in their lives and work right now, and 2) a preview of so much more they could be getting with your services… so plant your CTAs accordingly!
- A how-to guide. This one is a standard. This can be step-by-step, or an introduction for a new face in the industry you’re catering to.
Example: A Beginner’s Guide to Promoting Your Ebook and Building Your Brand
- An ultimate guide. These can be tricky to assemble without the sense that something might be missing. “The ultimate guide to ___,” or “Everything you need to know about ___” both indicate a complete, all-encompassing resource. Our advice? Pick a specific and just go for it, knowing that every industry experiences shifts in standards all the time. Consider releasing yearly, updated editions of this resource to guarantee a stream of fresh and regular content.
Example: The Ultimate Guide to Creating an Engaging Social Media Presence for Your Brand
- Tell the story of a real-life client. Stories are powerful. Take a testimonial from one of your happiest clients, and tell the story of how they navigated an issue or change that strikes a timely chord in your industry. This serves to give your reader a concrete example in which they can find commonality and empowerment. Plus, it’s a fabulous endorsement for your business.
Example: How ABC Construction Built a Seven-Figure Brand Through a Marketing Overhaul
- Tell your story. Don’t just tell a story — tell your story. This approach gives your business a face and a voice that your clients can relate to and trust. Draw from your personal experience: learning moments, wins, losses, how you got to “now,” and how you can help the reader get “there” too.
Example: My first startup failed. Here’s what I learned, and how it led me to the career I’d dreamed of.
- Simplify a seemingly complex issue. We love the word “demystify.” Find a complex or multifaceted question that your intended client may be asking, and try to distill the issue down into well-organized (but comprehensive) bites.
Example: Keyword Research, De-mystified.
- Insider insight. What’s the “hidden truth” about an issue, practice, or fad in your industry? Address it here. Give your client exclusive access to your niche expertise, and then invite them to more through a contact form.
Example: The Hidden Truth About Keyword Stuffing Revealed: What Marketers Need To Know
- Ways your client may be wasting time and money. Money and time talk. This is a given attention-grabber that can follow the tracks of the prior insider insights idea. It’s your chance to provide immediate value, and a sense of security that your reader is “finally on the right track.”
Example: Is Your Lack of Content Calendar Costing You Serious Time and Money? Likely, Yes.
- A list of common mistakes or misconceptions. We love a good list, don’t we? You can expand on a list of mistakes or misconceptions that are common in your industry, and how your client can deflect them successfully (with help from your business, of course).
Example: The Top 10 Content Planning Mistakes Most Marketers Make
- A list of winning tactics or positive patterns. Flipping the script from negative to positive here, a list of positive industry trends or tactics that your business puts into practice for its clients.
Example: The Top 10 Social Media Strategies that Set Up Brands for Success.
- Repurpose your blog. What’s your most-read or most-visited blog post? Expand on it, and pull together any other related blog posts.
Still not sure where to start?
Writing an ebook isn’t just writing a really long blog article. It’s a commitment; a value-add marketing initiative that connects with leads on a more intentional, in-depth level. Clients, at any stage of the funnel, want to be spoken with — not spoken at. We can help you develop an ebook that clearly encapsulates your services, with awareness that truly connects with your ideal clients.
R Creative helps you with every stage of brand development, and every kind of written content you need. From blogs, to email campaigns, to ebooks, we can help you craft quality marketing material that rises above the noise.
Your next step to improving your content strategy is as easy as contacting us.