Article Marketing With Free E-books

Don't just submit your articles to submission sites. You put a great deal of time into writing and perfecting your articles, so you want to get the most out of them. Compile your articles into a professional looking e-book that you can submit to e-book directories and freebie sites, give away as a bonus, or allow e-zine publishers to give away.

Here are the steps I took to create my viral e-book, "Writing for Publicity," using Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat.

1.  Compile Your Articles.

To create your e-book, decide on a theme and then compile your articles and blog postings that fit your theme. Don't confuse readers by throwing together an e-book with multiple topics.

2.  Design a Title Page.

A title page is the first page of an e-book. Use a colorful graphic that fits your theme and add the e-book title, a subtitle if needed, and your name.

3.  Incorporate a Copyright Notice.

Include a copyright statement that gives readers the right to share your e-book but excludes them from making changes to the file. This is the statement I use:

"This e-book is fully protected by the COPYRIGHT LAW OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA contained in Title 17 of the United States Code. All copyrights are owned by YOUR COMPANY HERE. You may distribute this e-book freely. Technology has been used to prevent changes from being made to the content herein."

4.  Classify Your Articles.

Organize your articles logically by subtopic, date written, title, etc. Choose whatever works for you and makes your e-book easy to read.

5.  Create a Table of Contents.

In Microsoft Word you can create a style to use for article titles that you can then incorporate into your table of contents without retyping all the titles. Most word processing software includes this function.

6.  Make Your Links Live.

Check links in your articles to make sure they work.  Update or remove the dead ones.

7.  Include Resource Links Or A Reading List.

If it makes sense, include a list of resource links or a recommended reading list. I use links to my products and services along with links to free resources on article marketing.

8.  Add a Biography and an Ad.

Close your e-book with your biography and picture on one page, and dedicate at least one page to a targeted product or service that fits the theme of the e-book. You can also offer another free product in return for readers subscribing to your e-zine.

9.  Turn Your E-book into an Adobe Acrobat File.

Adobe Acrobat files work with both Mac and PC computers. If you have the full Adobe Acrobat package, you can make PDF files easily. If you do not have that software, there are numerous sites online that can convert your document for you.

10.  Make a Graphic Cover.

Add to the credibility of your viral e-book by creating or buying a graphic cover. The graphic cover can be used on the title page of your Word file and wherever the e-book will be available for download. 

Now, list your e-book in free or paid e-book directories, offer it to publishers to give away to their subscribers, list it in websites that compile free giveaways, and list it as a bonus for your e-zine subscribers and people who purchase your products.

(c) 2009, Davis Virtual Assistance. Publication rights granted so long as article and byline are reprinted intact, with all links made live.