Why Should I Publish an eBook?

Ultimately, the goal of content marketing is to offer value to your target audience. Publishing an eBook gives you a fantastic opportunity to reach potential customers and impress them with your industry knowledge. Additionally, an eBook can help answer a question or solve a problem for your readers. If you love creating content, publishing an eBook is an excellent way to monetize your passion and build your brand.

Steps to Successfully Publish an eBook

1. Cover Design

Before laying out your eBook, it's crucial to have a professional cover. A cover is the first thing a potential reader sees and can make or break whether they will buy your eBook. While you can DIY cover design, it’s often best to hire a professional designer. If you want to try it yourself, we offer a 3-part tutorial on cover creation. When designing your cover, ensure it looks good as a thumbnail. Use a simple font like Times New Roman to maintain a professional look while keeping it readable. Embed the font used in your cover if it's not a standard font, and consider using the same font for the book's title for consistency.

2. Formatting

After you’ve created your cover, it's time to format your eBook. This can be a straightforward process, especially if your book has minimal images. For more complex formatting, we recommend using Jutoh, but other software options are available. Use a simple font like Times New Roman, as it is readable and widely available. For title fonts, you can choose a slightly more fancy font, but make sure it's included in the ebook. Optimize images before inserting them into the eBook; larger images increase the size and drive up Kindle delivery fees on Amazon, reducing your potential profit. Ensure you own the correct license to use any images in a commercial context.

Your eBook should include a copyright page at the beginning. For more tips on designing a professional eBook, including what to include in your eBook, visit this post. Once your eBook is formatted, export it to EPUB and MOBI formats. You’ll need to publish it on Amazon separately if you plan to offer it on third-party platforms like your website or BookCave.

3. Choosing Retailers

There are various retailers where you can sell your eBook, including Amazon, Barnes Noble, iTunes, iBooks, Google Play, Smashwords, and Kobo. To maximize your reach, we recommend publishing your eBook on all of these retailers. There are also services that publish your eBook to groups of these retailers for you, such as Draft2Digital and Smashwords. Draft2Digital distributes to Apple Books, Barnes Noble, Kobo, Ininker (formerly Page Foundry), Scribd, and 24Symbols, keeping an additional 15% of your royalties for their service. Smashwords distributes to Smashwords, Barnes Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, Scribd, libraries, and many smaller ebook vendors, also keeping an additional 15% for their service. Both of these services require you to publish your eBook on Amazon separately, which is a simple process.

By following these steps, you can effectively publish your eBook and reach a wider audience, increasing your chances of success in the competitive world of content marketing.