Textbooks Ebooks

6 Ways to Disappoint Customers With a Crappy Ebook

I bought Offshore Commuting from EscapeArtist.com partially because I have lived overseas and my wife and I are planning to move back to Central America, but mostly because I am interested in doing business with the parent company and wanted to make sure that they were someone whom I could trust my professional reputation with. It was a good move and well worth the $20 bucks, because the book is a case study in common mistakes in Ebooks and it might help some readers. After all, if a regular book sucks than at least you can light your campfire with it; but you have to be much more creative to get value out of an eBook gone bad.

No Graphics or Photos

Look, with amazing and breathtaking photos available for free on flicker.com (don’t forget to give credit to the photographer) and inexpensive photos and graphics at iStockphoto.com there is absolutely no reason not to include some images that can bring some life into your book. I may turn an exquisite phrase, but the perfect photo can frame and enhance my prose to make it truly a masterpiece. Or at least readable.

No Table of Contents

Nothing screams amateur like the lack of a detailed table of contents with hyperlinked indexes. The first page I read, or at least review, in any book is the index. It helps me organize my reading and serves as a reference when I’m done. God knows I could use a little more organization in my life.

No Section About the Author

I may be a hideous freak of nature but I still always like to include a photo with some biographical information about myself on every book or article that I do. First, it helps the reader establish a connection with me and helps me put some of my personality into my work. By this I don’t just mean in a purely professional way; this is not a resume. Rather it is a blend of the personal and the professional and establishes what makes me unique and interesting. Plus, in my case, I get some sympathy because I’m so damn ugly.

Second, don’t just see your eBook as a one time off the shelf product but see it as a paving stone in the road you are building to your professional success. Your eBook helps establish your professional identity and brand and you need to establish yourself in it as much as possible.

No Personality in Writing

I once had an accounting professor who literally wrote the book on corporate income tax. As you can imagine, the book was your typical, dry college textbook; except he still managed to put some personality in it. In the examples, instead of saying Mr. Jones, Chief Financial Officer of ABC Corp he would use something like Jimmy Moneystud, CFO of Big Baller, Inc. Also, the guy had kids that played soccer and was a bit of a soccer nut, this was during the 2002 World Cup, and managed to bring in soccer references in his material. Now when I write I think of that guy and think that if he can put personality into an accounting textbook then really none of us has an excuse not to season our material with our own personalities.

No Updates if Material is Technical or Timely in Nature

The world changes and, unless your eBook is on using the ancient Greek method of fermentation to make wine in your basement, your eBook needs to change too. Open any book cover at Borders and you’ll see multiple published dates, especially if the book is informative or at least somewhat technical in nature. The subsequent dates are often revisions in which the book was revised to keep up with changes in the material. Your eBook, if you continue to sell it, must be kept up to date as well and the reader should be informed of any revisions.

No Follow Through or Use of Social Media

Once you’ve drawn the reader in and dazzled them with your wit and personality then don’t just let them walk quietly away into the darkness but rather give your new friend (the reader) the chance to maintain and even enforce the connection that you have established. Provide links to your blog or Facebook fan page, let them follow you on Twitter, and lead them to other products you have been involved in. This isn’t just good business, this is a service to your client. After all, they’ve just been educated and entertained and are starving for more. So don’t leave them hanging, throw them a bone.

How to do it Write Right

Besides not doing any of the above, you should look to the experts. Pat at the Smart Passive Income blog (smartpassiveincome.com) has a brilliant eBook available that is a guide to writing eBooks! Better still, all it costs you is your name and email address. I have used it for my own eBook and I absolutely love it. Note, I get absolutely nothing from Pat, not even a thanks, for recommending this to you. Besides Pat’s book there are a number of books and blogs out there that can help. In addition, if you are going to market through another website then see if anyone will edit your book. Have a pair of experienced eyes read and edit your book adds tremendous value.

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