I came across Michael Martines blog this week. In it, he says that he managed to increase his blog’s subscriber count by nearly 200%, to 900 subscribers in just two short weeks, by offering a free eBook for subscribing to his blog.
eBook readers have always sounded like a great idea to me, but until this past holiday season, they've fallen short of expectations. Sony and Amazon have taken advantage of new technology to release eBook readers that they’re hoping will take off.
source: digital-lifestyles.info
Neither Amazon nor Sony have disclosed how many units they’ve actually sold, however Amazon did put out a press release boasting that they “sold out” their initial stock in just five and a half hours! In fact, at one point, the units were selling on eBay for $1,500!
OK, so e-books are gaining in popularity and becoming more common, but what does that mean for search engine marketers? Well, for starters, the readers are not limited to just books. They can also download your favorite magazines, newspapers and blogs.
As we continue to develop content strategies for our clients, it’s important to look at the viability of developing technologies as distribution channels and eBook is one of them...…but only if we have a specific objective first. In Michaels case, his goal was to have as many RSS subscribers as possible and a platform for future offers and services.
Think about your clients. What are their objectives and how can adding eBooks to their site help? If they are trying to lower their operational costs and build brand image and/or awareness, they can re purpose existing marketing materials, case studies, or even previous blog postings, for eBook readers. By developing resource guides or "how-to" instructional series of books, they'll keep traffic coming back, build relationships within their target market and establish themselves as leaders in their field.
Josh Spaulding provides a great step by step guide on how to add the eBook to your website. It's too early to fully debate the investment vs. the impact, but if the readers continue to find a market, they present a range of exciting opportunities for those advertisers that learn to use it in an effective manner.
About the Author: Jeff Quipp
