If you’re running a business in today’s world, then you likely know you should be building your email list. This is only possible with a lead magnet, which can come in the form of an ebook. Check out this blog to find out how to create a high quality ebook all on your own (without a designer).
What is a lead magnet and why do I need one for my business?
One thing that holds people back from starting to email stuff to their customer is the fear of being spammy, salesy, or simply bugging their customer. That’s why I always say you need to prioritize adding value to your ideal customer. Luckily, there is one simple way to truly add value and build your email list at the same time. That one simple step is creating a lead magnet (eg, a high quality ebook).
Put simply, a lead magnet is a value-packed offer that compels your customer to give you their email in exchange for what you are offering. It’s a freebie and can come in many forms. A lead magnet can be a:
- downloadable PDF or high quality ebook
- a discount code for your online store
- educational video series
- webinar
- quiz
Just to name a few.
Why do lead magnets work?
Gone are the days where someone would willingly sign up to your email list to “stay in the know”. People don’t want to your sporadic newsletter, they want value. The reason that lead magnets work so well to build your email list is because it offers something of value in exchange for the email. This means that a good lead magnet must be something that your customer actually desires. The easiest lead magnet to setup and implement is a discount code because you don’t need to create any content to support it. It’s simply an automated email that delivers the discount code to the customer. But for today, we are going to focus on creating a high quality ebook as a lead magnet to build your email list.
How do I create an ebook for my business?
First, you need to pick your ebook topic and set your title.
The topic is the most important step of the process because if the topic of your ebook isn’t compelling or doesn’t interest your ideal customer, they won’t opt-in.
Choose your topic
The best way to choose your topic is to look at your frequently asked questions. Can you compile an ebook out of these questions? In providing the answers to a known problem, your ebook becomes high quality. For small business owners, I recommend choosing a topic that is evergreen, meaning it won’t date or become irrelevant. To give you some context, my first lead magnet was a downloadable PDF named, “5 free ways to take your Instagram to the next level” and I used it for over 6 months. This one lead magnet landed me thousands of email subscribers. So while it takes time to create an ebook, it can last you a long time!
Set your title
You’ve got less than 3 seconds to grab your audience’s attention. We must remember that we are working with the short attention spans of our customer so the topic and title of the ebook needs to be short, punchy and interesting. Think of the title as the headline of the piece. The most high quality ebook titles include the following 3 components:
- Result
Show the result they are looking for - Objection
Identify an objection they might have - Time
Share how long this will take
Example: Triple your Instagram Reels views (result) in 2 weeks (time) without dancing (objection)
Secondly, you need to write the high quality content
Once you have your topic, you can now write that high quality ebook content. Easy, right? In theory! Writing content is fun for some and not so fun for others. When writing, I generally start with the key points and then pad out the rest of the content from there. Then, when I’m happy with the plan, I block out a couple of hours in my calendar, put on some Beyonce, and get to work. Oh, and by the way, wine helps.
Remember that you want to keep your content simple. Don’t try to teach someone everything you know in one ebook. Make it valuable but don’t overdo it.
Finally, you need to design your ebook
The design component can be the thing that stalls the lead magnet (ebook) process, but once you have a template to work from, this step will become a breeze! My big tip is to not spend hours on end designing. Promise you won’t do that, okay?
To design a powerful, high quality ebook, I recommend using Canva. Canva is a great DIY design tool if you’re without a designer. It is easy to use, edit, and customize for your own brand. Canva also allows you to create branded templates, which means you can rinse and repeat a lot of your designs. For an ebook, the design is super important. You want your ebook to feel high quality but still simple, which is where having a designer comes in handy, but not all small businesses can afford to outsource.
That’s why we have made an ebook template for Canva that will save you so much time and money. Instead of spending hours staring at a blank Word Doc (or confusing program built for designers), this template will give you the headstart you need to publish an ebook in no time. The beauty of our template is that it gives you prompts for what to include on each page.
Okay, those are my 3 steps to create a high-quality ebook without outsourcing to a designer. It’s SO simple.
Now, what are you waiting for? It’s time to build your ebook and use it as a lead magnet to build your email list.
Go get ’em!
