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Jump Start Your Viral Ebook Campaign
By Maggie Lietz
And of course, you'll want to provide access to your free ebook on your existing web pages. But what you should also do is create a separate page for your free ebook. And not just any page. You need to actively "sell" it just like you would a paid product. You have to realize that free ebook downloads in general have reached epidemic proportions, mainly because more and more marketers are taking advantage of this viral technique. Viewers are becoming somewhat numb and will often pass on an opportunity simply due to free ebook "overload". If you're going to establish a solid viral campaign, you need to give people a valid and realistic reason to take possession of your free ebook. Basically, you need to make your own ebook stand out from countless others across the Internet. The first step in doing that is to come up with a good title, one that will not only get viewer attention but leave no doubt in their mind that the content is worth having. If possible, you should also have a 3D cover image representing your free ebook, whether it's your personal ebook or a customized version of someone else's. Finally, there's the web page itself. As I mentioned previously, you should "sell" your free ebook just like you would any other product. Start with a great headline, write some good sales copy, and make certain you include a list of the benefits. Instead of simply providing the viewer with a download link for yet another free ebook, you'll be giving them the opportunity to see just what they're getting beforehand. In other words, you'll be "selling" them on why they should take possession. But that's not the only advantage of having a separate web page. In order to get as much publicity for your free ebook as possible, you should contact ezine owners and encourage them to mention it in their publication. And rather than try to explain how "good" your ebook is and why they should offer it to their subscribers, you can merely send them to your web page. That way, they can see just how serious you are about the quality of your ebook as well as download a copy in order to personally review it. Another method for jump-starting your campaign is to submit your free ebook to major download locations such as CNET and ZDNet. If your ebook is accepted, there's no limit to how many times it can be downloaded from these types of high-traffic websites. Additionally, there are numerous directories where you can submit an ebook the same way you would when submitting your website to search engines. Some directories even specialize in free ebooks exclusively. EbookDirectory.com, for example, claims to be "the biggest directory of free ebooks online". If the content of your ebook involves a highly specific, smaller targeted audience, then by all means take the time to submit to as many of the more specialized directories and websites as well. And even if your ebook would appeal to a wider range of viewers, get it listed in all the locations you possibly can. Remember, the more times your ebook is downloaded, the faster it will be passed around the Internet. Other methods you should seriously consider when promoting your free product are discussion boards, classified ads, free ezine ads, and ebook exchanges (where you offer other website owners the opportunity to mention their free items if they'll mention yours). Needless to say, the more exposure you can get, the faster your free ebook will be passed around. The result, of course, is to create a viral marketing technique which develops and generates its own self-perpetuating growth.
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