There are two key "pieces" missing from nearly all viral eBook campaigns… and if YOUR eBook is missing either of these, you’ll be settling for a fraction of the results you could be getting!

Here’s the problem: Most marketers who write viral eBooks format these as text files, Microsoft Word documents, Adobe Acrobat PDFs, and in other common formats. These formats are pretty universal, so most people will be able to read them… but they’re missing two HUGELY important features:

Capture reader contact information: Say someone downloads your eBook "101 Resources for Customizing Your Golf Cart" as a Word document or PDF. They really enjoy the eBook and would definitely be open to hearing from you with related offers or information, such as a limited-time discount on golf cart accessories.

Your eBook has just won you a highly targeted potential customer for your products and services… but you’ve got no way to know who they are, so you can’t follow up with them! And unless they happen to see your other marketing efforts, they’ll probably never make a purchase from you!

After all, when you sell an eBook you can make countless duplications of it at NO additional cost. Your manufacturing, stocking, packaging AND delivery costs are non-existent.

That means your profit margin is 100%!

But did you know that you can multiply the profits of an existing business by giving an eBook away — for FREE?

"How can you make money by giving something away for free?" you ask?

It’s simple… you create a free eBook stuffed with tons of valuable information, and then use it as a VIRAL marketing tool, encouraging people to download it, read it, and share it with their friends.

Once people see the value you’re giving away for free, they’ll want to pass it on to their friends – and word about you and your business will spread like wildfire through the online community.

Done right, this strategy can give you a strong personal AND professional reputation online, while creating plenty of visibility for you and your business.

And it can drive a ton of new visitors to your website… resulting in a huge increase in sales of your product!

(In fact, you can even use a free viral eBook to promote the eBook you’re selling. The quality of the information you offer in your viral eBook will go a long way to persuading potential customers that your main eBook is well worth the price.)


Best of all, a viral eBook is a FREE advertising tool.

You don’t need to pay to get it in front of potential customers, because they’ll already be sharing it with each other. They’ll email their friends a copy… or send a copy to a coworker through instant messaging… or post it on a blog or forum… and your message will spread across the Internet while you sit back and watch.

Your viral eBook will help you gain a "sales force" of thousands of
enthusiastic people who recommend your eBook to everyone they meet…
helping you build a rock-solid reputation for yourself.

And you
can bet that when these potential customers are in the mood to make a
purchase that’s related to the subject of your eBook, you’re one of the
first sources they’ll think of!

Okay, so you’re excited about using a viral eBook as a marketing tool, but you still have one main question:


… What on earth can you write about???

Here are seven proven ideas you can use to get started creating your own free viral eBook today:

Idea #1: Industry update report

If major changes have recently happened in your industry — or if there are any major developments on the horizon — an industry update report can be a great way to get your name associated with these hot new trends and developments.

This is a great way to make a name for yourself within your industry. And when the trend heats up, you can bet that the number of people reading and sharing your eBook will skyrocket, too.

Idea #2: Industry resource guide

A resource guide can be really helpful to people who are just getting started in your industry, or who are looking for new contacts, ideas, or opportunities.

By writing this type of guide, you can develop a strong reputation for yourself as a reliable "industry insider" whom people can approach when they’re looking for resources. And when the time comes for them to buy a product or service, you can bet that YOU will be the first person they turn to.

Idea #3: Interviews with industry experts

Everyone loves to hear what the leaders in their industry are doing. After all, one of the best — and fastest — ways to become successful is to follow in the footsteps of those who’ve already achieved incredible success.

It’s easy to create an eBook that’s made up of a collection of interviews. All you have to do is send out a few emails to people in your field and ask them to share their experiences with you. People love to talk about what they do.

Plus, with this type of eBook, you’ll have 100% exclusive, original content – which is sure to appeal to your potential readers!

Idea #4: Special tips from industry insiders

This variation on Idea #3 can be another great source of valuable content. Instead of interviewing experts, you simply contact them and ask for their tips on how to solve common problems and overcome obstacles in your field. Then, group the tips by topic and you’ll have a book of "insider tips" that’s sure to be a hit.

Idea #5: "How-to" instruction guides

Of course, if you’re something of an expert yourself, there’s no need to consult with other experts to create your eBook! Go ahead and write your own eBook that teaches people a hard-to-learn skill or helps them get started in your field of expertise.

Idea #6: User manuals for hard-to-use products

If you have expert knowledge or lots of experience with a product that’s hard to use, you could create a start-to-finish user manual or beginner’s guide that helps new users get up and running with the product. If it’s a product that’s just starting to grow in popularity, your eBook will be sure to create a buzz.

Another variation on this idea is to create an eBook that lists alternate uses for common products and explains how people can start using them in new ways. For example, you might write a guide that lists 10 little-known uses for iPods, or 10 creative ways to recycle your old computer equipment.

Idea #7: Reviews of industry products

Product reviews are becoming indispensable resources in the online shopping community. People love to read reviews of products before they buy them – so if you’ve tried out some popular products that would appeal to your market, you’ve got some great information to include in your eBook.

So there are some ideas to get you started… Choose the one that appeals to you most and run with it!

Just remember that when you create your eBook, you’ll want to use software that allows you to…

1. Track the number of copies distributed

2. Capture reader contact information

After all, you’re going to want to know how popular it is with your audience, and how many people end up sharing it with others.

And of course, you’ll want to stay in contact with the people who have downloaded it. They’ve demonstrated an interest in the information you have to offer — and that means they’ve just identified themselves as great potential customers!

Maybe you simply purchase advertising space in the Yellow Pages every year. Or maybe you print flyers to distribute, or take out ads in newspapers or magazines that are read by your target market.

If you’re marketing your business online, you might be placing ads on relevant web sites or in e-zines… or purchasing pay-per-click advertising on major search engines… or paying a search engine optimization (SEO) company to bring your web site closer to the top of the search engine results pages…

Whatever strategies you’re using, one thing is for certain — if you’re serious about growing your business, a substantial portion of your budget is probably going toward advertising!

The concept behind viral eBooks requires a bit of a shift in thinking from more traditional advertising models. (It’s definitely worth the effort to grasp the concept, because it could easily save you thousands of dollars in advertising expenses while generating just as many — or even MORE — new customers for your business!)

Here’s the difference:

• With traditional advertising, you create an ad, then pay to put it in front of potential customers, with the goal of getting them excited about your product or service so they’ll visit your web site or offline business and make a purchase.

• With a viral eBook, you create a free, information-rich product that’s packed with value, then encourage people to download it, read it, and share it with their friends. When these people see the value you’re giving away for free, they naturally tell their friends about this great resource — and word about you and your business spreads like wildfire through the online community!

Advantage #1: Viral marketing exponentially increases the visibility of your business

If you can persuade 10 people to pass your eBook on to 10 of their friends, and those friends each pass it on to 10 of their friends, you will exponentially increase the impact of your marketing message!

After only three generations…

• First generation: 10 people see your eBook

• Second generation: 100 people see your eBook
• Third generation: 1,000 people see your eBook

… 1,110 people have seen your eBook!

Obviously, this example has been oversimplified so it is easily understood. There will always be people who don’t pass your message on, and there will always be people who pass your message on to significantly more people than average. Still, you can see that even with only a handful of people participating, your exposure on the Web can increase at fantastic speeds.

Advantage #2: Viral Marketing establishes credibility and trust

With a free, informative eBook, you’re not beating someone over the head with a message that shouts, "Buy this product!" Instead, you’re offering them something they’re likely to find useful and inviting them to share it with anyone else who might like it.

This way, every time your eBook is shared with a new person, it will come with a personal recommendation from one of that person’s friends or family members… and this can be extremely powerful!

People are very open to these third-party recommendations because it’s like one friend telling another about a favorite restaurant or movie. They are doing their friend or family member a favor by recommending a quality product or service. And that’s why people who learn about your eBook via a friend or relative are much more likely to trust you!

Amazon.com knows this strategy well. Anyone who has visited or bought something from this Internet giant has probably noticed that they encourage you to send a gift to a friend or relative. But did you know that with every gift you send, Amazon.com includes a flyer that promotes their products?

You send a gift to a friend. They open your package and discover your gift… and the flyer. You have just sent your friend a very subtle — but VERY effective — endorsement for Amazon.com.

Advantage #3: Viral marketing compels people to interact with your message

Viral marketing compels people to actively engage the message you send, rather than passively hear or view it. This dramatically increases the probability that they’re going to absorb that message, remember it, and repeat it.

For example, if someone tells you a joke, and you repeat it to one or two friends, chances are pretty good that you’ll (a) remember it, and (b) repeat it again when the opportunity arises. If you hear a joke, but don’t repeat it within a reasonable period of time, you’ll probably forget it forever (unless you have a fantastic memory). Viral marketing works on the very same principle.

When people think about sharing your eBook with friends or associates, they’ll likely feel compelled to consider what they’ve just read and come up with an explanation of why they’re sharing it. For example, if they know that a friend is having difficulty housebreaking a new puppy, they might share your eBook on puppy housetraining and add a comment like "Check out the strategies in Chapter 5 — I’ll bet you haven’t tried all of these yet!"

Interacting with a message makes people more likely to remember that message — and pass it on!

Advantage #4: Viral marketing keeps your advertising costs low

The beauty of viral marketing is that it keeps advertising costs down by getting your customers to do the advertising for you. If they see real value in your eBook, readers will feel compelled to share it with friends, family, and colleagues, who will in turn sing the praises of the eBook to their friends, family, and colleagues.

And no matter how many people start recommending your eBook, you won’t have to pay them a cent! It’s human nature to want to be the first to share exciting new information with people we know. By using this knowledge to your advantage, you can get your message out to thousands or even millions of people — and after you’ve created the eBook, you won’t need to pay a single penny to spread it across the Internet!

Advantage #5: Viral marketing keeps the integrity of your message intact

Ever notice how a rumor can shift and change until its original message has been replaced with something entirely different? Well, the great thing about viral marketing online is that it’s far easier to keep the content of your original message intact so that…

1. Everyone gets the same, compelling message, and

2. Your message has the same impact on the first generation of people who see it as the 30th generation of people who see it.

For example, let’s say you publish an article in your local newspaper. The article is filled with useful information that your target audience has a direct interest in. At the end of the article, you include a brief plug for your business and say, "If you enjoyed this article, please be sure to share it with a friend!"

This month, I’ll be sharing strategies you can use to quickly spread
the word and get a ton of new readers downloading your viral eBook. Please leave me a comment if you’d like me to cover any specific topics on using eBooks to drive your Internet business.

How many people do you think will share this article? Probably a few, but not as many as you’d like. Why? Because to share the article, they have to either clip the article or haul around the bulky newspaper until they can give it to their friend. And if they don’t forget about it entirely, the fact is, they’ll probably only give it to one friend.

Of course, the other possibility is that the reader might try to tell their friend about your article during their next conversation, but this means that the impact of your original message will be lost. At most, their friend will probably express polite interest, and then move on to another subject. The friend wasn’t exposed to your original message, so the impact has been significantly diluted.

With a viral eBook, using our eBook Pro software, these problems are easily eliminated. When someone decides to share your eBook with a friend, they can simply click the "Share" button to instantly create a new e-mail message with your eBook attached, along with all the instructions their friend will need to download and unlock a new copy! Within seconds — and with a single click — your message has been shared, without editing, in its entirety!

This ensures that your message is just as powerful for the hundredth generation of people who see it as for the first!