I ground myself to death in the office day and night... until my wife said she forgot what I looked like!
But my website was just not getting enough visitors. Then a friend told me his secret. And I just have to share this with you...
Almost no one is using it. Few understand it. Yet it's a common sense and simple thing to do!
A demo e-book!
Okay, these were my questions (and yours too, probably):
1. A demo e-book? What's that?
It's a trial version e-book, in which only some of the chapters are enabled. And you set up an ordering form to go with it, like those that all shareware programs have.
People who download this trial version, if they like it, can then buy the whole e-book.
When they pay, they get a key for the program that unlocks all the chapters.
But please remember this. It's important that your free e-book have plenty of links back to your website.
2. Where can I submit my demo e-book?
When you're ready, you just log in to shareware sites and upload this demo version.
Here are some directories you can submit to:
http://www.free-ebooks.net/
http://www.ebooksnbytes.com
http://www.zdnet.com
http://www.upload.com
http://www.reportsearch.com/
http://www.ebookdirectory.com/
http://ebooks.searchking.com
3. What if I don't have my own e-book?
No sweat. You simply start collecting articles from other ezines... on a chosen topic.
Here your secret of success is to make sure that the topic relates closely to your web site's theme. So, for example, if you're marketing golfing equipment, a good topic to collect articles on could be "Secrets of Golfing Pros".
Suppose you have collected 20 or 25 articles on that particular topic. The next step is to contact each author and ask their permission to include their articles (with the author's Resource Box) in your free e-book.
4. How can I know how much traffic my free e-book is bringing me?
That's easy.
Just
make a copy of your web page and then identify it with nother name.
For example, if your site is http://www.archaeologyanswers.com
you could name it
http://www.archaeologyanswers.com/free-ebook.html
Then, instead of linking your free e-book to your home page, you link it to this duplicate page.
There is good software available that can track how many visitors are coming from your e-book. You could check out one of these:
http://assoctrac.com
www.roibot.com
www.GetResponse.com
5. How can I increase the exposure of my site?
These two tips may help you:
1. Add a short note on the index page of your demo e-book, such as: "You are welcome to give away this e-book from your own web site."
2. List the URL of your home page.
A demo e-book is cool, free advertising on sites that enjoy extremely high traffic.
Submitting a demo e-book is a very clever strategy. It has a multiplier effect that rapidly builds its own momentum. At a certain point it becomes virtually unstoppable.
Now, that's the way to go!