Did you know that the first electronic book dates back to 1971?
That’s when the US Declaration of Independence was digitized . Ever since, there appeared different variations of digital books, not only ebooks. We’ll cover them all in this article.
saw a massive rise in 2020. In fact, it was for the first time when their sales surpassed those of printed copies. In the United States, for example, online book sales accounted for , as of 2020.
What else is worth knowing about digital book publishing?
Dive into this comprehensive guide. You’ll also discover how to publish digital books and get them successfully promoted and sold on the web. Cover photo by .
Digital Book Publishing: Definition, Types, and Benefits
Let’s stop here and see what digitally published books can look like and why they are beneficial for publishers.
What’s Digital Book Publishing?
Digital or online book publishing is the process of distributing your book content digitally via different channels.
When we talk about “a digital book”, we usually mean an ebook. However, it’s not the only option, when it comes to digital publishing.
There are three basic types of digital books: ebooks, audiobooks, and video books.
- Ebook
An ebook is the most commonly known type of online book. It comes in various formats, majorly in PDF, EPUB, or MOBI.
Check this ebook by Bella Beauty College.
- Audiobook
In 1995, became a pioneer in digital audiobooks making them available for download on digital devices.
Here’s an example of the audiobook How Two: Have a Successful Relationship by Phil and Maude Mayes who share a weekly relationship newsletter on their blog.
- Video book (aka vbook)
A vbook is a relatively new concept and a great replacement for text-heavy ebooks. “Video books are the new ebooks”, as Hannah Cameron, Content Marketing Manager at , puts it.
There are such services as LITvideobooks, for instance, where people can watch vbooks.
Businesses also create vbooks in the form of for their customers. E.g., Art Nouveau Studio shares a list of video books on how they craft products and join sustainable fashion revolution.
Why Publish Your Books Online?
More and more business leaders and authors switch from printed books to digital ones, because the latter offer some valuable advantages:
- Immersive consumer experience
- Higher audience engagement
- Broader reach
- Easier book creation, editing, and distribution analysis
- Cost-efficiency
- Saved time and resources
- Competitiveness on the market
Ebooks, for example, are the key elements in any .
With these benefits in mind, it’s now time to learn how to get your digital book published. Read on.
7 Actionable Tips for Publishing Digital Books
- Polish your content to perfection
“Whether it’s an electronic book, video book, or audiobook, you should give your content a thorough check before publication,” recommends Carson Lang, Co-Founder and COO of .
“It will help you eliminate all the possible errors and deliver the best digital content to your audience. To do a proper revision, use the following checklist: typical flaws (logical fallacy, repetition, contradiction, or missed data), fact-checking, punctuation, spelling, grammar, stylistics, formatting, visuals and/or sound,” he shares.
You may also take advantage of such proofreading and editing software as PDF Reader Pro, Grammarly, Wordy, and the like.
- Craft a compelling cover
The role of has been evolving through years. Now, it’s even more important for businesses than ever before.
How can you make your cover design stand out and lure consumers to buy?
confess that color is the primary factor that makes them purchase a product.
Marketing professionals often pick red for their color palette, since it has a strong ability to capture people’s attention instantly. Check some examples of to spark inspiration for your design.
Some other gimmicks in book jacket design are:
- Emotional triggers (action or vibrant colors like orange, blue, bright green, purple)
- (in fiction, for example, an industrial font is great for dystopian stories, while a curly font with decorations – for romances)
- Subtitles, taglines, or teasing phrases that evoke the desire to read more
- Minimalism
- Uniqueness and personalization
As for the latter, that’s when comes into play. It’s particularly significant for businesses to maintain brand visibility and recognition. You should make an emphasis on your brand name and logo, in the first place. TheyDo, for example, placed both on their ebook cover. The company also mentioned the link to their website.
You might also want to with your audience before choosing the most appealing one for your online book cover.
- Use tools for creating digital books
Grab the following for publishers that help automate and speed up the process.
For ebooks:
- Atticus
- Designrr.io
- Kindle Create
- Venngage
- Publuu
For audiobooks:
- Audiobook Maker
- Revoicer
- Fliki.ai
- Narakeet
- Podcastle.ai
For video books:
- Synthesia.io
- Animoto
- Vimeo Create
- Rawshorts
- Wideo.co
- Optimize your online book description for SEO
According to Morgan Taylor, Co-Founder of , “You can make your ebook more discoverable with targeted keywords in the description. These are the words and phrases that your ideal buyers type in search engines when they look for digital content. They will help you get your work in front of your intended readers and improve your ebook sales.
When selecting relevant keywords, avoid repetition and keyword stuffing. Instead, try to use synonymous phrases or variants of the same keyword.”
For example, take a look at this ebook description of , one of FilterGrade’s best sellers.
It’s packed with the following keywords: digital commuter stories, stories of commuters, NYC commuter story, commuting, photos from New York City, and more.
In case you go with Amazon’s ebook publishing platform Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), you can use these two extensions for Chrome: Amazon & KDP keyword research tool and AMZ Suggestion Expander.
Don’t forget about the keywords for specifically.
- Set the price
“For setting an appropriate price for your digital book, the first thing to do is to analyze the prices in your market and genre,” Shawn Plummer, CEO at .
“Next, you need to evaluate how much you invested into digital book production and what quality you deliver. If it’s just a rewritten material that can be found elsewhere, the cost might be a bit lower. If it can boast of freshness and exclusiveness, the cost should be definitely higher.
It’s also necessary to take into consideration the length of your digital copy and demand for such content type,” he says.
The average price range for ebooks, for example, is between $3 and $10. As for an audiobook edition, it’s $10–$25, depending on the length, of course.
- Announce the upcoming release
It’s crucial to warm up your audience and let them know that your online book is on the way.
Heed the call from Ken Savage, Owner at , and “Start a pre-launch campaign for your digital book a month or two before publishing. It will maximize the efficacy of your product release.
The easiest and foolproof way is to generate buzz around it on social platforms. Social media channels can help you gather pre-orders, achieve word-of-mouth, and generate future sales.”
Example:
Jianhui Lu, aka @Lokinfey, AI Engineer and Microsoft Cloud Advocate, announced his new ebook on Twitter approximately a month before its actual release. The tweet generated thousands of views + likes, retweets, and bookmarks.
One more example:
Megan Chapman, creator of The Savvy VA, also harnessed the power of to pre-launch her ebook How to Increase Sales and Save Time.
She also promised a discount code for early birds and an exclusive offer just for her followers.
- Promote your product everywhere
Website
“Your website is the number one place where you should showcase your digital books,” claims Ryan Hammill, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the .
“You can mention them right on the homepage, discuss them on your blog, and create separate landing pages for each. Besides, consider opening an online book store on your site.”
The Ancient Language Institute, for example, has a Latin bookshop on the website with a collection of Latin books and Latin translations of famous books with links to purchase them from Bookshop.org and Amazon.
You may also tease your website visitors with a free ebook chapter and simultaneously. Just like David Jacobson does with his ebook Highly Humorous Leadership.
Social Media
If you’re planning to go social, you might need to create a highly-converting .
Here’s a snapshot of the video promotion by Ian Kane for his second novel in the Fading Empires series. The author shares reviews from readers and provides a sneak peek into the first chapter.
Why not allow your audience to get a “behind the scene” look of digital book creation?
Jessica Gioglio, for example, shares the behind-the-scenes of audiobook recording on YouTube and gives the link to The Laws Of Brand Storytelling right away in the video description.
Online platforms
FilterGrade is one of the top . More than 100,000 people visit the platform on a monthly basis. Aside from sharing your works via social media and email newsletter, it can offer you an individual promotion plan with creative ways to market your digital titles.
Ready to Publish Your Digital Book?
Bringing your online book to market is one thing. Quite another is promoting and selling it.
This article has given you some actionable tips to do both.
After a successful publication online, you can distribute your digital copies worldwide with , a digital marketplace for creators.
on FilterGrade, view sales reports, and earn high commissions on every sale!
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