We’re walking through a step-by-step tutorial on how to write, publish and market an eBook campaign to generate leads. We’re currently in Phase #2: Writing your eBook. Today we are on Step #8 Design your eBook.
Setting the mood is absolutely essential in creating the type of environment you want your readers to be immersed in. Decide what kind of mood you want to create by designing your eBook to facilitate those themes.
Have a good image-to-text ratio
Too much text can be a turn-off to read but having too many images could make your eBook appear cluttered and hard to follow. For content marketing purposes, 10-20 pages is a good length for an eBook. We’ve seen eBooks that are over 100 pages long and at that length, few people will read it all the way through. Your audience will appreciate brevity and conciseness. Go for a balance and decide how many images you should include and how long your text should be.
This example by Brian Honigman has mastered the right combination of image and text. Note how the image does not overwhelm the text nor vice versa.
Pick a readable font
Avoid using fonts that are too thick as it can blur the distinction between what is bolded and what is not. Bolding important phrases and ideas are a great way to make your eBook scannable, so ask yourself which fonts are easy to read bolded.
This is the font used by Jeffrey Zeldman in his eBook and we like it because it’s san serif, consistent, and clean. Remember, you don’t need to pick an unusual font, since your colors and images will be there to help set the tone. If you have too wacky or intense of a font, you risk having the font compete with the images and colors for the readers attention, so keep the font simple and clean.
Write your eBook for 2 types of readers
Remember that you are always writing to two audiences- those who will scan your eBook and pay attention to the images, headers and sub-headers, and those who will read your ebook all the way through. Write accordingly. Note how Digital Sherpa uses a nice image to visualize what the text is about. For the busy reader, this is golden.
Pick your color scheme
eBooks tend to be more visual and less text-heavy than white papers, so choose a color scheme that is visually engaging. If your palate is too drab, reading your eBook may become taxing. If your colors overwhelm your text, it may be perceived as too “busy”. The Painters of Louisville explain how color can be used effectively. Note how using a base primary color can establish a dominant mood that will carry the atmosphere.
Accent colors are necessary to support the primary color’s role. Choose from the keywords describing each of the colors below and decide which color’s psychology is the kind that you want your readers to feel.
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