Are eBooks the way to go?

For the last few years, eBooks have been all the range for a number of different reasons. Writers love them, because for a lot of people it means getting rejected books published independently. Consumers love them because they’re rarely ever the same price as a print book – plus they can carry them all around on their phone or some other handheld device.

But why should you be looking at eBooks for your company? What difference can they make? Are they really better than a whitepaper? Let’s take a look.

Are whitepapers past their prime?

Whitepapers are great, just not for all audiences. There is a time and a place for whitepapers, but it’s mostly quite a formal place. They definitely help promote your business, and especially help to show you as thought leaders in your industry – but they aren’t vastly popular.

For one, whitepapers are often written with a formal tone, lots of facts and figures etc. If you’re not a business fanatic, you probably won’t find the jargon all that easy to swallow. Having existed for more than 100 years, it might be time to try a newer approach alongside them.

What’s so good about eBooks?

Let’s take a look at some of the reasons that eBooks might work better for your company than whitepapers are.

1. Easier to create

eBooks take a lot less time and money to create than whitepapers. You don’t generally need to make one look pretty or visual in any way at all, so you can get them out and drawing leads much faster than a whitepaper.

2. More accessible

Whitepapers tend to need an email before anyone can read them, which is great… Just not so much for reach. EBooks, however, should be posted for free with no form-fill barrier, which makes them easier to get to and easier to spread around.

3. More Dynamic

Whitepapers are long and come in a wonderfully presented PDF. Only problem is, this makes it essentially like a physical booklet – you can’t link to anything or get people really engaged. By using an eBook, however, you can create a strong journey for your customers to follow from eBook, to landing page, to sale.

Generally, the two mediums can be very similar in terms of presentation and information provided – but it can be a lot more successful to simply write a mini, semi-visual eBook that gives. We aren’t suggesting cutting out whitepapers altogether, because, hey, they’re proven to work. But using an eBook or two as an additional piece of content for you to help get your name heard couldn’t hurt, right?