My recently released e-book, Writing Holiday Donation Emails, has gotten some traction and I wanted to pass along a few secrets for success when writing an e-book. This was my second e-book (the first being about writing in a web 2.0 world) and I learned a lot.

I assume that you are already knowledgeable about your topic and have decent writing skills. However, there are several things you can do to increase the readership of your e-book outside of this expertise. Here are three secrets for writing your successful e-book.

1. Use e-books as collections of your best work

Last year, I worked on three posts about holiday solicitation emails, focusing on design, content, and strategy. The content was largely still relevant, so I packaged it into an e-book. It allowed me to add some material and correct other ideas.

Because I had already done the hard part (idea generation, writing) and received comments and suggestions from other marketers, it was comparatively easy to put together the new e-book. Plus, it gives me another post in the search engines and reaches readers who subscribed to my blog since those original posts went up last year.

Donation vs. Solicitation

2. Think SEO

There are millions of e-books, but only a few are read by more than 100 people. Why? 

One common reason is due to a writer’s inability to think about key words as they effect search engine optimization (SEO). If your e-book doesn’t get good search engine results rankings, it might as well not exist.

For instance, last year I used the term “solicitation.” This year, however, I compared “solicitation” and “donation.” You can see in the image to the right that “donation” had a much higher frequency in Google. Therefore, though “solicitation” is a more accurate description, I opted for the more popular term.

Holiday vs. Christmas

Likewise, I debated between “holiday” and “Christmas.” As you can see in the second image on the right, Christmas ranked higher during the fourth quarter of recent years. However, I also realized that people searching for the word “Christmas” are less likely to be searching for information about solicitation emails, and I risked limiting my audience if I confined the e-book to “Christmas.” Since the e-book was about year-end donations, rather than any particular holiday, I used the word “holiday.”

3. Recycle and Reuse

Now that the e-book is written, I can slice up the chapters into short posts are reuse them. This gives yet another chance at a good Google ranking and the ability to add to your e-book.

I asked my buddy Andrew, a development expert in Washington, DC, for synonyms of my topic. He gave me plenty: “year end appeal,” “appeal letter,” “support letter,” “fund proposal,” “end of year giving,” and “holiday appeal.” You can bet I will be using these terms in future posts taken from the larger e-book.

Plus, this interaction allowed Andrew to pass on additional insight. He recommends thanking the donor in the first sentence (or at least the first paragraph). This has the effect of making the potential donor feel appreciated and invested in your cause. Andrew, thanks for this great tip!

Recycle your content and reuse it liberally after you’ve posted your e-book. Readers do not approach your blog as they would a book, reading from the first post to the last. You are allowed encouraged to reuse themes and parts of content, as long as it’s relevant and not a mere duplication.

The Gist

An e-book can be a useful way to package your content and illustrate your expertise in a given subject. But don’t waste your time. Use these three tips to get the most value out of every word.

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(Image courtesy of cogdogblog via Flickr)

Most membership organizations use the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas to raise money for the coming year. Many use email to ask their members to donate to the cause. And many organizations do this very, very badly.

I have written an e-book about writing holiday donation emails. These are the emails where organizations, especially non-profits, solicit money from their members. It is often the life’s blood of a membership organization.

I invite you to download the e-book:

Writing Holiday Donation Emails

In the e-book, I outline best practices and ideas on design, content, and strategy. If you follow the principle outlined therein, I strongly believe your total donations will increase substantially and that you will lay the foundations of trust and engagement that ensure future donation drives will be all the more successful.

There is no cost for the e-book and no strings attached. I have purposefully left it without a firewall, free to anyone.

If the e-book is useful to you, however, please consider subscribing to this blog. You can subscribe using email or RSS and you will never receive spam from me. Subscribing is the only way you can be sure never to miss a post from OnlineMarketerBlog.

I hope you enjoy the e-book, Writing Holiday Donation Emails. It will be helpful to all web writers, but it is a must-read if you work in marketing or development, especially with a non-profit or other membership organization.

Feel free to leave your success stories in the comments section below. Or leave your own holiday donation email suggestions for the rest of the community to share.

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BooksWeLike

I use the BooksWeLike page which benefits my former employer. Just search for the book, CD, or DVD you want and it will display with purchasing options of Amazon.com, Powells, Barnes & Noble’s, etc. You can purchase from the online store of your choice. After you click on the store’s button (on the right after you find your product), you will notice that the URL is changed slightly (i.e. it ends with “we_like18-20). This is how the referral program tracks everything and a portion of your purchase will go to whomever you have selected.

Would you like human rights with your coffee?

Not many people know that coffee is a prime example of a cheap commodity for America that has historically (and royally) screwed over the people that produce it. Since some of the best coffee is grown in poorer counties, distributors have routinely manipulated the price, forcing the growers to produce more no matter what the cost in quality and human rights. My first job was as a barista and coffee has been an integral part of my life every since. (And if you are ever in the Youngstown or Canfield, OH, area, stop in at Peaberry’s and tell them I sent you.)

Here is a list of other coffee vendors also changing the world:

• A friend of mine used to work for Counter Culture Coffee and I am so impressed by their standards. They fly out and meet the growers, ensure they get a fair price for their goods (fair trade certified), and insist on safe practices (for the grower and the consumer) by pushing organic and environmentally sustainable practices. Look around and then buy some coffee or gear. (Did I mention that the coffee is delicious? If you’re in DC, stop into Murky Coffee – they brew it and have the best staff in the whole world.)
• Crop to Cup Coffee looks to be along the same vein, focusing on family farmed coffee. Check out their beans and the awesome gift basket at the bottom of the page. (Added bonus: when you buy, apparently you can donate extra to that particular farmer – great idea!)
• As I type this, I am sipping on some Just Coffee coffee. Both the website and the packaging shout out transparency – these guys let you know where every cent you’re paying is going along the supply chain. You can learn about the importance of air roasting, pre-financing, and sustainability from their website and packaging. (A note about the packaging – while I love that you advertise delivery by bike or longboard in Madison, how about adding a URL?) I recommend the Ethiopian Harrar…so good.

Do good for do-gooders

So often people are frustrated because everyone on their list has everything they need. Use this opportunity to support something good in the world. Imagine you are the person who is impossible to shop for: would you rather have another sweater or buy a cow for someone in Africa? One gift will keep you warm for a season; the other for a lifetime.

Here is a list of groups we support, monetarily or in spirit (plus, most or all donations are tax-deductible).

• Doctors Without Borders
• Reporters Without Borders
• Common Cause (bipartisan campaign finance reform and media fairness aren’t sexy but are important)
• Oxfam
• Heifer International

And if you have read this far, I want you to know that my gift is having a readership who cares about communication and the success of this modest blog. It is a gift every time you send a post to a friend, bookmark this site, subscribe, and vote for me. I can see who you folks are and it means so much. Thank you for that gift.