Creating a viral free eBook allows you to leverage the power of virality – without having to tinker with cameras, programming, design software or anything more complex than your word processor. Though viral free eBooks, free reports and free PDFs tend not to take off across the internet ubiquitously, they do take off within communities.
Take the internet marketing world, for example. In internet marketing, one of the most popular methods of making money taught to newcomers is article marketing – also known as the “Bum Marketing Method.”
This method was coined by one marketer who released a free report outlining this technique. That free report, which is now a free website, was passed along so many times that both the technique and the site became incredibly famous within the marketing community.
PDFs, eBooks and reports tend to be informational rather than funny. Your chances of going viral on a global basis are slim; but if you can really knock something out of the park, you can definitely go viral within a community.
How do you do it?
==> Solve a Problem Better Than Anyone Else
Take a popular problem, then solve it better than anyone else in your industry. Then give it away for free.
You don’t have to solve a big problem. If you operate a site selling information, you’ll naturally need to keep some solutions just for paying audiences. However, you can still solve small problems better than anyone else.
If you run an ergonomics website, perhaps you could publish a report on twelve natural ways to get rid of carpel tunnel. You won’t go into how to prevent it from coming back, but your report will instantly help anyone who’s currently suffering.
==> Make It Entertaining to Read
Nobody’s going to pass a dry and boring document along to a friend, even if they really enjoy it. If you want your free eBook to get passed along, make sure it’s a great read.
Add a sense of humor. Give them facts that they would have never guessed. Add pictures that give your book color. Express your personality rather than just present information.
Make sure your book is well laid out. You should have a header and a footer graphic, as well as a stellar cover page.
==> Make It Easy to Pass Along
Throughout your book, encourage people to pass it along. Make it crystal clear that they have the right to pass the book along, as long as they don’t change the contents.
Ask people to think of friends who might benefit and pass it along. Or make it easy for people to post it on Facebook by giving them a special page to share.
If you’re presenting useful information, a viral eBook or PDF is a great way to go. Everyone who’s exposed to your viral eBook or PDF will be people from your target market. You’ll get fewer “vanity views” while getting a lot of traffic from real potential buyers.