It’s possible you’ll simply be getting began with book creation as a advertising and marketing software or reconsidering the position of ebooks in your current content material technique.
No matter the place you’re within the course of, you are probably asking your self an necessary query: What are the perfect book codecs to your advertising and marketing library? This can be a legitimate query as a result of the book format you select will decide the success of your efforts.
Right here, we’ll cowl all book codecs and the way to decide on the perfect one to your undertaking. We’ll additionally clarify how HubSpot’s book templates may also help you obtain your advertising and marketing group’s lead era objectives.
E-book Formatting Templates
First up, obtain our package of book templates so you may get an concept of the book codecs which might be accessible to you.
Featured Useful resource: 36 Free E-book Formatting & Creation Templates
Obtain Your Free E-book Templates
Our assortment of 36 free book templates will aid you create and format your book content material for an unimaginable reader expertise in Microsoft PowerPoint, Adobe InDesign, and Google Slides. You may format your ebooks to greatest go well with the wants of your advertising and marketing group and the preferences of your content material readers.
Finest E-book Codecs for Content material Creation
In the event you’re a content material creator, listed below are the book codecs you must contemplate first.
1. Adobe InDesign
Adobe’s superior design software program provides content material creators a myriad of choices for creating and formatting their ebooks.
These superior options do come at a worth, however skilled advertising and marketing designers depend on Adobe InDesign due to these options.
Click on Right here to Obtain 6 Adobe InDesign E-book Templates.
Execs
Adobe is thought for being feature-rich. Consequently, you’ll be able to anticipate your ebooks to look their greatest when made with InDesign, as you can create and incorporate authentic design components proper into your doc.
Cons
For an inexperienced designer or the marketer who simply must launch a serviceable book, the bells and whistles that InDesign gives may not be crucial. InDesign’s interface and usefulness aren’t probably the most easy and will require you to place in additional effort than is required to your closing deliverable.
2. Google Slides
Google Slides is a less complicated software for making an book in comparison with InDesign. The truth that the book lives on-line means you’ll be able to collaborate in real-time together with your group members to make a unbelievable deliverable. Oh — and it is free, which is useful when you have a restricted advertising and marketing price range.
Click on Right here to Obtain 6 Google Slides E-book Templates.
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Google Slides is a good software for entrepreneurs who must make a great book shortly, particularly if you happen to’re working alongside group members and sourcing suggestions from them. Google Slides’ interface is arguably extra easy than InDesign’s, which means you’ll be able to transfer and edit artistic components sooner if you happen to’re new to each instruments.
Cons
As a result of Google Slides is primarily a presentation software fairly than an book creation software, you could miss out on some crucial options that might assist make your ebooks engaging sufficient to warrant your leads’ consideration.
Conversely, you would possibly must make design components elsewhere, reminiscent of an Adobe software program software or Canva, and later import these artistic components into your Google Slides deck. This might create an inconsistent creation expertise if you might want to monitor down design components after you have created them.
3. Microsoft PowerPoint
A barely extra superior possibility than Google Slides — however not fairly as superior as Adobe software program — PowerPoint is one other presentation-making platform that can be utilized to design an book.
Execs
PowerPoint has some options that Google Slides doesn’t, reminiscent of higher results for designing. PowerPoint can also be an offline software program, which means you’ll be able to construct your ebooks with out Wi-Fi.
Cons
PowerPoint is a paid software program as a substitute of a free software accessible in Google Workspace. You additionally gained’t be in sync together with your group if you happen to’re collaborating with them on edits and additions. Lastly, whereas it has higher artistic options than Google Slides, it does not come near the superior options of InDesign.
Click on Right here to Obtain 6 Microsoft PowerPoint E-book Templates.
Finest E-book Codecs for Consumption
The book codecs on this part are greatest for content material consumption as you’ll be able to embed hyperlinks, mimic an actual e-book, and boost your content material. The codecs embody:
1. Interactive PDF
The perfect book format for book consumption is an interactive Moveable Doc Format (PDF).
PDFs are the go-to possibility for content material advertising and marketing ebooks for a lot of causes. Amongst them are the consistency of their design and readability on completely different units.
We at HubSpot use PDFs for our ebooks as a result of we are able to embed hyperlinks to related pages and sources in them. We are able to additionally add them proper into our content material library and belief that the design will seem as supposed, even when our leads open the book in Chrome, Safari, or Preview. The doc may even seem the identical in the event that they open it on their telephones or on a desktop gadget.
The interactive nature additionally means we are able to embody an open textual content field for readers to finish an exercise within the e-book (like in our Content material Advertising Workbook). One other plus? Readers can full the exercise in no matter software they’re consuming the content material.
2. EPUB
EPUB, quick for digital publication and saved with a “.epub” file extension, is one other method so that you can save your ebooks.
EPUBs rose in reputation after turning into a distinguished book format for e-readers. However, given its accessibility on Apple macOS and iOS merchandise by way of Apple Books, the format can also be a viable — although considerably limiting — possibility for content material advertising and marketing ebooks.
One distinctive function of the .epub file format is its scroll capability. To imitate the studying of an precise e-book, readers can view one web page at a time and should scroll or swipe horizontally. That’s in distinction to vertical scrolling with PDFs. The epub format provides your readers the sensation of studying a e-book versus interacting with web site content material. Nevertheless, this additionally means readers might need to do extra work navigating the content material and discovering the knowledge they want.
Moreover, video and audio recordsdata could be embedded within the .epub format, in contrast to PDFs, which implies your readers can devour extra interactive content material with out leaving the book.
In the event you’re bored with the PDF possibility and need to spruce up your content material format, it can save you your InDesign ebooks as a .epub file. Simply be ready for some readers being unable to learn your content material, which is one thing you probably do not need to be the case. It is because the format is proscribed. For instance, Amazon Kindle units can’t learn .epub recordsdata. Readers should convert your book into one other format in the event that they need to learn it on their Kindles.
The right way to Select the Proper E-book Format
The book format you select straight impacts how your book performs after publication. Listed below are a number of suggestions that can assist you select the right one to your undertaking for greatest outcomes.
1. Think about your audience.
Who’re your customers? That is the primary query you might want to reply earlier than selecting an book format. Your content material must be accessible to your readers. For instance, if you happen to’re concentrating on an enormous viewers, you’ll want to contemplate an book format suitable with a number of digital units.
2. Determine the way you’ll market your book.
How you intend to market your book can also be a big issue when selecting a format. In the case of promoting an book, you’ll be self-publishing as a result of you might want to quicken up the method. You are able to do so both by yourself web site, or on a platform reminiscent of Amazon.
Self-publishing means you get to make use of your sources to market your book. Due to this fact, you’ll want a solution to attain an enormous viewers, which can imply utilizing an book format like AZW that’s suitable with completely different platforms. This offers you the best stage of flexibility by way of the variety of platforms that your viewers can comfortably learn your e-book.
3. Think about the character of your book.
One other issue you might want to contemplate when deciding on the perfect book format is its nature. Is it largely phrases, or will there be graphics and pictures? Will you be including useful sensible digital merchandise like Google Sheets that readers might want to obtain? All of this can decide the perfect book format to your undertaking. If doable, provide you with a listing of all of the various kinds of content material that your book will include to make sure the book format you select helps all of them.
In the event you’re promoting an book containing digital pictures and illustrations with sound or video, you’ll want a format that helps these options. For instance, the EPUB format helps movies, coloration pictures, and different interactive components, whereas MOBI doesn’t.
Keep away from the temptation of assuming what an book format will seem like when you’re completed. Typically, the top product could be very removed from what you anticipate it to be, and correcting it is going to be costly. Inquire and do thorough analysis on all options earlier than settling for any format.
4. Think about the safety or privateness of your book.
Writing an book from begin to end takes lots of time and power, so the very last thing you need is everybody enhancing it as soon as it’s launched. This will have a number of implications to your model. For instance, your viewers might find yourself receiving false details about your undertaking, and the false content material might give undesired outcomes. In the event that they’re editable supplies in your book, guarantee there’s a method for the reader to create a separate doc first to keep away from enhancing the whole doc. This additionally protects your readers’ privateness by stopping them from unknowingly filling of their private info on a public doc.
You additionally need to make sure the safety of your book by stopping unlawful sharing, printing, and copy-pasting. That is particularly essential for high-ticket ebooks, because it limits readers from sharing your content material at no cost. If limiting sharing is necessary to you, it’s advisable to make use of a format like EPUB that’s protected by Digital Rights Administration (DRM). The latter locks recordsdata in a selected platform and protects them from unlawful sharing.
5. Take into consideration the price range.
If in case you have two or extra book codecs that work effectively together with your undertaking, one of the best ways to interrupt the tie is to contemplate the price. How a lot will it value you to launch your book utilizing every format? Is it possible? As well as, contemplate how a lot it will value if you happen to needed to increase. The perfect book format is cost-friendly firstly and in the long term. If it is low cost initially however limits your progress, it is not price it. A great book format shouldn’t solely make launching your product simpler, however it must also be cost-friendly while you resolve to increase.
Select the best book format and get began.
There are a number of book codecs out there which might be widespread for publishing ebooks. Nevertheless, like all the things else in enterprise, what works for one writer may not be the most suitable choice for an additional. Take your time and analysis the options each format gives and see which one most closely fits your undertaking.
As well as, contemplate the price, the type of content material your book has, and most significantly, the supply technique that works greatest to your viewers.
Editor’s notice: This submit was initially revealed in December 2020 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.
