Many business owners think writing an e-book for your website means starting from scratch. Who has time for that? The good news is that your blog may already have content that can be repurposed into an e-book. If your blog has been consistently teaching your audience or offering helpful suggestions, you’ve probably already pieced together an e-book without realizing it.
A Client Project Showed Me How Helpful Content Becomes an E-book
I was helping a client rebrand his business website as he expanded from real estate investment coach to financial and wealth coach. As I interviewed him to update his website content, I thought about questions his visitors would have. I kept asking, “How does that process work?” and “Why is that step recommended?” and “What more do I need to know to make that work?”
His answers became more detailed than the web pages required. That’s when I realized we weren’t just writing updated web copy. We also had material for an e-book that introduced visitors to his philosophy and prepared them for the rest of his website and services.
That experience helped me realize that e-books often begin as conversations, even conversations you’re already having with readers through your business blog.
5 Ways to Turn Existing Blog Content into an E-book
If you’ve been wanting to create an e-book for your website but haven’t found the time to start from scratch, here are five ways to gather e-book content from your existing blog posts.
1. Turn One Blog Post into a Bigger Resource
Take one of your helpful blog posts.
Ask yourself:
- What questions would readers ask next?
- What details can I add to clarify my main points?
- What examples could I add?
- What stories illustrate these points?
Those questions can help you expand your original blog post into the sections of your new e-book.
2. Expand a List Post
Listicles are very e-book-friendly. A listicle is already the outline for your e-book. All you have to do is add a little more information.
For each item on your list:
- Explain in more detail.
- Tell a story.
- Provide examples.
- Answer common questions.
- Include mistakes to avoid.
A 500-word listicle can easily expand to several thousand words for an e-book. You already have the foundation and the ideas.
3. Combine Related Posts
Scan through your blog, looking for groups of posts covering the same subject area.
For example:
- Five posts about retirement planning.
- Eight posts about leadership.
- Six posts about summer pet safety.
- Seven posts about seasonal or year-round HVAC tips.
Take your posts as-is and organize them into a logical sequence. Those become the chapters of your e-book. Add an intro, conclusion, and transitions between chapters. You may discover most of your e-book is already written.
You may wonder why people would want to download your e-book when they can just read the articles on your blog. I’ve had so many readers tell me they prefer having your wisdom on a particular topic in one place, rather than having to search through your blog to find what they need. Your e-book will be branded and contain your contact information, so readers will know how to find you when they need your services.
4. Create a “Best of” Guide
Your blog no doubt has evergreen content that provides basic information for your website visitors. By grouping those evergreen blog posts together into a “best of” guide, you are giving your readers your best insights at their fingertips.
Ask yourself: If someone were brand new to my business, which five to ten blog posts would I want them to read first?
Those are your cornerstone articles that reveal your core philosophy and approach. They are also your chapters for your “best of” guide.
A “best of” guide curates your introductory blog posts for your website visitor. This guide introduces your visitor to how you do business before they ever contact you. It answers their questions and provides reassurance up front. It shows them you have the experience and insight they need. That’s a great way to provide helpful information and build trust.
5. Build an E-book from Your Dream Webinar
Have you ever thought about teaching a webinar about a business topic? Many of us have thought about it, and some have already taught that webinar.
Sometimes it’s easier to imagine teaching a webinar than writing an e-book. As you brainstorm your webinar, you’ll end up with an e-book as well. The outline for a webinar and an e-book are interchangeable. You can think of an e-book as a webinar in print form.
Take a look through your blog posts and ask yourself, Which blog post would I enjoy teaching as a one-hour webinar?
Using your blog post as a guide, list the five to ten major ideas you’d teach about that topic. Put them in a logical sequence. That becomes the outline for a webinar and also the outline for your webinar-inspired e-book.
Then write out each section as though you’re explaining it to a webinar audience. That becomes the content for your e-book.
As a bonus, if you decide to teach a webinar, you’ll already have it outlined.
Your Blog is a Library of Ideas
Your blog is so much more than an archive of old posts. It’s a library filled with ideas you’ve already shared with your audience. That means you already have e-book content that’s been written and audience-tested.
Before you fret about starting an e-book from scratch, spend an hour exploring your blog library. You might discover you’ve already written more e-books than you realize.
Your blog, conversations with customers, questions answered, and topics you’ve taught about at conferences are all potential e-book material.
Pick the simplest idea. Put it together in a collection or sequence that makes sense for readers. Publish it.
Your website visitors will be glad to download your wisdom and expertise in an e-book, and they’ll know who to turn to when they need your services and products.
Janet Eriksson 