A lot of people online are saying that eBooks are no longer worth creating and that you’ll never make any money with them. Well, I’m here today to tell you a few reasons why you need to be creating eBooks to increase your online traffic and to act as a lead generation tool.

So why should you be creating eBooks?

Number one, people are going to visit your website if you ever give that eBook away.

But number two, if they come to your website, they are looking for information. If you have an eBook there that covers the information that they’re looking for, number one, you’re already set up in their mind.

I’ll give you an example of what I mean. About a year ago I was the best mad in my friend’s wedding. The thing is, I had never done this before and knew nothing about being a best man.

I turned to the Internet and began searching for tips, instruction and step by step process of what I was supposed to do because I really had no idea. What I found was that I couldn’t find one site with all the information, so I had to piece the information together from multiple sites. It became some what frustrating because I knew if there was an eBook that just put everything together in a simple manner I would have purchased it.

How can I say I actually would have purchased it? Well, in the past I have bought similar eBooks on different topics I was looking for more information on and has outlined the procedure clearly.

There were two reasons why I bought these books, firstly because I was searching for the information. Secondly, the information I was looking for was nicely packaged together in a step by step procedure.

The next reason why you should be creating an eBook is that within the pages of it you can advertise you own products and services.

Just think of your products acting like a funnel, the marketing funnel. Your eBooks are used as products at the top of the funnel. As you make your way down the funnel the products increase in price.

In order to make your costumers more likely to purchase your higher-priced items, you can use your eBooks as a tool to build your trust with them and demonstrate the level of valuable information you provide.

When people know, like and trust someone they are more likely to buy products from them, especially when they provide valuable information. An eBook is your way to show how much value you can provide.

By doing that, by creating an introductory product, you then want to introduce your other higher-priced products and services that those people could purchase from you if they want to take that next step.

Your eBook becomes a platform to advertise your other services and products.

I want to put out a disclaimer here because you do not want to be creating an eBook that is just one big sales pitch. You want to make sure that you provide value in that eBook because you’re on the line here. You’re demonstrating what you can do for that client or customer.

This article, for example is one method I am using. It would be wonderful if you would go and purchase my other products, attend my seminars and work closely with me. I know have to gain your trust and show you that I do provide valuable content before you go and do that.

Providing articles is one way I like to do that. Within each one I try to cram as much information as I can so that you just can’t wait to read my next article or go purchase some of my products.

This philosophy should be taken within your own business and applied to your eBooks. Cram as much information into your eBooks as possible, while mixing in information about your other products and services without it sounding like one big sales pitch. People will be less likely to do more business with you if they see your eBooks as just being sale pitches, it will just turn them off.

There are many reasons why you should be creating eBook, increasing your traffic and providing you a platfrom to introduce your other products or services are just two of them.

May ideas come to you when you need them most!

Creating an eBook allows you to use it to cross-promote it as a free bonus with another person’s services or products.

Now, I know some of you may be thinking to yourself, ‘What is he talking about?’It may sound a bit weird at first, but I mean exactly that. Approach people who are selling competitive products by asking them if they would like to add to their current package.

People are always interested in looking to add more value to their current products or services. Now you’re giving them a reason and a very easy way to add value to their current products or package.

You may be thinking, well what is in it for you? This will allow you to cross-promote your products or services.

Think about how simple this is. Within your eBook you can talk about your own products and services, which will help you gain customers right?

Now, you don’t want to make your eBook one big sales pitch for one of your products or it is unlikely that your competition will bundle it with their own package and people won’t take you seriously.

Integrating cross promotion into your eBook without making it come off too dominant is one of the strategies I teach people when going through the mechanics of creating your very first eBook. You want to make sure you are not making it sound like one big sales pitch, yet you can still have the benefits of informing them about your products and services. This is something you should be constantly thinking about.

You want to make sure that your first and primary focus is giving quality information. Doing that is a sales tactic all on its own. People will learn to know, like and trust you on their own. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to throw a few links and information about your products though!

You should really be asking yourself, “How can I cross promote within my eBook so my competitors can give it away as a free bonus to the same particular target market I work within? How can I do this by still providing them quality information but making sure people will learn about me and my products which will generate me leads?”

Cross-promotion is just one strategy on how you can use your eBook. Next time you are creating one, start thinking about other way you can use it.

Ideas will come to you when you explore the possibilities of creativity!

Sometimes it is difficult to start, no one starts at the top. Almost all of us have to overcome one major obstacle in the beginning.

The obstacle for many people is getting their business marketed on a tight budget. Being creative can help you get through on a tight budget and by answering some of these creative questions you can learn how to do it.

Questions such as:

1) How can I

Start with another creative question like:

2) Who could assist me with This is a great question. Who could assist me with

How about:

3) Who would exchange for ?

Here’s another one:

4) How can I do this faster, with less effort, cheaper? Could I do this for free?

Try this one:

5) Could I substitute ‘X’ for ‘Y’? What could I substitute to get ‘ABC’ instead of ‘XYZ’? Just think of whatever you wanted to do, how could you substitute for ‘XYZ’?

This next one is a great one because it puts you in the shoes of other people, someone who is thinks completely different than you.

6) How would solve this problem?

Here is an example: How would my wife solve this problem? How would my mentor, child, neighbor solve this problem? By asking yourself this question you really have to look at things from a different perspective.

I’ve answered these business questions myself and it has allowed doors to open in every direction, propelling my career to new heights and success to be and continued to be achieved.

Here is an example of how I used this creative questioning to overcome an obstacle early on in my career.

I decided to become a professional speaker as soon as I was done University. My focus was speaking to college and high school students about the topic of creativity. I focused on creativity because with it I was able to move from a first year failure in University to graduating being named Most Outstanding Male with straight A’s. I changed a lot between how I did things in first year to my last year, and I credit a lot of it to learning something I had become very passionate about, creative thinking.

Being a professional speaker and building a profitable speaking business was two things I didn’t know anything about though.

I went to and joined an organization called CAPS, which is The Canadian Association for Professional Speakers.

At one of my first meetings I attended I approached a gentleman there who was doing very well with his speaking career about what I needed to do to get to his level. He replied by saying. “It’s very simple, Stu. I’ll give you three things to do, once you have those finished, come back and I’ll give you some more.”

“The first thing you need to do is surround yourself with people who are in the same industry as yourself. Join CAPS, it will help your business grow.” I said, “Okay.”

In order to join CAPS it cost $200, which at that time was a squeeze. Thinking back on it I remember paying for it on payments in order to be able to do it. I did number though, I joined CAPS.

He continued saying, “The second thing you have to do is get to the CAPS National Conference” At this point I thought to myself, ‘How am I going to do that? The conference that year was being held on the other side of Canada. With the seminar being pretty expensive itself, plus traveling costs, it was really expensive. I had no money, so everything at that point was expensive for me

This is where I started asking myself some creative questions. I needed to find a solution. I started thinking about what I had, or could do, that someone else might want and need.

One thing I that I had at that point was time itself. Because I had just started my speaking business I wasn’t speaking very often, so I knew I had some time I could offer.

I started to then rack my brain about how I could use that time to benefit someone else. By asking myself that question I came up with a campaign called, ‘Helt Stu Be Like You.’

This is how I used my creative thinking. The largest chapter of CAPS in my province consisted of about 75 people. I went to one of their meetings and asked if I could have 30 seconds in front of them.

No one had asked for this before. I asked a question that got everyone’s hands in the air. It was, “How many of your, at one point, started off as a speaker with no experience?”

The next question I asked was, “Out of all of you who have your hand up, how many of you have been to the CAPS national conference?” About 75% of the room kept their hands up.

I continued, “Of those who have been able to attend the conference, how many of you believe it would be beneficial for a new speaker, with no experience to be able to go?” Everyone kept their hands up.

I said, “Great. Because I am somebody with zero speaking experience that you just said needs to get out to that CAPS national conference.”

I continued by saying, “But, here is where I run into difficulty. I don’t have any money, just time. Here is the exchange I am willing to make and I hope you are to. ‘Help Stu Be Like You’ is a campaign that I have created.” At this point I handed out a small flyer to everyone in the audience. It basically was a 8×6 black and white flyer that I had printed at home on 8-1/2 x 11 sheets and cut down the middle to save on costs.

I said, “Here’s what I’m willing to do. I’m willing to do all the dirty work that you speakers don’t like doing or don’t have time to do. I will make sales calls for you. I will write sales letters for you. I will lick stamps for you. I will cut your grass. I’ll even wipe your baby’s bottom, if that’s what you want me to do, for a financial contribution of your choice.”

Surveying the audience at this point, I could tell some people’s minds were racing with all the odd jobs they could get me to do for cheap.

I said, “I am willing to do whatever you don’t like doing in exchange for a financial contribution of your choice, all of which will go towards getting me out to the CAPS national conference.”

As I was finishing up a gentleman in the back of the room stood up. I thought he had a question but instead he said, “Stu, I will take care of your seminar entrance fee.” Half of my costs, just like that, were basically taken care of.

Another gentleman stood up right after him and said, “Stu, don’t worry about paying to get out there, I will take care of it.” In a matter of five minutes 85% of my expenses needed to go were taken care of.

That’s what being creative is about my friends.

By asking myself that creative question, I was able to come up with a solution that got me out to the conference and my entrance fee paid for. By the time I got there it had turned into a big story, the national CAPS publication had written a story about me and I had all kinds of people coming up to me asking me questions.

Ideas will come to you when you explore the possibilities of creativity!

Keep your eye out for more!

Customers are the lifeblood of any business. Having a good relationship with them is paramount if you want to keep them coming back and have a successful business. Here are some creative ideas I want you to write down to make that possible. The focus of all these ideas is on giving to these people. Your focus has always got to be on giving first.

My goal in everything I develop, whether it be articles, blogs, teleseminars, newsletters or any product or service, I try to give you as much value that I can jam in as possible. Building a relationship with you is what is my number one focus, and it has to be yours too.

What would you be able to really do for them is you are on a tight budget?

Firstly, develop an online newsletter.

I used to publish a newsletter once a month, called Insider Ideas, which people could (and still can) sign up completely free. Within each of those newsletters I try to provide as much information as I can, so they usually end up being 15 to 20 pages long. Of course, this takes a long time to put together, but I want to ensure that my customers are always feeling like they are getting more information then they expected. Customers of my newsletter continually send me testimonials explaining how grateful they are for the amount of value I put into each newsletter.

A second option, which I actually use now instead of a newsletter is developing a blog. If you are new to the blogging world, they are basically an online journal. What is great about a blog is you can use it a variety of way. It has given me the ability to use my blog as a platform from my online newsletter. What is even better about this is that the entries don’t have to be nearly as long and it is a lot easier to keep in contact with your customer base more frequently.

Sites like Wordpress and Blogger allow you to develop blogs for absolutely free. They are super easy to use and you can customize your blogs any way you want, and again they are free!

If you want to see how I have set up my blog and get an idea, you can go to www.myideaguy.com and sign up for free.

On-line blogs and newsletter give you the opportunity to provide your costumers with tons of valuable information.

Teleseminars are another great technique that you can use to build relationships with your customers. If you do this you really have to focus on the giving aspect - make sure you are always providing ample amounts of valuable information that your customers can use.

Nobody wants to be on call that is boring and where they can easily loose interest. You have to be able to keep your callers engaged and make the call fun to listen to. Sometimes on my calls I do things like hold a contest to keep the listeners engaged.

You can have a contest for anything - I’ve had everything from naming a new product or service I just developed to testimonials contests and creative idea contests. Your calls should always be packed with information, engaging and make it fun. When making it fun, always remember to remain focused on providing valuable information and being of service to your costumers.

There they are! I’ve outlined really great, and cost effective, methods that you can start using today to build better relationships with your costumers and even potential customers.

Creative thinkers all have one defining attribute in common and that is they are willing to inquire about all possible options.

I want you to stop right now. Whatever you’re doing I want you just to pause for a second and I want you to imagine a world in which everybody looks the same.

A world where everyone not only looks the same, but are identical to each other in every way. Our faces, clothes, make up are all the same. Everyone is identical in their personal characteristics too - same emotions, same intellect, same attitudes. In every aspect we are all the same.

In a world like this, there would be no choices. Everyone would do the same thing, think the same. If this is what the world was really like, imagine how boring a tragic it would be.

In a world like this, stimulation would not happen. We would not be driven to think of new ideas or try something now because everyone around us would be doing the same thing. You wouldn’t have any ambition to get ahead because everyone else is always going to be at the exact same level.

Now, picture this. Instead of absolutely everyone looking identical, it is instead everyone you dated. Every person you went on a date with, fell in love with, all look the same.

Choosing your next date or even spouse would turn into a very boring process. Think back to your previous relationships, what if every single one of those people were exactly the same?

Now there would be no right or wrong person, because how would you ever know if they were all exactly the same? The energized feeling of finding that special person would be gone. With every potential spouse being exactly the same as another, we would be left with no options.

Why would I be telling you all this?

Because the world we live in is actually full of differences everywhere you look. Each day you are faced with making hundreds of real choices, each having a possible completely different outcome.

Living in a free society allows us the freedom to make choices. As creative thinkers, we embrace this freedom because it allows us to explore those options.

Exploring the different possible options available to creative thinkers allows us to come up with new ideas which can lead to anything. A new teleseminar series idea, a new product idea, a new business idea, a new salesletter idea, the list is endless. So many different things can be spawned off of one another because we have the ability to explore new oportunities.

New ideas are ignited from exploring the new, going for different opportunities and possibilities, instead of sticking with the norm. That’s what creative thinkers do, go for what will bring new ideas.

One great reason for you to create an eBook is that you can use it to cross-promote it as a free bonus with other people’s products or services.

I know some of you are thinking, ‘What?’ That’s exactly what I mean. I’m saying approach maybe your competitors who are out selling competitive products to you and say, “Hey, would you be interested in adding to your current package?”

You are giving them a very easy way to add value to their existing products or packages, which is something people are always interested in doing for their customers.

What’s the incentive for you? It enables you to cross-promote your products or services.

It seems pretty simple. You talk about your own products and services within the pages of the eBook and gain customers right?

You have to make sure that you don’t make your eBook one big promotion for your own product or service or nobody will take you seriously and it’s doubtful your competition will bundle it with their own package to begin with.

One of the strategies that I teach people when we go through the mechanics of actually creating your very first eBook, is I talk about how to integrate cross promotion within your eBook so it doesn’t come off like a sales pitch, yet you still get the benefit of informing people of your other products or services. So I want you to constantly think on that road, too.

Giving quality information should be your first and primary focus. By doing that it is a sales tactic on its own. When you give people good content they will learn to like and trust you. By doing that, it doesn’t hurt to also include information and a few links about your products though!

This is something you need to be thinking about all the time. Ask yourself how you can give your competitors your eBook, which will hit the same target market that you work within. You will be giving their costumers valuable information, but will be generating leads yourself through the information about yourself and products within the eBook.

When you are creating your eBook, really try to brainstorm other methods on how you can use it. This one strategy of cross-promotion is just one of many.

By exploring your creativity ideas will come to you when you need them the most!