Ebooks are an invaluable way to quickly build your brand and credibility.

Thanks to Amazon and other self-publishing services, it has never been easier to publish your own book.

Whether you are going down the self-publishing route or getting a publisher to produce it for you, writing an ebook gives you instant authority as a subject matter expert.

Here’s how to go about writing a successful ebook:

1. Decide on your subject matter

When you write a book choose a subject that you know inside out and are passionate about.

That will come across in your writing and impress upon the reader that you know what you are talking about and are worth paying attention to.

Before starting, do your market research thoroughly to find out what similar books have been written on the subject previously.

That way you can choose a niche or offer a different point of view that will set you apart from the competition.

Above all, consider who your key audience is, what they will want to read about and what will resonate with them.

2. Do your research

Once you have decided upon a topic, research it thoroughly.

You may know your subject intimately, but it can always be improved upon by reading up on the latest developments and seeking different points of view.

Draw on previous findings and compare and contrast what you already know.

Double-check your facts, statistics and sources to make sure that they’re accurate.

3. Decide upon a style and tone

Do you want your book to be serious and business-like in its tone or friendly and conversational?

This comes back to the audience type you are writing for.

Look at other ebooks about both related and non-related subjects that you have enjoyed, and think about what makes interesting and whether there are any style ideas you can borrow from them.

Whatever you choose to do, be consistent in your style and tone of voice throughout the book.

4. Pull all of your material together

Once you have everything you need, you can start writing.

You may want to start from scratch with a blank canvas or use previous blogs or articles you have written and compile them into an ebook.

Write an outline of the structure you want to follow with headings for each chapter.

That will make it easier when it comes to write the book in terms of the sequence of areas you want to cover and how it all fits together.

Think carefully about the value of each sentence to the reader before you write it and how you can put it as simply as possible.

But, above all, try to let your words flow naturally.

Use plenty of subheadings and add real-life case studies in separate boxes where you can to break up the main text.

Leave it for at least 24 hours and then read it first for grammar, punctuation and spelling, and a second time to sense check it or ask a professional editor or proofreader to go through it for you.

It’s always worth getting a second pair of eyes to look at it in case you have made a fundamental mistake or have missed out something important.

Once written, decide upon a short and strong title and subtitle, and an eye-catching front cover.

5. Decide where you want to publish

Once you have written your book, you need to decide the best channel to publish on.

If it’s a short guide style book you may want to offer it for free on your website to readers who sign up for your newsletter or just as a way to capture their details so that you can contact them about future offerings.

Or if it’s a longer book you can sell it on Amazon, Kobo or other e-commerce websites.

Also, make sure that you promote the book on your network through social media channels and ask people to review it to give it more credibility.

First published on alexwrightjournalist.com