This morning, I downloaded an eBook related to online marketing. And then, a thought hit me: "Wait a minute . . . real estate agents or brokers could be creating these eBooks and using them to generate leads!" I'm probably not the first person to have thought of this, but I do believe it's an idea that has potential. So let's explore it a bit.

eBooks Defined

There are many different kinds of eBooks. You may be familiar with eBooks as digital versions of your old favorite novels, to be read on your Kindle. However, an eBook can also be much shorter than War and Peace, used for business rather than pleasure, and, if it is the right file type (i.e. PDF), can be read on any electronic device – such as your iPad, laptop, or desktop computer.

The kind of short, sweet eBook I'd encourage real estate agents to create should be printable (thus, you should avoid adding animation and video). However, it's important to take advantage of the digital format – the primary benefit being the ability to add links, enriching the reader's experience and providing more traffic for your blog/website/etc. Of course, a great eBook will also use a large font size and images (which must be legally obtained).

HubSpot is an example of someone who publishes professionally-focused eBooks regularly – I'd recommend taking a peek at one of their eBooks to get an idea of what you should be aiming for.