By Andres Munoz

The purpose of distributing a free e-book is to get your readers to pass it on and create a viral marketing effect with no effort.

However, I have downloaded a number of ebooks only to delete them immediately after opening. The two golden rules broken by the majority of "viral" ebooks is less than useful content and terrible e-book layout.

The worst ebooks are those require the reader to figure out the navigation. Every ebook should have a "Table of Contents" so readers can easily identify which sections they wish to read. The main page of any ebook must include some sort of navigation the reader can access and understand. Any ebook that fails to address this basic rule in layout will not benefit from viral marketing. Any ebook whose main page contains numerous banner ads quickly dilutes the ebooks message and wind up in the trash bin. Likewise ebooks with harsh backgrounds and fancy fonts are no help.

The most important aspect of a truly viral ebook is content. Providing useful, relevant and valuable content is vital in creating a successful e-book. E-books that provide valuable information to it's readers are 10 times more likely to be highly valued and in return passed on.

The 3 Golden Rules For Viral E-books:

1) Content. You must provide content that is useful and valuable.
2) The e-books must be 100% free.
3) Give the reader an incentive to pass it on. Allow your readers to "re-brand" your e-book with
their URL. The obvious incentive passed on to the reader is free publicity. Also allow your
visitors to pass it on as a bonus or in their newsletter.

If you're thinking of creating an ezine be sure to download Aesop's Ezine Assistant - a free application that automates ezine creation. Registration is free.

Book Links

1. Write Newsletters That get Results
2. eZine Ad Profits
3. The eZine Experience
4. How to Make Money on the Internet
5. Countdown to eZine Success
6. List Builder Links
7. Monday Memo Articles for You
8. 7 Keys to Creating and Instant Ezine Subscriber Vacuum
9. Newsletter Marketing
10. Article Finder The Tools You Need To Find Articles
11. eZine Resource Guide
12. Make Money the eZine Way
13. eZine Free Ad System (Your Ads Free on 100s of eZines)
14. Ultimate eZine Promoter
15. eZines - A Complete Guide to Publishing
16. How to Publish Your Own Newsletter
17. eZines - Unleash The Power of The Internet
18. Web and eZine Promotion Made Easy
19. 50 Ezine Publishers Interviewed
20. MyBiz Ezine Article Collection v2
21. Get the Most Out of eZine Advertising
22. eZine Advertising - How to
23. Handbook of Ezine Publishing
24. eZine Assistane (Application to Assist You in Creating an eZine)
25. The Directory of eZines That Accept Article Submissions
26. Articles for Publication.