How to write an eGuide (and GROW your mailing list)

In this article I’m going to show you how to create an eGuide, what makes an effective eGuide, and why you need one.

But firstly, what is an eGuide? Quite simply, an eGuide is a digital book that explains how to do something, and gives some benefit to the reader. I suppose this article could have been titled: How to make a guidance document, but that doesn’t have the same ring to it. The point is, that’s what your eGuide is: a guidance document. Something instructional. But it’s also a LOT more than that, and in this article I’m going to show you the full wonders and potential of an eGuide, and most importantly I’m going to show you how to create an eGuide for free. A quick note though: this article focuses on how to WRITE an eGuide. I’ll show you the kind of content you need to include and how to put it together so that your words resonate and encourage your readers to take action. The actual putting together of the thing is easy: you can use many free applications like Canva, Adobe Express, Pixlr and VistaCreate to name but a few and there are countless video guides to help you design and build your eGuide. But as I said, this article is more about how to write an eGuide. So I’ll be sticking to the written content because however pretty your eGuide looks, if the words don’t hit the mark – well, you might as well just send your customers a couple of nice pictures, right?

Okay, let’s get into it. When writing your eGuide, you need to remember these vital points:

1. It should encourage the reader to take the next step or steps
2. It has to deliver on its promise
3. It must have a benefit to the reader
4. It has to tell a story
5. It needs to be interesting
6. It has to be relatable

Don’t worry, I’m going to walk you through the above points and we’ll look at some examples along the way. In a nutshell, writing an eGuide is easy. Writing an effective eGuide takes more consideration. With this guide (can we call it an eGuide guide?) you’ll be writing effective content in no time. And that means content that gets your reader – that is to say, your would-be customer – to take action.

1. Delivering on the promise

Let’s start at the beginning. Actually, let’s start before the beginning. Let’s start with the promise you made to your client – or would-be client – and then I’ll tell you why it’s vital that you keep that promise.

Hang on a minute – What promise? When was that?!

Good question. You see, you made the decision (and an excellent decision it was too) to offer an eGuide to your would-be clients, because you want them to sign up to your mailing list, right? Because once they’re on your mailing list you can send them all that lovely information about your product or service, every time you have something to offer them, and convert your would-be client into an actual, buying client.

Here’s the promise you made:

‘Get our FREE eGuide that solves your problem and makes your life better.’

Of course you’re going to word it differently to that. Maybe you’re going to be more specific. Maybe you’re going to mention a unique component of your business that this eGuide will explain to them. It doesn’t matter. The point is this: you’re promising a benefit to your would-be client and that benefit is going to solve some problem for them, or else improve their life in some way. And you’ve tempted them to click that download button (and submit their email address at the same time) and bingo. You’ve got a new subscriber to your mailing list or newsletter or special offers catalogue (or all of the above).

Job done right? The eGuide lands in their inbox and maybe they read it and maybe they don’t but who cares – you’ve sent it to them, they’ve subscribed to your mailing list, and your part of the bargain is fulfilled.

Well no, not right.

Because you made them a promise. No, not just a legally binding promise that if they sign up to your mailing list you’ll send them something for free. You made a promise – while representing your brand – to your client. And that’s important. Because that promise involved trust. You told them you were going to deliver something great, and they believed you. That’s why they signed up. Do not make what could be their first impression of your brand a disingenuous one. Don’t promise a free guide on how to solve a Rubik’s Cube in 60 seconds and then send them your games and puzzles catalogue that features a section on Rubik’s Cubes on the last page. Don’t promise them detailed tasting notes and food pairings for your most expensive, exclusive wines, and send them the exact same information they could’ve got from your website.

You promised them something great, and they trusted you. So deliver on your promise. Have I said that already? Great, let me say it again:

Deliver on your promise.

This should be both the start point, and the end point, of your eGuide. Before you begin writing the guide itself, put your promise right at the top of page one so you can’t ignore it or drift away from it. Bold it, capitalise it, underline it. Don’t write a single piece of content in your eGuide till you’ve done that. Then, when you get to the end, come back to it and make sure you’ve delivered on it. I wrote a promise before I started creating this article by the way. It said: ‘I will explain how to write an effective eGuide, for free, and how it benefits an organisation.’ Words to that effect will go in the email I send to my potential readers, so when they come to this page, I’d better make sure I’ve delivered on that promise.

Talk to me about an eGuide for your business

2. Establishing the benefit for your reader

What is a benefit? To answer this question let’s look at what a benefit isn’t. Here’s what I mean:

‘Our brand new XYZ electric car will go 400 miles on a single charge.’

The above statement, while interesting, isn’t a benefit. That’s because it’s a feature. And features are all well and good (hey, if you designed that electric car, you’re right to be proud of its range) but features don’t engage your reader’s emotions. Benefits do.

Here’s a benefit for that same electric car:

‘Take your family on that day trip in the brand new XYZ electric car without worrying about where to plug in.’

See the difference? Sure, you’re going to mention the 400 mile range, because it’s important. But you should lead with the benefit, because that’s what appeals to a person’s emotional commitment to your product or service. They can relate to that. You’ve highlighted the problem (lack of EV charging points) and given them the solution (sufficient range that means you don’t have to stop to charge even on a long trip) plus established an emotional connection (a person’s most precious possession, i.e. their family). As well as that you’ve sowed the seed of risk: imagine getting stranded miles from anywhere with your family.

Do you see how important – and how much more powerful – the benefit is compared to a feature?

And this is a great moment to consider an example for our eGuide. Let’s say you want to send your would-be clients an eGuide on your latest electric vehicle. You’re not just going to send them fifteen pages or so on various tests you’ve done on your vehicle because that would be boring. That’s the kind of thing your competitors might do, and you’re better than that. At least you will be when you’ve finished with this guide.

No, you’re going to create feeling. Emotion. A story. Maybe – and this is just one concept, you might have another – you’re going to expand on that day trip that forms the message in your current ad campaign. You’re going to create an eGuide that tells the story of that exact day trip. (In fact, pro tip here – why not push the eGuide in your ad campaign: ‘Continue the story at xyzElectricVehicles.com/DayTrip’ or something of the like).

You’re going to introduce the family and you’re going to take your readers along on their big adventure. Speaking of which:

3. Telling a story

A story has to have a few elements. Firstly it needs some kind of problem. Fiction writers call it a conflict. Then it needs the subsequent resolution. It also needs characters, a setting, and a point of view.

If that sounds like a work of fiction, that’s because in their literal sense, some of those elements are a bit too dramatic for an eGuide. In a thriller novel the conflict would be a bomb on a plane full of passengers, and the resolution might be de-activating that bomb or landing the plane and evacuating it before the bomb goes off. Happily we don’t need to take the concept to those extremes.

Let’s stick with our electric vehicle example. We’ve already established the conflict: that with electric vehicles you don’t always get the range you would from a full tank of petrol. Not only that, but there are far more petrol stations on today’s roads than EV charging points. That’s our conflict.

Our resolution is this vehicle’s super long range of 400 miles. That means you don’t have to worry about anything but the most epic long journeys and while you still have to recharge it if you’re going any further than that, you won’t need to recharge it as often, meaning the challenge of finding those elusive EV charging points is much diminished.

Next we need our characters. In this case it’s a family. Kids are great because every parent worries about keeping their offspring safe, and every parent knows what it’s like to go on a day trip with their children. It’s relatable and on top of that, it inspires trust in the brand. It says: this vehicle is safe – in every sense – to put your most precious possessions in. Since we’re writing a book (alright, a little book, but still a book) we can flesh out those personalities a bit. A lot more than you’re able to with a banner ad or even a 15 second TV/radio ad.

Setting is important. And for our eGuide it has two elements. Firstly, it’s the physical setting – the location (and locations, plural, since we’re covering an adventure here) and we need to make sure there’s some feeling to those. You don’t need to be the next Ernest Hemingway, just make sure the reader knows if it’s morning or evening, if it’s hot or cold. Are we driving up a snowy mountain or along a coastal highway beside the sparkling waters of the ocean? Don’t go overboard, this isn’t poetry. Just set the scene. Secondly, we need to establish the setting as a situational context: is it a chaotic family home that they’re escaping from? Are they excited to get up at the crack of dawn, or are some of them tired and maybe reticent to go on this day trip in the first place. Again, this doesn’t need to be laboured. Just a word or two to give the reader the gist of why this trip is happening and what it means to the participants.

Finally we come to point of view.

This one’s important. It’s easy, it’s straightforward. But it’s also overlooked far too often and it’s a sure fire way to make sure your eGuide comes across in an unprofessional way that will lose trust in your brand before you can say action.

Every book has a point of view. Some have multiple points of view, but I advise sticking to one for an eGuide.

All you need to establish is whether you’re talking in the first, second, or third person. That means are you using I, you, or he/she?

Okay very quick grammar lesson for those who don’t already know:

First Person

This is when you’re talking about yourself or yourselves. So it includes the pronouns: I, me, my, mine, myself, we, us, our, ours, ourselves.

Second Person

This is when you’re talking to someone else and it includes the pronouns: you, your, yours, yourself, yourselves.

Third Person

This is when you’re talking about someone else and it includes the pronouns: he, him, his, himself, she, her, hers, herself, it, its, itself, they, them, their, theirs, themselves.

And no, you don’t need to remember all those pronouns, or even the word pronoun. Just make sure that when you’re writing your eGuide, you know whom you’re talking to. And stick to it!

Consistency of tone is vital here. For example, in this article on how to write an eGuide, I’m using the first person point of view. Because I’m talking from my own perspective (i.e. I keep saying I and I am and I’m). The observant among you will have noticed that I also use the second person perspective, because, after all, I’m talking to you. But principally I’m writing in the first person. Because that point of view is mine. (Sorry, I really hope you like everything I have to say because I can’t blame anyone else for it!)

So how does this work with our electric vehicle day trip example?

Of course we’re aiming it at the reader, because we want them to like our brand and we want them to take some next steps. Ultimately we want them to be a buying customer. But you can aim a message at someone without actually talking to them. In this case we’re going to be telling the story of a family. That means we’ll be writing in the third person: He packed the lunches; she drove to the motorway; they stopped in the forest.

We might use the first person because we’re talking about us as the suppliers of the XYZ Electric Vehicle, but we absolutely won’t veer off into you and then back to they because it confuses the reader.

It’s fine to have a piece at the end where we talk directly to the reader:

‘Now that you’ve shared a day-trip with the Shah family, why not get in touch with us to create your own adventure?’

But that needs to be separate to the main content of the eGuide. And to reiterate: you cannot, must not, flit back and forth between the two.

Of course that’s just one possible point of view. You could write the entire eGuide as an inspirational piece directly to the reader: ‘Sit behind the wheel and what do you feel? The comfort of an air-cushioned seat and the ergonomic steering wheel that adjusts its surface temperature in your grip.’ That’s entirely up to you. But make up your mind at the start, and stick to it.

4. Making your eGuide interesting

If that sounds obvious, it’s because it is. Even so, it’s something that’s overlooked surprisingly often. Which is understandable when you’re focusing on all those other elements like settings and points of view and characters.

To be honest, if you get those elements right, a story will turn into something interesting organically. But this is an eGuide and not a work of fiction so for the sake of marketing, it needs to land in the sweet spot.

Let’s move away from XYZ Electric Vehicles just for a second, because by now I’m sure you’d like to mix it up a bit. And anyway, if you’re not remotely interested in electric vehicles – well, the change will do us all good, right?

Imagine you’re a sailing yacht manufacturer. Your job is to write an eGuide on a subject that’s interesting and accessible.

Accessible is easy: you can write, ‘Sailing Techniques in Light to Moderate Wind In Your Dinghy.’ Almost every sailor has at some point spent time in a dinghy (a very small sailing boat) and probably understands the need to get the most from your sails in lighter wind conditions. The problem is, it’s rather dull isn’t it? I mean it’s perfect for the up and coming sailor looking to hone their skills, but it doesn’t necessarily appeal to ABC Yachts’ typical customer. Because their typical customer is looking to buy a much larger, much more luxurious blue water eco-cruiser complete with every conceivable creature comfort. They’re in the market for a forty-footer at least, and not remotely interested in a dinghy, even though they’ll understand the eGuide perfectly well.

Interesting is easy too: let’s take the pride of the fleet, the ABC 78 Catamaran which, as the name suggests, is a 78 foot monster of a vessel and comes equipped with everything from retractable swimming deck to ensuite cabins and a vast interior dining area matched only for size by its huge al-fresco counterpart on the rear deck. At a few million quid a piece, the ABC 78 is beyond the reach of most would-be clients, but that doesn’t matter: an eGuide on its resplendent features is interesting, even if the yacht itself is entirely inaccessible.

But we’re going to have to do better than that. We can’t make our eGuide interesting or accessible. It’s got to be both. We need to blend the two concepts together and this involves a bit of creative thinking.

In the case of ABC Yachts, happily, we can marry a component from the first idea with one from the second. We can talk about sailing skills and luxury.

How about an eGuide on ‘How to sail the ABC 78’? Now we’re talking: just giving someone a tour of the ABC 78 is a bit like rubbing their noses in it. It says, ‘Here’s something you can’t afford and will never have.’ But teaching them to sail a yacht like that – that’s something they can talk about to their yacht club friends and crew members next time they’re out on the waves: ‘Well of course if you were sailing a very big yacht here, you’d have to adjust for weather helm in conditions like this,’ etc. etc. (Apologies to any proficient sailors out there for my erring nautical knowledge). It’s not the same as rubbing their noses in it because now they actually get to learn something. They may never be able to afford the ABC 78, but this is the closest they’ll get to operating one. The eGuide can take them on a voyage around the Mediterranean or even across the Atlantic, and through all manner of weather conditions. It’s an adventure, it’s a lesson – it’s an experience.

Paperclips

‘But we make paperclips. How can I turn that into an experience?’

That’s an excellent question. I’ve put together this article on how to write an effective eGuide and I’ve literally taken you on a journey through forests and mountains and across oceans. How easy it must be for the Marketing Directors at XYZ Electric Vehicles and ABC Yachts to come up with an eGuide that leaps off the shelf and lands deep in the consciousness of its intended readers!

Let’s face it: not everyone makes yachts or 400-mile-range electric vehicles.

Luckily for us, an adventure doesn’t have to be a literal one. It can be a journey of the heart, something that tugs on the emotions. Because your business was founded on very powerful values. Even before I know the first thing about it, I know your business wasn’t started up on a whim and it doesn’t continue to exist just because its team members haven’t really got anything better to do. It’s got something. It’s got a story and it’s got emotion.

Here’s an example:

JKL Paperclips is a small but flourishing business that manufactures – you guessed it – paperclips. In fact, because I like a challenge, let’s assume they don’t make anything else. It’s paperclips all the way without so much as a nod to any of the other equally useful pieces of office stationery. Read on to find out how, by making your eGuide relatable, we can build interest and grab the attention of your would-be customer.

5. How to make your eGuide relatable

So JKL Paperclips would like to create an eGuide for their potential customers. And that’s a great starting point: their customers-to-be. Because before we do anything, we need to know who they are and what their needs are.

JKL only sell paperclips, and they sell in bulk. A company like theirs is unlikely to sell twenty paperclips to a private buyer. Instead they sell boxes of a thousand at a time to any business that has an office attached to it (I did not mean that pun). Which let’s face it is most businesses. And they’re going to be approaching anyone involved in procurement of office stationery which, typically, is going to be the reception or admin team. It’s unlikely that the Managing Director of a multi-million pound enterprise will get involved in the purchase of company paperclips.

And that’s an important point: know your reader. What kind of person are they? What are their interests? What is their level within the company? You don’t need to be psychic, and you won’t get it 100% right every time, but if you can keep in mind the kind of person you’re approaching, you’re much, much more likely to strike a chord with them that resonates.

So in the case of JKL Paperclips we need to aim for a tone that’s light and friendly (remember, we’re likely not talking to the board of directors here), and isn’t one that bombards with statistics. This is most likely to be read on a coffee break or during a quiet moment. Meaning we need to tell a story that’s entertaining and informal.

As it happens, JKL Paperclips are keen to support local causes and recently decided to run a paperclip competition for schools in the area. Whichever school created the longest chain out of paperclips they had lying around would win the competition and a cash donation prize for.

This involved touring the local schools to view and measure their paperclip chains, and a prize giving ceremony for the winner. There were interviews and amusing anecdotes and funny pictures of people holding their chains aloft. There were characters, and characters are engaging. There’s also the conflict that we talked about earlier. In this case it’s that schools are strapped for cash and can’t always afford the office supplies they need (either for their own admin departments or for the educational needs of the pupils). The solution to that problem is of course the prize money.

And we have a title. Perhaps we’ll go for a question that demands further investigation: ‘How long is the longest paperclip chain in North London?’

Or we might use a curiosity title: ‘1673 paperclips and £1500 for a great cause’  

This would be a good subject heading for the point of download for the eGuide by the way, for example on your homepage. Then in the body of this article, we would expand a little on the concept and talk about the competition, but we won’t give the solution to our conflict, because we want the reader to click that download button and agree to receive our free eGuide.

I won’t expand any further on this story because frankly, if your company doesn’t sell paperclips, it isn’t relevant and I’ll begin to lose your interest.

The point is: there’s always a story. Everything can be relatable. Even for a company that manufactures paperclips and nothing else. Your business, whatever it makes or sells or whatever service it provides, has a story. It might be in the people who work there. It might be a day in the life of one of those products or services – something that’s useful to a would-be customer like free hints and tips on applying a product. In this example, it might be weird and wonderful, unexpected uses for paperclips.

And if your company really, really doesn’t have a story – then go and make one happen. Run a competition, host a charity fundraising event. Anything can be turned into an engaging story.

6. Getting your future customer to take the next steps

This is an often overlooked but vital opportunity: what’s the next step (or steps) that you want your reader to take? Don’t confuse this with the benefit to them. That’s first and foremost in your list of priorities here (and ties in to delivering on the promise you made). Your eGuide must be useful to your reader. But think about this: you’ve got their attention. They’ve taken the time to download your eGuide. They’ve taken the time to read it and because you know how to write an engaging eGuide now, they’ve immersed themselves in your story.

So why not get them to do something? Of course they’ve already signed up to your mailing list, but here’s an opportunity to get them to take another step. When you finish the eGuide, thank them for taking the time to read it, then remind them of what your business is and how you can help them. Use an effective CTA (call to action) to get them to take that next step. It’s perfectly acceptable to do this because you haven’t filled every page with ‘buy this’ and ‘call us’ and ‘click here’. You’ve written something useful so you needn’t feel bad for giving them some information on how to get in touch or to find out more. In fact, if your eGuide has been written well (and it has!) then they’ll want to take a next step.

So at the very least tell them to visit your website or drop into your shop or give you a call. But if you can, be specific about why:

‘Call us on 01234 567xxx to arrange a tour of our deluxe yacht building facility and join us for a free brunch.’

‘Click here to see the winning paperclip chain and find out how we can save you money on your stationery budget.’

Give your readers a reason to take the next step in their buyer journey. It’s so much more effective than simply urging them to call you or visit your online store. Use the momentum of everything that you’ve included in the eGuide to compel them to action.

To sum up

An eGuide is a highly effective way to grow your mailing list for free.

An eGuide is a digital entity, meaning you can use it as many times as you like. You can send it out to a hundred people or a million. It doesn’t cost you a penny more.

Not only is an eGuide free for you to send out, it’s free to your customers too (and would-be customers). It’s an easy ‘sell’ because you’re not asking them to part with any money. You’re not even asking them to take a phone call from you or to book you in for a meeting. You’re literally asking them to say ‘yes’ to receiving something for nothing. Of course they’ll need to enter their email address and click the box that says they agree to sign up to your mailing list, but really, we’re all ticking online boxes all the time in this day and age. It’s not a big ask.

Remember, when you write your eGuide, these are the vital points:

• It has to deliver on its promise: what did you tell this person they would get if they signed up to receive it? Have they got that thing?
• It must have a benefit to the reader: how does the eGuide improve their life? What problem has it solved for them?
• It has to tell a story: your eGuide should be written at least in the spirit of adventure. Even if it’s about paperclips.
• It needs to be interesting: find an angle that hooks your reader. Whatever your business, you know something about it that someone else doesn’t. Chances are that something could be a point of interest.
• It has to be relatable: is the eGuide something your readers can picture themselves stepping into? Does the experience contained within chime with them?
• Know your reader: who are you aiming this at? Who’s going to be reading it? Does the content of your eGuide appeal to that person profile?
• Show your reader the next step: do you want them to call you? Do you want them to visit you in person? Whatever you want them to do, tell me what it is and give them a reason to do it!

Writing an eGuide might seem like a daunting process but as you can see, as long as you get these basic steps right, you can put together something that’s effective and enticing. Something that compels your reader (your would-be customer) to take action. Of course not all of them will, but as long as you follow these steps, you’ll put yourself in a strong position to convert thinking into doing. And the best news? You can send your eGuide to as many people as you want! The more you send it to, the more people there will be who take that next step.

So go for it, get writing!

‘This sounds great but I just don’t have time for it!’

If all this sounds like too much for your time management budget, or hey, you just don’t fancy it – never fear. I’m here to help. You can see a sample of one of my eGuides here. I’d love to design one for you, from start to finish. You’ll end up with a fully complete, ready to send, all singing all dancing eGuide designed to win more customers and get more business.

Just drop me a line here and let me make you an eGuide that will grow your mailing list and bring customers to you.