A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing an Ebook Using Blog Content
With the rise of the internet, writing an ebook has become very straightforward. However, with the constant demands of other responsibilities in our lives, finding the time to actually sit down and write can be hard.
If you’re regularly publishing a side hustle blog, there’s an additional challenge of finding the time to write articles, as well as the ebook.
But what if I were to tell you that there’s a way to do both – make progress on your ebook and publish articles – at the same time?
By working with a book-first mindset, you can slowly build up your ebook piece by piece, whilst also publishing content onto your blog simultaneously.
In this guide, we’re going to look at how you can transform blog content into a cohesive ebook using the book-first mindset. Plus, we’ll look at various tools you can use, as well as why publishing an ebook can be a game-changing move for your brand.
Why is Writing an Ebook Good for Your Brand?
Before we explore the process of creating an ebook with blog content, it’s important to understand why we’re doing it. After all, writing an ebook, even if it is through this method, is still a big commitment.
Because of this, we must understand the benefits of writing an ebook, as this will provide us with the motivation to continue.
Passive Income: Selling a digital product like an ebook can generate recurring revenue without constant upkeep. Once published, your ebook can sell continuously, providing an ongoing income stream. Learn more about digital products for passive income here.
Build Authority: An ebook positions you as an expert in your niche, boosting your credibility and opening doors to further opportunities, such as speaking gigs, collaborations, or even coaching offers.
Audience Growth: Offering a free or discounted ebook can act as a lead magnet, helping you build your email list and attract a loyal community around your content. If you have a newsletter, these lead magnets are essential.
Content Repurposing: If you already run a blog, and have been publishing content for a while, you’re essentially sitting on a treasure trove of content that can be repurposed and expanded into a complete book.
Our perception of authors is that they’re incredibly knowledgeable in their niche, which is indeed true. This means that one of the main benefits of this approach to writing an ebook is that you’re able to make the most of your existing expertise, whilst also building your authority within your niche.
This approach to writing an ebook is a win/win! And now that we know the benefits of writing an ebook, it’s time to look at how we can actually do that.
In the following section, we’re going to break down the steps to transform blog content into an ebook. And (spoiler) the process might be a bit different to what you’re expecting…
Writing an Ebook Using Blog Content: The Step-by-Step Guide
The traditional way of writing an ebook using blog content is by grouping all of your existing content together into specific subjects and topics, then copying that work into a document, and then adding additional context here and there.
And this method is totally fine if you already have a bank of content to pull from. But… what happens if you don’t have that? What happens if you’re starting from scratch?
Well, this is where the book-first method comes in.
In this approach, we write the outline for the book we want to write, break that down into subsections, outline individual blog posts inside, and then write those articles at a steady pace.
The result of this is that we’re able to both steadily build up our book over an extended period of time time, as well as have regular content to publish on our blogs.
It should be noted, however, that this is very much a long-term thing. If you want to get your book written and published now, this isn’t the best approach for you. But if you have patience, and are willing to put the work and time in, it’ll pay off big time.
Let’s explore each step of the process in depth…
Step 1: Create an Ebook Outline
Every successful ebook starts with a clear outline. The outline is the backbone, so to speak, that will keep you on track and help you organise your ideas. Additionally, it’ll help you ensure the content of your book flows logically.
Define the Focus of the Ebook
The first step is to pick a subject for the book. This should be a subject that aligns with your niche, as it’ll be the basis for a lot (if not all) of content published on your blog.
If you don’t know what your book will be about, think about your niche and what you want to be known for. If, in a year’s time, you want to establish yourself as an expert on all things beauty, your ebook could be about beauty routines and products.
Remember that because of how this approach to writing an ebook works, the topic you choose for your ebook will define a lot of the content that gets published on your blog in the following months. Because of this, it’s essential that you select a subject that aligns with your niche.
Define Key Sections
We can think of the sections of your ebook like the chapters. For example, if you’re writing about graphic design, one section could be about tools, another could be about design principles, and another could be about working with clients.
These topics should be comprehensive, and cover a lot of topics within the subject. This is because it’ll ensure you have a lot of content diversity when it comes to publishing individual articles a little later on.
Break Down to Further Subtopics
Now that you have defined sections, you should then go into each one and break them down into further sub-topics.
This allows you to break up each section into more ideas, which will in turn allow for more opportunities for content creation when it comes to writing the articles.
Whilst you probably want to get right into the writing, putting in the work upfront to structure your ebook will make the writing process more manageable and cohesive. Plus, the sections you defined in this stage will give you plenty of ideas to work for in the next step.
Step 2: Create Individual Article Ideas Based on the Outline
When your sections have been defined, it’s time to think about the actual content that will appear, both in the book and on your blog.
Spend some time brainstorming article ideas that will fit neatly into a section of your ebook. These topics should work well as standalone articles – as this is what they’ll be to begin with – as well as provide vital information that’s relevant to your book’s subject.
Thinking back to our graphic design example, idea generation based on an ebook structure could look something like this:
Title: How to Master the Art of Graphic Design
Section: Design Principles
Individual Article: How to use Contrast in your Work
Individual Article: Why Whitespace is Essential
Individual Article: The Basics of Typography: What You Need to Know
Do you see how that works? We established the title or main subject of the book, we then defined a section, and then brainstormed some individual article ideas within. Each of those ideas will work as an article published in a blog focused on graphic design, as well as fit into an ebook about graphic design.
Step 3: Write Blog Posts for Each Section
With your outline ready, it’s time to start creating blog content based on each chapter and the topics we wrote down. This approach allows you to gradually write your ebook while continuously publishing fresh content for your audience.
Publishing content can be very time-consuming, so this is why it’s vital that you pick a publishing schedule that works for you. We’d personally recommend no more than two articles per week, and working in advance as much as possible.
This is the cadence we stick to here at The Side Hustle Blueprint, and it’s working quite nicely. We also try to make content at least a month in advance. This ensures that if we need to take time off from writing, the schedule isn’t interrupted.
When writing articles, be sure to pay attention to the SEO optimisation of your content. By optimising your content for search engines, you can ensure your content will be seen by the right people.
To help you with SEO optimisation for each article, download the FREE 25-point SEO checklist for online articles.
Step 4: Compile Your Content into an Ebook
Once you’ve written all your blog posts (which will likely be a year or so from when you began), it’s time to assemble them into a single, unified book.
You can either do this all at once, once all of the articles have been published, or add them to the ebook as you go. The former option lets you get it all done in one go, whilst the latter will allow you to build up the ebook over time.
Whichever way you do this, make sure to arrange your articles and content according to the outline you created in step one. This will ensure your ebook content flows nicely, and follows a logical structure.
Add New Material
Something you may want to consider is adding in exclusive content that’s not available on your blog via existing articles.
Whilst it’s fine to exclusively use content from your blog, adding additional information, case studies, bonus chapters, or anything else, will provide much more value in the book, as well as provide more incentives for people to make a purchase.
The benefit of ebooks is that you’re able to do much more with them than you can with traditional, on-paper books. To make your ebook enticing, you can even create additional worksheets and templates that people can make use of, but can only get if they buy the book.
Whilst you can use tools like Microsoft Word or Google Docs to compile your ebook, there are some specific tools aimed at book formatting that may be more effective.
For example, you can use tools like Canva (FREE) or Adobe InDesign (PAID) to create attractive page layouts and designs. These tools will allow you to embed links, add images and create unique page layouts.
Additionally, platforms like Scrivener or Atticus can also streamline the writing and formatting process. You should keep in mind, however, that these are primarily geared towards traditional, novel-like books. This means you won’t have as much control over page layout and design as you would with tools like Canva or InDesign.
Step 5: Publish and Promote Your Ebook
Once your ebook has been compiled, and some additional information has been added (if this is something you want to do), it’s time to publish it.
There are many different places for you to publish your book. You can even publish it for free, which is good if you want to create a lead magnet for a newsletter, for example.
However, if you want your ebook to make you money (which I’m assuming you will), you can make use of platforms like Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) for traditional-style ebooks, or Gumroad, for more custom, multimedia-style ebooks.
If you’re going the Gumroad route, do check out our guide to help you optimise your Gumroad listings for the best exposure.
Additionally, you can go back to your blog articles and place promotions for your ebook at the end of each. By writing a Call to Action (CTA) that relates to the article, and explaining that your readers can learn more in the ebook, they may be more likely to make a purchase.
Conclusion
Writing an ebook doesn’t have to be an overwhelming process.
By using this book-first approach, you can both create online articles to grow your blog, whilst also building up an ebook over time. This approach not only helps you develop a robust library of content, but can also open the door to passive income, audience growth, and greater authority in your niche.
If you are going to use this method, staying organised is essential! This is why we highly recommend you set yourself up for success with a content calendar!
