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Further
Reading ...
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How to Build a Business Website - Nowshade Kabir
A recent report done by Yankee Group, a Boston-based market research company, states that at the end of 2004 around 34 percent of small and medium sized businesses in North America are selling goods and services on the Internet and another 25 ...
4th Quarter 2003 Publicity = 1st Quarter 2004 Prosperity - Todd Brabender Spread The News PR
As the year starts to wind down, many businesses and entrepreneurs are making plans and budgets for the year 2004. Those plans could include anything from setting up goals for new products to preparing marketing, sales and PR/publicity campaigns....
Niche Marketing Keywords Make Internet Marketing Easier - Aneesh Nat
When it comes to niche marketing, keywords are your best friends. The reason for this is because keywords are what people search for on search engines like Google, Yahoo, Excite, and if it matches keywords provided on your Web site then your web...
Project Management Training - Jakob Jelling
Project management is a very specialized and often complex task, and requires more training than the average programmer or executive might expect in very specific organizational tasks. To meet this demand, professional groups such as the Project...
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Choose the Right Format for Your Ebooks
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Written By:
Tim Coulter
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Choosing the right file format for your ebook is an essential step on the road to electronic self-publishing. This article looks at the factors affecting your choice and offers tips to help you make the most of your ebook, whatever format you choose.
The format of an ebook determines the nature of the digital package in which it is distributed. During the short history of the ebook, various new formats have been developed and others may evolve in the future. But, as with any maturing technology, a point will probably be reached where one or two formats dominate, to the exclusion of all others. Fortunately, it is becoming increasingly easy to re-package existing content in alternative formats, so there is now less risk associated with making an early commitment to a particular format, even if it ultimately fails the test of time.
The important considerations when choosing an ebook format are:
- Compatibility with the platform used by the target audience
- Ease of installation and use by your readers
- The ability to support any special features required by the intended content
All common ebook formats now support flexible text formatting and page layout, embedded graphics, hyperlinks and convenient navigation.
The two formats most commonly used by independent ebook authors are PDF and HTML (also known as EXE format). They are favored for their ease of creation and widespread acceptance by the ebook community. Although other formats exist (MS Reader, Adobe ebook and Palm Doc etc), they typically entail more complex compilation procedures and include features more applicable to mass publishing.
The PDF format, developed by Adobe Systems Inc, can be viewed on Windows and Unix systems, as well Macs and even handheld computers. An ebook in PDF format is viewed using the free, downloadable Adobe Reader software.
Although a specific version of the Adobe Reader application is required by each target platform, a single common PDF file format is applicable to all users, regardless of their platform. This cross-platform compatibility is probably the single most important factor in - continued below ...
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the huge popularity of PDF as a publishing format. Over 500 million computer users are currently equipped to read PDF documents.
A PDF ebook can contain thousands of pages and the inbuilt hierarchical navigation system (known as bookmarks) makes it as easy to find a particular chapter or page as in a printed book. For this and other reasons, the PDF format is generally the professional's choice.
HTML ebooks are created by combining a set of HTML pages (i.e. web pages) into a single file. The resultant ebook can only be viewed on Windows computers, but since the majority of buyers fall in this group, most marketers do not consider this a major limitation. Unlike PDF (and other formats), HTML ebooks do not require any additional pre-installed software to read them. Most variants are dependent on Internet Explorer, but since this is installed automatically with Windows, the issue is of no consequence to most users.
A common feature of many HTML ebooks is the ability to customize certain pre-defined aspects of their content, even after creation and distribution. This is known as re-branding. It is very popular among online marketers, particular those producing promotional ebooks, because it enables the ebook medium to be used as a viral affiliate marketing tool.
On the downside, the need for multiple content files means that HTML ebooks are more cumbersome to create, making the format less well-suited to large authoring projects. Also, since HTML ebooks are directly executable by Windows, they are a potential source of computer viruses. Although there have been few incidents of virus problems originating from the ebook industry, the ever-present threat means that some prospective readers are wary of downloading ebooks in this format.
Copyright © Tim Coulter. All rights reserved.
Tim Coulter is a consultant and software developer who helps netpreneurs to harness marketing technologies.
He is also the author of "ClickBank - The Definitive Guide" The Ultimate ClickBank Tutorial & Reference Manual.
http://www.clickbankrevealed.com/
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| _Additional Resources ... |
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The Coming Wave Of Mature Women Entrepreneurs - Ted Riley
There is a growing wave of retired female workers getting in on the massive amount of money to be made in the home based business field. The list of products and services that the older worker can provide is almost endless. Older workers usually...
How to Handle 12 Big Issues for Small Businesses - Diana Barnum
Some day-to-day work issues can turn into big headaches for small businesses. For example, not having enough help during a busy season or new promotion can hurt production, sales and customer relations in the fulfillment of orders and customer...
Online Trade Winds - Nicholas Dixon
A few bends ago on the online marketing road, I registered and got paid hosting for a website I have been marketing for years. Now some people may say that is minor step, but for someone who lives on a rock in the Caribbean Sea that is a...
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