"Advertising is of the very essence of democracy. An election goes on every minute of the business day across the counters of hundreds of thousands of stores and shops where the customers state their preferences and determine which manufacturer and which product shall be the leader today, and which shall lead tomorrow." - Bruce Barton

If you are a web based business owner you may wonder why you should care about ebooks. It may be that your business is turning into a success and you are having trouble trying to figure out why ebooks should be of any interest to you.

The reason a start-up business may be interested in ebooks is the same reason an established business should consider using ebooks. Marketing.

"Advertising is the greatest art form." - Marshall McLuhan

Marketing is essentially creative advertising. Marketing allows you to get your message to an audience through non-traditional methods. For instance, the press release is a powerful marketing tool that is often a means of creatively advertising your business. Ebooks fall under the same marketing umbrella.

If you have a successful business an ebook might be a powerful marketing ally. Why? You've already established there is a market for your product or service so why not capitalize on that success by providing a knowledge-based ebook based on the very thing that drives your sales?

"Advertising is, actually, a simple phenomenon in terms of economics. It is merely a substitute for a personal sales force - an extension, if you will, of the merchant who cries aloud his wares." - Rosser Reeves

An ebook can be marketed as a means of assisting your customers further discover uses for the product or service they purchased or it could provide how-to information. The consumer may well determine more than one use of the product and return seeking additional supplies.

Not all ebooks need to be fee-based. You could provide an ebook download as a free gift for membership to your site or following a purchase. This accomplishes two marketing goals. The first is list building and the second is projecting goodwill toward your customers.

Perhaps Leo Burnett said it best when he wrote, "What helps people, helps business." If structured correctly an ebook should help your customers. By going the extra mile you are actually helping your business. Knowledge is a powerful marketing/advertising tool and an ebook remains one of the most comprehensive strategies used to achieve that goal.