eBooks: The Long and Short of It
Aug 20, 2025
If whitepapers prove your expertise, eBooks make the case for why it matters.
They don’t just inform — they influence. A strong eBook guides your reader through a problem, earns their trust, and points directly to your solution.
Here’s how to create one that converts.
What Is It?
An eBook is long-form B2B content that helps buyers solve a real problem and understand your solution — without sounding like a sales pitch.
It’s educational, strategic, and structured to lead prospects from interest to action.
A high-performing eBook typically includes:
- A clear, compelling title
- A table of contents (make it scannable)
- An intro that tees up the pain point
- Thematic chapters with insight and flow
- A conclusion that ties it all together
- A CTA that moves readers forward
- Bonus: Boilerplate or contact info for follow-up
What Is It For?
Use an eBook when you want to:
- Educate the market on a complex product or problem
- Build thought leadership that drives inbound
- Support mid-to-bottom funnel nurture
- Gate valuable content to generate high-intent leads
- Arm your sales team with a story they can actually tell
Keep it tight: 8–12 pages is the sweet spot. Enough to say something meaningful, not so much it collects dust in a downloads folder.
Best Practices for B2B eBooks
At GDS, we’ve created dozens of these for tech companies in pricing, AI, compliance—you name it.
We follow the same 3-part system: format, message, and design.
Message
β Do:
- Open with a strong value prop
- Use clear hierarchy: headers, subheads, callouts
- Guide the reader: problem → insight → solution
- Use stats, quotes, and mini-case studies
- End with a CTA that leads somewhere (“Get the toolkit,” not “Contact us”)
β Don’t:
- Ramble or over-explain — get to the point
- Use jargon or buzzwords — clarity wins
- Write like a brochure — write like a helpful expert
Design
β Do:
- Stay on-brand but not rigid
- Keep each page focused on one key idea
- Use charts, illustrations, and icons to clarify, not clutter
- Break up text with quotes and sidebars
- Optimize for mobile — it’s where people actually read
β Don’t:
- Copy/paste a blog post into PDF pages
- Overload pages with text or stock imagery
What to Include in a Great eBook
The eBooks that perform best aren’t just informative — they’re trust-building tools.
Top elements:
- Expert quotes
- Takeaways at the end of each section
- Real mini case studies
- Testimonials (yes, even in eBooks)
- Visualized data: charts, graphs, stats
A great eBook doesn’t just teach — it moves buyers forward.
At GDS, we often pair eBooks with other content marketing pieces such as:
- Socials to drive downloads
- A companion infographic
- A short promo video
Why? Because an eBook is just one part of the campaign. The right ecosystem keeps it working long after the launch.
See examples of high-converting B2B eBooks we've worked on.
About Gallery Design Studio (GDS)
What We Do
We help B2B and B2G tech companies explain what they do—faster, clearer, and more persuasively—through visual content that drives understanding and accelerates sales.
Why It Matters
Most content is too slow, too vague, or too complicated. We fix that by combining strategic design thinking with creative firepower—so the message lands and moves buyers forward.
How We Work
We move fast, but we think first. This isn’t a content vending machine—it’s a partnership. Expect a team deep in the work: noodling in Figma, building decks, storyboarding product videos, and pushing ideas forward before a brief even exists. We think like owners, not order-takers.
