Sales aren't everything. Here's a look at ebooks outside the marketplace:

With self-published ebooks such as Fifty Shades of Grey and Wool gaining more attention and revenue each day, it seems like everybody wants to get a piece of the ebook action. But there is a select group of author-entrepreneurs who are taking it a step further, turning themselves into their own bestsellers.

Antonio Neves, entrepreneurial coach, motivational speaker, and award-winning business journalist founded THINQACTION, Inc and has since published two ebooks. "It's essentially a calling card for new business and can provide plenty of leads," he tells Vook. The comparison of ebooks to calling cards is a fair one. Like physical business cards, ebooks are easily created at little cost and can be updated to reflect recent developments. Ebooks can be custom-designed to meet branding specifications and provide URLs to websites and social media platforms. And they can be given away at events or on websites to extend the brand's reach. And by brand, we mean the marketers, speakers, consultants, financial advisors, matchmakers, and media gurus who need to sell themselves.

On top of this easy dispersal is the fact that great content in the ebook does all of the talking for you. It establishes you as an authority on the topic and can open doors left and right. The four author-entrepreneurs profiled below learned that in a not-so-hard way:

Direct connections

"Publishing a quality ebook can be a game-changer for entrepreneurs," Antonio tells Vook. Regarding 5 Ways To Make It In New York City: Or Any Big City - How To Take Charge of Your Career and BREAQTHROUGH: 5 Surefire Ways To Take Charge Of Your Career, he continues, "The key is excellent content that's useful and provides value to the reader. After offering e-books, not only did I bring in new clients, another byproduct was that sign-ups for my e-mail list went through the roof. This provides me with a direct connection to customers for products and services I offer.

Job offers and opportunities

In "Not What I Expected: 6 Months Since Self-Publishing My Ebook," Manoush writes that while her self-published ebook sold well, the invaluable result was establishing her credentials. She received three job offers based on attention from the ebook and while she didn't accept them, she did get the opportunity to launch a weekly radio show, New Tech City. The bottom line, she writes: "it catapulted me back onto the media scene unlike any plain vanilla job search ever could."

New partners

Dating expert Damona Hoffman (or Dear Mrs. D) recently published an online-dating how-to ebook based on years of experience in dating world. She tells Vook: "I view my ebook Spin Your Web: How to Brand Yourself for Successful Online Dating as a great calling card for my dating coaching business. Not only does it give potential customers a taste of how my strategies can improve their dating lives, but it has also helped me attract amazing partners and future opportunities from The Dr. Phil Show, Match.com and HurryDate."

Top of the charts

Natalie Pace, financial guru and Founder/CEO of online finance magazine NataliePace.com, similarly shared her industry wisdom in The ABCs of Money. "I get a lot of requests from people who are trying to save their home, or get rid of credit card debt, or protect their nest egg during these volatile times," Natalie tells Vook. "They need this information right away." So she extended her product offering to ebooks without sacrificing the most up-to-date information, allowing her to cross promote between her website/magazine and the ebook.

We encourage any business owner—even if the business consists of just you and your computer—to explore an ebook strategy (we've even written a free guide for content holders). Feel free to contact us by signing up on Vook.com or emailing us directly.