You know how you always have to download eBooks in the form of PDF files, store them in a folder and totally forget about them after a week? If you are promoting a product online, you certainly don’t want your eBook to end up as someone’s digital junk. But what if there’s a way to make your own eBook more stylish? Well, with FlipSnack, you can – for free.
What Is FlipSnack?
FlipSnack is an online software that enables you to create eBooks that literally flips. You’ll see what I mean in a short while. So instead of creating a plain looking online course or a guidebook, you can actually use it to design brochures, product catalogs or even entice your audience with a book preview.
How to Make Your Own eBook for Free?
To get started, you need to upload your JPG or PDF files to your image library first. From there, you’ll be directed to the editing dashboard that looks something like this.
On the left hand side are all the features that can be added to your eBook and on the right hand side is the blank page where you are going to preview the editing work. Let’s see what each of these features can do.
- Layout determines the cover design and the eBook template.
- Media allows you to embed videos and audios on the eBook.
- Shopping enables viewers to make a purchase with their credit cards or through PayPal.
- Images is where you pick and choose pictures to be added either from the Flipsnack library or from your own selection.
- Shapes provides designs to enhance the eBook appearance.
- Text is where you add more information on top of your files.
- Interaction helps to direct your readers to a call-of-action.
- Social enables readers to follow you through your social networks.
Wow, THAT is a lot of stuff that can make an eBook come alive online!
The editing process works via the drag-and-drop technique whereby it is very intuitive even for the beginners. Once you are happy with the end results, you can download the flipbook, embed it on a website or share it with your social networks.
In this example, I’ve created a simple eBook to feature my recent trip to Jeju, Korea and I plan to share it on a travel blog. All I need to do is to grab the auto generated code and paste it on my text editor. It’s that simple!
You can have it adjusted to any sizes to fit to your website layout. This works well on most web publishing platforms that support HTML, but my preferred choice would still be WordPress because it is more reliable.
What Is In The Free Account?
In the free account, you can create up to 3 collections of eBooks that come with watermark with the limitation of 15 pages each. The eBook does not include rich media (audio, video, and PayPal), only stores up to 1GB storage and allows up to 10,000 page views per day.
The eBook that I have just created is an example of what you can do with the free account.
What Do You Get as a Paid User?
In the paid version, you get more page views, unlimited publishing (without watermark) up to 500 pages per collection and viewers will be allowed to leave comments on your eBook. Here are some of the premium plans if you are interested to upgrade.
So, Is FlipSnack Worthy of Your Time?
I personally find this idea of creating a flipping eBook refreshing. Unlike downloading typical PDF files in bulk, it actually gives viewers the experience of reading a digital book right from your website. In doing so, it engages the visitors longer on a web page and that can indirectly boost your web ranking too.
Here are just some niches that I think is great to add Flipsnack.
- Food and Recipes – i.e. online cookbooks
- Children Education – i.e. digital storybooks
- Photography – i.e. images portfolio
- Travel and Adventure – i.e. online magazine
- Arts and Crafts – i.e. product catalog
In fact, any online niche that is looking to deliver visual product information with lots of images and rich media can benefit from creating a flipping eBook with Flipsnack. Yours could be one too. It’s nifty and inexpensive, so do give it a try.
Would you be interested in other ways to grow your online audience? I know of an awesome community that has the tools and training to help you out. Read more about this robust training platform to learn how you can get started.
Have you ever used a flipping eBook tool before? Do you have any opinions or questions regarding this topic? Please leave the comments below and I’ll get back to you.
Hi Cathy, firstly let me say thank you for the article. I have one unfinished e-book in the making.
But here’s the thing. I can’t understand why I would pay $16 a month for the privilege. Do widgets like this increase readership? I have noticed how software in the internet world is monetized ( Can i moan a little?) They all want a monthly payment. If I consider the many times I think; “that would be good for..” and calculate the monthly costs if i signed up, I would be paying over $400 per month on software, apps, widgets etc.
Thank you again for your article.
Hi there Lenny,
I can understand how ‘frustrating’ all these monthly fees become a burden for new online business like yours, but that’s how it is. Flipsnack is a fancy tool, but it’s not necessary something that you need for your eBook. If you are planning to distribute your eBook, a PDF format is good enough.
I’ll be coming up with an article on how to make an eBook in that manner, so stay tuned.
Okay, so I’ve read a lot about how eBooks are beneficial to websites and the readers. I’ve been thinking about creating one for a little while now, but never knew how to really go about it. I like the idea of this free option for now, until I have some extra money for the added benefits.
Thanks for this Cathy!
Hi there Gina,
Flipping eBooks is just a fancy way of presenting your information. If you want something simple, the conventional downloadable PDF is absolutely free to create. There are many templates and cover design out there that you can use for free. In fact, I’ll be coming up with an article on how to do just that. Stay tuned.
FlipSnack looks really neat.
I personally have so many PDF files that I download and then forget about. I’ve been thinking about creating an eBook for my own site and would definitely use FlipSnack, especially for my site’s recipes which can pile up in a file and never get read.
The pricing at $16.00 per month seems very reasonable, but it was a little unclear to me how it is billed. “Billed annually or $32.00 month to month” was bit confusing, but I sure can see the value of using Flipsnack.
Hi there Jack,
What it means is, if you subscribe to the annual plan, you’ll only be paying an average of $16/month. If you prefer to pay monthly, then the charges would be $32/month. Hope that clarify things up for you.
I found you article right on time, Cathy! I just made my PDF a while back and am wondering if there is a way to improve the reading experience.
I like the page turning effects, they help me engage with the book more – in contrast to just scrolling.
What I want to know now is how to have a 3D image of your book with the cover, you know. I saw a lot of sites have feature their books like that and it makes me want to download them more.
Thanks in advance!
Great question Anh,
There are actually a few online tools/software that I would recommend you check out – BoxShot, Adazing and MyeCoverMaker. Some are free while others incur some small fees. It all depends on what kind of product you are creating.
However, I don’t think they would go well with flipping eBooks as those are more 2D. Anyway, try them out and let me know how it goes.
Wow the internet is really booming in terms of creativity. I never thought that E-book can have such evolution to what it is these days. Having an Ebook allows me to store my favourite images along with a slideshow format which looks professional & cute at the same time.
Do we get affiliate links / referrals in this program?
Hi there Zhi Wei,
FlipSnack is actually a widget component of a larger brand called SnackTools. I’ve searched high and low and they don’t seem to offer any affiliate program except for a special program called FlipSnack Edu which is catered for educators. For each premium account referred, you get $10 in commission.
Hopefully they will open up to affiliate marketers in the near future because I think they have some really cool tools for people who want to start an online business.
I will remember this article when I want to create my own eBook. I knew it was easy, but I did not think that it would be that easy with FlipSnack.
I also like the idea that you do not have to download the eBook in order to read it. Do you know of any other programs that I can use?
Would like to compare some of the prices.
Hi there Viljoen,
A similar tool would be Issuu. You can choose the free account or the paid account at $35/month.
The other one is called Publitas, which I only discovered recently. Pretty neat. Their plans range from free to $99/month.
Others are mostly downloadable software which cost from $100 and above, but they do offer free trials. Some software are free for downloads but I would avoid them in case they come with spyware that can crush my PC. I rather not take the risk.
Hope this helps.