The trend currently is PDF and this is why. Ebooks written and compiled in the EXE format didn't work after Microsoft introduced Service Pack II. Many of the programs that deliver EXE format are based upon having Internet Explorer modules that no longer work correctly due to the Service Pack II. This requires a patch to open the file for your customer. What a pain. It makes your end products value perceived as less than adequate if you must include a patch along with your Informational Product.
Secondly, most of the EXE compilers are just so hard to use that writers simply resort to the PDF format to deliver their end product. Writers are concerned with getting their message out, as fast as possible and with ease thus the PDF format becomes the standard to deliver Informational Products.
Customers prefer PDF over EXE almost 75% of the time and there is a reason for this. When given a choice, they trust the PDF format over EXE because of the SP2 issue. When the information they paid for or obtained free didn't open or could not be viewed that format just isn't something they will willingly download again. Would you if the format didn't work? You would look for the Information Product that did work so you can have the information you wanted.
Which format works best depends upon what material you are presenting. If you write and add a few graphics or photos PDF may work best. If you are showing and telling your may choose the EXE format. Offering both formats most likely is the best way to satisfy your customers' needs. In a poll of the Internet Warrior Forum (http://www.warriorforum.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=73412 ) this topic was very informative. It seems there is quite a difference of opinions between the kind of form favored, and both produce profits for the writers. Still the reader is the determining factor. What do they want? When it is reported the 75% want their information in the PDF format it tells you something about how you will market your Informational Product.
Don't rule out the EXE format so quickly. There are many aspects of your delivery that are more suited for this format than can be delivered with the PDF. Today most of the programs offering your Informational Product in the EXE format have updated to get around the SP2 problem. It now is a perceived issue with your customer easily explained. Tell them it is in the EXE format and that they will be viewing the information without the problems of the past. You can include the why you are delivering your message in this format by simply telling them you will be showing them and telling them in ways PDF can't.
Ideally an Internet Author writes words just like anyone who writes a book. Your words are all that is necessary to convey your message. Is this what people online are looking for? Or could they get the same information at their local bookstore? In order to have your writing purchased you need to have a format that will over-deliver to your customer in a way that will not only satisfy them, but also WOW them. Recall that instant satisfaction is what people are looking for online. Can you provide them with instant satisfaction and still get your message across?
Delivering your message either as a free download or to be purchased is of great importance. Delivering it in the right format is also of great importance to your reader. If you were writing about golf and describing how to be a better putter, would just words be enough? Not hardly. You would want to include photos showing your reader exactly how to putt. It would even be better if you could show them a video, so your delivery method can get your point across even better. The old expression "A picture is worth a thousand words" comes to mind. Maybe a video is worth ten thousands. Deciding which format, PDF or EXE, would best produce your message then becomes very important to show them.
Perhaps this is why so many Informational Products on CD's and DVD's are coming out. These are the big ticket items that show and tell along with the written word. They are all interactive and all contained. Nothing has to be linked to a web site or use other resources online. A simple click of the mouse and watch the video and right back to the text. The reader doesn't have to wait for the connection to a web site or wait for the file to load and run. It's done instantly.
Most Internet authors do not have the means to produce CD's or DVD's. It requires a staff or the expertise to develop these Informational Products let alone the funds. Secondly they cannot be digitally delivered, which is a requirement for those people who want their information instantly.
Your informational material then dictates the delivery means. Use PDF when you are writing just words with a few pictures or graphics. Use EXE when you need to show and tell to get your message across to your customer. If and when it is possible, give your customer the choice of either.
In either case, writers want and need a program that is easy to use. This is why PDF has taken off in the last few years. There are many low cost programs that convert word processing files into PDF files. There are many programs or add-ons that help in putting video and audio into PDF files as well. This means there is a two-step process to producing your Informational Product, you write it adding the features you deem necessary to get your message across, and you convert it to a PDF format.
The EXE normally takes more steps to complete the final product. You write it, you convert it to HTML format, and you compile it with your program of choice. The hardest part is the conversion from HTML to the compiled format. For many it is just too much work and the learning process can take longer than the writing. It is easy to understand why the PDF becomes the favorite for the Informational Producer.
Doing your writing in both formats to give your customer their choice isn't easy either. It is double the work. Too bad there isn't a way to do both at the same time, or is there? That was one of the comments on the thread in the Warrior's Forum that was repeated. Given the knowledge that PDF is chosen 75% of the time because of the perceived value, mostly due to the SP2 issue, the buyer's choice is obvious. Or is it? Is it a choice of the producer? In most cases it is the producer, author, writer that make the choice of the format they use to offer their Informational Product. Face it, when it is easy to use PDF over EXE, what choice would you make?
Can you give them both? Can you offer them your material in EXE form that will give them more value than what you can give them in PDF form or the same value in either form? Yes you can deliver your Informational Products today in either format and have both a multimedia experience for your customers.
Embedding files in audio and video can be done in either format. This feature is soon to be taken away after Microsoft lost yet another court battle. The embedding feature is part of the browser in IE. That feature will no longer be available to unlock your files to automatically run. Maybe you didn't know about this little problem that can result in the failure of every ebook produced prior to 2005, being disabled just like what happened with the SP2 issue, only far worse. Even Web pages will not function properly unless they are changed from auto to having the viewer actually click on the audio or video to have it open. Do a search for microsoft+lawsuit+flash+embedded in your favorite search engine and see if this will affect you.
It all gets back to what format sells the best or what the Informational Producer believes will sell the best even if it is a give away viral product. Is there is a way to give your readers both options at the click of a button? You just might find out you have the power to deliver your informational products giving your readers a multimedia experience or just a simple written book simply and easily as using your word processor. See the bio for the free no obligation information. It just may give you the advantage of using both PDF and EXE in all your publications.
Copyright:
Copyright © 2006 Daniel Grasser. You are free to copy this article intact with the authors bio attached.
Author bio:
Daniel Grasser Internet Author, Webmaster. Don't be Stuck Like A Duck. Make your next Ebook a Big Ticket Item. See if the Dead Easy way is your way to create a Big Ticket Item you can profit from. View a demo at http://www.instant-list-builder.com/de.htm