What is an Interactive Ebook and How Do You Create One (2024)

An ebook is a great example of a digital product that you can use to make a profit or increase your email list. While these are typically created and downloaded as a PDF, you can take this a step further and create an online, interactive ebook.

An interactive ebook gives your audience a more engaging experience when reading through your material and learning more about your topic.

Learn more about what exactly an interactive ebook is and how you can create one by following along with us throughout this guide.

Here’s a short selection of 8 easy-to-edit ebook templates you can edit, share and download with Visme. View more templates below:

Table of Contents

• Why Should You Create Ebooks?
• What is an Interactive Ebook?
• How to Create an Interactive Ebook
• How to Share Your Interactive Book
• 5 Ebook Templates to Use
• Interactive Ebook FAQs

Why Should You Create Ebooks

Before we dive into our interactive ebook guide, let’s go over why ebooks are even a good idea to create and promote.

There are so many benefits that ebooks can provide your business. Here are just a few.

• You become more of a thought leader in your industry.
• Ebooks can help increase your email list and customer base.
• You can use ebooks to create passive income for your business.
• Readers can search your ebook content to find what they’re looking for.
• Ebooks are super easy to create and publish.
• Your audience can easily access your ebook.

These are just a few of the benefits for creating ebooks, so what are you waiting for? Let’s dive in and learn more about what makes an ebook interactive and how you can add interactive elements to your next ebook.

What is an Interactive Ebook?

For lack of a better description, an interactive ebook is an ebook that has various elements your audience can interact with.

Instead of a digital product filled with words and images, you can include even more, like videos, links, audio and other interactive elements.

This helps to set your ebook and informational content apart from all of the other ebooks and digital products on the market. If you’re looking for a unique selling point, the ability to interact with your content is a great one.

How to Create an Interactive Ebook

Ready to get started?

The first step in creating an interactive ebook is to write your content. We recommend putting that together on paper or in a Google Doc before you start on your ebook design. You can also use Visme’s AI Writer to help you write content straight into the design later on.

Once you have your topic and you’ve put together your ebook content including ideas for interactivity, it’s time to start designing.

Your next step will be creating an account with Visme and logging in. To get you started with the design, we have several ebook templates, or you can easily start from scratch and design your own layout. If you're racing against the clock or need help with design and content, you can start with an AI-generated first draft using Visme’s AI document maker.

Pro Tip: If you regularly create interactive ebooks and other digital content for your brand, start implementing dynamic fields. By using pre-designed or custom dynamic fields, you can set up reusable content that’s easy to update, no matter how many projects you’ve added it to.

While you work on your ebook content and design, keep this list of 11 ways to make your ebook interactive in mind.

1. Create a Clickable Table of Contents

Make it easy to navigate through your ebook by creating an interactive table of contents.

In Visme, you can easily link ebook pages together, so let your readers click their way over to the sections they’re most interested in learning about.

Simply click the element you want to link (likely your text box with the name of the chapter in this case), click Actions, then click the Link option.

Choose Slide to link to another page in your document. Preview your ebook to make sure it works the way you want it to, and that you’ve linked the correct chapters to their corresponding titles in your table of contents.

Check out the clip below to see this in action.

2. Record Voiceover or Add Recorder Video

Give your readers multiple options for consuming your content. While they could always read through your ebook, some people prefer to listen or watch a video.

Visme gives you the option to record your own audio or video over ebooks so that your readers can choose how to have your content presented to them.

Simply head over to the Media tab to add audio or use Presenter Studio to record a video. Here’s a video showing how the Presenter Studioworks.

3. Create Quizzes

At the end of chapters or sections in your ebook, create a review quiz to help your readers make sure they comprehend and retain the information they’ve learned from your ebook.

Using Visme’s hotspot feature, you can set up an interactive quiz where you list out questions and have your readers click them to reveal the correct answers.

Find the perfect template for your next ebook!Browse Now

You could also add “Click to Reveal” buttons on your quiz page and link those to the answers instead. All you need to do is add a popup to each quiz question or button. Upon click or hover, the answer appears in a floating box that you can easily close to open another.

4. Embed Videos

We’ve all heard the old adage, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” But what about video?

Well, according to a study done a few years ago, a video is worth 1.8 million words. This is due to the rate of which video shoots, and how many words can fit into that time frame.

Customize this infographic template and make it your own!Edit and Download

So sometimes, when you need to cover a complex topic, using video to do so instead of trying to write it out is just a better solution.

Embedding videos into your ebook for your reader to stop and view can be a great way to put together a multi-media, interactive piece of content.

And in Visme, it’s incredibly easy to do. Just head over to the Apps tab and click on your video platform to embed a YouTube, Vimeo or other type of video.

You can also choose to Embed Online Content in the Media tab and paste your video URL in the text box available there.

Paste in your URL, customize your options and voila! You’ve embedded a video that will help your reader further understand your topic.

5. Add Links

Want to provide sources or even more resources to your reader? Simply add links right inside your ebook content.

This is a great way to create an interactive bibliography, include clickable in-text citations, link back to your website and more.

This time, when you select text or an object on your ebook page, you’ll click Actions then Link again, but you’ll keep it on the Web tab to add in your URL.

You can also link to an email address to make it easy to contact you after reading your ebook, or to your social media platforms to promote them and increase followers.

6. Incorporate Animation

Want to really wow your reader? Add animated elements to your ebook! Visme’s design dashboard offers tons of animation options that you can consider in your designs:

• Adding animations to elements as they appear
• Repeating animation/movement
• Animated illustrations
• Animated characters—flat and 3D
• Animated 3D gestures
• Special effects
• Text effects
• Animated backgrounds
• Animated icons

Here are some of the animation options as you see them in Visme’s dashboard. These are our customizable and animated 3D characters.

Before adding animation effects to images and photos, use the AI Edit Tools to give them a few last touches. Upscale or deblur photographs, remove objects or backgrounds and make cutouts to use however you like.

7. Create Popups

Another great interactive feature you can add to your ebook by linking elements is popups. You can choose whether to have elements appear on click or when your reader hovers over an object.

Take a look at this feature in action below.

Find the perfect template for your next ebook!Browse Now

This is a great way to make reading your ebook even more engaging for your reader.

Whether you want to make fun facts pop up or a few bullet points that you decorate with icons and graphics, have fun with your interactive ebook design.

8. Include Interactive Charts, Graphs and Maps

If you have any data, statistics or numbers to share in your ebook, consider visualizing them with interactive charts and graphs instead.

Visme’s graph engine automatically comes with dynamic, animated charts and graphs that users can interact with to view legends and other information.

In the example below, your readers can hover over each of the bars in the bar graph to see their exact amounts.

You can even include maps in your ebooks, whether it’s a world map or a specific country or region. Color code the maps based on your data (and your ebook color scheme), and users can hover over the included regions to see your information.

Plus, Visme charts and graphs automatically come with animation options based on the type of graph. You can turn these off or switch the animation type in the settings.

Find the perfect template for your next ebook!Browse Now

9. Embed External Content

Visme enterprise users have access to embed HTML codes into their Visme designs, which can help you to embed external content like signup forms from your email marketing service provider directly in your ebook.

However, all Visme users can still take advantage of lead generation by going to Share then Advanced Settings, and turning on Requires Registration in the Privacy tab.

This will then require users to submit their name and email address in a form before gaining access to your interactive ebook content.

You can gather these leads from the Form Results section of your Visme dashboard to add into your CRM and email list.

Other types of external content you can embed include SoundCloud files, Google Forms, SurveyMonkey surveys and more.

10. Add Call-to-Action Buttons

Another great way to make your ebook interactive and increase conversions is to add call-to-action buttons throughout your ebook.

If you mention any other relevant blog posts, digital products, online courses, products or services, or anything else, simply include a call-to-action button that says something like “Learn More” or “Buy Now.”

Creating enticing buttons like this is a great way to grab reader attention and increase clicks to your website.

This More Info section is a great example of how you can create your own CTAs.

11. Incorporate Feedback Forms

After reading and experiencing your interactive book, your readers are primed for a survey or feedback form. Collect their immediate reaction about your content by adding a Visme Form to the end of the digital document.

Use animated 3D characters to entice your audience to answer a few questions like, “Did you learn anything new in this guide?”, “Would you share this resource with your friends or colleagues?”, “What do you consider could be missing from this ebook?” The Visme Form will collect all answers and display them on an analytics dashboard.

Don’t lose your reader’s interest and use the book for some good old-fashioned lead generation. Aside from feedback forms, you can use Visme Forms as contact forms or newsletter sign up forms too.

Our interactive ebook maker, Visme, allows you to publish online in several ways:

• Generate an embed code to add the interactive book to your website.
• Add a private password-protected entry or leave it public for anyone to see.
• Create a shareable link that you can use to sell ebooks through your website.
• Use as free lead magnets.
• Send to your audience via email.
• Publish on social media via the Visme social scheduler.

When you share your interactive ebooks as live Visme links, the analytics dashboard tracks audience demographics to keep you informed on progress and performance.

You can even share your creations in the Visme Gallery so that other users can see what you’ve come up with.

5 Ebook Templates to Use

We’ve selected five interactive ebook examples from the Visme template gallery to inspire you. The level of interactivity in your ebook will depend on how much of an experience you want it to be. These templates, for example, have some interactive features already, but you can add as many as you want.

1. Digital Marketing for Dummies Ebook Template

This ebook template is a great option for a training course for beginners or free lead magnet in an industry blog.

Use this template as a launching pad for a fully animated and interactive guide on digital marketing or any other topic.

Animate the 3D shapes or add animated characters to accompany the text on each page. Incorporate hotspots to page 4 and display more information per numbered item.

2. Project Management Ebook Template

This template, designed for explaining project management, is your best starting point for creating a shareable interactive ebook. It can also double down as interactive learning content for employees as well.

The cover and subsequent pages boast customizable illustrations that you can animate to enter, exit or float in space.

Page 4 is primed for interactivity. Using your content as a foundation, add popups that offer information about each item on the left side column. On page 5, do the same with the numbered hexagons.

3. Travel Ebook Template

This travel-inspired interactive ebook template includes placeholders for informational videos and links to relevant articles.

To take advantage of these interactivity features, upload videos to your Media gallery or embed from a third party video service. Additionally, connect to blog posts and seamlessly redirect readers to your website.

Add even more interactivity to the ebook by putting together a dynamic table of contents. Link each section name to its corresponding slide or page location.

4. Productivity Ebook Template

Some people consume ebooks and other digital content using sensory aids. Audiobooks, for example, are an excellent option for visually impaired readers or people who love audiobooks.

Aside from the article hyperlink placeholders sprinkled on this template’s pages, you can add audio files with engaging information about what’s on the page.

Lastly, the closing page has the perfect space for a video. Replace the image with a video and give your reader a well-rounded interactive ebook. Don’t forget to set the video to play with closed caption subtitles!

5. Mobile Design Ebook Template

Create a minimalistic interactive ebook using this mobile design template.

This template offers ready-to-use audio buttons for readers to listen to the content on the page. On page 7, there is a numbered timeline that you can convert into a multiple popup design that teaches your readers interactively.

Animate the 3D hand gestures and add a subtle bouncing effect to the Read More button to keep the readers' attention on page 4.

Use the mockup on page 5 to show a visual that makes sense with your content. You won’t need to fiddle with the image; the mockup will crop it perfectly to fit. Just drag your photo to the blue area. Finally, animate the finger gesture to point repeatedly at the tablet.

Interactive Ebook FAQs

Q1: Why Should You Create Ebooks

There are many benefits that ebooks can provide your business. Here are just a few.

• You become more of a thought leader in your industry.
• Ebooks can help increase your email list and customer base.
• You can use ebooks to create passive income for your business.
• Readers can search your ebook content to find what they’re looking for.
• Ebooks are super easy to create and publish.
• Your audience can easily access your ebook.

Q:2 What is the best format for interactive ebooks?

One of the most common interactive ebook formats is ePUB. But a better alternative is a live Visme link. This format is an HTML5 file that can not only display interactive materials, but also supports any ebook dimension, privacy controls and embedding capabilities.

Q:3 What is the difference between an eBook and interactive eBook?

The difference between an ebook and an interactive ebook is that an ebook has no interactive elements like hotspots, video, animation or audio. Ebooks can be published as PDF files but interactive ebooks must be published as ePUB or live Visme links in HTML5 format.

Q:4 What are the elements of interactive books?

For an ebook to be considered interactive it must have some of the following elements:

• hotspots
• popups
• animation
• video
• audio

Q:5 Are interactive ebooks compatible with all devices?

Interactive ebooks created with Visme and shared with a live link are compatible with all devices; computer, tablet and mobile. When published in other file formats like ePUB, MOBI or AZW, they’re only compatible with some ebook readers.

Q:6 Are there any copyright considerations for interactive ebooks?

Copyright considerations for interactive ebooks is essentially the same as for traditional ebooks. As long as you use all proprietary content or content you have the rights to use, you’re not infringing on any copyrights. That said, always give credit to expert quotes and research data.

Q:7 Are interactive ebooks more expensive to produce than regular ebooks?

It depends. If you create it with ebook design software, like Visme, your interactive ebook won’t cost more than a regular ebook. But if you’re working with professional ebook designers, you can expect a higher price for interactive ebooks.

Create Your Own Interactive Ebook

Creating and distributing an ebook is great, but making it interactive is even better. Engage your audience with interactive features that make your content more memorable and impactful.

No matter if you add video, audio or animation, your brand voice will shine through thanks to Visme’s branding features and easy-to-use editor.

Ready to get started creating your next ebook? Choose one of the templates in this guide or browse the variety of options in the ebook template gallery.

Take advantage of Visme’s platform to create, publish and share online with your audience.