My habit of collecting every free eBook I could lay my hands proved very profitable to me while building my business.

Here are 20 ways that you can use free eBooks to boost your profits.

1. Build Your List

Use free eBooks as an incentive to get more people to join your list.

2. Keep Your Subscribers

Give away a new free eBook every time you mail your list or at least every month, so they have a reason to stay subscribed. Create a subscribers-only eBook library and keep adding new ones often.

3. Get More Affiliates to Promote Your Product

Offer free eBooks and free brandable eBooks as an incentive for join your affiliate program.

4. Sell Customization Rights to Your Own eBooks

If you've written an eBook and have a number of affiliate links in it, you can make more money by selling customization rights.

5. Back-End Profits

Purchase customization rights to others' eBooks and give them away free to your list. Profit when they purchase something through your links.

6. Become an Instant 'Expert'

Write an eBook on a topic that you know well and give it away to a target market. Once people know you as an expert on your subject, they will be more willing to spend money with you.

7. Grow Your Downline

Offer free eBooks as an incentive to join a program under you. Allow your downline to give away eBooks as well so they can build their (and your) downline.

8. Become a Leader

Train your team by giving away free eBooks that help them learn how to build their business. eBooks help you save on cost of ordering printed copies and shipping them to your distributors.

9. Boost Your Website Traffic

Write an eBook yourself and insert your website links in a way that gives your readers a compelling reason to visit your website, either for resources you offer or an invitation to download more eBooks.

10. Survey Your List

Have a great idea for a new product or eBook, but need to find out if there's a market for it? Create a survey and use free eBooks to entice people to respond. To ensure a good response to your survey, offer two or more eBooks, or a product that you own, or even a download of product you plan to create as a result of survey.