The ultimate Interactive Flipbook guide20 min read

The ultimate Interactive Flipbook guide

Say no to PDF static material today! With world-class expertise and a proven track record from some of the biggest global brands, we are excited to introduce you to the future of digital content – Interactive Flipbooks! This Interactive Flipbook guide shows you how to transform your online content forever and supercharge customer engagement. Let’s start from the beginning and dive into the concept. Later, we will provide you with examples and practical information about creating online flipbooks. Ready, set, go!

In this blog post, we provide you with an all-encompassing rundown of Interactive Flipbooks.

Table of contents:

So, let’s dive into the definition of an Interactive Flipbook.  

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What is an Interactive Flipbook?  

Let’s dive into the flipbook definition.

An Interactive Flipbook is an Interactive Experience that allows you to convert PDFs and documents into highly engaging online content. A flipbook is an interactive version of static documents or books that you can publish on your website. Visitors can flip through the pages digitally as if it were a physical book.  

Interactive Flipbooks can replace PDFs and paper-based documents, such as annual reports, product catalogs, magazines, and guides. An Interactive Flipbook boosts your customer engagement strategy because the audience plays an active role in the experience. One can encourage participation with, for instance, embedded quizzes, videos, games, buttons, and other clickable elements. These experiences make your customer an active part of the story. Therefore, Interactive Flipbooks are much more engaging than static documents.  

When it comes to the middle of the sales funnel, three out of the five most effective Interactive Experiences are interactive white papers, Interactive eBooks, and Interactive Lookbooks – all examples of digital flipbooks!

The ever-changing customer demands require marketers to find better ways to collect data. Publishing an Interactive Magazine on your website will allow you to gather customer insights. As a result, you can significantly improve the brand experience. In addition, differentiating your company becomes increasingly difficult in our fast-paced digital world. Leveraging Interactive Content will set you apart from the competitors based on personalized, engaging customer experience.  

What can be a better way to understand the concept than trying it for yourself? Click on the image below to browse through our Interactive Flipbook about … Interactive Flipbooks!

interactive flipbook guide
Interactive Flipbook explained

Why Interactive Flipbooks?

Customers want to receive personalization and engagement to remain loyal to specific brands. This trend requires companies to adapt by providing better content. As a result of the quickly changing customer expectations, many diverse types of Interactive Content have gained popularity over the last few years. An astonishing 90% of marketers state that interactive tools help their companies stand out from the competition and convert more customers. Organizations can use interactivity to improve the performance of any document or ebook. An Interactive Flipbook about the company’s history, for example, is far more intriguing than several dry lines of text. The options are endless, and we hope you manage to unfold your creativity after familiarizing yourself with the examples in this Interactive Flipbook guide.

Benefits of Interactive Flipbooks 

Interactive Flipbooks are Interactive Experiences that cater to the consumer demand to interact with brands at a higher level. Reading lengthy texts and browsing through pdf-style documents is no longer sufficient to stay interested. Now that we have explained the definition of Interactive Flipbooks, let’s discuss the advantages they would have for your company. There are many good reasons to convert your old PDFS to Interactive Flipbooks. Don’t miss out on these! 

1. Boost customer engagement 

One of the main benefits of Interactive Flipbooks is capturing your audience’s attention. The more engaging the experience, the more meaningful the interaction with your brand. Engaging customers is crucial because it strengthens the emotional connection with your brand, which helps you retain loyal clients. 

2. Grow your email list with lead forms

Adding a lead form to your Interactive online Flipbook to unlock gated content is smart. If your flipbook provides value, customers would be willing to give out their information to access it. For example, you can ask for their names, email addresses, and countries. As a result, you grow your email list. Therefore, you will be able to craft targeted emails for your target audience.

3. Boost sales  

Displaying your products in an organized and engaging way will incentivize sales. As you can add valuable product descriptions, shoppable videos, clickable images, and direct checkout to your Interactive Flipbook, viewers are more inclined to add products to their shopping carts. Promoting your products in a flipbook is a wonderful way to educate your customers about your company and increase sales. Furthermore, you can incentivize sales by giving out discount codes as a reward for playing games inside the flipbook.  

Interactive Content generates twice as many conversions as passive content. Do not miss the opportunity to double your sales with an Interactive Flipbook! 

4. Capture data insights  

One of the most outstanding benefits of Interactive Flipbooks, as opposed to static PDFs, is the possibility to collect zero- and first-party data. You can monitor the activity of your viewers, including the time spent browsing through the flipbook, experiences they prefer to click on, and which pages are the most viewed ones. In addition, every answer to your polls and quizzes will give you a clear picture of your target consumer’s profile. Gathering customer insights will facilitate you in crafting even better content for your target audience.  

For internal purposes, you can also track employee progress in training documents. For example, you can monitor every viewer’s activity in an onboarding flipbook. Performance tracking will provide you with a better understanding of your staff profile. 

5. Improve brand experience  

An Interactive Flipbook can help you improve your brand experience in many ways. Providing an Interactive Experience will keep your visitors engaged and attached to your brand. Furthermore, the visual dashboards and reports allow you to track your performance. Therefore, you can work towards optimizing the experience based on your customers’ interactions and preferences. For example, you might discover that most of the readers tend to skip one of the pages. This insight will help you improve the page and adapt it to your customer’s journey. 

Discover the advantages of creating an Interactive Flipbook

Overall, replacing static documents, magazines, and catalogs with an Interactive Flipbook helps you build long-lasting relationships with your customers based on engagement, user experience, and value. Keep reading the Interactive Flipbook guide to learn how to create a flipbook with interactive elements.

How do you make an Interactive Flipbook?  

Ready to create a flipbook from PDF? It is exciting to see the pages of your static documents come alive. Let’s get started! 

Steps to make an Interactive Flipbook: 

1. Plan the content 

Creating an Interactive Flipbook starts with proper planning. Imagine what the outcome should look like. Think about which static elements you can transform into Interactive Experiences. For instance, you can replace “Related products” with a Product Recommender to help your audience find the best solution for their needs. Furthermore, you need to consider the customer data you want to track. Write down all the metrics that you find important. Having clear objectives for the information you want to gather will help you choose the right interactive elements and ask the right questions. Once you have an idea in mind, you can keep going. 

2. Upload your PDF to your chosen flipbook software 

Upload your PDF to start editing it and transform it into a dazzling digital flipbook. 

3. Add your Interactive Experiences 

Some softwares offer greater flexibility than others. With our platform, for example, you have no limitation on the number of interactive elements you can use.

4. Gate pages or entire sections  

The next step is to gate content strategically and encourage readers to unlock it. This can be done by either giving out customer information or engaging in a certain Interactive Experience. Make sure to follow the gated content best practices to generate more qualified leads.

5. Set up integrations

Set up third-party integrations to enhance marketing automation flow. Examples of possible integrations include Google Analytics, Marketo, Mailchimp, and HubSpot.

6. Promote your flipbook

How do you distribute a flipbook, so it reaches more people? Promotion! After publishing your Interactive Flipbook online, do not forget to promote it. Otherwise, your stunning Interactive Experience might remain unnoticed. 

As already mentioned, creating an Interactive Flipbook allows you to be flexible. There are no limitations to what kind of content you can build. Therefore, you might have a more complicated idea. In this case, you can contact an Interactive Content expert to help you design your project from scratch.  

7. Measure the effectiveness of your flipbook

Finally, make sure you choose the right Interactive Content metrics to measure the success of your Interactive Flipbook. Remember, one of the best advantage of an Interactive Flipbook is the possibility to always modify your copy, design and overall content to boost result. But, to do so, you have to keep your eyes on the right metrics and know how it’s going at all time.

interactive flipbook about interactive content explained
Interactive Content explained

Interactive Experiences to add to an Interactive Flipbook 

What makes a digital flipbook interactive are the experiences you add to it. The more actions the readers take, the more engaging the interaction. Depending on the purpose of your Interactive Flipbook, you can, for example, ask relevant questions, engage viewers with a video, and entertain them with games. Therefore, you can add a combination of different Interactive Experiences to improve the performance of your flipbook.  

Every flipbook software varies in terms of functionality and flexibility. With our platform, you can use the following experiences to enhance the quality of your online flipbook:    

Quizzesadd an entertaining challenge to your digital flipbook

Personalize the user experience with branching questions and customized feedback. A quiz would keep your readers focused on your content, as they need to answer a few questions before they continue. Examples you can use include diagnostic quizzes, BuzzFeed-style quizzes, personality quizzes, and knowledge quizzes.  

Polls – learn more about your customers

Discover your audience’s preferences with a poll. As people often like to compare themselves with others, this experience will keep them engaged. This experience will also help you understand your target customers better.  

Marketing Games – entertain your customers to enhance your flipbook

Increase the level of engagement with a branded interactive game. Playing a game will make the flipbook more entertaining for your audience. There are many different types of Marketing Games you can choose from – Spin & Win, Cup Game, Wheel of Fortune, Tapping Game, Puzzles, Memory Games, seasonal games, you name it!

Guided Selling – guide your visitors towards the right product

Help your customers find the perfect product inside your Interactive Flipbook to boost sales. A Guided Selling experience within your flipbook will turn visitors into well-informed and confident buyers.  

Calculator – let your customers calculate the value of the products they are reading about in your flipbook

As a part of the customer journey, help the reader of your flipbook make more informed decisions. The types of Interactive Calculators you can add include health, savings, ROI, price, finance, and insurance calculators.  

Product Catalog – display products within your Interactive Flipbook

Display the products from your PIM system in an engaging way. Let the viewers interact with the product catalog instead of passively reviewing it.  

Assessments – help your customers evaluate their skills and provide respondents with valuable advice  

Assessments can position your company as a reliable source within your industry. At the same time, you help your audiences evaluate their knowledge and improve their skills, thanks to your targeted advice.  

Interactive Videos – take your flipbook to the next level

Entertain your readers with a video directly in the flipbook. an Interactive Video will delight customers, as they might be tired of reading content. Therefore, a video makes your flipbook more intriguing.  

Check out our marketplace to discover hundreds of Interactive Experience templates to embed in your Interactive Flipbook!

Dot.vu marketplace flipbook experiences
Check out our marketplace to discover hundreds of Interactive Experiences!

Keep reading the Interactive Flipbook guide to discover the different types of Interactive Flipbooks. 

Types of Interactive Flipbooks 

Companies can use Interactive Flipbooks for many different purposes and target audiences. Every written document can be enhanced with interactive elements. Therefore, there is no limit to what you can use a flipbook for.  

We will give a brief description of the seven most common types of Interactive Flipbooks that you boost customer engagement with. Depending on your purpose, you can pick one or more flipbook types and create more visually appealing content for your website.  

1. Interactive eBook 

Interactive eBooks combine text, images, and video with rich interactive elements. Companies use this type of flipbook to present essential information in a more engaging way compared to regular eBooks. You can add polls, quizzes, assessments, surveys, and Interactive Videos to your eBook to transform it into a truly interactive piece of content. An Interactive eBook is suitable for the real estate, finance, technology, and education industry.

2. Interactive Lookbook 

A lookbook (also know as Interactive Product Catalog) is a visual and capturing way of displaying product offerings online. Adding interactivity to a lookbook drives customer engagement and sales. The reason for this is the active participation of the viewer. Interactive Lookbook examples include lookbooks with clickable images, opt-in forms, quizzes, and shoppable videos.  

Interactive Lookbooks are perfect for the fashion and sports industries. You can convert your product catalogs into digital lookbooks to showcase your seasonal fashion collections. As a result, you will achieve maximum customer engagement.

interactive makeup lookbook
Click on the image to browse through an Interactive Lookbook example

3. Interactive Story 

This is a flipbook where your customers create the storyline by determining what would happen next. An interactive Story could be a fantastic addition to your website. Your visitors would be the ones to create the adventure. As a result, they will interact with your brand at a highlevel.  

4. Interactive Magazine 

An Interactive Magazine replaces standard magazines and creates active participation among your readers. This flipbook example is applicable to the retail industry, as it allows you to display information about products, employees, updates, news, celebrities, and many more.  

interactive magazine
Flip the pages of this Interactive Magazine to compare it to static content yourself.

5. Interactive Manual  

Product manuals usually include highly technical information, which makes them tedious and boring. An Interactive Manual, on the contrary, requires the active participation of the reader. The result is a happy customer who is going through product training in a fun way.  

6. Interactive Recipe Book 

Although filled with diverse colorful photos, cooking books can be monotonous. An Interactive Recipe Book has interactive elements that keep the reader engaged in the process. You can make the experience more exciting for the users by adding clickable images and Interactive Videos.  

7. Interactive Guide 

An Interactive Guide is a type of flipbook that educates customers on how to use your products. Instead of consuming the content passively, your visitors get engaged with several interactive elements. Moreover, you can also use an Interactive Guide to enhance your onboarding documents, company guidelines, and training materials. You can’t even imagine the positive effect this would have on employee satisfaction! Adding gamification elements to your learning documents pays off: 80% US workers believe that interactive learning is more engaging, and 50% of them increased productivity thanks to gamification training features.  Check out our blog post on best HR practices to explore more ways to use Interactive Content for managing people.

Interactive Flipbook for internal education: Internal Educational Flipbook
Supply highly engaging and quality training material to your staff with this Internal Educational Flipbook.

The seven types of Interactive Flipbooks mentioned in this paragraph are only the main ones. Unfold your imagination to create brand-new interactive books and magazines that distinguish your company from the competition. With Interactive Content, the sky is the limit. In other words, you can convert any idea into reality. Keep reading the Interactive Flipbook guide to get inspired with the most common flipbook examples.

Interactive Flipbook examples from different industries 

As already mentioned, there are several types and variations of Interactive Flipbooks. Therefore, this Interactive Experience can be of great benefit to all industries. Above all, every company must engage its customers to stay profitable.  

Here are some of the most popular Interactive Flipbook examples from different industries to inspire you:  

1. Retail industry 

Interactive Lookbooks and Product Catalogs can do wonders for the retail industry. Displaying your fashion collection in contrasting colors and beautiful combinations is no longer enough. Level up by adding shoppable Videos for entertainment or Quizzes to discover consumer preferences. Companies operating in the retail industry can significantly boost engagement and sales by allowing their customers to interact with an online flipbook.  

Product Catalog cosmetics template by dot.vu
Check out this Product Catalog Cosmetics template!

2. Hospitality industry 

The hospitality industry can also leverage a flipbook to create a personalized experience for their clients. Restaurant owners, for example, could make a brand-new digital menu for their clients. The accommodation sector can also use flipbooks to provide an interactive overview of their services. These engaging experiences will set any restaurant or hotel apart from its competitors. 

3. Real estate industry 

Furthermore, the real estate industry can benefit from an Interactive Flipbook by providing a highly engaging experience for customers. A flipbook is a fantastic way of showcasing properties in the form of a catalog. With more than 90% of home buyers visiting websites to evaluate alternatives, realtors must ensure a memorable customer experience. A flipbook filled with videos, calculators, and hotspots will differentiate your name in the highly competitive real estate industry. Save time and help your customers make the best investment decision. Save time and help your customers make the best investment decision.  

4. Book publishing industry  

The rise of the internet and digital technology has caused a shift from print to digital in the publishing industry. Many readers purchase books and magazines in a digital format because of convenience. One of the newest approaches is an Interactive Magazine that engages readers with multiple embedded videos, polls, and quizzes. Do not let your readers get bored with a regular magazine. Entertain them with Interactive Experiences instead! 

To sum up, displaying your products or services has never been more engaging. An Interactive Flipbook will help you create the most memorable customer experiences, regardless of the industry. These industry examples were just some of the Interactive Flipbook ideas you can implement in your marketing strategy. Unfold your imagination and create unique flipbooks for your customers and employees to drive engagement.  

Interactive Flipbook software solutions 

Interactive Flipbook is becoming one of the most popular tools for communicating with customers. Therefore, there is an increasing number of flipbook software solutions. The best flipbook solution for your company depends on your goals, budget, and target audience.  

Flipbook softwares allow you to upload your PDF and convert it into a flipbook with a few quick steps. The differences between the solutions include price range, degree of interactivity, data collection possibilities, and third-party integrations. Some flipbook solutions have a free version that allows you to create a flipbook with a watermark. Moreover, some solutions are limited to transforming your document into a digital flipbook, while others are more sophisticated and provide more options. If you want to maintain high levels of customer engagement, we recommend opting for a platform that allows you to add interactive elements. Embedding Quizzes, polls, Interactive Videos, and Marketing Games will encourage your visitors to interact with your brand.  

Our no-code Interative Flipbook platform provides you with the exceptional opportunity to add a large variety of features to your flipbook. You can try different platforms and concepts to select the flipbook software that matches your requirements. Our marketplace has multiple Interactive Flipbook templates you can customize using a simple Drag & Drop editor. Try a flipbook template today! 

Time to wrap up our Interactive Flipbook guide 

We hope this Interactive Flipbook guide inspired you to boost customer engagement and sales with Interactive Content. The engagement possibilities and a visually appealing setup make flipbooks the better alternative to static documents. 

Creating Interactive Content is one of the best ways to respond to quickly changing customer expectations. If you want your target audience to get attached to your brand, you need to keep customer engagement at an elevated level. Interactive Flipbooks allow you to engage customers with multiple interactive elements at a time. Educate, entertain, sell, and communicate, all with a single online flipbook! 

Dot.vu is an Interactive Content platform that allows you to create and publish engaging flipbook, amongst many other experiences. Our wide selection of interactive games, calculators, quizzes, and videos provide you with great flexibility in terms of the interactivity of your flipbook. We enable you to build your projects without writing a single line of code.  

Get started with Interactive Flipbooks and boost customer engagement with interactive digital flipbooks. Create a free account and customize one of our flipbook templates!