It is often said that the only people who make real money online
are those who create their own products. I don’t happen to
believe that this is necessarily true, but we’ll let that ride
for a moment.

If we do accept that creating your own info products is the way
to riches, why then, are there so many people who have gone to
all the huge effort to make products but still struggle to make
any sales?

The answer is the order in which you do your work.

Years ago there was a successful offline book published (long
before the Internet) called ‘Is There a Book Inside You?’ that
taught the process of turning your own pre-existing passions and
knowledge into a real-life book.

The very idea of ‘writing a book’ seems to be a dream for many
people. We naturally hold authors in high regard, and have a
strange feeling that writing a book puts a person on a different
level.

The book is the end result. Seeing your name on the cover is the
real objective – the concept of actually selling it comes a
distant second.

The vanity publishing industry has grown up to service this
desire to be a published author.

Getting back to the order of work, the old way starts with what
is inside of you – what you know about (or can research), what
you are passionate about and what you will feel proud to put your
name to.

After that comes the process of writing and in third place (if at
all) comes the vague notion of selling it to other people.

For many people that last step is ignored completely – especially
the vanity publishers. To them, having a single copy of their
book on their bookshelf is the end in itself. Selling it to other
people is actually a bit embarrassing!

If all you want is a book on your shelf to make you feel
important in your own eyes and that of your family, fine. This
order of work is no problem. But if sales are on your agenda, if
your real objective is to eventually make money from your work,
then you must order your work completely differently.

The secret is in the word that describes what we are: marketers.

A ‘marketer’ is defined as: One that sells goods or services in
or to a market.

Note that the definition is in two parts:

a. One who sells goods or services
b. In or to a market.

You can’t have one without the other. If you are ‘a’, you must
have ‘b’ – otherwise you are not a marketer, you are a dreamer.

You can write the best book in the world on your chosen subject -
the one that everyone says you have to be passionate about – but
if that subject doesn’t have a pre-existing market, you will be
an author, but not a marketer.

So if you want to be an information product producer who actually
makes sales – and fulfils that promise that info product
producers make the real money online – you must first and
foremost find a market.

And you do that by answering what I call the ‘Five Marketing
Questions’:

1. Are there people out there who want to know what you know?

2. Are there lots of them?

3. Are they hungry for your information or just casually
interested?

4. Will what you have to say satisfy one of the basic human needs
that drive us all: money, health, love, security, self-esteem,
entertainment?

5. Are they already proven to be prepared to spend money on
information products?

These five marketing questions are not optional. To write a
successful information product, it has to tick all those boxes.

The fewer the ticks, the less successful the product will be. It
is as simple as that.

Many, many books (and nowadays ebooks) tick none of the boxes at
all. The author has just gone ahead and written something that he
or she is passionate about in the vague hope that someone will
share that view. But it doesn’t work that way and those many,
many authors end up bitterly complaining that Internet marketing
doesn’t work. All they have to show for their often considerable
efforts is a deep regret over the time they have wasted.

I’m certainly not saying that you shouldn’t write about things
you are passionate about – only that you need to explore your
subject to find an angle that will make it hypnotically appealing
to as many people as possible.

Before you commit yourself to the hard, and often frustrating
task of writing a book, first ask yourself if there are plenty of
people who might be interested in buying – and why. Ask the five
questions and only start work when you can satisfactorily answer
them all.

Let’s look at a simple example.

If, for instance, your passion is the history of the Roman Empire
in England and you yearn to write a book about your beloved
subject what should you do? Assuming you are not a well-known
academic, it is unlikely that you’ll readily find a paper and ink
publisher, so self-publishing is your only option.

Does your subject tick any of the five marketing questions?

Well, no. Probably none.

But wait a minute – how can you repurpose your subject to satisfy
both your longing to share your knowledge, and stand a better
chance of finding a market and making sales?

How about ‘A Tourist’s Guide to the 25 Most Exciting Ancient
Roman Sites in Southern England’?

Now we have a real possibility. There are lots of tourists and
they are proven to buy guidebooks by the thousand. A good sales
letter can make it appeal to the desire for self-esteem and
entertainment, there is a long history (pardon the pun) of
successful guides to historic sites and tourists are generally
well motivated (hungry) to buy the latest stuff around.

Boxes ticked. And as bonuses, note that the notional title
specifies ‘Southern England’ – leaving the option there for a
sequel or upsell on ‘Northern England’. And how about the next 25
sites? I smell a series!

Rather than seeing the subject as a dry historian, we are now
looking at it like a marketer.

So in summary, selling your own information products is a great
way to make money online (not the only way, but a good one
nonetheless). But it is only a good way if your focus from the
outset is on selling, rather than writing.

My five marketing questions will help you assess your ideas and I
suggest that you vigorously filter all your ideas through them.
Work on your ideas until you have five ticks: anything less and
you’ll be selling yourself short.

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Here is a sweeping generalization: People who buy ebooks tend to be early adopters of new technologies and gadgets.

And in the world of ebooks, there isn’t much that is more cutting edge than the new Sony Reader PRS-505.

Having now owned one for a couple of weeks I can categorically say that if you like reading ebooks you are going to love the Sony Reader. It is just a beautiful bit of kit that starts every gadget lover who sees it salivating.

My one has several novels that I’ve downloaded and dozens of Internet marketing PDF ebooks that I’ve loaded into it.

Frankly, the Reader’s ability to display PDF ebooks is a bit hit and miss.

Think about it. Almost all PDF documents are created for US letter size paper or International A4. Most have big margins.

When the Reader tries to display the pages at normal size, it attempts to display the entire page on its 9cm x 12.2 cm screen – approximately one-sixth normal size.

The resultant text is incredibly small. If you have really good eyesight, or excellent glasses, you can just about read it, but it isn’t a comfortable experience by any means.

This isn’t really a fault with the Sony Reader – it can only try to display what it is given.

Where an inherent fault does come in is that the Reader can attempt to magnify the page, but whether that magnification will work correctly is somewhat patchy. I think it depends on how the PDF was originally created, and on what because some ebooks magnify quite well, while others lose their text flowing or, in one of two cases, for some strange reason, make the text smaller when magnifying!

A recent firmware upgrade (which was supplied as standard in the UK launch, but US owners had to download) addressed some of the text reflowing issues, but it still doesn’t work consistently. Again, I think this depends on the PDF creation software used, but I haven’t tested enough alternatives yet to have a definite answer.

Anyway, it seems to me that as PDF ebook writers, we have a responsibility to ensure that our customers can get the best reading pleasure out of the ebooks we sell them. And with the Sony Reader (and others) gaining in popularity, it would be a good plan for us to create versions of our products that would work well in the gorgeous little machines.

I’ve been experimenting and have come up with some settings for Open Office that result in a perfectly legible and comfortable reading experience on Reader.

When you first open Open Office Writer, go to Format -> Page and on the Page tab set the page width to 9.0cm and the height to 12.2 cms. Set the left and right margins to 0.3cms and the top and bottom margins to 0.5cm.

Edit the styles as follows:

default: Times New Roman 12pt; Line spacing ‘At least 0.52cm’.
Headline 1: Arial, Bold, 18pt
Headline 2: Arial Bold 14pt

Then save all that as a template called ‘Sony Reader ebook’.

Now, when you create an ebook, open up a new document using the template and paste the text straight in.

Don’t include any headers or footers or line numbers – they will just mess up the document in Reader and waste valuable screen real estate.

Remember that pictures can display in Reader, but only in black and white, and if they need to be fairly large to be seen on a regular sized PDF, they will be impossible to see on Reader. If you can avoid using too many pictures and explain with text, all the better. Alternatively, you could always provide a web page with any really important pictures that just can’t be shrunk down to the small screen size.

I think that personal ebook readers of one kind or another are here to stay. And are gaining in popularity quite fast.

By embracing the challenges of creating our ebooks specifically for the new technology we can stay on the wave of progress – and earn a lot of brownie points with our customers.

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The answer to that is a resounding ‘YES’!

While selling other people’s products is a great way to make money online – and a method that I’ll cover in a lot more detail later in the course, I don’t want you to fall into the trap of thinking that creating products of your own is in some way beyond you. In many ways, it is actually the easier option – and certainly it can be the more profitable one.

When you sell your own products, you get the entire cost price – not just the affiliate commission. And that difference can really add up.

In my book, ‘Unlock the Secrets of Private Label eBooks’ – http://www.plrsecrets.com – I discuss ways to create top quality information products – ebooks and special reports – from private label sources. In other words, you don’t even have to write them – other people will do that for you. All you have to do is shine them up, add a few personal touches and turn them into a PDF file and you’re set to go. It really couldn’t be easier. And the excellent PLR ebook membership site at http://www.urlnex.us/PLRproEbooks/ is one of the best places to get them from.

But even if you do create your ebooks and reports from private label source material, it is very useful to have made a product that is entirely your own first. That way you’ll know the ropes and be familiar with the pitfalls and procedures.

Below is an article I wrote a while ago about how to create your own info products. It is still very much on the money – and describes a process that I’ve used many times to great effect.

Before we get to that though, let’s consider briefly what the difference is between a report and an ebook.

In my mind, an ebook contains a series of chapters that each examine a different aspect of the book’s topic, whereas a special report tends to be just one extended chapter – delving into just one facet of the subject. As to length, there are no hard and fast rules. My rule of thumb is that anything that is less than 20 pages tends to be report material, whereas an ebook would usually be longer. However, I’ve seen reports that were 50 pages long and ebooks that were 10. It all comes down to the information they contain.

Another possibility is a ‘factsheet’. This can be a resource list, a diagram or a bulleted step-by-step guide that gets right to the point without any verbiage to slow down the reader. These can often be just one or two pages, but can still command relatively high prices.

A good example would be the instructions for a magic trick. It could easily be just one or two pages long, but avid aficionados of the conjuring arts would easily pay $20 or more for the information it contains.

Information is valuable. Don’t undervalue yourself!

#~#~#

How to Create Your Own High-Octane Info Products.

Like most things in life, there are ‘secrets’ to being successful. Creating info products is no different. And like most things, the ‘secrets’ are there for all to see.

The first problem that most people face when starting out as an ‘info-producer’ is in coming up with ideas to write about.

Initially, you have to be a thought recorder. Write down every crazy (or not so crazy) idea that fleetingly crosses your mind. Carry a notebook. This not only lets you capture the brilliant ideas that have a habit of disappearing, but also starts to train your mind into an opportunity state.

Opportunities are like cosmic rays: they are everywhere, but most of the time we can’t see them. With the right training, our brains can easily become very sensitive opportunity detectors.

At some point you will start to notice that many of your brilliant ideas are rubbish. Don’t worry. Keep on writing them down. Even a bad idea can sometimes be adapted later.

You will notice that a lot of your ideas fall into patterns. This is your subconscious mind’s way of pointing you in the right direction. If it keeps on returning to a theme, the chances are that somewhere, buried deep inside you, is gold. Now go digging.

When your notebook is growing, start thinking about your ideas bank. Be objective and ask yourself, “If this was the only project that I could ever do, would I be happy?”

Take all your top scoring ideas. Take a little time and expand each one. Write a broad synopsis of each so that you have a concrete idea of what the final product will look like. Don’t try to write it – just outline it.

What do you put in your outline?

Remember the old adage: ‘I take advice from five wise men: Mr Who, Mr Where, Mr What, Mr Why and Mr When.’

Add to those two more: How and How Much.

Make every section or chapter answer one of these seven questions (and you can ask each of them in different ways) and you have the outline of your book.

Now you should have a shortlist of realistic, doable projects – any one of which you would be happy to run with.

Next comes the most important step of all: do your homework. The best product in the world is worthless unless there is a market for it. So how do you find that out?

1. Take your shortlist and talk to 5 good friends. See what they have to say. Do they all favor one over the others? Why? What is it about it that captures their imagination? Would they buy it? Who do they think would buy it?

2. Pay attention to their advice, but don’t even think of acting on it. Even if they all think every one of your ideas stinks, it could easily be them that is wrong: they may simply be the wrong audience.

3. Write a very detailed description for yourself of exactly who you think will buy your products. Really try to get inside the mind of someone who could use what you have to say.

4. Write down at least ten words (or 2 word phrases) that most sum up each of your possible products. Define your keywords, in other words.

5. Get yourself online and search every search engine you know for every one of those key words or phrases. Check out as many sites as you can that the engines throw up (and don’t just look at the first page of listings either). Get a feel for the market. What you are doing here is trying to find out if there is already a market for your product, and what the people searching for it are being offered.

6. Be brutally honest with yourself. If Google only comes up with 10 sites for one of your keywords, and none of the sites are particularly relevant, then you can bet that right now, there isn’t much of a market. If this is the case, ask yourself honestly if you have the staying power and specialized knowledge to carve a completely new niche. And where would you go to reach them?

7. Find newsgroups and forums that are relevant and lurk. Are people asking questions that your product will answer? Can you discern a need?

8. If you can, you may have the next super-niche product all ready to be written. Congratulations!

9. If you can’t, move on to the next project on your list and repeat.

This might all sound rather long-winded – and it certainly flies in the face of the proponents of ‘create a product fast’ philosophy, but it needn’t take all that long.

At the end of the day, you will have achieved three things. You will KNOW which project to work on, and why. You will KNOW who to target. You will KNOW what your future projects (and backend sales) will be.

And, as a by-product, you will have become a super- powered opportunity magnet in the process.

As you can see, the real secret is taking action. But if you are like 99.9% of people, you will find excuses for not taking action.

Every single excuse is ‘getaroundable.’ For example:

“I don’t know if anyone will be interested.”

It certainly helps to write about your passions – if only because your time spent in research will be minimized. But it isn’t strictly necessary. Do you really think that people who write fascinating fact- filled articles in magazines are all passionate about their subjects? No, they are just writers who are given an assignment.

If you can’t find a subject that YOU are passionate about, find one that SOMEONE ELSE is passionate about. Maybe that someone else is a friend or family member – great! Start a joint project.

Or maybe you don’t have friends who are passionate about anything (hard to believe, but possible). Then go and find a subject that a lot of people are trying to find out about. Do a search on the most popular keywords. I just did that and these seven all came in the top 50:

* Weight Loss
* Jobs
* Prom Dresses
* Travel
* Recipes
* Dogs
* Baby names

Now, I’m not passionate about any of those, but I can clearly see how any one of them could be turned into an information-packed special report that would sell for 10 bucks or more. Can you?

* Weight Loss: What are the most popular diets in America today? Go to newsgroups, find out what people are saying about them. Find two or three people who have succeeded in losing serious weight on each diet. Interview them. Package the whole thing up as an ‘insiders guide to today’s diet plans.’

* Jobs: How about a state-by state analysis of unemployment figures. A regional plan for optimizing your chances to find a new job. A directory of job- seekers resources. A book on 101 thing you can do if you are laid off. A report on ‘home workers guide to surviving the recession.’

* Prom Dresses: Now I know nothing about dresses, and I’ve never been to a prom, but this subject is not only highly important to those involved, it is also emotionally charged, and perennial. What more does a business need? Subjects that could be included: this years styles and colors. How much should you pay? The best suppliers. It is highly researchable and I’d bet, very much in demand. This search term came 28th out of 500 so the market is pretty big!

* Travel: Where do you live? Folks come there. They want to know the best places to go. You can tell them. I’m not going to labor this one, the scope is so huge.

* Recipes: This is a big field, but you can narrow it down. Everybody loves cook books. Take a look in any bookstore. And there is a world-wide market. The secret here is to link it with something else that people want. So, to use our example above, you could produce a series of recipe books for each of the top diet plans. See where I’m going?

* Dogs: Dog lovers are obsessed. If you own a dog you’ll understand. If you don’t, you will be baffled. Yet canine = cash. You can write about breeds, training, behavior, exercise. Just go to the library, or search on Google and facts will fall at your feet. Pick them up and put them in your book.

* Baby names: Okay, there are books in the stores with lists of names. SO WHY ARE PEOPLE SEARCHING ONLINE? There is a market. People want the answers NOW. Not next Saturday when they can get to a bookshop. What can you do that is different? How about a list of all the names celebrities have called their kids in the last 5 years? What about a list of names with all the meanings, plus the numerology forecast for each one?

See what I mean? You may not be passionate about any of these things, but if I told you that when you have finished writing your book 1000 people will pay you $10 each to read it – will that spark a little passion in your belly? It does in mine!

“I can’t write that well.”

That is really just an excuse for not doing it.

It doesn’t matter one little bit if you can’t spell – the software will sort most of it out for you.

So what if you don’t understand grammar? Most ebooks are written in a very conversational style. Can you talk to your friends? Write like that. Totally correct grammar is often a disadvantage online.

When your book is written, give it to a few friends to read over for you. Listen to their suggestions because no matter how good at writing you are, other people will always spot your mistakes. You can even post on forums for people to review/critique your work.

“It’s not that easy. I have been trying for six months or better to find something to develop and cannot seem to find that one big hit-that home run.”

The problem here is that you have paralyzed yourself by wanting to see the end result before you have put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard). That is where you have gone wrong. If you tell yourself that you can’t do it, then GUESS WHAT? You CAN’T!

The only way to finish a project is to start it.

To summarize:

# Create your own ideas bank.
# Find out what people are interested in.
# Find a subject that you like (passion is optional).
# Write your 7-question outline.
# Research until your eyes hurt – looking especially for facts that are not easily accessible.
# Write, write, write. Don’t even think about if it sounds good, or reads right. Just get words on paper.
# When it is done, read it over and then put it aside for a week or two.
# When you come back to it, re-read it and then start to rewrite it.
# At the point that you feel you can’t do any more, ask other people to chip in.
# Then, if you have done a little each day, you will have a product to sell.

Write Read Ignore Trash Edit Rewrite

Do you want to have an information product of your own to sell? Then congratulations, it is right there for you to take.

Or do you want to find more excuses for not doing anything? It is your choice.

Go and get your book started. You know you can.

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