In the last week, some readers have sent me samples of their bonus giveaway ebooks. These Reports are the “irresistible freebies” the plan to offer subscribers to ezines and ecourses.
These info product creators obviously had invested energy and even passion in those Reports. I’ve learned over the years to give critical feedback only to paying clients and class participants so I wasn’t able to comment on what was already written. They were good but needed just a few tweaks to motivate sales.
Here are some guidelines for writing your own Report.
(1) Choose a specific problem to write about.
“5 tips for people who just adopted a senior cat” will be better than “5 tips for cat owners.” But you’ll get more attention if you target very specific elements of cat adoption. For example: “5 tips to introduce your new cat to the family dog” or “5 tips to deal with an aging cat who cries at night”
In the same way, “5 easy tips to get your dog to stop chewing socks” will attract more attention than “5 easy tips for dog behavior.”
(2) Choose a topic where you are an expert OR where you can get the research done.
If you’ve just started your e-business and are still waiting for your first client, I don’t recommend writing “Ten tips to make six figures in your first year.”
However, you might be able to write about, “How to Resign From Your Job And Turn Your Boss Into A Client.”
You don’t have to be an expert. You can hire someone who is an expert. You can hire a researcher.
For instance, suppose you discover many people are considering second careers as teachers. You have no idea how to embark on a teaching career. You can advertise on writing forums for teachers and former teachers who will share their experiences. You can look up hiring policies of school districts. You can hire someone (or hire yourself) to study opportunities to get teaching credentials in different states.
(3) Offer solid tips that will be surprising to readers.
You won’t gain credibility when you write, “Blogging is a great way to attract traffic,” unless you are targeting someone who has been on the Internet less than 5 minutes.
Better to say, “Here’s one tip that helped me write a blog post that got 23 comments and 68 tweets…”
(4) Offer links to affiliate products that really address the reader’s needs – preferably products you have bought and used yourself.
For instance, suppose you recommend my product at Bragging101.com. I’m delighted and you get a 50% commission. (Small but it’s an easy sell and it adds up.)
You’ll be more convincing if you say something specific. “Without this product, I wouldn’t know how to promote myself” or, “This product helped me gain confidence,” won’t lead to sales.
You’ll sell more products when you write, “I had a lot of trouble writing my bio and About page. This product really helped me get past my blocks about promoting myself enthusiastically. It’s not motivation or woo-woo – it’s marketing.”
Of course, your own reasons for recommending this product (or any other product) will be different. Think about specific benefits *you* obtained.
(5) Show how you use the products and services you recommend.
When I tweeted a request for video editing tips, several people recommended services that will create a short video from music, images and video clips. These recommendations now appear in several Reports around the Internet.
From what I can tell, these videos do not work well to promote info products and services. They create a brief, emotion-triggered experience, not an opportunity for you to sell yourself, your services or your product.
However, if you have used these services to create videos that pulled traffic and/or converted buyers, you’ve got my attention. Send me the links. Who knows … I might even want to buy what you offer.
If you want to write a Report to sell your knowledge, or take the first step with a freebie, you need to download Reach Desperate Buyers. This Report not only takes you through the steps to sell your Report; it also serves as a guide to marketing on the Internet for a fraction of what you would pay a guru. If you buy just *one* marketing manual, choose this one. The author offers a guarantee so you have no risk. I printed out my copy and it’s already worn out from much use. http://www.ReachDesperateBuyers.com
and tell me how you like it!