Welcome to lesson 2 of the “5 Part Massive Profits With Ebooks & Info Products” Workshop. 

In lesson 1, we learned how to Find and Position our Ebook Topic, in today’s lesson we are going to cover how to get rolling on developing your first (or next) information product and how to make writing and development simple and painless. 

The goal is to help you get your first info product on it’s way – even finished within the next 7-days. 

As you know, having your own report, ebook, audio course or other information product is a terrific way to help boost your monthly income – yes that means making money – but is also a terrific way to brand yourself and your business in the most competitive markets. 

AVOID THESE INFO MARKETING MISTAKES

Before we jump into some tips for getting your info product completed, let me make the following important points about mistakes people make when developing their own info products (BIG HINT ** You want to avoid making these money losing mistakes):

1. Trying to do too much in their first info product.  I know many ebook authors who have built up so much tension about their project that they will NEVER get it done.  Instead of trying to write 150-pages in your first ebook, instead think of it as a “mini-ebook” or even a report where your main purpose is to bring about a desired outcome with somewhere between 40-60 pages (if it is a written product) and approx 1-hour(if it is an audio product). 

To put that into perspective – imagine writing 10 articles on a topic over the next week – could you do that?  Could you write 10, 3-page articles over the next week if you really put your mind to it?  That’s two articles each workday or 1 article each workday with another 5 on the weekend.  Assuming each article takes you 30-minutes to write, we’re talking about 5-hours total to get your first information product draft completed. 

Is that something that seems possible?

Even in the most extraordinary of circumstances, that should be something you can accomplish within 2-weeks, still meaning that you can have your own product finished and earning you money within the next 30-days.

2. Aim for incremental improvement…not being perfect on Day 1.  Yes, your product must answer the question and deliver on the promise that you are committing to in your marketing, but that doesn’t mean you need to tackle ALL of the problem at once. 

For instance, let’s say your goal is to develop an ebook on a complete weight loss program that incorporates diet, nutrition, exercise, motivation and mental aspects into the leading weight loss system for new mom’s. 

It’s ok to start with the ultimate, “New Mom” diet for weight loss as a first edition and entry into the market. Once that product is released you can build additional feedback mechanisms into your customer follow-up sequence and find out what “else” your customers want – then in 3-months, come out with a 2cnd edition that is even more complete and for which you can increase your price. 

Software developers have a model called “incremental development” where they bit off chunks of their project over multiple releases – improving as they grow their business rather than waiting and waiting until they have the perfect product…this model works extremely well.

3. 95% of time wasted on developing info products is wasted! What I mean by this is all the times people spend re-doing their products, stuck with writer’s block, stopping and starting new projects, avoiding the really poroductive work of writing or creating audio or video for your products instead opting for answering email, Twittering or other time wasting activity. 

Look, if you really want to have your own information product making you money in the next 30-days, you will have to block out 1-hour each day for uninterrupted, focused product development time…nothing short of a 9.0 earthquake should take you from this dedicated time. 

Pay attention to when you work best.  I allocate the first hour of every day to product development, because that is when I am freshest – I’m MOST productive and most creative…the words just flow.  Leave it until 8PM at night and it is very hit or miss for me given the type of day I’ve had. 

4. Laser-focused on targeted systems for bringing about desired outcomes.  Don’t waste time writing general information about your topic, instead, stick to answering “what does my customer want to be,have,do, achieve or avoid by buying my ebook or info product?  Then, stick to outlining a system that takes them toward that achievement. 

Too much time is wated in ebook writing with general information, background, story telling and general dribble that really adds very little value to your product, but takes weeks and weeks of your time needlessly. 

Use the outlining system we discuss below to keep you on track and watch as you complete your ebook or info product in record time.

SECRET OUTLINING TECHNIQUES OF MIILLIONAIRE INFO PRODUCT PUBLISHERS

It’s no secret as to why many of the top information publishers are also trainers, speakers and consultants…it’s because they have figured out the REAL value of information is in producing testable, verifiable, systematic training toward achieving a desired outcome. 

General, fluffy books are for bookstores – they are the books that get read once, make their authors a few thousand bucks in royalties (if they are lucky) and then are quickly forgotten. 

Highly desired, high-priced information products where your customers become raving fans, repeat buyers and hand you 10’s of thousands of dollars each month are laser-focused, systems and course-based “how-to” products that help your reader answer their most pressing questions on the road to realizing highly desired outcomes. 

So, let’s start with two HUGELY important techniques involved in outlining your information product:

1. Outline With Questions:  This one single technique was the #1 factor in getting my own writing and info product development from months down to days.  Specifically, the outline of your “how to” ebook, report or any info product should be a series of questions your market will need to have answered prior to achieving their end goal. 

For example, we have decided to target new mothers in their quest to lose 10-lbs taking into account the following:

 – They need to be able to fit their exercise into 1-hour each day
 – They want something they can do with other mothers or friends around them
 – They can’t jump right into high-impact excercise – it must be low impact
 – Exercise is a good all-around approach since it will also help emotionally deal with being a new mother

So – what sorts of questions might our mothers have?  Here are some that come to mind:

a) Can I look like I did before having children?
b) How long will it take?
c) Do I need to diet or do painful exercise?
d) How about low-impact exercise like walking or swimming?
e) How much walking will I have to do to lose 10lbs?
f) What makes walking such a healthy activity?
g) How does the speed of my walking impact weight loss?
h) Can I use a treadmill?
i) What should my activity level look like on the first week?
j) What should my activity level look like in the second week?
k) Should I make any changes in my diet? 
l) What about the third week, what should I do then? 
m) What results should I expect after the mid-point?
n) What should my activity be in the fourth week? 
o) What if I miss a few days? 
etc…

Let me ask you this…could you sit down and write 2/3 to 1 page in answer to each of these questions (or similar questions you would use for your own topic area?)

With roughly one page per question, you structure 10 questions per chapter and within a few weeks you will have 5-6 chapters totally 50-60 pages and viola – you have your own top selling ebook first draft completed. 

By structuring your outline using questions, you trick your mind into making the entire exercise of product development and writing so simple…no more stress, no more avoidance, no more writer’s block, just rapid progress toward your goal. 

Ok, so what if you don’t know what questions your audience want answered?  Or, you need help filling out your list? 

Watch this 15-minute video I have temporarily made available from inside http://www.infomarketerszone.com – this will help you identify a rich supply of the most asked questions in your niche market…

Click To Watch The Video

2. Step-by-step Outline:  While so many of us are taught to write stories in school, what we really want to do with our information products is to share a series of steps with our readers that will allow them to progressively learn and apply your techniques to reach a desired outcome. 

So, the second powerful tip I have to give you is to structure your information, tips, steps, strategies, and advice in terms of a “SYSTEM”.  Just as a course has a carriculum, a training program has a schedule, a Powerpoint presentation has a series of steps — you want to organize your “how to” information into a set of actionable steps that will both enhance the value of your info product and make it easier to measure success. 

Follow these two tips and you will suddenly find yourself able to create reports, ebooks, articles, courses, workshops, home study packages, manuals and other “how to” info products with ease — no longer will the process be painful and boring but rather writing your ebook will become exciting, fun and quick. 

Still stuck or have a question about planning, outlining and developing your info products?  Post a comment below and let us know what you need to keep making progress.