Report Creation Woes

[bryan85]

Hey Warriors..

I am in the process of creating a free report,which will act as a viral money magnet for me.

Problem is...this is my first time doing it.. so with regards to the technical aspects of report writing... I'm still kinda blurry

1) I am using MS WOrd to write before converting it to pdf. What layout should I use? Tabloid or letter?

2) How much content for a free report should I write?


Regards
Bryan

[Andrew Dillon]

When writing a free report or book I always use Arial font or Times Roman there the most popular ones.

It depends on what your free report is about as to how long it should be but I always aim to give value and make all mine a minimum of 15-20 pages long.

In fact I have just finished a free report called Forbidden Marketing-Strategies which is 40 pages long, here is the direct download link for it > Free Report

And you can find other free reports at freebies

I hope this helps in some way.

[bryan85]

Gee thanks bro...

Just downloaded your report.

Here are some questions I have for you...

1) how did you create and integrate the header and footer image into your report?

2) What size are your pages set to? MS WOrd has the choice of either letter or tabloid etc? What is the best size to set it to?

regards
Bryan

[Andrew Dillon]

First of all I use Open Office for all my PDF's ebooks and reports and I recommend you do the same. It is free and in my opinion better then MS Word. Also it allows you to export your word docs as PDF's after you have finished writing them and you can include security features if you wish.

Also I use ebook templates which not only make a book or report look nice but professional too.

I import the images for the header and footer by copying and pasting them into the word doc.

With MS Word Tabloid is best.

[Kevin Riley]

Originally Posted by Andrew Dillon

I import the images for the header and footer by copying and pasting them into the word doc.

Please don't! Those graphic headers and footers kill my printer. Remember, lots of people print out PDFs. When was the last time you saw a real book with graphic headers and footers. Just a clean and crisp copyright notice, page numbering (very important), and title of the book, along with your URL.

[bryan85]

Hey Kevin

Thanks for the tips. but really...how much would you write for a free report if you meant to give it away as a viral money-magnet?

Regards
Bryan

[Kevin Riley]

Originally Posted by bryan85

Hey Kevin

Thanks for the tips. but really...how much would you write for a free report if you meant to give it away as a viral money-magnet?

Regards
Bryan

As much as it takes. With your free report, you're basically pre-selling a back-end product. So, write what it takes to give your reader great "what to do" info and gets them wanting your "how to do" info.

[bryan85]

Hey Kevin...

One last qn..
In terms of page layout, do you agree with the Tabloid or the letter layout?
Which is better to use?

Bryan

[Andrew Dillon]

Originally Posted by Kevin Riley

Please don't! Those graphic headers and footers kill my printer. Remember, lots of people print out PDFs. When was the last time you saw a real book with graphic headers and footers. Just a clean and crisp copyright notice, page numbering (very important), and title of the book, along with your URL.

It is simply a matter of printing your PDF's in black and white. I have been using as have other marketers headers and footers graphics since 1997 and never once had a single complaint. Especially as there integrated into a pre-made template.