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8 Pages or 87 Pages? What is up with these free reports that are huge???

by Jill Carpenter
13 replies
I've noticed what looks to me like a new trend. Not sure, maybe it's been going on for a while and I just didn't run into it before.

I'm seeing a lot of really long ebooks/reports that are being given away. 60, 80 pages long.

I'm almost turned off.

Honestly, I'm finding myself skimming to look for the one detail I was interested in - only to find the details I wanted on that one thing are not even included.

Thinking about it, if your free ebook is going to be the size of Gone With The Wind, I don't know if I even want to look at your real product.

Is anyone else turned off by these massive reports?
#free #huge #pages #reports
  • Profile picture of the author Venturetothetop
    Personally I don't judge a book by the number of pages, but the quality of the content within those pages. There is an ebook in the War room which is a collection of tips from a 2007 thread. It's 131 pages of pure gold. If people are put off reading that, then all the better for me as that is much less competition.

    I do agree that I hate ebook that seem to have no real content and drag on, but I don't think it helpful to generalise that all long ebook are bad, as that simple is not the case. Ebooks with no real content are bad, and ebooks that have content which does not justify the number of pages are also bad, but any ebook long or short, where each page adds value to my ventures is 100% welcome.
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  • Profile picture of the author jennypitts
    I have to agree with the two of you. Though I too, dread reading long ebooks, if they are full of valuable information, then they are very well worth the time spent reading. However, I also have to say that there are many ebooks out there that are simply a waste of time and space. You will sit there reading, page after page, of mere nonsense, and in the end you are just as clueless as when you started reading. It is a double edged sword.

    I too, do not judge a book by its cover or the number of pages, but have had enough of a bad experience to be discouraged of reading other ebooks.
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  • Profile picture of the author Nic Lynn
    Originally Posted by avenuegirl View Post

    Thinking about it, if your free ebook is going to be the size of Gone With The Wind, I don't know if I even want to look at your real product.
    Well, good thing for you then is that you don't have to. It doesn't matter if a product is free or if it's paid, you always have the choice to ignore or delete (with that said, most of my free reports, for example, are sub 20 pages).

    Now personally, I agree with the other folks here, it all depends on the quality of the product. If it is awesome content, then it doesn't matter how long it is. It's sorta the same thing with books or movies. To use your example, I'll gladly sit through an epic 3 hour movie like Gone With the Wind. However, with some of these craptastic 88 minute movies like The Tooth Fairy with The Rock, i won't even bother no matter how short it is. Length doesn't have too much bearing on actual value (in context of this topic anyway).
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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      I'm all for great quality free content, but what I am seeing looks like people are competing to give away the longest thing they can.

      I think some of it may be a bit of overkill.

      I just downloaded a couple today.

      One was roughly 25 pages, which isn't bad - but they did not get to the meat until page 11. I understand a page for disclaimer, contents, and cover page, but there was a ton of fluff right after that which was way more information than I needed.

      Another one was over 80 pages. I downloaded it for information contained in a specific chapter only to realize that particular information was only a few paragraphs and did not nearly go into the details I would have liked to have seen about it. I learned absolutely nothing new. In fact, I think what ever previous knowledge I did have on the topic got sucked out of my brain while I was reading. It wasn't nearly enough to even bother giving it a mention in the table of contents.

      I agree, a book or report needs to be as long as it needs to be, but it just looks like I'm seeing massive fluff tossed out with the express purpose of making it as big and long as possible with no regard to editing and putting "a best foot forward."
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Brock
    I agree with you. I think it's a really bad idea to create a free giveaway that size.

    How many of the people reading it are likely to consume the info in one sitting?

    You're would be buyer is no longer going to buy because they spent so much time reading your freebie that they forgot what they were there for in the first place.

    I think a good freebie is one that can be consumed in 10-15 minutes which provides one good solid tip that is super valuable.

    Anything more is too much IMO.
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  • Profile picture of the author Scott Burton
    Whether the product is free or paid for should not be relevant when considering the length.

    I've seen reports that were under 2 pages that packed in incredibly useful and valuable information. I've seen 2 page reports that were so worthless I wanted the last 5 minutes of my life back (or feel that the author needed to pay me for having read it).

    At the same time, I've seen 60, 90 even 140 page reports/ebooks that do the same. The size of the report does not reflect the quality of the contents.

    If you make the report 100 pages, make sure the value it delivers is worth 100 pages. It can be that it entertains me enough that I enjoy it. Or informative enough to teach me what I need or want from it. (or better yet, both!)

    If your free product is 1 page of value in 30 pages of fluff, I'm probably NOT going to be interested in your paid product, because I'll expect the same kind of 20:1 to 40:1 fluff to value ratio.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lateef Olajide
    Straight to the point report is better. I prefer writing short reports. I believe is more about the content and not the pages.
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  • Profile picture of the author Brad Gile
    I'll have to admit, sometimes hearing that a report is only 5 pages sometimes makes me think it's not worth it. But I think that's a physiological thing.

    But, I have come across some 5-8 page reports that are amazing. That their able to teach you the method that quickly. I prefer just to get to the meat of things.

    Now, if the method or what is being taught requires 80 pages, I completely understand. But I believe most of these free guides could be cut in half just by not feeling it with fluff to take up room.

    I understand starting the first page giving a little background on how the method was developed. That way the reader knows that the person is actually doing it and not just making stuff up. But, it could still be made up.

    To answer your question, I don't really care as long as what I requested to be learned is taught within a reasonable amount of time. I don't want to read a 80 page book over a method that could been done in 10 pages just because the author wanted to say he/she had a 80 page book.

    Just my thought,
    Brad
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  • Profile picture of the author ShaneRQR
    In my opinion, it depends very much on the type of content.

    Sometimes, a good, useful little tip can be a perfect fit for a 5-10 page report. Other things simply need more in-depth explanation.

    The number of pages doesn't matter. Ideally, there should be no fluff, but there should also be no essential details left out.
    Something I've seen quite often is when advice is not explained enough. IMO, it's useless when someone writes "do this, do that" and doesn't explain how to do this and that.
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  • Profile picture of the author 1960Texan
    Blaise Pascal once wrote, "I am sorry to have wearied you with so long a letter but I did not have time to write you a short one."
    Put me in the group that likes most info clear and concise.
    Will
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    • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
      Originally Posted by 1960Texan View Post

      Blaise Pascal once wrote, "I am sorry to have wearied you with so long a letter but I did not have time to write you a short one."
      Put me in the group that likes most info clear and concise.
      Will
      That rhymes with what I was taught as a young journalist at a newspaper where the format/size of the page permitted only short articles. They told me: he who writes long articles is capable of other crimes, too...
      (approximate translation)
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve Mount
    Most likely a free report that is that long is probably PLR material. Usually a "report" would mean something short. If you're giving away a "report", then give away a report, not a novel.

    My .02
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