by Zeus66
52 replies
Is this you?...

You hesitate to create an info product or video series and sell it because you're afraid you don't know enough. You worry that you'll get questions that will expose your lack of knowledge about other things in IM. You think you just need to learn or try a few more things and then you'll be "qualified" to start charging people to learn what you can teach them.

If any (or all) of those describe you, I'd be willing to bet a month's income that you're wrong about your experience and the worth of your knowledge.

The great thing about IM and MMO is that these niches have a constant flow of brand new people joining the conversation - literally every single day. If you've learned a lot and have even a small amount of success under your belt, you have a target market.

Here's the thing...

We all get so caught up in thinking about making millions that we forget that there is a large audience out there that would be thrilled to earn an extra couple hundred dollars online every month in their spare time. These are newbies who would be totally overwhelmed by even moderately advanced systems that invoke "upsells" and "backends" and the like. They want something simple, easy to learn, and not very time consuming. In fact, THEY PREFER THAT!

So give them something like that. Take your own limited experience and any modest success you've had and explain it in a step-by-step manner. Just write it all down and get it converted to a PDF. That's one of the easiest ways to start. You can literally do it for free. Just download the software from openoffice.org for free, and learn to use their Writer program. It's similar to Word, and it has a cool little PDF button. You just write up your content, save it, then click the PDF button. The end. Seriously, it's that simple!

Then all you need is a way to take payments and deliver the PDF. That's also very simple to set up. Get a Paypal account. I bet you already have one, right? Next, go to e-junkie.com and get a basic $5/month account. Upload your PDF to your e-junkie account, set the price, get the order page URL, and guess what? You're done. The end. Seriously, it's that simple!

Then you come back here and pay $20 for a WSO. So your total investment will be $25 (e-junkie account + WSO fee). In your WSO, don't worry about a fancy sales page. Just be honest with people. Focus on how your report will benefit them. Focus on that, not on the features of your report. Write your WSO sales page with an emphasis on how what you can teach people will help them make more money. When you do that, you really can't go wrong.

It's incredibly important to get that first one under your belt. Take the leap! Will you write the greatest PDF or WSO page ever? Nope. So what??? If you honestly try to help newer people make a few extra bucks every month, I promise you will be a success. Your WSO will make a profit.

And, maybe more importantly, you'll gain the confidence you need to keep it going. Trust me, if you have even a very small amount of experience in IM / MMO, you're a virtual expert to the newbies. You don't need to know it all. You just need to know one thing that works.

Seriously, it's that simple!

John
#make money #newbies #wso
  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Use the promotion code CRAFTBOOM when you sign up for E-Junkie, and you'll get four months free. Saves you $5.
    Signature
    "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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    • Profile picture of the author x3xsolxdierx3x
      Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

      Use the promotion code CRAFTBOOM when you sign up for E-Junkie, and you'll get four months free. Saves you $5.
      I got one similar to that. Since that experience, I've always looked for promo codes for everything I've considered purchasing...

      lol...also, recently on Facebook, eJunkie offered members double their upload slot allocation if they just shared a message with a friend or something like that....
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    • Profile picture of the author BeauJustin
      Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

      Use the promotion code CRAFTBOOM when you sign up for E-Junkie, and you'll get four months free. Saves you $5.
      Promo cod expiry.
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    • Profile picture of the author George Wright
      Yep, hits home.

      Originally Posted by Zeus66 View Post

      Is this you?...

      You hesitate to create an info product or video series and sell it because you're afraid you don't know enough. You worry that you'll get questions that will expose your lack of knowledge about other things in IM. You think you just need to learn or try a few more things and then you'll be "qualified" to start charging people to learn what you can teach them.

      If any (or all) of those describe you, I'd be willing to bet a month's income that you're wrong about your experience and the worth of your knowledge.

      The great thing about IM and MMO is that these niches have a constant flow of brand new people joining the conversation - literally every single day. If you've learned a lot and have even a small amount of success under your belt, you have a target market.

      Here's the thing...

      We all get so caught up in thinking about making millions that we forget that there is a large audience out there that would be thrilled to earn an extra couple hundred dollars online every month in their spare time. These are newbies who would be totally overwhelmed by even moderately advanced systems that invoke "upsells" and "backends" and the like. They want something simple, easy to learn, and not very time consuming. In fact, THEY PREFER THAT!

      So give them something like that. Take your own limited experience and any modest success you've had and explain it in a step-by-step manner. Just write it all down and get it converted to a PDF. That's one of the easiest ways to start. You can literally do it for free. Just download the software from openoffice.org for free, and learn to use their Writer program. It's similar to Word, and it has a cool little PDF button. You just write up your content, save it, then click the PDF button. The end. Seriously, it's that simple!

      Then all you need is a way to take payments and deliver the PDF. That's also very simple to set up. Get a Paypal account. I bet you already have one, right? Next, go to e-junkie.com and get a basic $5/month account. Upload your PDF to your e-junkie account, set the price, get the order page URL, and guess what? You're done. The end. Seriously, it's that simple!

      Then you come back here and pay $20 for a WSO. So your total investment will be $25 (e-junkie account + WSO fee). In your WSO, don't worry about a fancy sales page. Just be honest with people. Focus on how your report will benefit them. Focus on that, not on the features of your report. Write your WSO sales page with an emphasis on how what you can teach people will help them make more money. When you do that, you really can't go wrong.

      It's incredibly important to get that first one under your belt. Take the leap! Will you write the greatest PDF or WSO page ever? Nope. So what??? If you honestly try to help newer people make a few extra bucks every month, I promise you will be a success. Your WSO will make a profit.

      And, maybe more importantly, you'll gain the confidence you need to keep it going. Trust me, if you have even a very small amount of experience in IM / MMO, you're a virtual expert to the newbies. You don't need to know it all. You just need to know one thing that works.

      Seriously, it's that simple!

      John

      Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

      Use the promotion code CRAFTBOOM when you sign up for E-Junkie, and you'll get four months free. Saves you $5.
      or 15. LOL even if you go over what would normally be your $5 limit and move to the higher levels, the trial is still free.

      EDIT:
      Promo cod expiry.
      OOPS

      George Wright
      Signature
      "The first chapter sells the book; the last chapter sells the next book." Mickey Spillane
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  • Profile picture of the author GoogleWarrior
    Great Article Zeus66...this guy knows what he is talking about guys!

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  • Profile picture of the author pruittfarm
    Thank you Zeus66 for this advice. I have a good PLR ebook that I have wanted to give to people for free who visit our website but could not figure out how to do it. After reading your article I am now able to do just that. It took me a little while but I got it done. Our visitors are now able to get it. I got the 7 day free trial but I am going to do it for 5 dollars a month. Thanks again so much.
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  • Profile picture of the author 1960Texan
    Matt M posted this bit of wisdom on this thread:

    Here is what Allen Says wrote in his book The Secrets Of An Internet Marketing Warrior

    Quote:
    Although 99.9% of the marketing books you read will be re-hashed from, built upon and around those basic concepts - it's still ok!

    Here's why...


    You can buy one person's book and it may do nothing for you. You can turn right around and buy another book from a different person on the exact same subject and it blows you away with new ideas and excitement.


    The book that did nothing for you might make me rich. The book that you loved may not do anything for me at all. You and I will get totally different things out of the exact same book.


    That's why it's ok to have people that are re-writing the same information in a 1000 different ways.


    Let's say someone created the Ultimate Million Dollar book and all you had to do was read this book to become a millionaire. But, there was only ONE book. Only this one person could write about it. Well, what if you couldn't understand that one book?


    Nobody else could re-write it. You had to read that book and understand it or you would lose out. Wouldn't that suck?


    If the book was that good and you could not understand it or for some reason the author just didn't connect with you, wouldn't you want someone else to re-write it in a way that would connect with you so you could profit from it?


    I would. I would want 10 people to re-write just so I would be damn sure to get in on the action.



    Zeus is right, and I'm glad he took the time to remind us (or at least me) to look inside ourselves and take a little personal inventory now and then.

    Will
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    After some scrambling about, I'm told EASYE-JUNKIE will give you 60 days free.

    "Well, I'm Easy E the one they talkin' about..."
    Signature
    "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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  • Profile picture of the author mainstreetcm
    Thanks for posting Zeus...

    Kind of strange that all of these "sell your own product!" posts have been popping up as I have just finished writing my own info guide. The line about experiencing any success makes you a virtual expert to the newbies really spoke to me.

    Also, thanks for the promo code CD. You've made my 4 months!
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  • Profile picture of the author steveniam
    Hi John,

    I am one of them. Thank you for telling it to my face.
    Signature
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    • Profile picture of the author slowrider
      @1960Texan - You are sooo right! I used to teach horseback riding lessons and I know for a fact that sometimes you can explain something one way and the person just doesn't get it. But find a new way to explain the same thing and you see a lightbulb come on for some people. It the same with any type of learning.

      @Zeus - Thanks for posting this. It is exactly the information I was looking for.
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      • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
        Folks, pay very close attention to what I'm about to say because I am
        speaking from experience.

        John is DEAD ON THE MONEY.

        My first info product, I tried to make it the be all and end all. It had
        everything but the kitchen sink in it.

        It was a NIGHTMARE to put together.

        Yes, it did very well, but considering the amount of time, it wasn't really
        worth it.

        TODAY...I concentrate on very specific products that do just ONE thing.

        Hour per hour, pound per pound, those products are INFINITELY more
        successful and profitable than my first release. They take almost no
        work (I can whip one together in 6 to 8 hours) and make me thousands
        of dollars.

        In fact, I've estimated that my hourly earnings for each of these products
        comes out to about $500 per hour worked.

        How many jobs out there can you get paid $500 an hour for?

        You don't have to create the great American info product.

        Put out something useful that people can actually have success with
        and you'll find out that it's not only less work for YOU but more money in
        YOUR pocketbook.

        Thanks for a great post John.
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        • Profile picture of the author Zeus66
          Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

          My first info product, I tried to make it the be all and end all. It had everything but the kitchen sink in it.

          It was a NIGHTMARE to put together.

          Yes, it did very well, but considering the amount of time, it wasn't really
          worth it.

          TODAY...I concentrate on very specific products that do just ONE thing.

          Hour per hour, pound per pound, those products are INFINITELY more
          successful and profitable than my first release. They take almost no
          work (I can whip one together in 6 to 8 hours) and make me thousands
          of dollars.
          This is so true! AND... your buyers will actually appreciate the tighter focus in your info products. You have to think like the typical person looking to get started or just make some extra bucks at first. What do they want? What did YOU want back then? Most of us will answer along these lines:

          1. Easy to learn.
          2. Inexpensive to implement.
          3. Fast.

          There's nothing wrong with creating comprehensive, all-encompassing products. But that kind of thing intimidates newbies and even a lot of intermediate level folks. You LOSE sales in those markets! Keeping it simple and very tightly focused on just one solid idea is better for that audience.

          John
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        • Profile picture of the author bay37
          Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

          My first info product, I tried to make it the be all and end all. It had
          everything but the kitchen sink in it.

          It was a NIGHTMARE to put together.
          Steven,

          I'm affraid this is the direction in which I'm heading with my first info product... Damn it.

          It's not very focused, but I thought that since I have so much to share with people, I might as well do it. Now I seriously regret making that decision, but it's already too late, sort of.

          Do you know the feeling where you start out with something small and well focused. Then you think to yourself - well, this works really well with this other idea - so you add that other idea to your report. Then another one, then another... And finally you end up with what could well be called a proper online business course.

          Oh well... I'm seriously just sitting here, banging my head against the keyboard. Ahhh.
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          • Profile picture of the author Hanz
            Originally Posted by bay37 View Post

            Steven,

            I'm affraid this is the direction in which I'm heading with my first info product... Damn it.

            It's not very focused, but I thought that since I have so much to share with people, I might as well do it. Now I seriously regret making that decision, but it's already too late, sort of.

            Do you know the feeling where you start out with something small and well focused. Then you think to yourself - well, this works really well with this other idea - so you add that other idea to your report. Then another one, then another... And finally you end up with what could well be called a proper online business course.

            Oh well... I'm seriously just sitting here, banging my head against the keyboard. Ahhh.
            Maybe you could create a series of books, bay? I've seen people do that on here. It's just as good as creating 1 big product. Except you give your customers a little bit over time, just like a real online course as you said.
            Signature
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          • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
            Originally Posted by bay37 View Post

            Do you know the feeling where you start out with something small and well focused. Then you think to yourself - well, this works really well with this other idea - so you add that other idea to your report. Then another one, then another... And finally you end up with what could well be called a proper online business course.
            My current product started as a 5 to 10 page $7 report.

            It's now over 80 pages.

            So yeah, I kind of know what you mean.

            It doesn't matter how big and unfocused it is, really, provided you finish it and get it up for sale. Finish things. That's the important part.
            Signature
            "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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            • Profile picture of the author bay37
              Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

              My current product started as a 5 to 10 page $7 report.

              It's now over 80 pages.

              So yeah, I kind of know what you mean.

              It doesn't matter how big and unfocused it is, really, provided you finish it and get it up for sale. Finish things. That's the important part.
              Aye. My girlfriend would *very possibly* kick me right in the balls if I suddenly said f*** it and dropped the project.

              Too many nights spent working on it. Not even sure if it's going to be worth it in the end, lol.
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              • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
                Originally Posted by bay37 View Post

                Aye. My girlfriend would *very possibly* kick me right in the balls if I suddenly said f*** it and dropped the project.
                LOL... I was confused there for a second. When I "drop a project," I mean dropping it on the market... not dropping it in the trash and giving up on it. So I was sitting there thinking "Your girlfriend would be mad at you if you made actual money instead of just working on the project forever?"
                Signature
                "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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            • Profile picture of the author Goatboy
              Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

              Finish things. That's the important part.
              Robert Heinlein gave the following advice to people who wanted to be writers. I think it probably also applies to people who want to do WSOs.

              Heinlein's rules for writers:
              1. you must write.
              2. you must finish what you write.
              3. you must refrain from rewriting, except to the editorial order.
              4. you must put the work on the market.
              5. you must keep the work on the market until it is sold.

              I think a most people get confused with #3 and assume Heinlein is saying you should dash off a manuscript and not go back for editing. I don't believe that is what he intended to mean. Part of "finishing" is rewriting the work until it is correct. What he meant is that you need to learn to know when your product is finished, and once it is finished, you need to quit messing with it and try to sell the darned thing.
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              • Profile picture of the author Zeus66
                Originally Posted by Goatboy View Post

                Robert Heinlein gave the following advice to people who wanted to be writers. I think it probably also applies to people who want to do WSOs.

                Heinlein's rules for writers:
                1. you must write.
                2. you must finish what you write.
                3. you must refrain from rewriting, except to the editorial order.
                4. you must put the work on the market.
                5. you must keep the work on the market until it is sold.

                I think a most people get confused with #3 and assume Heinlein is saying you should dash off a manuscript and not go back for editing. I don't believe that is what he intended to mean. Part of "finishing" is rewriting the work until it is correct. What he meant is that you need to learn to know when your product is finished, and once it is finished, you need to quit messing with it and try to sell the darned thing.
                That is a great bit of advice from one the greatest writers in history. Thanks for posting it here! And the last sentence YOU wrote is crucial. You'll make a grand total of $0.00 if you never finish and get the product to market. No one expects you to be the next Pulitzer Prize winner. Get the thing finished, make sure it GENUINELY helps people, and start making sales. Perfection is non-existent.

                John
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        • Profile picture of the author Hanz
          Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

          My first info product, I tried to make it the be all and end all. It had
          everything but the kitchen sink in it.

          It was a NIGHTMARE to put together.

          Yes, it did very well, but considering the amount of time, it wasn't really
          worth it.
          What if you actually did include the kitchen sink in it too, Steven? Would sales have quadrupled? Maybe you'd be posting from your personal yacht right now as we speak?
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  • Profile picture of the author stefansultanov
    Thanks for the tip!
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  • Profile picture of the author Leslie B
    John,

    great post. And you're right, it isn't rocket science, just put something together from your own experience. My first time I was overthinking too much and when it was finished, it took me two months before I dared to put it out there, just because I was certain no one wanted to learn from me. At least, I passed that fear now

    Leslie
    Signature
    Taking it one day at a time!
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    • Profile picture of the author Kevin AKA Hubcap
      Originally Posted by Leslie B View Post

      John,

      great post. And you're right, it isn't rocket science, just put something together from your own experience. My first time I was overthinking too much and when it was finished, it took me two months before I dared to put it out there, just because I was certain no one wanted to learn from me. At least, I passed that fear now

      Leslie
      Ouchhh Leslie,

      You've stepped all over my toes.
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  • Profile picture of the author jdhflip
    I've been a lurker here for a while and I appreciate all the help everyone gives here. I hope to someday be a contributor here on the forum. Thanks for all the encouragement!
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  • Profile picture of the author petelta
    John is spot on. My first money made online was from a 10 page WSO that had very basic information. At the time that's all I really knew. I wanted to help anyone who didn't know what I knew though, and I had quite a few buyers.

    It was the starting point to my empire I'm building now.

    It took me maybe 2 days to put together that first WSO too and it returned about four times the investment.

    Everyone reading this right now has something that others are willing to pay for. Now, find it and sell it.

    Travis
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    TEESPRING Student Rakes In Over $116k In Less Than 3 Months
    Niche Pro Profits - How I raked in OVER $120k in 9 months with authority niche sites...

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  • Profile picture of the author Matt Bard
    John, hadn't talked with you in a while (maybe someone has been too busy with monkeys) but you know that I share your K.I.S.S. philosophy.

    I think too many people fall into the trap of always thinking "more is better" because they associate knowledge with "guru" and guru with $2000 products that go "THUD"!

    The truth is though, that most people are looking for a single solution to a pressing problem.

    If you turn your thinking around from "how much information (thud) can I produce" to "how succinctly can I answer a question", you can reduce some of the feelings of being overwhelmed.

    Try to image starting each ebook with this little note to your reader:

    "I realize that your time is valuable and I won't waste it with useless fluff and filler".
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  • Profile picture of the author paul wolfe
    Steven

    Something you said made me smile...."the great american info product." Great line,
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  • Profile picture of the author Thomas Michal
    The secret to getting rich is selling your secrets.
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  • Profile picture of the author Deepak Media
    I first came across this concept in the book 4 hour work week by Tim Ferris. You are an expert as long as you know more than your target group. You just need to be a little more ahead.
    Signature
    Digital Marketing Author | Speaker | Consultant

    Read my Blog: DigitalDeepak.com

    @ Bangalore, India.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    Thanks Zuess. You are the man. What a great post. I personally needed this.
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    • Profile picture of the author VanessaB
      John, thank you for posting this. Everything I write about, I learned somewhere. I didn't absorb the information by osmosis. When I write, I write out the way that I took ALL the info on a topic, and put it together in the easiest way I could learn it myself, and then published that into products.

      It's really not that difficult. Some people respond to the written word, some to video, some to mindmaps. However it was that you had to 'see' the information as a 'process' is how you should reproduce it for someone else that may respond to it the way you did.

      -Dani

      P.S. I think the 'your own product' topics might have something to do with the recent release of Product Launch Formula.:rolleyes:
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  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    Zuess How long should an info product be...? What if you can give the whole ball of wax in 3 pages? Is the information still worth while to buyers...? Do you need to fluff it out to 50 pages for it to have value? I dont mind doing that... but it dillutes the messgae alot.

    There is alot of stuff you need to know about a given subject and there is alot "to" know, but isnt neccessary most times.
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    • Profile picture of the author Zeus66
      Originally Posted by John Durham View Post

      Zuess How long should an info product be...? What if you can give the whole ball of wax in 3 pages? Is the information still worth while to buyers...? Do you need to fluff it out to 50 pages for it to have value? I dont mind doing that... but it dillutes the messgae alot.

      There is alot of stuff you need to know about a given subject and there is alot "to" know, but isnt neccessary most times.
      I'm glad you asked about how long it should be. Let me tell you, after I buy a WSO or an info product from any other source really, I typically segregate them into folders on my computer. The ones I really found useful go in a different folder than the ones that were "blah." And you know what? Length has nothing at all to do with it.

      I've got 10-pagers that I think are brilliant. I've got 200-pagers that I feel like writing the author and demanding they refund that 3-4 hours of my life after finishing.

      If you are gifted enough to write succinctly and with enough specificity to get your point across completely, more power to you! I couldn't care less about your biography, where you went to school, how great your family is. Blah blah blah. Give me the meat. You can eat the bread. Know what I mean? And I think there are a lot of info product buyers just like me out there. Think of them and forget adding fillers just to bulk up your product.

      John
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      • Profile picture of the author Elmer Hurlstone
        Originally Posted by Zeus66 View Post

        I'm glad you asked about how long it should be. Let me tell you, after I buy a WSO or an info product from any other source really, I typically segregate them into folders on my computer. The ones I really found useful go in a different folder than the ones that were "blah." And you know what? Length has nothing at all to do with it.
        John,

        Every time I see the size question arise--and it does with unsurprising frequency--I'm reminded of Maria Veloso's answer to the question, "How long should copy be?"

        To paraphrase, it-copy, reports, articles, ebooks, whatever-should be like a lady's skirt--long enough to cover the essentials and short enough to be interesting.

        Elmer
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        • Profile picture of the author Zeus66
          Originally Posted by Elmer Hurlstone View Post

          "How long should copy be?"

          To paraphrase, it-copy, reports, articles, ebooks, whatever-should be like a lady's skirt--long enough to cover the essentials and short enough to be interesting.

          Elmer
          Perfect! Some people probably enjoy the "fluff" in ebooks, but I like them without the non-essentials. Then again, I've written a few and bought a bunch, so I'm not the typical buyer. I think that's another important aspect of being an info product creator: never forget to think from the average buyer's perspective.

          John
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  • Profile picture of the author IMAdam
    Great post, John.

    You are correct that once you understand the principals and have success under your belt, you CAN creat a product that would help strugling IM'ers.

    I know I struggled for quite some time trying out many things with niche marketing (something I HIGHLY recommend for beginners to get into) and failing. I was finally able to crack the code. And the crazy part about it is, it was all right in front my eyes, and just needed to "tweek" a few things.

    Now I have sites ranking on the top 10 first page of google and the crazy part about this all is, IM is actually VERY SIMPLE. Not EASY, you still need to put in the work, but simple!! I keep telling my self "if I had someone show me how to get the details right initially, I would be miles ahead!!"

    I mayend up creating a product detailing those finer details, that has allowed me to succeed, but at this time, I'm just having too much fun and enjoying the success.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dapper Fellow
    John,

    Thanks for pushing me about this! I need to stop blogging for cash for a little while and write one of these info products.
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  • Profile picture of the author IMarketers2500
    Just have to focus, sometimes juggling many different projects you can get overwhelmed. Some of use stay up till 3-4 am sometimes.
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  • Profile picture of the author nettech
    John,

    Thats a very inspiring post. I always said I'd never be involved in writing a WSO, however the way you wrote that post made it sound soo easy. It's very tempting to write something. I probably wont offer an WSO but maybe on one of my blogs I might just to try it out.

    Thanks for the inspiration.

    Zaheer
    Signature

    Thanks
    Zaheer

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  • Profile picture of the author Vlad Shelest
    Thank you Zeus66 for your advice. How did you know this about me?!

    It is why this forum is so valuable to IMers of all levels. Guys like you, who are generous enough with your time and knowledge to come here and post a short nugget of wisdom that can potentially make the difference between someone's success or failure.

    Vlad
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    Let Million Dollar marketing ace teach you HOW
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    • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
      Originally Posted by Zeus66 View Post

      It's incredibly important to get that first one under your belt. Take the leap! Will you write the greatest PDF or WSO page ever? Nope. So what??? If you honestly try to help newer people make a few extra bucks every month, I promise you will be a success. Your WSO will make a profit.

      And, maybe more importantly, you'll gain the confidence you need to keep it going.
      Another great post, John. You continue to bring incredible value to this forum.

      I want to emphasize the part about taking the leap. I labored over the first issue of my newsletter, trying to make it so perfect that no one could criticize it...or me. I wasn't sure I even wanted to send it out. Who was I to teach?

      All that sweating over 11 subscribers! Within a month I had about 100 subscribers, a good part of which came from referrals. In about a year I was asked to write for another company. In another year or so I was asked to write a book.

      The points is, none of that would have happened if I didn't push myself past the fear of rejection. I've been making my full-time living online since 1999 because of it.

      Originally Posted by bay37 View Post

      Do you know the feeling where you start out with something small and well focused. Then you think to yourself - well, this works really well with this other idea - so you add that other idea to your report. Then another one, then another... And finally you end up with what could well be called a proper online business course.
      There's nothing wrong with making a big info-product. I've made a couple, and they do well, but there's a better way to go about it than just hitting the marketplace all at once with a giant product.

      I conceive of a big product, then I figure out ways to make the product into smaller units with each one focusing on a specific thing. That way you can sell the smaller units as soon as they are done. In essence then, your buyers are paying you to write the next module of your big product. Then start selling that and go to work on the next module.

      Keep doing this until the project is completed, and at the end you package all these modules as a course or system, set up a new website for the big product, and cash in. You can also keep selling the individual modules separately. It's a killer money maker and brings the big pay days closer together.
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      Just when you think you've got it all figured out, someone changes the rules.

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      • Profile picture of the author DaveHughes
        Great. Just great. Now I'm going to have to sit on a pillow to write the damn thing because I'm sore after that kick in the butt, John.

        Thanks! You answered a question I (and I'm sure quite a few others) had never even framed as a question, but a statement of fact.

        Good lesson there; having someone create doubt in yourself is not a bad thing...as long as they're creating doubt about your self-imposed limitations.

        Off now to not be perfect!

        (And Goatboy...there's a great story that Asimov tells in one of his books about his method of writing a book. He would sit down, type it out, then type it again correcting errors as he went. Asimov said that Heinlein's comment on that method was "Why didn't you type it right the first time?")
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        • Profile picture of the author Goatboy
          Originally Posted by DaveHughes View Post

          (And Goatboy...there's a great story that Asimov tells in one of his books about his method of writing a book. He would sit down, type it out, then type it again correcting errors as he went. Asimov said that Heinlein's comment on that method was "Why didn't you type it right the first time?")
          That sounds like Heinlein all right. Norman Mailer gave similar write it and submit it advice in his book "The Spooky art," I just think Heinlein said it better.
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      • Profile picture of the author bay37
        Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill View Post

        There's nothing wrong with making a big info-product. I've made a couple, and they do well, but there's a better way to go about it than just hitting the marketplace all at once with a giant product.

        I conceive of a big product, then I figure out ways to make the product into smaller units with each one focusing on a specific thing. That way you can sell the smaller units as soon as they are done. In essence then, your buyers are paying you to write the next module of your big product. Then start selling that and go to work on the next module.

        Keep doing this until the project is completed, and at the end you package all these modules as a course or system, set up a new website for the big product, and cash in. You can also keep selling the individual modules separately. It's a killer money maker and brings the big pay days closer together.
        Thanks Dennis.

        I have also been thinking to perhaps integrate the info product with a private forum, and charge a small monthly fee instead. Here's what I mean:

        Lets say the info product is 200 pages long, 8 "chapters" in total. Each of the chapters can be expanded further to produce another 200 pages worth...

        Instead of releasing a massive 200 page e-book that would be just too difficult for most newbies to follow, perhaps it would be a good idea to cut the size of the initial book down to ~60 pages (roughly 8 per chapter), and then continue the rest of the course on a private forum.

        This way buyers get a good initial overview of the "system". Then they choose the parts that were unclear or they want to know more about and go online -> forum -> read. They could also ask questions right there on the forum, which might be very helpful to some people.

        This is what I'm leaning towards at the moment.

        EDIT:

        Also, group learning is a very powerful thing. A lot of people will have the same type of questions, a forum would help keep the "maintenance" bit to the minimum.

        People feel more motivated to do work when they see others taking action/succeeding.

        I'm sure there are plenty of negatives to this approach. Such as running the actual forum, setting up a subscription system, etc. Since it's an info product, and I believe that info products should be "affordable", the price would have to be rather low to begin with (lifetime value of the customer would make up for this, I guess).
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  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    From my personal vantage point this is the best thread in weeks.
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    • Profile picture of the author Joe Benjamin
      "You hesitate to create an info product or video series
      and sell it because you're afraid you don't know enough."


      It was. A big fear of mines, that has become a non-fear
      permanantly in my mind as I've learned to treat all of my
      fears as concerns. And concerns are much easier to handle
      than fears.
      "You worry that you'll get questions that will expose your
      lack of k
      nowledge about other things in IM"

      Sure. Until I stopped giving a damn. There's no man or woman
      who can make me feel like I don't know what I'm talking about
      just because they might question what I create before they
      invest.

      They have every right to and I encourage it. But, when they
      become aggressive towards the way I operate, I cut them off.

      Simple.

      "You think you just need to learn or try a few more things
      and then you'll be "qualified" to start charging people to
      learn what you can teach them."

      I felt this way for a long time. For some reason, in my mind
      something clicked to again -- stop giving a damn. Confidently
      believing I do have something to offer, and charging for it.

      Thought I had to know everything under the sun to release
      a product, WSO, direct mail project, real estate deal, etc.

      But, that kind of thinking did nothing...but hold me back from
      greatness.

      All of those fears I've head...are no more.
      Signature
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  • Profile picture of the author Frodr
    So... if you have had some sucess making money online.. that qualifies you to teach others to do what you have done to duplicate your results. makes sense.

    Now if you have made no money online, whats a newb to do? Should you rehash a bunch a crap you read while browsing the many blogs and forums available on the topic? Thats kind of the message im getting.

    Although im not a newb, i can see how this thread can be misinterpreted.

    Then comes an influx of WSO's that are garbage. Hence bringing down the quality and integrity of the forum. Is that what we want?

    So whats a NEWBIE to do?

    I think the idea of picking niche other than MMO is still sound advice. Thats all.

    -Felix

    P.S.

    Be on the lookout for my upcoming WSO - "Make Bank Selling Seashells By The Seashore"

    j/k
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    • Profile picture of the author Zeus66
      Originally Posted by imFelix.net View Post

      So... if you have had some sucess making money online.. that qualifies you to teach others to do what you have done to duplicate your results. makes sense.

      Now if you have made no money online, whats a newb to do? Should you rehash a bunch a crap you read while browsing the many blogs and forums available on the topic? Thats kind of the message im getting.

      Although im not a newb, i can see how this thread can be misinterpreted.

      Then comes an influx of WSO's that are garbage. Hence bringing down the quality and integrity of the forum. Is that what we want?

      So whats a NEWBIE to do?

      I think the idea of picking niche other than MMO is still sound advice. Thats all.

      -Felix

      P.S.

      Be on the lookout for my upcoming WSO - "Make Bank Selling Seashells By The Seashore"

      j/k
      I thought I was pretty clear in the OP that it's about people who have had some level of success - not repackaging other ideas and selling theory as though you know from experience that it works. If that was lost on you, thanks for giving me the opportunity to clarify what I meant.

      The last thing I want or would advocate is true newbies rehashing stuff just for the sake of creating WSO's to make money. It needs to be an info product about something you know about and have experience doing. And I know many marketers who fit that mold but don't take the leap and put out their own info products because they worry that they aren't "expert" enough. That's who I was addressing in this thread.

      Thanks,
      John
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    • Profile picture of the author Matt Bard
      Originally Posted by imFelix.net View Post

      Now if you have made no money online, whats a newb to do?
      Have you had success in anything?

      I'm not trying to be funny or put you down in any way.

      My point is that I believe that you, and everyone else reading this have had some measure of success in other areas of your life.

      If you can play the guitar, but you don't think you are qualified to write a book on guitar playing, how about a quick little $5 ebook on how to play two or three songs that you learned?

      Do you have a "secret family recipe"?

      Are your friends always asking you how you have been able to fix that part on your car that they have trouble with?

      Do you have a fast and easy way to clean the bathtub?

      Grow bigger tomatoes than your friends?

      Best lawn on the block?

      Do you see where I'm going with this?

      You don't have to know everything there is to know about an entire subject.

      Everyone here thinks that you have to start out creating products about "how to make money online" and the truth is, unless you are already very very experienced at Internet Marketing, you really don't want to be in that market.

      Why make it so hard on yourself?

      Take something that you already know how to do, and learn how the process of selling it online works first. Then, if you are pretty good at that, you will know how to make money online.

      I always give my family and friends this piece of advice when they ask about making money online, "stack the odds in your favor".

      Why spend time, money, energy, failing, getting frustrated, coming in here and trying to learn 14 different things when you ALREADY KNOW SOMETHING YOU CAN SELL!

      Take what you know and package it.

      Write your 10 page book on your tomato growing secrets and start hitting the gardening forums. Put your sales page link in your SIG and start talking about tomatoes.

      Write some articles on the top 20 keywords related to tomatoes.
      Submit to all of the directories.

      Make a quick little video of your garden with a few of your tomatoes.
      Upload to all of the video sites.

      Ok, so there are people out there that can grow bigger tomatoes than you.

      Here is the marketing secret that everyone has been looking for...

      There are huge amounts of people that CAN"T do something that YOU CAN do and they are willing to pay to learn how!

      Some of the most successful people online are making money from little "How-To" ebooks and videos.

      Find something that you are good at and teach others how to do it too.
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    • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
      Originally Posted by imFelix.net View Post

      Now if you have made no money online, whats a newb to do?
      What HAVE you done?

      Look, even if you don't make money online, there are things people want to know. How to register a domain name. How to get web hosting. How to install WordPress. How to drip-feed blog posts.

      It's honestly not that hard to find something people want to know, that you either already know or can learn quickly.
      Signature
      "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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