In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void

I just released an ebook recently but whilst writing it my biggest problem was figuring out how to make it appeal to both newbies and those who already know the basics.

In the end I had to bite the bullet and make it appeal to those with at least some experience. If not, the ebook would have been three times as long and taken forever to write. As it is, it is still 75 pages.

So I can understand the dilemma here. It's not easy to provide a product that covers all levels of experience. I guess you really need to know your market.

Hmm... That's something I've kind of had to think about recently, I'm working on an IM niche product for the general public + affiliates and I didn't want to have to fully educate noobs on affiliate marketing before they could make money.. So I ended up making it a step by step.. systematic like way to set up a business without any research or anything like that... Glad i read this post.. Now i know it'll be a better read for affiliates too..

I've seen a lot of "newbie" complaints that the information isn't detailed enough ...

In many cases they seem to want not only a how-to on the method being shared but also a how-to on every single thing needed to utilize the method. Like first, turn on your computer ....

This kind of thing, IMO would make most products pure junk. Wading through all that crap to get to the meat of the product would be a real put-off for me. I'd rather add an excerpt saying

For more info: [newbie Google this] [newbie Google that]

well im new here, And i ask for the same thing on what to do and how to do it. what i see is you cant and wont get that from just one ebook, i jump right in to SEO so im still looking at somethings like what the @%$@, But if you know what you want to do on the net you can cut down what you need to know, one thing im looking at is google local. im doing some what ok at it but still want to know all about it. got some ebooks that tells some things but never what im looking for, so far what ive learn was by myself and trail and eror.

I think you have to know, and choose, who you're targeting with a "How to" book. The newbie that needs info like "The internet is..." or the more advanced marketer that is trying to dig deeper into a method. Then - the sales copy needs to be honest about what the book covers/contains. If it's beginning with the beginning, don't hype that it's going to plunge the depths of the method - because I don't think you can do both in a single ebook or video. Not without it ending up being HUGE.

Setting it up in modules would work; Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, if you want to cover the full spectrum of possible buyers. Then you have a full course and not just an ebook. And let's the buyer choose what level they want to read at and doesn't overwhelme the newbie or the bore the more advanced marketer into a coma-like state.

That's what Appendices are for

"If you want to know the basics of 'whacking a mole with a hammer on Facebook', see Appendix A."

Let's add this to the quote, eh?
God is in the details. (Ludwig Mies van der Rohe)
We choose what to skim and what to focus on

Damned if you do... damned if you don't. If you put too much background info you're accused of adding filler or you're just "rehashing" information. If you leave it out you're not giving enough step-by-step direction.

Outside of the IM niche the crowd isn't as fickle.

I add a hyperlink to chapters covering the basics and I warn readers that if they know the basics to click on the link to go the advanced chapters.

The answer is balance.

You have to strike a balance or else you will either lose big bucks from "big" customers you ignored how they feel or small bucks from "small" customers you never considered what appeals to them.

Either way you will lose so you have to strike a balance.

Wait till you get to Ecclesiastes - it's a great read!

"For everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven"

Will ;

I agree with those who suggested modules.

When creating products, it's easy to create modules that cover just one specific area so that people who are new to it will learn it completely and people who already know that stuff can bypass it for whatever meets their needs. (i.e., a book just on FTP, a book just on setting up Wordpress, a book just on ...)

The nice thing about this approach is that then you have a wide range of products you can offer. Instead of a $97 eBook with everything that a lot of people won't buy because the price tag is a bit high (esp. when you look at the non-IM market), you can sell a whole ton of smaller reports at $9.95 (or whatever) that are specific and few people will blink at the price tag for it. And if they see something else they need while they're purchasing the one, they're more likely to purchase that 2nd book.

I, too, have PaulaC's ebook and appreciated that she made it clear in her sales page that was not for newbies. So I got right into the info I really wanted and didn't have to skip past tons of stuff. (By the way, this really is fantastic and worth getting if you're at all interested in doing the Amazon thing -- even if it isn't a WSO.)