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i am planning on creating my own ebook to place as an incentive for subscribing to my opt-in emailing list. how difficult is an ebook to create? I'm thinking maybe 15-20 pages of quality value.
#creating #ebook
  • Profile picture of the author Scott Henderson
    Creating the e-book is the easy part, many people have a hard time with the taking action part and doing it. What I recommend after you have decided your niche and your topic is this;

    1. Envision in your mind if you were to buy a book on this topic and you were to open up to the table of contents what would you see there. Write these down, these are going to be your chapters.

    2. Start with chapter 1 and start writing. If you need to do research do so. Some will recommend using PLR which I guess is fine but for me personally I prefer high quality original stuff. You can use PLR as inspiration and rewrite it as well.

    3. Get the contents all written, I use MS Word, but any word processing application will do, Open Office is free. I prefer to keep my paragraphs to just 2-3 sentences. Makes for an easier read.

    4. Make sure your formatting looks good, page numbers, header and footer add to a professional look. Add a Table of Contents along with disclaimers, legal stuff etc.

    5. Although not necessary, a cover even adds more value, even if it is free. Create or outsource a suitable front page graphic with title as a flat page jpeg.

    6. Compile them all together into a PDF file and voila, you have an ebook.

    7. You can take the flat page jpeg and have it converted into a 3D book image to use on your website or wherever you are promoting. Just search "ebook covers" and you will find a bunch of information.

    Hope this helps, good luck and take action, don't worry about perfection just get it done.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tim Francis
      Hey RedStanford,

      When I think about this, I often think first about my end-user or reader... what could I offer them that would give them at least one huge "a-ha!" moment...?

      To find some of these gems that you could offer your reader, think about this:

      - what are some of the top-10 FAQs that you get when people ask you about things in your business?

      - what were some of the most pressing questions you personally had when you were in the readers' shoes?

      - when you're speaking with prospective users of your product - in your day-to-day life, over the phone, at events, etc - what is the topic or solution that lights up their eyes when you can help them?

      ...hope that helps you to identify the direction of your content!

      The more that people go "a-ha!" from your content, the more likely they are to go forward with a purchase, the more likely they are to tell their friends, associates, etc, about you. In just a few short pages you can become a valuable expert in their eyes... nice!

      Giving away great content has helped me to land speaking gigs, private clients, and a whole number of unexpected opportunities.

      And - as shen923 says - don't get caught in the black hole of perfection. Give it your best first effort, maybe have a few people from your target market give it a read to give you feedback, then finalize and publish.

      As for timeline, if you know your content and your market, shouldn't take more than one week from start to finish.

      To your success!

      Tim
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  • Profile picture of the author Sky Walker
    Tim you have some good points there. Creating compelling text is the biggest hurdle.
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