Explore a New Writing Frontier - Ebooks

Part Two - Creating Quality Content

By Bonnie Lowe

In Part one of this series, published in Issue 10 , you learned that the most important step in creating a profitable ebook is to choose a topic with market potential.

According to Monique Harris and Dr. Ken Evoy, authors of the excellent ebook, "Make Your Knowledge Sell," you want to pick a topic for your ebook and create a quality product that an existing market already wants or needs. When considering a topic, ask yourself: Will your product solve a problem, or deliver a benefit in a high-quality way?

Let's assume you've following the tips in Part One of this series and found such a topic for your ebook. What's next?

Become an Expert

If you're not already an expert on your chosen ebook topic, you must become one - or find an existing expert to co-author your book.

If you don't want to share the profits and plan to write it yourself, you must do extensive research.

  1. Find online discussion forums and blogs focused on your topic. Read through the posted messages looking for questions being asked. Note similar questions people ask repeatedly. Those will give you excellent ideas for your ebook - just provide answers to the most common questions. When I decided to write my Job Interview Success System, one of the first things I did was become a member of Monster.com's Interview Tips Forum and study the hundreds of questions - and answers - being posted there.
  2. Read articles, books, ebooks and websites. Also listen to online recorded interviews with subject matter experts (usually available as downloadable MP3 files) on your topic. Find a wealth of resources by doing a search of your topic on Google and Yahoo.

Tip: Give yourself a deadline to stop your research and begin your writing. There’s so much information available, it’s easy to get caught up in it all. Before you know it, months can go by before you’ve written a single word!

Choose a Title

Think of the title of your ebook in the same way you think of a headline for a sales letter. It must grab attention and instantly relate to your target audience.

Prolific ebook author and Internet marketer Fabio Marciano says, "Choose a title that’s full of benefits and solutions. It takes the average buyer at a bookstore only 8 seconds to decide whether he wants a book or not. You probably have less time than that to hook someone online. In short, you must have a killer title to sell your ebook online."

In "Make Your Knowledge Sell," Harris and Evoy devote several paragraphs to choosing a good title and provide a number of suggestions and templates.

Tip: Don’t make your title too long. It will have to fit onto an ebook cover graphic in large print to be easily read.

Create an Outline

According to Marciano, "You absolutely must have a detailed outline of your ebook before you write a word. A detailed outline will give you the skeleton of what you need to create, and then once it’s done, you go about putting the ‘meat’ on the skeleton. It’s that simple. Just create a very detailed outline and then begin attacking each heading and subheading by writing a few sentences or paragraphs under each."

When writing the ebook component of my Job Interview Success System, I created a very short outline to divide the content into three sections: steps to take before the interview; steps to take during the interview: steps to take after the interview. That made it very easy for me to then develop several detailed steps that fit into each of those three sections.

Create Quality Content

"There’s no thief like a bad book." (Italian proverb)

If you think you can throw an ebook together haphazardly just to quickly get a product to sell and make a lot of money, think again.

Yes, there are many ebooks out there that are total crap. Are they selling? Yes, if they have a good sales letter. But you can bet that refund requests are high and people who bought from the author will never buy from him/her again. And the Internet really is a small world—word gets around quickly and sales of crappy books do not last long.

According to successful ebook author and internet marketer Fred Gleek, "Your goal with every product you create is to make people feel that they got at least ten times what you charged them for the product or service in value. So, make sure your content is incredibly strong."

April Morelock, AWAI student and author of the ebook MS Word Help! agrees. "Make (readers) feel their money is well spent and that you really gave them information that is special, unique or life-altering."

Here are some typical content elements you should consider:

  • Foreword: Preferably written by someone else (perhaps a known expert on the topic), explaining why it’s such a wonderful book.
  • Table of Contents: This will be created after the book is written.
  • Introduction: Briefly describe what the book is about, what problems it solves and the benefits the reader will gain. Perhaps include a short personal story about why you wrote it.
  • Main Body of the Book: Several chapters. Can include tips, how-to instructions, steps in a process, interviews, strategies, statistics, personal experiences (stories about how you and/or others overcame their problems), samples, etc.
  • Resources: One of the benefits of ebooks is that you can include links to websites, related affiliate products (products created by other people who will give you a commission for referral sales.) Other resources, including a comprehensive list of resources will enhance the ebook’s value.
  • Index (if warranted).

Write as you talk, using a conversational tone. Be succinct. Use short paragraphs, short sentences and words that are easy to understand. Remember, an ebook on a computer screen is harder on the eyes of your readers. Break up the text with subheadings, pulled quotes, tips in shaded text-boxes, etc.

Besides filling your ebook with useful text, consider including graphics, photos, charts, tables, active links, etc.

Also consider adding audio or video clips. Audio can include interviews of subject-matter experts, for instance. Short video clips may be useful, if your topic is something that can be explained visually. Audio and video will both enhance the perceived value of your book and help you justify a higher price.

Apply Finishing Touches

After you write your first draft, take a break for a few days, then read it again, carefully. Get other people (members of your target market interested in the topic) to read it and provide you with feedback. The feedback may be used later as testimonials that will help sell your book. Implement the suggestions and ideas of those who read your draft, revise and polish it.

Proof your book carefully. Use a spellchecker, but don’t rely totally on it! Spelling and grammar must be correct or you’ll lose credibility.

However, you book doesn’t have to be perfect before you offer it for sale. I doubt if a perfect ebook exists. But that’s okay—ebooks can be easily modified, revised and updated. You’ll want to keep it current and make improvements on a continual basis. Encourage buyers to provide you with their feedback and suggestions then implement the ones you feel are valid.

In summary, emphasize quality, not just making a fast buck. When you are ready to produce your second ebook, you can jumpstart your sales because those who bought your first ebook will be pre-sold. An ebook with quality content will not only generate revenue, but will build credibility and trust as you grow your business.

Resources

Make Your Knowledge Sell by Monique Harris and Dr. Ken Evoy

Ebook Secrets by Ken Silver

Ken Silver's Ebook How-To Forum

PCVoyager.com Ebook Resources

Fabio Marciano's The One-Minute Ebook

Epublishing for Dummies, Victoria Rosenborg

About the Author: Bonnie Lowe is a California based copywriter, information marketer and author of the popular Job Interview Success System and free information-packed ezine, Career-Life Times. Find those and other powerful career-building resources and tips by visiting her website: www.Best-Interview-Strategies.com. She has also written "Bartering: Gold Nuggets for Your New Business", published in Freebird's issue #2, April 10, 2004.