One of the best ways to start or grow an online business is to write information products (eBooks).
Why? Because there are no limits on what you can write about or how you can look at a subject. Also, making it can cost you nothing but your time. Even if all you have is WordPad, everyone with a computer has a word processor, and it's easy to find free PDF creators (PDF is still the best way to distribute eBooks).
Still, it's not always smooth sailing. If you've never written an eBook before, how do you get started and keep going?
Step 1: Why do you want to write an eBook?
First, write down why you want to write an ebook. Want to get the word out about your business? Do you want to get good people to visit your site? Do you want your reputation to get better? All of these are very good reasons, but try not to make it too clear. Don't seem self-centered; give something to get something in return.
Then write down what you want to accomplish with publishing. Maybe you'll sell it on your website as a product or give it away as a free gift or bonus eBook with your main product to make it more valuable.
In the end, the more you know before you start writing, the easier it will be to write.
Step 2: Learn about your topic
The most important thing to do next is to write about something you know. This keeps the book moving, gives you credibility, and shows your readers that you know something about the topic and may have something to say that they haven't heard before.
Step 3: Where Do I Start?
Next, starting is the hardest part of writing. When you look at the project as a whole, it seems impossible. You have to break it up into tasks that you can do.
It is the same as everything else in life. When you face a task that seems impossible to do, there is only one way to go about it. Step-by-Step. Break it up into small tasks that you can handle, and celebrate each one as a success to keep you going. Reward yourself, even if it's just a break, a cup of coffee, or 10 minutes on the game console.
Step 4 - Get Organized
The next step is to get things in order. First, put your ideas in order. Before you start, you should do a few things. Read through the list of things below. After you finish, you should be ready to start writing your ebook.
Step 5: Choose a working title for your eBook.
Why? Because it gives you a focal point. Spend time on it, because you'll want to keep coming back to it for ideas. Make sure you don't ever get off track. If you don't, you'll get an eBook whose contents don't match the title. Write down a few different titles, and you'll eventually find the one you like best. Think about it in an honest way. Who would read it?
Step 6 - Write an Overview
Next, write a short summary. Your summary is a short paragraph or two in which you explain what problem you are trying to solve and how your book will do that.
Once you have a clear picture of the whole, you have built your foundation. From there, your eBook will grow sentence by sentence, page by page, and chapter by chapter until, before you know it, it's done.
As you write your ebook, your outline will help you stay on track. Remember that all of your chapters need to back up your overview. If a chapter doesn't belong, take it out. For example, your summary could say, "We've all had weight problems at some point in our lives, but I've found 14 proven ways to help you get the body you want."
But if you say this, you must give fourteen methods that have been proven to work. If you don't, your readers will lose faith in you and look for ways to get their money back. At best, you won't be able to sell them anything else. Here on the Internet is where the real money is. This is not a one-time sale.
Step 7: Look back and start over
Before you start writing, make sure you have a good reason to write your eBook once you have an outline. Ask yourself some questions:
- Will your eBook help the people who buy it?
- Is your ebook interesting? Will the reader want to turn each page to find out what happens next?
- Does it give useful information, and is that information still true today?
You also need to get their attention right away, and the best way to do that is to make them feel like you can solve their problems. Why did they buy the book in the first place? Make them feel like they made the right choice and that you know what you're talking about.
Step 8: Start putting your eBook together.
Next, write out the titles of each chapter. You might or might not end up using chapters, but if you do, it's just another step in breaking the job down into steps you can handle one at a time. It will be easier to do the job if you break it up into smaller parts, which in this case would be chapters. It's also a way to add to your summary and check to see if your chapters cover everything. Check to see if you forgot to talk about something you said you would.
Step by step, small pieces that you can handle.
When you write an eBook, just like when you write a letter, a user guide, a report, etc., you need to know who you're writing for and write to them. This will affect your eBook's style, tone, language, and even length.
When it's done, you could also make an e-course out of parts of each chapter to promote it.
Taking all of these things into account, you could have your eBook done and ready to sell on your website in no time. You might be on your way to making a best-seller on the Internet.
