sellfirstproductin72hours - bearesumewriter.com€¦ · sell your first information product in 72...

Sell Your First Information Product in 72 Hours 2

Published by Image Building Communications P.O. Box 241621 Omaha, NE 68124-‐5621

phone (402) 393-‐4600 fax (402) 393-‐4603

[email protected]

Initial Date of Publication: February 11, 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this special report may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and

retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information. It is sold with the understanding that the author/publisher is not engaged

in rendering legal service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

Some links in this special report may be affiliate links.

These could be text links, images, or any other type of link. Affiliate links mean that if you are led to a site and make a purchase,

I may earn a commission from that sale. The amount of commission varies with each product.

Not all links are affiliate links. Some are purely for sharing. You are under no obligation to make any purchases from my link.

I only recommend products and services that I use or am personally familiar with.

Sell Your First Information Product in 72 Hours

Bridget (Weide) Brooks, CPRW 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed in the United States of America


Sell Your First Information Product in 72 Hours I’ve heard from several résumé writers that they’re overwhelmed by the idea of creating passive income in their career services business, and they don’t know where to start. The introduction of passive income into your career services business is one that is a little bit scary for many résumé writers — mainly because it’s outside of your comfort zone. In this special report, I’m going to show you how to create and have your first information product for sale in 72 hours or less. (You can actually do it in about an hour if you have all of the pieces ready, but I’m including extra time just in case.) This is a step-‐by-‐step, illustrated guide to take you through exactly how to create your first information product. There are plenty of other ways to accomplish this, but if you follow these instructions, you’ll have your first product ready to sell (and promote) in as little as a weekend. Passive income is defined by the IRS as income from “trade or business activities in which you do not materially participate.” What that really means is that you’re not trading your time for dollars — that is, you’re not working one-‐on-‐one with a client, writing their résumé, cover letter, or LinkedIn profile, or conducting individual or group coaching sessions. Trading time for dollars is classified as “active income” — meaning, when you stop doing it, or being active in it, the money stops. I want you to develop passive income so that you can earn money even while you’re sleeping and eating! The easiest way to introduce passive income into your career services business is through the sale of information products. The easiest information product to create is an ebook. It’s simply a Word document that you turn into a PDF and deliver digitally (not in print form) to buyers. Here is an overview of the 10-‐step process we will be using to create your first information product:

1. Start with content you already have (or can get easily) 2. Identify your audience 3. Name your product 4. Make a cover (or have one made) 5. Get it ready to sell 6. Set up payment system 7. Get your selling system ready 8. Create your marketing plan 9. Create your sales tools 10. Collect the cash!

This special report will show you exactly what to do in each of these steps.


Step One: It Starts With Content The easiest way to get started is with content you’ve already written (perhaps information you’ve already put together as resources for clients) or with Pass-‐Along Materials. Pass-‐Along Materials are ready-‐to-‐go careers industry content you can put your name on and give away or sell. Bronze members of BeAResumeWriter.com get a new Pass-‐Along Materials content package each month with their $10/month membership, and many of these packages are available for purchase for as little as $20. Learn more here: BeAResumeWriter.com Pass-‐Along Materials For this special report, I am going to be using the “Jobseeker’s Guide to Salary Negotiation” Pass-‐Along Materials. This is a nine-‐page guide that covers the following topics:

• Why to negotiate your salary (money matters) • How to research salaries • Preparing supporting documentation for your raise or salary request • What employers consider when setting salaries • Timing is key when asking for a raise • Responding to requests for your salary requirements • The value of non-‐cash benefits (total compensation) • Evaluating a salary offer • How to handle salary on an application form • Making the case for a raise • You’re not done until you get it in writing

Not only is this Pass-‐Along Materials content easy to work with, but it’s a highly sellable one too. Who doesn’t want to make more money in their current job, or get a job offer for more than they made at their last job? The first step is to read through the content and see if there are any changes you would make. Do a “save as” of the file in Microsoft Word. You’re going to be putting your name on this ebook, and if you’re using Pass-‐Along Materials content, you want to make sure you agree with what I wrote. You don’t necessarily have to worry about making it “sound” like you, although you can certainly take the time to do it. As an optional step here, I will say that you can write your own introduction if you want, but it’s not necessary. Remember, this is about getting this done quickly. For future products, if you want to spend more time editing, rewriting, or adding to it, that’s fine. But for this first ebook, let’s focus on getting this done in two hours or less. Reviewing the content should take 15-‐20 minutes.


Step Two: Identify Your Audience Your ebook will have even greater value if you target it towards a specific niche. For example, if you work with finance executives, you’d want to edit the material a bit to include references to finance salaries and specific resources that finance executives can use to research their salaries (for example, industry trade associations or publications). However, it is not necessary to target your content in order to publish your first ebook. “Done is more important than perfect” when it comes to your first information product. It is important to start thinking about how you will market your book. You don’t want to wait until you have the product before you start thinking about how you will sell it. So part of identifying your audience is also figuring out who will purchase your ebook. The most likely candidates for buyers are your current customers, or prospective customers who already know about you. If you don’t already have an email list of your current résumé clients, now is a good time to start putting one together. You will want to begin building an “opt-‐in” mailing list (meaning your clients have given you explicit permission to market to them via email), but in the meantime, you can start where you are: create a Microsoft Word or Excel file with basic client information — name and email address, at a minimum. You can also give away a tip sheet to build your mailing list (excerpt tips from the main report). If you use AWeber, it will even create — and host — a signup form for you.


Step Three: Name Your Product If you’re using Pass-‐Along Materials, I always recommend that you rename your ebook something different than what I named the Pass-‐Along Materials. Mainly, because my titles are intentionally unimaginative. If I make them boring, it’s easier for you to come up with a great title. Plus, your title can help you market your ebook. Consider the benefits to your target audience. Anything that can help them find a job easier, faster, or within a system, will likely be well received. Here are some more naming tips:

• [#] Ways to _____________ • Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About _______, But Were Afraid to Ask • How to __________ • The Definitive Guide to _______________ • The ________ Handbook • Secrets of _____________________ • _____________ Made Easy • A Guide to _________________ • ______________ Toolkit • The [#] Step Plan to ______________________ • The __________________ Manual • Quick and Easy ____________________ • [#] Most Common Questions About ________________ • Quick Tips for _________________ • [TOPIC]: The Complete Guide

There is also a free resource online that you can use to help brainstorm product names: http://easyonlinewizards.com/dashboard/ Click on the “Free Wizards” tab. Scroll down to the “Free Profitable Title & Smokin’ Hot Domain Name Wizard” and click the blue “Access Here” button. Answer five simple questions and you’ll get dozens of great product name ideas. Here are the five questions:

• Your Central Topic: (what is the subject of the ebook) • Your Main Keyword Phrase (ACTION): What will the ebook help the reader do? • Your Main Result or Benefit You Offer: What is the benefit of that action? • Your Target Audience: Who is your ideal buyer of this ebook (refer back to section 2) • Your Target Audience: This is the same as question 4, but in singular form (“finance

executive,” if the answer to question 4 was “finance executives”) Here is what the “name wizard” looks like:


For example, for this salary negotiation guide, I will enter these variables:

• Your Central Topic: Salary Negotiation • Your Main Keyword Phrase (ACTION): Negotiate Your Way to a Raise • Your Main Result or Benefit You Offer: Earn What You Deserve • Your Target Audience: Jobseekers • Your Target Audience: Jobseeker

Click the “Submit” button and it will generate ideas for you. Here were the results generated: Profitable Product/Service Title “Quick Picks”

The Expert’s Guide to Negotiate Your Way to a Raise The Expert’s Guide to Negotiate Your Way to a Raise for Jobseekers The Expert’s Guide to Salary Negotiation The Expert’s Guide to Salary Negotiation for Jobseekers The Jobseeker’s Guide to Negotiate Your Way to a Raise The Jobseeker’s Guide to Salary Negotiation The Jobseeker’s Guide to Negotiate Your Way to a Raise The Jobseeker’s Guide to Salary Negotiation


Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Secrets Salary Negotiation Secrets Quick & Easy Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Secrets Quick & Easy Salary Negotiation Secrets Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Secrets for Jobseekers Salary Negotiation Secrets for Jobseekers Quick & Easy Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Secrets for Jobseekers Quick & Easy Salary Negotiation Secrets for Jobseekers Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Secrets Every Jobseeker Needs To Know Salary Negotiation Secrets Every Jobseeker Needs To Know Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Guide Salary Negotiation Guide The Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Guide for Jobseekers The Salary Negotiation Guide for Jobseekers The Quick & Easy Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Guide for Jobseekers The Quick & Easy Salary Negotiation Guide for Jobseekers The Jobseeker’s Guide To Negotiate Your Way to a Raise The Jobseeker’s Guide To Salary Negotiation Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Guide Every Jobseeker Needs To Know Salary Negotiation Guide Every Jobseeker Needs To Know Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Survival Guide Salary Negotiation Survival Guide The Jobseeker’s Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Survival Guide The Jobseeker’s Salary Negotiation Survival Guide Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Survival Guide for Jobseekers Salary Negotiation Survival Guide for Jobseekers The Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Survival Guide Every Jobseeker Needs The Salary Negotiation Survival Guide Every Jobseeker Needs Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Insiders Guide Salary Negotiation Insiders Guide The Insiders Guide to Negotiate Your Way to a Raise The Insiders Guide to Salary Negotiation The Insiders Guide to Quick & Easy Negotiate Your Way to a Raise The Insiders Guide to Quick & Easy Salary Negotiation The Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Insiders Guide for Jobseekers The Salary Negotiation Insiders Guide for Jobseekers Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Insiders Guide Every Jobseeker Needs Salary Negotiation Insiders Guide Every Jobseeker Needs Insiders Guide to Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Every Jobseeker Needs The Insiders Guide to Salary Negotiation Every Jobseeker Needs Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Explained Salary Negotiation Explained Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Explained for Jobseekers Salary Negotiation Explained for Jobseekers


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To Know Salary Negotiation Tips, Tricks & Tools Every Jobseeker Needs To Know Quick & Easy Salary Negotiation Tips, Tricks & Tools Every Jobseeker Needs To Know

Domain Name Ideas: The tool also identifies possible domain names for your product marketing: JobseekersSalaryNegotiation.com JobseekersNegotiateYourWaytoaRaise.com JobseekersandSalaryNegotiation.com JobseekersandNegotiateYourWaytoaRaise.com JobseekerSalaryNegotiation.com JobseekerNegotiateYourWaytoaRaise.com


JobseekerandSalaryNegotiation.com JobseekerandNegotiateYourWaytoaRaise.com NegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseExpertGuide.com JobseekersNegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseGuide.com JobseekerNegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseGuide.com NegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseSecrets.com JobseekersNegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseSecrets.com JobseekerNegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseSecrets.com NegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseGuide.com TheNegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseGuide.com NegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseSurvivalGuide.com TheNegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseSurvivalGuide.com NegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseInsidersGuide.com TheNegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseInsidersGuide.com InsidersGuidetoNegotiateYourWaytoaRaise.com TheInsidersGuidetoNegotiateYourWaytoaRaise.com NegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseExplained.com NegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseBible.com TheNegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseBible.com NegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseDomination.com NegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseDecoded.com TheNegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseSystem.com NegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseTipsandTricks.com SalaryNegotiationExpertGuide.com JobseekersSalaryNegotiationGuide.com JobseekerSalaryNegotiationGuide.com SalaryNegotiationSecrets.com JobseekersSalaryNegotiationSecrets.com JobseekerSalaryNegotiationSecrets.com SalaryNegotiationSecretsforJobseekers.com SalaryNegotiationSecretsforJobseeker.com SalaryNegotiationGuide.com TheSalaryNegotiationGuide.com SalaryNegotiationSurvivalGuide.com TheSalaryNegotiationSurvivalGuide.com SalaryNegotiationInsidersGuide.com TheSalaryNegotiationInsidersGuide.com InsidersGuidetoSalaryNegotiation.com TheInsidersGuidetoSalaryNegotiation.com SalaryNegotiationExplained.com SalaryNegotiationBible.com TheSalaryNegotiationBible.com SalaryNegotiationDomination.com SalaryNegotiationDecoded.com


TheSalaryNegotiationSystem.com SalaryNegotiationTipsandTricks.com QuickAndEasySalaryNegotiationSecrets.com QuickAndEasyNegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseSecrets.com QuickAndEasySalaryNegotiationSystem.com QuickAndEasyNegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseSystem.com QuickAndEasySalaryNegotiationGuide.com QuickAndEasyNegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseGuide.com QuickAndEasySalaryNegotiationTips.com QuickAndEasyNegotiateYourWaytoaRaiseTips.com More Information Product Titles -‐-‐-‐ Expert Guide -‐-‐-‐

The Expert’s Guide to Negotiate Your Way to a Raise How Any Jobseeker Can Succeed Today How Every Jobseeker Can Succeed Today Negotiate Your Way to a Raise: A Candid Conversation About Salary Negotiation Negotiate Your Way to a Raise: A Candid Conversation Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Exposed

-‐-‐-‐ DECODED -‐-‐-‐

Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Decoded! Decoded: Salary Negotiation for Jobseekers Decoded: Salary Negotiation Salary Negotiation Decoded

-‐-‐-‐ SYSTEM -‐-‐-‐

The Jobseeker’s System The Proven Jobseeker’s System The Proven Jobseeker’s Success System The Jobseeker’s System The Proven Jobseeker’s System The Proven Jobseekers Negotiate Your Way to a Raise System The Proven Jobseeker’s Success System The Proven Jobseeker’s Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Success System The Negotiate Your Way to a Raise System The Negotiate Your Way to a Raise System For Jobseekers The Proven Negotiate Your Way to a Raise System The Proven Negotiate Your Way to a Raise System For Jobseekers The Proven Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Success System The Proven Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Success System For Jobseekers


-‐-‐-‐ QUESTIONS -‐-‐-‐ Your Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Questions Answered Top X Questions Every Jobseeker Has Top X Questions Every Jobseeker Needs To Know Top X Questions Every Jobseeker Needs To Ask Top X Questions Every Jobseeker Needs To Ask About Salary Negotiation Top X Questions Every Jobseeker Always Asks Top X Questions Every Jobseeker Always Asks About Salary Negotiation

-‐-‐-‐ MAKE MONEY/SAVE MONEY -‐-‐-‐

How to Make a Fortune With Salary Negotiation How to Save A Bundle on Salary Negotiation

-‐-‐-‐ LAWS & RULES -‐-‐-‐

The X Laws / Rules of Salary Negotiation -‐-‐-‐ TIPS, TRICKS & TOOLS -‐-‐-‐

The TOP X Tips, Tricks & Tools Every Jobseeker Needs to Know The TOP X Salary Negotiation Tips, Tricks & Tools Every Jobseeker Needs to Know The TOP X Salary Negotiation Tips, Tricks & Tools Everyone Needs to Know

-‐-‐-‐ SECRETS -‐-‐-‐

X Secrets of Salary Negotiation X Secrets of Salary Negotiation Every Jobseeker Should Know X Secrets Every Jobseeker Needs to Know About Salary Negotiation Secrets Every Jobseeker Must Know About Salary Negotiation

-‐-‐-‐ *INSIDER* SECRETS -‐-‐-‐

Secrets They Don’t Want You to Know About Salary Negotiation Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Secrets They Don’t Want You to Know About Salary Negotiation Insider Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Secrets Insider Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Secrets For Jobseekers Insider Salary Negotiation Secrets Insider Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Secrets to Salary Negotiation

-‐-‐-‐ LIST -‐-‐-‐

X Things Every Jobseeker Should Know X Things Every Jobseeker Should Know About Negotiate Your Way to a Raise

-‐-‐-‐ SINS -‐-‐-‐

Salary Negotiation Sins (and How To Avoid Them) Salary Negotiation Sins To Avoid Salary Negotiation Sins and How To Correct Them


Salary Negotiation Sins Every Jobseeker Needs To Avoid Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Sins (and How To Avoid Them) Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Sins To Avoid Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Sins and How To Correct Them Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Sins Every Jobseeker Needs To Avoid

-‐-‐-‐ MISTAKES -‐-‐-‐

The Top X Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Mistakes Jobseekers Make — and How to Avoid Them

Top X Mistakes Jobseekers Make Top X Salary Negotiation Mistakes Jobseekers Make Negotiate Your Way to a Raise: Top X Mistakes Jobseekers Make Top X Mistakes Jobseekers Make... and How to Avoid Them! Top X Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Mistakes To Avoid Top X Negotiate Your Way to a Raise Mistakes Every Jobseeker Must Avoid

-‐-‐-‐ WHY FAIL -‐-‐-‐

The Top X Reasons Why Jobseekers Fail... And What To Do About It The Top X Reasons Why Jobseekers Fail To Earn What You Deserve... And What To Do

About It The Top X Reasons Why Jobseekers Fail To Negotiate Your Way to a Raise... And What

To Do About It I chose “Earn What You Deserve: Negotiate Your Way to a Raise or Higher Salary” for my ebook title. Once you have your name, you’re ready for the next step.


Step Four: Make a Cover (Or Have One Made) A well-‐designed cover is critical when you’re selling products online. Together with your sales copy, your cover is the most important factor buyers will consider when deciding to buy your ebook. You can get a professional-‐looking cover designed for as little as $5 on Fiverr.com. I personally use and recommend Vikiana: http://www.fiverr.com/vikiana

Don’t be thrown off by the poor grammar on Vikiana’s Fiverr page. She does excellent work with a quick turnaround — usually three days. I recommend ordering both the flat cover and the 3D cover. Each one is $5, so for a total of $10, you have the artwork for both the cover itself AND the artwork to promote it. For an additional $5, Vikiana can provide you with a high quality stock photo to incorporate in your cover. However, I prefer to select my own photo or graphic, and this also ensures you have the proper rights to use the graphic — which is especially important when you are selling your ebook. Here is what I use for graphics and photos: Fotolia


Fotolia offers thousands of high quality, unique images and graphics. You can purchase credits and then each picture or graphic offers a variety of usage rights for a certain amount of credits. (Each credit is around $1.30 and credits are valid for one year from the date of purchase.) Make sure when you purchase a graphic that you get at least the “M Standard” license. Not only will this ensure that you have a large enough image size to create quality artwork, but you will have the appropriate rights to use the photo or graphic in — or on the cover of — your ebook.

For example, the graphic I chose for the salary negotiation ebook offers a “Standard M” license for five credits — or about $6. This provides a 1862 x 1020 pixel graphic — that’s basically a 3-‐inch by 6-‐inch photo.

To use Fotolia, first set up your account and purchase some credits. You can either find your graphic first, using Fotolia’s search function, and then buy only the credits you need, or you can purchase a credit bundle (which includes a couple of free credits with your purchase). For example, you can purchase a 27-‐credit bundle for $35 (25 paid credits, plus 2 free credits). You may wish to purchase a credit bundle rather than just the exact number of credits you need for the cover image because you can purchase additional images to add illustrations and graphics to your ebook.


You can use Fotolia’s extensive search function to find graphics. Choose a graphic or illustration that hasn’t been widely used. You can see how many times a graphic has been downloaded. Look in the bottom right-‐hand corner of the graphic. Remember that images that are downloaded more often are often more expensive.


You can provide the photo or illustration, and the book title, to Vikiana, and she will create your artwork. Here is the flat cover she created for the “Earn What You Deserve” ebook.

The flat image is used to create the ebook. I also purchased the 3D image for an additional $5. This can be used to market the book online.


Step Five: Get It Ready to Sell Format the document. Copy-‐and-‐paste the flat image onto the first page of the Word document. Change the font from Times New Roman to whatever font you want to use. Create a title page for the document. You can use this format:

Published by [Your Company Name] [Address, City, State, Zip]

[phone] [email] [website]

Initial Date of Publication: [Date]

All rights reserved. No part of this ebook may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval

system, without permission in writing from the Publisher.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information. It is sold with the understanding that the author/publisher is not engaged

in rendering legal service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

[include an affiliate disclosure statement if you are including affiliate links.]

[Ebook title]

[Your name] 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed in the United States of America Add footers (you can use the ebook title and page number). Finally, save it as a PDF. If you’re using a Mac, that’s as simple as doing a “Save As” and choosing “PDF” as the output format. If you’re using a PC, you may have to use a free PDF writer (like the free version of CutePDF: http://www.cutepdf.com/)


Step Six: Set Up A Payment System When selling information products online, you need a PayPal account or a secure shopping cart service (like 1ShoppingCart). The goal is to monetize your content, and in order to do that, you need a way to accept payments online. If you already have a shopping cart for your résumé writing business website — especially one that provides digital download delivery — that’s great. Use that. Otherwise, start simply and set up a business PayPal account. A free PayPal Payments Standard account is a great choice. Go to http://www.paypal.com and sign up.


Step Seven: Get Your Selling System Ready You could just set up a PayPal link on your website, but then you’d have to manually send an email when someone buys the ebook. If you don’t have a shopping cart for your website that offers digital delivery, you’ll need a digital delivery system. But the goal is to automate things as much as possible, and to give buyers instant delivery. So, if you’ve set up a PayPal account, use a digital ecommerce solution. The two most popular are e-‐junkie and Payloadz. The easiest, fastest, and cheapest way to sell your information products online that I’ve found is Payloadz Express. Literally, you will have your first product online for sale in five minutes or less. And you won’t have to pay anything until you sell your first ebook. Go to the Payloadz site and scroll down to the “Payloadz Express” box. Click the “Start Now” button. Put in a few key pieces of information, upload the file, and voila, it’s ready for sale.

The file is stored on the Payloadz server and is automatically sent to the customer via email once Payloadz confirms payment has been sent to your PayPal account.


The download link is provided to the customer both on a “success” page after completing the PayPal transaction AND it’s also sent in an email to the email address the customer used when ordering from you. The download link is active only for a specific period of time, although you — as the seller — can easily send a new link if the buyer doesn’t retrieve the file in a timely manner. Payloadz also has some fraud detection methods built in — they limit the number of clicks the file can have and monitors the IP addresses being used to download the file, so it helps curb unauthorized file sharing — although, of course, as with ANY digital product, once the buyer has the file, he or she can do lots of things — including unauthorized things — with it. And you’re not limited to selling .doc or PDF files on Payloadz or Payloadz Express — you can sell MP3s, WMVs, .MOV files, JPGs, and more. The Express service is FREE, but you’re limited to $50 in product sales a month, and 1 GB of file storage. It’s also not as robust as the full Payloadz service, but you will be able to upgrade to a FULL Payloadz account — which the system will notify you to do when your total sales for a 30-‐day period exceed $50, or your file storage needs exceed 1 GB. You will need a PayPal account to use Payloadz Express — AND, although the Payloadz Express service is free, you WILL still have the PayPal transaction fees for your sales. These are typically 30 cents plus 2.9% of the sales price. So, for a $10 information product, you’ll probably have 59 cents deducted by PayPal for fees. The Payloadz Express service creates a unique URL for your product that you can use in a variety of places — on your website, in your blog, in emails, and on social media. Just keep in mind that the URL link is directly to a PayPal payment page, so you’ll need to give your reasons for purchase with whatever content you’re using to promote the product, because this isn’t a link to a sales page. The email address you use with Payloadz Express should ideally be your PayPal email, because you will get notifications of sales to that email. You can access Payloadz Express using this link: http://Bit.ly/sellyourfirstproduct Now, if you know you will be selling more than $50 in digital products in the first 30 days — or, if you want to use one of the alternate payment systems that the full version of Payloadz supports, like Google Checkout, 2Checkout, or Amazon Payments — you can go ahead and sign up for a full Payloadz account — it’s $14.95 a month and there are fees for each transaction you process. You can also consider a service like ClickBank to sell your information products. ClickBank is also a way to increase your sales once you have a proven “winner” ebook. Because of the start-‐up fees for selling on ClickBank ($49.95 per product), it’s not the cheapest way to get started.


To sell your product on ClickBank, you first need to set up a ClickBank account.

On the home page, click on the “Learn More” button under the Vendors heading. One of the biggest advantages of selling on ClickBank is access to more than 100,000 active affiliates who are interested in promoting your ebook for you. ClickBank handles the process of tracking and making payments for you when affiliates sell your ebook.


Step Eight: Create Your Marketing Plan The most important part of information product creation is promotion. Specifically, how you will get the word out about your new product. It’s not simply a case of “build it and they will come.” There are many different ways to promote your ebook. Content marketing is a great promotional strategy — writing articles and blog posts that direct to your sales page (more on that in Step Nine). You should also definitely feature your ebook on your website. But the most effective way to sell your ebook is to give it away. Not to everyone — instead, select a couple of key targets and ask them if you can provide them with a copy of your ebook for them to review. “Social proof” is incredibly effective when selling ebooks — reviews from other readers are the most persuasive form of sales copy you can provide.

If it works for Amazon, it can work for you! (Note: These reviews are for Dawn Rasmussen’s book, “Forget Job Security: Build Your Marketability! Finding Job Success in the New Era of Career Management.”) If your ebook is based on Pass-‐Along Materials content but you have added at least 50% of new material — or, if you wrote your ebook from scratch — you can sell it on Amazon. Affiliate marketing is also effective. Both Payloadz and ClickBank offer affiliate programs where other people (including other résumé writers) can receive a payment if they recommend your product to someone who buys it.


Here are some other proven promotion techniques:

1. Create a Facebook Page for your ebook — and make sure it is highly active, interactive and responsive. Acknowledge people who comment on your Page, “Like” responses, ask questions, run polls, and/or have a contest. You can also provide a sample chapter for download from your Facebook page. You can also use Promoted Posts, Sponsored Stories, and Facebook ads to drive traffic to your product sales page.

2. Create a YouTube video about your ebook, demonstrating one thing. (Make sure you use the correct tags and post it to the best category. Also make sure your video concludes with a call to action and there is a link to buy your ebook on your YouTube video page.)

3. Find out where your target audience hangs out, and become a part of that community.

Contribute valuable information — don’t just sell! Create a special offer for any specialty forums you belong to — if your ebook would suit that audience, of course. Invite those who receive your Special “Sneak Preview” offer to write a recommendation or review.

4. Write a news release. Remember, this isn’t an advertisement for your product: Rather, a

news release offers readers an interesting story. Be sure to research and target the media outlets you send your news release to. [And check out the “Feed the Media” Special Report and Teleseminar Recording/Transcript for more on using media relations to get visibility for your products and services.]

5. Build up your “social proof.” Publish recommendations or reviews you receive

prominently on your website and sales page. Check out these testimonials for Teena Rose’s ebook on ClickBank, “Designing a Cover Letter to ‘Wow’ Hiring Personnel.”


Also check out Teena’s sales page for her ebook — her “Preview” option is a great way to allow people to “sample” your ebook while also building your mailing list: http://www.coverlettercentral.com/cover-‐letter-‐book.html

6. Create a SlideShare presentation about your topic and make sure the last slide includes your contact information so you can direct people to your website or ebook’s sales page for more information.


7. Send copies of your information product to key industry contacts. (Ask if they would care to review it first — and include the download link so they don’t have to bother replying.)

8. Volunteer for radio, podcast, and webinar guest spots on your topic, if it’s one that

would be hot for your host’s audience — and don’t be afraid to ask for a plug for your book. Or host your own teleseminar, webinar, or podcast on the topic.

9. Remember to thank all those who helped you with feedback, suggestions, tips and

more. Send key people who went above and beyond a free copy of your book — or even an Amazon gift card.

10. Send emails to your customers. People who have purchased from you before are likely

to purchase again. Remember to ask for what you want — a review, a recommendation or people to go visit your sales page.

If you’re serious about making money from your ebook, I recommend checking out this resource, from the same guy who created the “wizard” tool mentioned in Step Three: Jim Edwards’ “Ebook Secrets Exposed

Marketing your ebook is the most critical part of the process.


Step Nine: Create Your Sales Tools One of the best selling tools for your ebook is an online sales letter. You should have a web page that is devoted entirely to your ebook. Check out the sales page that Michelle Dumas has put together for her $12.97 ebook, “101 Before-‐and-‐After Résumé Examples.” http://www.before-‐and-‐after-‐resumes.com/

It’s not enough to put up a simple paragraph and picture of your ebook and expect it to sell. Consider also offering a free sample chapter (for a long ebook) or a section (for a short ebook). Post testimonials (social proof) from folks who have read the ebook. You can use a site like OnePager to create a simple, one-‐page website to sell your ebook. They offer both free and paid options, and have comprehensive tutorials to help you get started.


You can also use this template for a sales cover letter to create a one-‐page (it can be a LONG one page!) sales letter on your website.

Template For Sales Cover Letter [reprinted from Career Membership Sites Made Easy]

Pre-‐Head ______________________________________________________________________ (Short, introductory statement to engage the reader, introduce a key idea, and set the stage for the sales message.) Primaryhead ___________________________________________________________________ (Main headline — your biggest benefit) Post-‐Head _____________________________________________________________________ (Brief connecting statement — bridging headline and opening paragraph.) [MAIN BODY] Introduction of Problem __________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

(What is the main challenge your customers have?)


Unique Sales Proposition _________________________________________________________ (Why this program is different) Why you? _____________________________________________________________________ (How did you come to know this information?) Social Proof ____________________________________________________________________ (What’s your evidence your program works? Testimonial, visual evidence, pose a challenge) What’s Included in the Ebook (bullet points) • ____________________________________________________________________________

• ____________________________________________________________________________

• ____________________________________________________________________________

• ____________________________________________________________________________

• ____________________________________________________________________________

• ____________________________________________________________________________

• ____________________________________________________________________________

(Benefits, not features; particulars, not generalities; majors, not minors)

Call to Action __________________________________________________________________ (motivate them to take the next step; create urgency) Your Guarantee_________________________________________________________________ (Reduce the risk — free trial? Money-‐back guarantee?) __ Order Link (code from ClickBank, PayPal, etc.) __ Last-‐minute instructions (how the order will be fulfilled) __ Legalities Postscript _____________________________________________________________________ (Recap / Remind / Reinforce) For more examples of one-‐page sales letters, check out the ClickBank Marketplace. (Click on “Marketplace” in the top right-‐hand corner and search the products.)


Step Ten: Collect the Cash In addition to collecting the cash, you also need to service your customers. Check your email regularly to handle the small issues that may arise — a customer whose order was processed, but they didn’t receive their digital download, for example. And look for opportunities — customers will give you ideas for additional products and services they need. Your first ebook may not be a money-‐maker. But it may help you build your mailing list. If you find it’s not selling the way you want it to, use it to create an opt-‐in mailing list using an email list program like AWeber or Constant Contact. Then, when you publish your second ebook, you’ll have a list of interested prospects to buy it.

Questions? Need help with any of the 10 steps? Email [email protected].

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