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A No Nonsense Approach to Writing your First Information Product
By Craig RitsemaYou’ve read about why you should have your own information products and you want to get started. The problem is knowing where to start. It can be a daunting process to write and put together your first info product however, if you follow some easy steps you can save a lot of time and effort.
The following tips should help you on your way to your first information product:
Do Your Research: You should find out whether there is a need for your product before you spend a lot of time putting it together. You can start by visiting online forums related to your target market. Start by looking at other websites that offer similar products or services to yours.
Try asking your customers what they need. If you have newsletter subscribers send an email out asking what they would like to see more of. Promise them a free giveaway in exchange for their feedback. A poll set up on your website is another good idea. No matter how you do it, do your research before you start your writing.
Write an Outline: The easiest way to begin work is to write an outline of what your product will include. Go through the outline listing ideas for each section until you’re happy with the results. Then go back through each section and research that specific topic.
You can get help with the research part by hiring a VA (virtual assistant) to help you. An outline breaks the writing down into manageable chunks and once you have the outline it’s easier to write each section. You can also record your thoughts or have someone interview you, then have the interview transcribed this should give you a big portion of your product – that doesn’t mean it;s completely ready, which leads us to the next part.
Putting it all Together: Once your research is done then you have to sit down and do the writing. If your research is already pre-written then it won’t be too difficult to go through (following your structure) the information and put the first draft of the product together. Once you have that first rough draft go back through the book again and begin editing it, change things around, omit things here and there, check your spelling and so on until you have a finished draft.
Leave it for at least 24 hours then go through it again and repeat the editing process. And then keep doing this until you feel comfortable and happy with what you have produced. The final step is to hand it over to a trusted but critical relative or friend who can look it over and give you honest feedback
If you really don’t feel like writing your own product, you can consider outsourcing the whole job. You can find experienced writers at elance.com or guru.com. You can also search online for qualified or recommended ghost-writers. With a project of this size you may want to have the person write a trial chapter before committing to the complete product. No matter how you decide to go about it, finishing your first information product should be a very rewarding experience.
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