How about some short tips and a homework assignment?
As a newspaper editor for many years, it became easier and easier to write articles. The more I would get into an article, the more interested I would get. It’s the same with writing an eBook. It’s really just like anything else, It just gets easier every time you do it.
Let’s break it down. You can be very easily discouraged at the bottom of a big hill, but after a hundred steps upwards, you can look back with a certain amount of pride and your hill just got smaller. I have had lots of articles submitted to me by readers who were not real good with grammar and style, but they had really good ideas on certain subjects. This may be you. Don’t worry about the grammar and style to start with. You can always get someone to edit your material. Later on, I’ll even show you how to get your article written by a professional from just your specific notes.
Here’s a few steps I find helpful
1. Start with what you are interested in. If you are a rank beginner, “How To” eBooks are a great place for many people. There are so many things I don’t know how to do that I always like to read a little about a subject before I get started on something. As I write this article, Thanksgiving is coming up. I will search the internet and find an article on deep frying a turkey to make sure I’m up to speed. It’s a Texas thing for a man to do and we all gather around and cuss and discuss while we go about frying the turkey. Somehow, I always seem to get more tips on how to do this by finding something on the internet. “One of these days” if someone does not beat me to it, I’ll write a short $10 ebook complete with photos, on how to fry a turkey. That’s a good example of something “you” might know about already. Can you beat me to it? Probably! So, start with writing “How To” do something you know about. I can’t define for you what that is, but you sure can.
2. Do your research and put in lots of helpful information. Add links to informational sites. You will find over and over in the eBook business that providing excellent value is the best thing you can do. Give lots of sources for your information. Don’t hold back on where to look for more information. This will not only establish your own credibility, it will enhance your standing as the go-to guy or gal in your field. You will be known as an authority in your field. Bottom line: Don’t hold back the good stuff.
3. Who are you writing your eBook for? Who is your audience and readership. Kids, Women. Men, Boys, Girls, Adults. Tradesmen, Professional women or men? Get to know your audience and what sorts of information they might be looking for. As a writer of eBooks, when I first got started, I wanted specific information. I already knew how to write in either a professional voice or a folksy voice. What I specifically wanted to know was how to produce the information, publish the information, and sell the information.
Good sources to find a niche in your market are Google Alerts, Yahoo Answers, Wikipedia, Amazon, Ezine Articles.com, Article City, and one of my favorites, YouTube. You can make a complete market just out of Youtube.
4. Have a keen eye for what works for others. Newspaper editors and writers in general have a unique ability to restate things in different ways. Give me an article and I can rewrite it to fit my own style and make it mine. It’s relatively easy to do. No, what I’m talking about is not stealing an article from someone. I don’t write like other writers. You don’t either. Make a popular niche your own by immersing yourself in that niche and rewriting an “idea” in your own voice and your own understanding.
5. Choose your titles like an advertising pro. Watch what is interesting to you and adapt it to your own article. Read Ads in newspapers and magazines. Read the ‘pitch pages’ for internet products. Use interesting headlines and article titles. If you know the best-By-God way to catch a catfish, then say it like you mean it. If you have a recipe for lemon pudding that will make your mouth water and pucker, describe it in you headline. If you are a CPA and are writing an ebook on how to I can save money on my taxes or business, tell us all how to do that without using technical terms.. If you are a video gamer, give us a great tip, a way to win at that frustrating video game, poker game, or make something intriguing so we want to read or buy your eBook. Don’t hold back!
6. As you gain experience, don’t limit your self. Don’t just stay with what you are familiar with. In order to make the big bucks in the Ebook business, you can do a little research and write on any subject. We’ll get into internet research a little later. Write your eBook on what is selling, not what someone already knows. The object is to sell. If you are a football coach, write an eBook on the 10 best drills for linemen. If your sport is golf, and there are millions and millions of golfers by the way, give me 5 tips to improve my putting. Write what sells.
My final tip and YOUR assignment for the day from EbookNewsroom.com is for you is to get familiar with the New Google Keyword tools. Enter a keyword phrase, pick one you might be interested in, and see what comes up. BTW, a keyword may be one word, two words, or more. An example of a keyword might be ‘golf putting tips’. If there is a market with lots of demand and medium competition, that might be a good niche for your eBook. Start browsing, becoming familiar with the Google Keyword search tool now and we will use it a lot more later on. Go to Google.com and find the new keyword tool. You will have to click on it and enter a phrase to gain access. Have fun with it. You’ll need this skill in your eBook business. You will know you are on the correct Google Keyword site when you have to fill out a capcha form. The old site does not have the form.
Also, click on the ads to the right. Yes, these are some of the tools of the trade and I am an affiliate of this company (and others), but just as important as becoming familiar with some great tools, read the ad pages or ‘pitch’ pages that go along with these products. They are some of the best and you need to start immersing yourself in what is available and being able to write what sells and SELL what you write. Isn’t that what you want to do?
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