“3 Idea Hangouts For Finding Red-Hot Ebook Topics”

I’ve always been impressed with those who seem to always be ahead of the pack when it comes to new ideas. When I first started publishing information products online, I thought that certain people had a crystal ball they gazed into. Or some top-secret contact who was providing them with inside information. Over time, I realized that it wasn’t magic that allowed these people to come up with red-hot ideas on demand. It was simply that they knew where to look.

I soon discovered many places where ideas seemed to always be found. I call these places “idea hangouts”. Here are three of my favorites where you can find ideas for your next ebook anytime you want. Almost like a genie granting you three wishes...

1. GOOGLE.COM. Google is the ultimate “idea hangout”. There are so many ways to mine the gold in Google’s amazing search database that it would take another article to graze the surface of this enormous iceberg.
What I want to mention are just two quick ways to find ideas by searching Google.

- Identify Listings. Search for a broad topic related to your area of interest or expertise. (I.E. “Tennis”, “Weight loss”, “Homeschooling”.) Look at all of the web sites listed in the index of returned results. You’ll likely find some ideas for information products right there in the first couple of pages.

- Identify Advertisers. You’ll probably notice small ads either at the top of the page or to the right of the page (or both!). These advertisers represent your competition. They also represent your thermometer for taking the temperature of your market and gauging interest in specific topics. Chances are, what they’re selling you should be selling. In both of these examples, you can click through to the web pages of the sites listed and study their respective sales pages. Look specifically at the “bullet points”. Each of these represents a potential idea for your next ebook.

2. AMAZON.COM. From the world’s largest search engine we move to the world’s largest bookstore. At Amazon.com you’ll really get your creative juices fired up. Again, you’ll want to search the listings by entering a keyword or keyphrase into the search box on the main page at Amazon.com. You’ll get a returned listing of numerous books, courses and other periodicals. Search these listed items for ideas for your own ebook
. --- Example --- If you were to search for “Homeschooling”, you’d find a variety of ideas just waiting in the listing of books available, including: homeschooling for special needs children, getting starting in homeschooling, choosing curriculum, homeschooling field trips, homeschooling support groups, homeschooling for various ages (I.E. Pre-K, Elementary, Junior High, High School, etc.), homeschooling for Christians, etc.) Any of these listings (and the dozens of others listed) would be great ideas for the topic of your next ebook.

--- Example --- Pay particular attention to the first page of the listing. Amazon ranks their listings based on popularity of actual sales volume. In other words, #1 is a better seller than #50. This is a ready-made indicator of demand!

3. MAGAZINES.COM. After visiting the world’s largest search engine and the world’s largest bookstore, it’s time to take a quick stop at the world’s largest periodical store, Magazines.com. You’ll find every imaginable magazine listed at this site. The interesting part (and useful to you as a research tool) is this: you’ll also find the COVER of usually a recent copy of each magazine. That is, you can search for “Parenting” and the engine will return a listing of magazines related to that topic. You can then click on the image of the magazine cover and you’ll be shown a larger copy of that cover where you can read the contents.

(I.E. “How To Raise A Stubborn Child”, “27 Ways Discipline In Public” and “The Real Key To Your Child Getting Better Grades”.) Each of these “cover stories” represents an idea for your next ebook. The best part about it is this: the publishers of these magazines have done the research for you! They’ve measured the level of interest for these ideas and found it high enough to warrant not only writing content about them, but referencing that content on the cover of the magazine! That’s your hint. People want this information.

So, there you have it, 3 “idea hangouts” where you can find ready-made, in-demand, red-hot topics for your next ebook. Happy hunting!

“The Real K.E.Y. To Becoming A Successful Ebook Writer”

There must be some reason why certain ebook writers are successful and others are not. In other words, why do some authors make high six-figure incomes (even seven-figures!) and others barely make enough to cover their hosting fees? There must be some reason for the difference in level of success, right? There is. In fact, there are three “reasons” why that I want to share with you now.

I’ve used the word “K.E.Y.” as an acronym to reveal these three elements of successful ebook publishing. 1. K = KEEP it concise. One of the biggest mistakes ebook writers make is starting their project with the idea in mind that their ebook must be a certain number of pages in length. That is, they assume the ebook should be 50 pages or 100 pages or even 200 pages in order to be desirable to consumers. Wrong. Ding. Thanks for playing. Much more important than QUANTITY is QUALITY.

Almost every potential customer in your target market is considerably more interested in learning something useful than they are reading a bunch of commentary that has little or no real value to them. The ability to concisely (yet comprehensively) share content that is practical is a must if you want to be successful in the information business. No fluff. No filler. No fat. Just the meat. That’s what consumers want. Especially today in our fast- paced, instant, I-want-it-now society. And chances are you are much more likely to write a 30 page manual and get it done than you are to slave over trying to measure up to a 200 page masterpiece.

Your first key to success is “keep it concise”. Share what you need to share in the least amount of pages as possible. It doesn’t have to be the great American novel. This isn’t Hemingway. 2. E = ENJOY yourself. I simply must mention that if you enjoy your “work” then you are exponentially more likely to complete your ebooks than those who reluctantly or grudgingly write. Seriously, don’t underestimate what I’m saying here. You’ll get much more done as a writer by having fun with your subject matter.

That’s the beauty of information publishing. YOU get to pick the topic. A topic of interest – of passion – to you as the author. Something you find enjoyable, even exhilarating. To be sure, you want to choose topics that are in demand and have a ready-made audience awaiting who are willing to purchase them. But, at the same time, you can look for those marketable topics that appeal to your interests and expertise. I don’t care

how “profitable” a subject may be, I’d never take it on as a project of mine unless I got some sense of satisfaction or enjoyment in writing about it. Instead, look for those things that you are already talking about anyway. And then write what you’ve been talking about. 3. Y = YIELD results.

Finally, I must exhort you to “yield results”. That is, you simply must stick to it and finish the job. I cannot tell you how many people that I’ve met online who struggle with the affliction “short-of-the-finish-line-it is”. They begin running the race with gusto. They pick their topic like it was a Nike outfit. They outline their ebook like they just heard the starting gun fire. They come up with ideas to include in their work like they were sprinting down the track. And when they round the first corner, they start slowing down. Before they know it, they’re up in the stands watching others cross the finish line. That’s why I am adamant about telling you the golden rule of ebook content:

Never start something you can’t finish in 30 days. With any new ebook you are planning on writing, choose the topic and outline it in such a way that you can complete the content within one calendar month. Anything that goes beyond that period of time is likely going to be discarded somewhere past the starting gate and before the finish line.

It’s important that you set for your goal a reasonable, reachable amount of pages for your ebook ... such as 30 pages. Then, divide that goal number of pages into your 30 days. In this example, it would mean writing just ONE page per day (very realistic!) for 30 days and your ebook will be completed. Victory! The finish line!

Certainly there are a wide variety of other “keys” to being successful as an ebook writer (choosing the right topics, learning to outline well, brainstorming ideas, marketing, etc.) but these three form a solid foundation for you to build upon as you continue to learn more about information publishing. K = KEEP it concise. E = ENJOY yourself. Y = YIELD results. See you on your victory lap!

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Create High Quality Articles on Virtually Any Subject In Just Minutes!"

Writing articles is still one of the best ways to promote your website, but it can take a long time and a be a lot of work. Face it, some people justaren't writers. It use to be difficult. It use to take HOURS AND HOURS to create top-quality niche articles.

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Download My Tweet Ebook

I love Twitter and spend quite a bit of time finding valuable content to pass on to my followers. It's a lot of fun and a great way to meet others in your industry.

Have you ever thought about making a book out of your Tweets? Yep, you heard me. A real live downloadable ebook. It's easy to do with Tweetbook http://www.tweetbook.in/index.php Simply sign in with your Twitter user name and password and it goes to work. This would be a great little add on for your webpage or blog to encourage others to sign up for your Tweets. The only thing I wish I could change would be to make the links clickable inside the book.

I compiled mine and it's available for your downloading pleasure here.
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Let me know what you think of it and if you plan on creating your own.

"Checklist: How to Create & Sell your Own eBooks"

Is the thought of selling your own product intriguing but also overwhelming at the same time? Here is a checklist to get you started.

1. Research your target market & come up with an idea for your product.

I could go into great detail on this step, but I’ll make it short and sweet. The following three criteria must be met. Choose a topic where…

• People are looking for information.
• They are willing to spend money on that information.
• You, personally, are at least moderately interested and knowledgeable about this topic.

Although the third point is optional, I recommend it if you are going to stay interested and motivated to promote your ebooks for months and years to come. You have the option of choosing something you love or something that is popular. Make work fun by choosing a market that you enjoy.

Here are some ideas for you…

• Weight Loss and Dieting
• Health (or fixing health problems)
• Fitness and Exercise (lifting things that are drooping and tightening things that are sagging)
• Looking good (reversing aging, removing hair, keeping hair, etc.)
• Relationships (finding then, keeping them, getting over them)
• Making Money (online or offline, small business, finding jobs, etc)
• Saving Money
• Parenting problems/concerns

2. Purchase a Domain name.

Important things to keep in mind when choosing a URL are:

• Make it memorable.
• Make it short.
• No numbers or dashes.
• Easy to spell.
• Descriptive of your product.
• It should end in a .com (not a .net, .org, or .biz – unless you have a darned good reason to do so)

Also, if this is going to be your main site, be sure to buy any similar domains to protect your branding.

You can buy your domain names anywhere, but I recommend: www.GoDaddy.com

3. Purchase Hosting.

I recommend www.MomWebs.com for many reasons, including:
• Excellent customer service.
• Reliable uptime.

4. Load autoresponder/set up squeeze page while developing product.

The best autoresponder, in my opinion, is this one.
This autoresponder will manage multiple ecourses and lists, including your customers and affiliates. It will grow with your business.

If you don’t have a squeeze page, you can start with one at http://www.mostlysaneplr.com/

By setting up your squeeze page first, you can start to develop a list of people interested in your topic. That will help you later when you launch – you'll have an instant boost for your new product.

5. Develop product.Don’t know how? Here are some options…

If you can write 7-15 pages on your topic, I recommend that you grab the free report on this page - http://www.smallreportsfortune.com/

OR

Take a shortcut by buying Resale Rights products. You can find some here:
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http://www.fulltimewahm.com/ (includes resale rights)
http://www.beginnercoach.com/ (also includes resale rights)
http://easyplr.com/resale.htm (great reports with rights)

OR

Start with PLR content. Here are some places to look…
http://easyplr.com/go.php?af=977615&u=www.easyplr.com
http://www.justplrcontent.com/
http://www.easyplr.com/bestplr.htm

OR

Record an interview with an expert, have it transcribed and sell it. It's really easy if you use http://www.audioacrobat.com/

OR

Hire a ghostwriter to create a custom product for you.

6. Order graphics or create them yourself.

You’ll need, at the bare minimum, an ecover for your product and at least one banner and button to promote it. A professional header or mini-site design can also convey a professional image.

7. Create sales page.

This is a highly important piece.
For best results, unless you have studied copywriting, I recommend that you hire a skilled writer to draft it for you.

You can find skilled writers at elance.com or www.Shelancers.com

8. Create thank you/download page.

Your download page should contain a few basic pieces:

• Who you are
• How to contact you
• Download instructions
• Download links (of course)
• What company name will show up on their paypal statement or credit card statement.
• Any bonuses they were promised and how to claim them.

9. Load the sales page, thank you page, & product to site.

If you’ve never done this before, you can either outsource the task or use a free program like www.smartftp.com

10. Decide on payment processor. (Figure out how you’re getting paid.)
Here are some popular options to choose from:

• Clickbank
• Paydotcom
• E-junkies
• 1ShoppingCart
• WAHMCart

If all of those options sound overwhelming right now, then a simple paypal button will work just fine for now.

11. Once the pages are loaded, notify your lists. (Tell your friends.)
Contact the following people about the product:

• Your leads lists.
• Your customer lists.
• Your JV partners

If you don’t have lists, don’t panic. Just move ahead to the next step. Although... I do recommend that you read the free report at http://www.listprofitsystem.com/ to learn more about list marketing.

12. Create affiliate tools and notify your affiliates. (Get your Sales Army on the March.)

If you have affiliates, TELL them about your new product and let them promote it for you. Why not have your team of affiliates promoting it for you?

Recommendation: Sign up for the free ecourse at www.SalesArmySecrets.com right away if your affiliate program needs serious help.

The very basic tools that you’ll need are…

1. Banners & buttons
2. Articles
3. Solo ads
4. Text ads

But, of course, there are many more tools that you’ll wish to offer. Just get started with these.

13. Continue promoting your new product. (Market the heck out of it.)
Don’t forget to promote the report like you would any of your other products.

 article marketing
 pay per click
 ezine ads
 forum marketing
 SEO
 web 2.0/social networking

And anything else that you’d normally do to sell your products.

You can certainly outsource many of these activities and/or train your affiliates to do them for you!

14. Start researching your next product. (Rinse and Repeat.)
Go back to #1 and do it all over again.

Does this sound like an insurmountable task? Don’t panic.

I recommend that you check out http://dakota6969.nocost.hop.clickbank.net/ for a step-by-step course that will show you how to easily and effectively outsource many of these tasks – and increase your income in the process.

P.S. For more oursourcing resources check out this ebook.

“Blog Profits 2010” Free Ebook

Hi Kids,

Now that you’re done opening your gifts, and finding out you got nothing you really wanted, let’s move on to getting drunk and enjoying the new year <LOL>. Funny how we get so excited and do so much work for just one day isn’t it? But we do it every year. So usually every year I’ll go out and buy myself something I really want, even if I don’t need it. Sort of like my own special Xmas gift. Hey, I’m worth it. I’ve been thinking about an Amazon Kindle but not sure if it’s worth almost 300.00. Will see.

Anyway, Lynn Terry has put together a free 10 page report for all you bloggers or wantabe bloggers.  It’s called “Blog Boost 2010”. In it she gives you a checklist of things to think about when it comes to growing and maintaining your own blog. Good stuff Maynard. Of course, Lynn always puts out quality material. You can download your own copy at the link below. If you like it feel free to pass it along to others. Just please download it to your own site first.
http://www.merlesworld.com/e-books/BlogBoost2010.pdf

"The Website Revenue Maximizer Kit"

"The Website Revenue Maximizer Kit"

This book offered up at Sitepoint will show you how to increase your page views, sell ad inventory, use affiliate networks for maximum profits, traffic analysis tools and much more. You can download a free chapter at the site.

http://www.sitepoint.com/kits/revenue1/

Free FeedBurner Report

How's the weekend going? I found this new report online and wanted to pass it on.
"Beginner’s Guide to Using and Building Traffic with FeedBurner" by Teli Adlam

It's a 23 page report loaded with tips on usingthe FeedBurner service. Go ahead and download it, and pass it on to your own website users, or subscribers if you like it. I'm sure you will. It's really good. Download it in PDF here:
http://www.merlesworld.com/e-books/feedburner-guide.pdf

Have a great holiday weekend!

Merle