I’ve sort of written about this topic before but for books only and from a slightly different point of view (sourcing).
When it comes to strategy there are four ways to obtain an information product or learning content (including books). You can:
Create it as an original piece
Put it together as a collection of smaller pieces
Steal it (legally of course)
Repurpose it
And of course you can combine techniques. Each of these has benefits and disadvantages.
Creating an original information product is a complex, task; the difficulty of which should not be underestimated. We discussed the relative “cost” of each format in the last blogticle so I’m not going to repeat myself. Except to state that the length of the finished product defines the level of complexity. Generally speaking, they compare as:
500-1000 word article vs a 1-1/2 hour webinar, seminar, or podcast
2500-5000 word white paper vs a 1/2 day webinar etc. or a 1-1/2 hr interview
10,000-25,000 word eBook vs a 1-2 day seminar
50,000-100,000 word Book vs a 2 day-1 week seminar
A much simpler method is to combine other pieces together. Two long white papers on a related subject can be combined into a short eBook. Or five to seven long articles or short white papers (always on a related subject) can be combined with customized introduction and summary chapters into an Executive level book. One issue to remember when estimating the cost of this technique is that articles often have a different tone to them, even when written close together. They may also have different views of the same information. This means that they need to be edited as a unit before being release otherwise they will not hang together as a unified whole.
It’s a little harder to conceive of a pre-recorded version of this. The fact that even a short recording is actually a version makes it hard to see. However, most “gurus” have a package of DVDs or CDs that they sell. Often these consist of a dozen or so DVDs or CDs with an introductory DVD and (if they are skilled information product creators) a summary DVD. Or at least a scene or two fulfilling that purpose. Most will simply combine the original pieces however, if there is a great variation in recording quality they may re-record the scripts. Exactly the same as with a written version.
There are three versions of “stealing it”. And I want to be clear that in no case am I suggesting violating copyright. I’m just exagerating.
The first version is to connect with an expert, develop a series of questions your audience would want answered and then ask the expert and record their answers. A classic interview in other words.
The second version is called PLR or Private Label Rights. Essentially you obtain (purchase) the right to resell the information product. Each information product will have different rights assigned. These can include the right to relabel the product with a different title and cover (and author’s name). It may also include the right to rewrite the product or incorporate it into another product. It may also limit your ability to sell or give away the product. And so on. The big issues with PLR information products are twofold. The first is the overall quality of the product. Sometimes these are not well done or they contain information which is incorrect. The second issue is the age of the product. This can cause the information to be out of date and inaccurate. It can also mean that the information product has made the rounds (meaning everyone’s got a copy already).
The third version of stealing is to reference someone else’s information product. You’ll notice a few days ago I recommended a YouTube video to you (Will’s Wisdom). This is an example of referencing or recommending or reviewing to create an information product (in this case the blog entry). I am constantly reading trade journals related to project management. I maintain a list of my clients and their interests. As I run into an article they might like, I add it to their list and then send it out as a bulk mail. This is probably the easiest method to create an information product there is — although the research will kill you!
Finally, you can repurpose information products into other information products. Anthony Robbins has a great example of this in his Masters of Marketing/The New Money Masters offering. With this series he takes and does an interview with an internet marketing guru. This interview is professionally videotaped (actually digitally recorded in HD but that sounds dumb), titles added and then released as a DVD. It is then reedited into an audio product and placed on CD. The interview is then sent to be transcribed. Now a key quality point here is that the transcription is then re-written and combined with an article on the subject to create a 20 page mini-book. The result is a package which is still not worth what I pay for it but is too good to lose (grrumble, grrumble, grrumble … hint for you folks in the U.S., there is no point in using International Air shipping for us Canucks. US & Canadian mail/shipping is all a mix of land and air regardless. So you’re costing me extra for nothing PLUS if sent by International Air it goes through customs as if it were worth big bucks meaning I end up paying GST & duties on the product and shipping. So the $26 bucks plus shipping ends up costing me $100. Not cool!). It’s also a package that can be split up into 3 components and resold individually, given away as a bonus or free offer or otherwise monetized.
So that’s the choices you have. The trick now is to determine how much it will cost you to create content in the various formats and using the various techniques. That’s going to be the point of our next post in this series.
Well, Thursday and Friday was one of those days … or is that were … ah, well you get the idea. It’s been interesting this week.
In any case, I promised you to finish this series. Just not today. Today we’re going to summarize the different types of information products you can create – or more correctly the different formats you can create information products in.
The main formats of information products are:
Written – articles, blogs, books
Live events – seminars, workshops, public speaking
Personal videos
Slideshow videos – webinars, slide shows
Audio – podcasts
The first is obvious given our product – write it. Write yourself a book, or an article or create a blog like this one. Put your thoughts down on paper. Of course, writing a book takes a lot of work. Besides the research, there is organizing, writing, editing and publishing.
The second format is the live event. This can take many forms. Many of those forms are defined by the amount of audience participation. Lecture, seminar, workshop is one common example of a convention based on participation. Generally, the amount of work is directly related to the length of the presentation not the type. Preperation can take an extended amount of time. Generally the minimum is the same amount as the presentation. However, most seminars, lectures, and public speaking will require closer to 10 times the amount of work before the presentation than during. Much of this preparation is involved in writing and then practising the script. After is minimal and limited to review of the presentation and reviewing lessons learned.
The third format is the personal video. What is a personal video – beside the opposite of an impersonal video? A personal video is any video that shows a talking head – a person. Generally, this is a live person as opposed to Max Headroom clones. Some people believe that this involves much less work than writing. But, in reality, they are simply showing their own preferences. A video requires much more preparation than writing. This preparation takes the form of writing a script, and practice speaking before a camera. Many of us who are comfortable speaking before a crowd find the switch to a camera difficult. Why? No audience and therefore no energy flowing from the audience. Once the video is “filmed”, it still needs to be edited (part of the post-production process). An advantage that a video has over live events is that mistakes can be removed. To do this, however, requires extra video be filmed whenever a mistake occurs. Generally, you can expect the effort required to be of the form 4 2 4 where preparation takes 4 times the finished length, filming takes twice the finished length of the information product and post-production takes four times. Meaning a 10 minute information product will take roughly 2 hours from research to ready to post.
The slideshow is the format that many of us are most comfortable with. In many ways it is the most efficient format. Preparation generally takes about twice that of the presentation. However, the more time spent in practice and review the better the presentation. One of the big advantages is the ease of editing out mistakes. Because the screen shows only a static view, it can be edited without the need to (re)film extra. Slideshows can consist of the normal text based powerpoints with voice over or can be a set of photographs with animation and music over.
Finally, the last format is the audio. This is often distributed as an mp3, podcast or CD. Typically, audios are presented in the form of interviews although audio books and recorded speech are certainly possible. Audios need some preparation especially practice. However, post editing is the most effective for this format. All of the video formats limit the amount of editing which is possible since the video and the audio need to synchronize. However, with an audio it is possible to eliminate even the normal dead spots while a person’s words and synchronize.
Most of the above formats can be provided in one of two ways. Either a machine readable form (i.e. delivered via computer) or in physical form. So a book, for example, may be delivered as a downloadable eBook or as a physical paperback or hardcover book. Videos and audios are delivered as either a download (e.g. YouTube) or on a DVD or CD. Live events are the exception since they are experiential.
Next post we’ll talk about the techniques that can be used to create information products.
Okay, so Friday I promised a short series on how to select the type of information products … or more correctly the format. On Monday I was bad and posted a video from Will Smith that I thought you might find interesting. My bad! Me Busy! Me Lazy! But I really did think it was interesting. And given its subject that’s saying something.
So what’s the point of this — besides a backhanded apology.
The point is that that blog entry was as much an information product as the book I spent 2 weeks working on (24 hours writing, the rest publishing). It just cost a LOT less to get out.
So how do you decide what form your information product should take? I mean besides “I need this in fifteen minutes and I have no clue what to write. I guess I better rip something off YouTube!”.
Now before I start lets get something straight. The boundaries. Information products is really a large group of products formats. “How to”s, which we call Learning Content, alone can take seven (or more) physical formats. And Learning Content is only one type of information product. Software is also an information product. Web services (e.g. article posting tools, web design tools) are also information products. So are databases.
However, software, services, and databases are – for most of us – beyond our skills and capability. Most of us produce information products in the form of learning content.
So I’m going to restrict this conversation to traditional learning content (LearningCreators.com, and LearningCreators.ca remember?) and exclude software, services and other types of stuff.
There are 6 questions you need to answer when deciding what form your information product needs to take:
What forms am I capable of doing?
What forms am I most comfortable with?
How much will this content cost (in time or money)?
As you may have noticed I’m not much of a one for California pop-psychology. And very seldom do I post celebrity opinions. After all, just because a person is a celebrity doesn’t mean they’re worthy. And actors are not their role. But acting is a difficult industry to succeed in. And every once in a while a person comes along who knows and shares how to succeed – not just in their own industry but in any industry.
Frankly, I listened to this because someone I trusted recommended it. So I listened to it. I’m now recommending it to you.
Just to be mean, some of them don’t seem to want to get born!
We’ve talked about some of the hard parts (see the series: Lessons Learned) mostly in just getting a website up. But I haven’t really talked about one of the other issues … learning to talk about yourself.
You see, the latest site to come up is ContentCreators. Well, hopefully up by the time this is published. Now recognize that ContentCreators is our outlet for selling our writing services — traditional copywriting, web copywriting (including SEO and SEM), ghostwriting, and editing. It’s not like it’s new or anything. I’ve been doing half of it for oh … umm, oh s**t, geez I really am that old! (FYI, I literally learned entrepreneurship at my great-grandfather’s knee – and I was writing copy by age 10. Which was a few years ago). And Paul’s been doing the other half for more than most internet marketers have been alive! But I’ve always done it for other people more than for myself. Check out Can Da Software if you don’t believe me. Even ignoring the fact that it’s needed a graphical redesign for oh, 10 years now. Let’s face it, the copy was iffy when it was written some 15 years ago. Yes, it was as soon as the web hit Toronto – don’t remind me!
But I learned something from this.
I learned that I hate copywriting for myself because it’s just too much like tooting my own horn.
But, as an entrepreneur, it has to be done. And I know it. And I know I’m good at it. You see, the other half of the story, is that I just recently spoke to two of my clients.
One is Newport Funding (I did their website, coached them through SEO selection and coached them through writing their own copy). Even at one remove, I was able to boost their search engine rankings – and the proof is that their new website was able to generate 2 new contracts this week. (That’s a lot in their business).
The other is ThreeO Project Solutions (I co-wrote the AceIt! textbook). I was setting up a deal with him and he mentioned that his customers have complimented the book and that he believes I’m largely to blame!
Now the point is that in both cases, both clients are overjoyed with the work, and have promised that they will write a testimonial. After all, testimonials are the life-blood of the internet marketer.
Do I look like I’m holding my breath?
The sad truth is that less than 10% of the people who promise you testimonials will ever sit down and write one for you. Why? Because it’s too much like work. (Most ask me to write the testimonial and they’ll sign it – which I won’t do).
So where does that leave people like you and me?
Having to toot our own horn. Having to say how good we are and why people want to buy from us. And frankly, yes, it feels like bragging. And, yes, you may be lucky and able to hire someone else to write your copy for you.
But the bottom line is … if you’re going to be an entrepreneur, you need to learn to sell. Not just “solution-selling” where you listen to someone with a problem then solve it. But “hey, I’m great, my products are wonderful, and this is why you should buy” selling. If you don’t then you’ll never succeed, and you’ll never get ahead. If you don’t promote yourself then noone else will! That’s the essence of marketing.
Yes, it feels like bragging. Yes, it goes against a life time of hearing your mother say “Nobody likes a braggart”. But if you want to succeed you need to draw attention to yourself. And you need to convince people that you are as good as you are. And that means you need to tell them just how good you really are.
As your writing becomes more complex you require more help with writing. So if you are going to be writing a book, you will probably need a system which is fully cognitive and structured. If on the other hand, your writing is simple (e.g. blog), then you need to select a system with minimal overheads. Often the non-structured systems work best for this. Cognitive systems always work better than non-cognitive. However, they tend to have slightly more overhead in both learning and using.
To take an arbitrary example, if you are writing a book you want to select a system which is cognitive/structured. If you are writing articles you want to select a system which is cognitive/unstructured. And if you are writing blog posts a system which is non-cognitive/unstructured is good enough.
Note that most systems will add pieces in order to become structured. Typically they will add the outlining system you learned in school. However, for the purposes of selection, concentrate on the base tool.
If you are going to be writing books, you need a system which is cognitive/structured. However, the downside is that those systems are tailored to produce a particular base – Time or Fact. So before you can select the system which is best for you, you need to determine which basis your writing will be in. If you write in both then you need two different systems.
There is one saving grace. If your writing is unstructured then there is always a secondary organization. Sequential and collections have an outer organization. While in theory this outer organization can be either Time or Fact based, normally it is a Fact base. This outer organization will determine which system base you need for structured system.
The system LearningCreators sells is based on a structured/cognitive tool called a structured semantic network diagram. If you are writing a fact based book such as a how to book, our system is perfect for you. That’s why we call our system the “24 hour System”. Check out our free course or just buy the book.
On the other hand, if you are writing a time based book such as fiction then you need a structured/cognitive tool based on a timeline. Unfortunately, we do not currently have that tool. Nor do I know anyone who is selling it (although I do know a number of professional authors that have their own version).
If your writing is never more complex than a blog, any system will do. I strongly recommend that a system based on mindmaps is better than a system based on speed writing. But it really doesn’t matter. In fact, the outline system you were taught in school will probably do the job for you.
How to Select A How to Book Writing System: Understanding What’s Available
Video 3 of 4
Now that we know our needs, what is available. Again we’re going to create a framework but this time we’re going to try to place the available systems on that framework.
First off systems fit somewhere on the line from unstructured to structured. By this I mean that the system imposes a structure on you. Or to put it another way, creates an acceptable structure as part of it’s functioning. Unstructured means that the system won’t create a structure at all. It’s focus is on other things. It presumes that you, as the writer, will impose a focus.
The second dimension of importance is cognitive or non-cognitive. Think of cognitive as ergonomics for the brain. A cognitive system uses the brain’s own way of functioning to accomplish it’s purposes. A non-cognitive tool simply does what it needs to do without regard to how the brain works.
Speed Writing is a system developed by journalists to help them generate small articles very quickly. Pick 3/5/7 words that describe the subject. Then write for 5/10/15 minutes as quickly as you can, without stopping, without editing and without interruptions. Then stop. This system is non-structured and non-cognitive.
Outlining is the system you learned in school. Write down in order what you will write about. It is non-cognitive however it is structured although arguably not completely.
These are the two most common systems on the market.
Mindmapping (and to a lesser extend brainstorming) is the next most common system in use. It is a cognitive tool which involves drawing a circle for the concept and then lines for the ideas which grow from the concept. In more generic terms it is called a (single node) semantic network diagram. It is excellent for getting ideas out of one’s head and documenting the relationships between ideas. However, like the brain, it really doesn’t function well as a sequential organizer of facts.
Both of the non-structural systems have a problem in that neither is capable of organizing the facts appropriately for a complex piece of writing like a book. Therefore many of the systems built on the speed writing or mindmapping patch on outlining/school techniques to the end of the system. However, the core of the system remains the initial technique.
All of the three systems mentioned so far have a serious problem in that they are partial systems only and require extensive input by the writer. Effectively, they depend on the writer’s skill to perform their functions. As a result they are limited when functioning for increasing complexity. However, they are flexible and are capable of providing assistance for whatever type of writing (time or fact) being done.
Cognitive structured systems, on the other hand, are complete systems which help guide the writer to a successful conclusion. Unfortunately, because they are comprehensive they are not flexible. When selecting a system it is imperative for the writer to choose one based on the type of writing (time or fact) which they will be doing. They function well over the whole complexity dimension however, they shine in as the writing becomes more complex.
Cognitive structured systems are based on one of two tools. Time based systems use a time line and tend to be more complex with other tools being incorporated. Fact based systems tend to use a structured mindmapping tool. The LearningCreators’ system is an example of this type.
How to Select A How to Book Writing System: Determining Your Needs
Video 2 of 4
So you realize you need some form of system in order to writehow to books efficiently and effectively. Great. You could just try writing until you discover your preferred system. But you’ll have to fail at writing eBooks several times first. Or you could go out and buy a system.
Organizational Flexibility (aka Structured or Unstructured)
Complexity ( aka Simple/Complex)
Writing is organized either on a Time basis or on a Fact basis for the reader.
Not all writing, however, is equally bound by the base organization. Time based writing, for example, can run from time-line focused (structured to the base) to a sequential focus (still time but the base is no longer the central focus of the structure).
As the writing moves from structured (by the base) to unstructured (by the base), the writer has both more flexibility and the need to examine and select a structure for presentation. In other words, if your writing is structured time based (e.g. fiction) then you must select a time based structure. Your system will need to reflect that. On the other hand if your writing is unstructured fact based (e.g. a collection of recipes) you will need to determine what structure you will present to the reader. Usually, this will be a fact based structure. The key is that it is imposed and therefore your system will not require an imposed structure.
The final dimension is that of complexity. As your writing becomes simpler – e.g. blogs or short articles – the need for structure reduces. As the writing becomes more complex (i.e. books) the need for structure increases.
First of all, I’m going to presume that you want to write a book. After all, if you weren’t interested in writing a book, you certainly wouldn’t need a writing system.
But once we’re past that bit we’re left with “What is a writing system?” and “What is it going to give you?”.
A writing system is a set of processes, tools and techniques which help you control the complexity involved in writing a book, and help you to effectively and efficiently write a book.
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