Did you enjoy the seminar on determining your niche strategy? Are you familiar with the term Risk Management — I am! Let’s say that this week’s seminar turned into a major pain in the

But at least the seminar turned out well when it finally ran!

We covered the basics for selecting your niche and your solution and doing the initial marketing strategy.

Next seminar is also part of the main home study course itself …

Developing your Product Funnel strategy

… is again marketing but this time we’re going to determine what courses and books you need and what media to use.

When … don’t know yet … next week maybe Monday or Tuesday….

Pre-register for the free webinar here.

Benefits?

1. Minimum 24 hours notice of the webinar
2. Minimum 2 hours advance chance to register
3. Some special bonuses that I’m still tossing around.

Remember there are NO free copies of these webinars available (They’re going to be sold. So you have to be  there to see it for free!)

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The first of the webinars is done.  I’d like to say without a hitch but …

At least everyone who attended enjoyed the seminar.

Next seminar is the first of the home study course itself …

Developing your niche strategy …

When … don’t know yet … next week sometime….

Pre-register for the free webinar here.

Benefits?

1. Minimum 24 hours notice of the webinar
2. Minimum 2 hours advance chance to register
3. Some special bonuses that I’m still tossing around.

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• Pre-register for the Next Free Webinar on Writing e Books & Books (1)
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• One way to classify Learning Content …. And The Use of Media (2)
• One way to classify Learning Content …. (19)
• Changes to the Blog (0)

The first webinar of my product recording will be this afternoon….

For more information about the product as a whole check the last blog post….

For more information about the webinar itself … go check out my Free Webinar Pre-Registration page.

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Now Monday (that’s P.S.P.D. for anyone who’s counting … and please do it quietly!)   we were talking about classifying learning content and so forth.

And we came up with the following classifications by communications:

1. one way (facilitator to student)
2. both ways (facilitator to student to facilitator)
3. Exploratory (facilitator starts discussion and keeps discussion going)
4. Practice (facilitator starts, students discuss in small teams, students report to all, discussion with all)

One typical terminology for this is:

1. Lecture
2. Seminar
3. Tutorial
4. Workshop

So what does media have to do with this classification?

Each of the media has different characteristics. Therefore no matter what media you choose to deliver your learning content with, you will have to adjust the content to allow for those characteristics.

Uhh… let me try simplifying this ….

The classification of the learning content limits which media you can use.

The choice of media in it’s turn then affects the learning content.

It’s all a case of the media and the message as it were.

So to illustrate:

If I choose to perform a lecture (one way, teacher to student) … I could use any media. I could perform it using:

• Live – Large audience
• Live – Intimate audience
• Video – Talking Head
• Video – Mixed Media
• Video – Webinar/Slide Show
• Audio
• Book

However, if I choose to use Live with an intimate audience, I will be losing several major advantages. For example, a live presentation is not repeatable — at least not without the same amount of work. One of the video, audio or book media would be better for this reason. Similarly by using a live intimate audience for a lecture I’m losing the main advantage of that media — two way communications.

The point is it’s better to match characteristics than to adjust. So for example, a lecture would be much better in video, audio or book format.

On the other hand, if you’re doing a seminar, using video, audio or book makes life difficult.  There are very few people who have learned the trick of getting feedback from a disconnected audience. (And trust me “Write this down” doesn’t work)!

So from a media point of view:

1. Live – Large Audience  — Lecture
2. Live – Intimate Audience — Seminar, tutorial or workshop
3. Video – all types – Lecture
4. Audio – Lecture
5. Books – Lecture, tutorial, workshop

At which point you’re going huh? Books? 3 types????

The answer is in another question … What’s the difference between a “how to” book, a textbook and a workbook or manual?

The answer is a textbook has practice questions (effectively an exam).  A manual or workbook are task focused. Essentially they incorporate the questions in their structure.

Which is a hint as to how to translate video and audio into a tutorial or workshop. Unfortunately, it’s very hard to do without looking manipulative.

(By the way PSPD = Post Saint Paddy’s Day )

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I forget what the other terms were so until I remember I’m going to take off and discuss a related topic … so there! If you won’t suggest topics you get to put up with my eccentricities.

One of the ways that learning content (or more correctly the tactics of delivery) can be classified is by the direction and nature of the communications.

For example, an event’s communications can be either:

1. one way (facilitator to student)
2. both ways (facilitator to student to facilitator)
3. Exploratory (facilitator starts discussion and keeps discussion going)
4. Practice (facilitator starts, students discuss in small teams, students report to all, discussion with all)

One typical terminology for this is:

1. Lecture
2. Seminar
3. Tutorial
4. Workshop

A lecture is what we traditionally think of when we think of teaching. One person stands at the front of a group and spouts their knowledge.

A seminar is closer to the Socratic ideal of mutual exploration. It is characterized by feedback and development of the information by the “student”. However, it is still very much a case of the facilitator dispensing information out to the student. In fact, there is a saying that until someone asks a question, a seminar is just a lecture.

A tutorial on the other hand is the Socratic method. By this point the information should have already been disseminated. Although the facilitator may spark discussion by repeating the information the focus is on the group expanding and questioning the information.

A workshop is a practice session.  The facilitator may start the process but the process occurs primarily inside the student. Break out sessions are a great example of this tactic.  In this tactic, students break apart for the practice then return to discuss and explore the results. The individual versions of this may include homework or software practice which may be discussed, may be self-evident or may be self-evaluated.

Now I have no idea why all this is important … but it seems to be and I’m short of something to talk about. So Friday, I’ll continue the discussion by looking at training media and it’s relationship to these tactics.

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“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.”

- Lewis Carroll

Now that we’ve determined what information products means — sort of. We can go on to discussing what is learning content … besides the base for a company name. (Yeah, I know we’re LearningCreators not LearningContenters but this is all going to make sense in time).

So what is Learning Content? First of all it is an information product. More specifically it is a (re)casting of information for the purposes of transferring knowledge. Wee … academia here I come ….

Take a course … it can be delivered by a live seminar, or by DVD or by an audio-only format. But the core information — the course — remains the same. It can even be recreated as a book or an eBook. Now when the course has been repurposed from live to DVD to audio it may be exactly the same course. However, it may have been redone (and probably should have been). But it still remains the same course.  Later it may be written down as an article, white paper or book. Despite this the content remains the same.

That’s learning content! It is the course itself — irrespective of the format or media the course is delivered in.

Now of course, things are never as simple as they seem. While the information remains constant for all media and the learning content (the course) remains almost the same, in real life, the actual course may change to make better use of the properties of the media. For this discussion, however, I’m going to presume they remain constant.

That’s why many marketers suggest repurposing your training materials (sell a live training, video record it then sell as a DVD, convert to audio and sell as a CD, the transpose it into a written product and sell or give that away).  If we ignore the effects of the media properties, the learning content remains the same for all products.

Of course, in real life, for quality reasons, we do not want to ignore those media properties.

S0 to restate, learning content is the content of the course ignoring the media the course is delivered in. Whether the course is delivered by video, live seminar or mp3 or even by book, the learning content remains the same.

How does Learning Content relate to Information Products? Learning content is the creation side of anything to do with training. Therefore items like coaching, Books & eBooks, Seminars & Courses all use learning content. Or more correctly, disseminate learning content. On the other hand, consulting, software, data analysis, databases etc. — which are not related to training – are not related to Learning Content.

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“‘Speak English!’ said the Eaglet. ‘I don’t know the meaning of half those long words, and I don’t believe you do either!’” Lewis Carroll

We’ve been tossing around this term “Learning Content” as though it means much more that just our company name!

Well it does!

So do most of the other terms we use …

So for this week — and maybe next — we’re going to define some terms and how they relate to each other.

So let’s start with the widest term…

What is an information product?

Although internet marketers tend to think in terms of one type of information product there are in fact a great number of them. Information products in general are any product which deals in information. That includes the manipulation of information as well as the provision of information.

In other words, some of the information products (and only some) are:

1. Computer programs
2. Databases
3. Data analysis services
4. Consulting services (but not contracting services).
5. Coaching services.
6. Information posting (e.g. Link Building Programs & Search Engine Submitters).
7. Seminars, and courses
8. Books and eBooks
9. Articles and Magazines

And there are a large number of other items. In fact, some items are information products but are often considered to be more related to other classes e.g. Search Engine Optimization or SEO is considered to be either marketing or internet services but is actually more an information product than anything else. In fact, copywriting is a form of information product but is typically lumped into marketing.

In short, information products is a wide grouping of anything to do with data or information or the dissemination of that information. In practice, it is so wide that it typically must be broken into sub-sets in order to be a useful classification.

Having said that, internet marketers tend to think of information products as fitting into one of three groups … database services, courseware and software. The rest of information products tend to be assigned to something else — such as marketing or internet or consulting — or ignored.

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Sunshine came softly over my office today …

Okay, I’m getting really silly with this one. There’s actually three items in this one and I didn’t feel like writing three more articles on this subject.

Plus, I’ve got an announcement….

—————————————————————–

I’ve now started writing articles on Ezinearticles.com. Which is why the new box off to the right there.  One of my new articles is directly related to this topic … you can find it here.

——————————————————————

… and now back to your regular article ….

First and foremost of the items is that you need to decide about windows. One of the issues that you need to address is relaxing your eyes. Unfortunately, as writers we do 90% of our work up close. For those of us who are near sighted that’s perfect. However, in fact, no one can maintain a specific focus without tiring their eyes. And worse yet, computer monitors fool the eyes by causing them to jump between long and short focal lengths even though the monitor is actually at a short focal length.

In short, you need to rest your eyes. And for a writer that means looking outside at a distance. The further the better. So having a window available (preferably with a view) is very important.

Along those same lines, you need to consider lighting in your office. Natural light is the best light. However, relying on natural light means some days you will have too much light and other days you won’t have enough. You need to be able to reduce natural light by means of blinds or curtains. You also need to be able to supplement natural light. This means using lighting fixtures such as lamps. Mixing tungsten and florescent will give the most natural colour and is easiest on the eyes.

In case, you didn’t catch the reference, a fellow by the name of Donovan wrote a song with the line “Sunshine came softly through my window today …”.   Hey, what can I say I’m old … I remember when it first came out.

Anyway, I figured it caught both the point about windows, and light and also led to the third item I wanted to cover. Noise (or music if you prefer).

Different people have different needs when it comes to noise. Noise has never been a problem for me. In fact, I generally prefer rock music or heavy classical music playing while I write. However, I’ve known others that needed absolute silence while writing.

That’s also true for the people around you. The noise you generate (aka your music) may disturb them.

So when setting up your office, you need to consider your situation with regard to music and noise. If people are disturbed by your music or you are disturbed by theirs, you’ll need a seperate office. If it doesn’t matter — to you and the people around you — then you don’t need to worry about having an office with a closing door.

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So far I really haven’t talked about what equipment you will need. A telephone, a computer of course, a coffee pot or tea kettle would be cool. A desk and book shelves would be helpful of course.

But the next most important item you need to consider … even before your computer … is your printer.

Sounds strange doesn’t it. But the thing is there have been so many advancements that your printer has become a key decision.

First off, you need to determine if you need a printer at all (okay I exagerate here ). Are you going to be writing eBooks or physical books? Are you going to be writing books for traditional publication or books for on-demand publication? Are you more comfortable working on paper or on the screen?

Depending on your answers you may find that you don’t really need a printer at all… I’m definately exagerating here.   At one time, traditional publishers demanded that all manuscripts be printed on paper for them. That’s no longer true — many (maybe most) will accept computer files of specific formats (usually .txt, .doc or .pdf).  And many commercial printers such as Kinko’s and Kwik-Kopy have printers available for rent.

However, once you determine your needs there are three basic types of printers you can choose from.

1. Black and White Laser printers.  Laser printers were once solely the printer of choice for large companies. However, prices have literally fallen through the floor in the last few years. As a result. black and white laser printers  can be quite inexpensive both to purchase and to run … well under $100.  If you are doing nothing but printing manuscripts these are a godsend and are the printer of choice for most people who write how-to books.

2. Colour ink-jet printers. For many years, now, the colour ink jet printer has been the only choice that most writers and home computing users could afford. They now produce colour prints which are indistinguishable from a traditional photograph. And they are very cheap to buy. However, they are not cheap to run. The inks they use dry out even if they aren’t used (generally within six months) and the ink cartridges are very expensive to replace.

3. Colour laser printers. At one time, only the biggest companies or those who were in the business of selling colour copies could afford a colour laser printer. In addition, their prints were not as sharp as an ink-jet printer. This is no longer true. New printers have come on the market which are quite inexpensive (anywhere from $150  to $300).  And their quality is as good as a ink jet of a few years ago (although they still aren’t as good as a current photo quality ink jet printer).  These are now a viable alternative for the home office. Their cost of operation is much higher than that of a black and white laser printer. However, because they do not have liquid ink, their cost of operation is much lower than that of an ink jet unless they are heavily used.

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Do you remember when I discussed the most important item in your office I mentioned off hand that it was you?

Well, I wasn’t being entirely silly. Just mostly.

You see, any advice I or anyone else, gives you needs to be filtered through your own needs. The way I write has been developed through years of cubicle living. The way another writer writes will have been developed through their own experience. The thing is, we aren’t going to live in your office — you are. So you need to make it your own.

And no that does not mean put up pictures of the spouse and kids — not that that isn’t a good idea.

Each of us will have our own source of inspiration. When I wrote fiction, many years ago, one of my main sources was the local coffee shop. I’d go sit in a chair by the window and watch the people who came in and the people who walked by. From the homeless person who was convinced Sheena of comic book fame was his daughter. To the blingster with the two “ladies” on his arm and his BMW.  Now that I write non-fiction “how to” books, my inspiration comes from a yellow, legal pad and a topic map. Or at least a mindmap. And coffee shops are for business meetings and buying high end coffee beans for my home espresso machine.

You also need to determine how and where you will write best through each of the stages of creation (inspiration, selection, consolidation) and through the physical writing.

Do you need silence when you write? Or do you need people around you? Can you handle interruption or do you need to concentrate? Will the other people in your life accept your lack of response or do you need to warn them they won’t get a reply or do you need to remove yourself altogether?

Are you organized when you write? Or are you a messy writer? Do you need a large area to display your book plan or just a piece of paper beside you?

These questions need to be answered before you can determine where your writing office will be.

Do you need a seperate office? Do you need an office in the living area of your house? Would the local coffee shop or library do the job? Do you need both or all? Will your needs change during the creative and writing tasks?

Once you have answered these questions you can determine the location and nature of your office. And your office will truly be your office.

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