Hour 4: Research Ideas To Include In Your Product
Now it’s time to figure out what all topics your product is going to include. Here’s how to kick off this research:
· Check the table of contents (TOC) of popular products. You’re not going to copy these products, but you do want to check the TOC to see what all topics they include. These are potential topics to include in your product too.
· Return to the blogs, forums and Facebook groups. Check what all sorts of information people offer when they answer a related question. Also, take note of what people are repeatedly asking about in relation to your topic, as that will tell you it may be something worth including in your product.
For example, maybe you’re writing a report about bodybuilding nutrition. And perhaps you see repeated questions about exactly how many calories someone should eat. You’ll want to include a formula that people can use to determine the answer for their weight, height and activity.
· Ask your market. Find out what other products are lacking and what topics they really want to know about.
· Check product reviews. This will also tell you what your prospects feel is lacking in the current solutions out on the market.
· Check your own posts for popular topics. If you have a blog and/or social media account, then browse through the archived content to find out what’s popular. Here’s how to determine this:
Check for high-traffic posts. You’ll want to check your traffic logs to see which blog posts tend to attract a lot of people.
Look for a high amount of interaction. These are posts that get a lot of likes, comments and shares.
So once again, the idea here is to be sure your product is better than the current solutions on the market by improving on their weaknesses.
NOTE: If you need to research information about your topic, be sure that you’re only going to reputable sources. Reputable sources include scholarly papers (check Google Scholar), established news sites (like the BBC), university sites (as long as the information is coming from the departments and not random students), and other authority/expert sites.
Next…
Hour 5: Brainstorm Other Ideas For Possible Inclusion
Your hour of research should have given you a really good idea of what all to include in your product. Now it’s time for you to sit down and brainstorm other ideas for possible inclusion.
Ask yourself these questions:
· Is there an easier way to get good results?
· Is there a faster way to get good results?
· What sorts of twists can you offer on the old standby methods in your niche?
· What sorts of examples can you include to make the concepts easier to understand?
· What additional tips can you offer to make it easier for your customers to achieve their goals?
· Can you offer any additional materials such as a checklist or worksheet?
· What types of graphics can you include in your report? This includes charts, tables, infographics, mind maps, photographs, screenshots and similar items.
Now let’s take all this information and arrange it…
Hour 6: Arrange Your Ideas Into a Workable Outline
Your outline will include an introduction, a conclusion, and then the body of your report. There are two ways to arrange your outline:
First method: Sequentially. This is chronological, “step by step” order. This is the preferred method for a “how to” report. Your outline will look something like this:
A. Introduction
B. Step 1
How to do Step 1
Tips and examples
C. Step 2
How to do Step 2
Tips and examples
D. Step 3
How to do Step 2
Tips and examples
E. Conclusion
Second method: Systematically. This is where you group topics together by some other logical relationship. For example, you may arrange your topics in order from beginner to intermediate to expert level. Be sure to include plenty of tips and examples for each topic. For example:
A. Introduction
B. Beginner Topic
Explanation of topic.
Examples.
Tips.
C. Intermediate Topic
Explanation of topic.
Examples.
Tips.
D. Advanced Topic
Explanation of topic.
Examples.
Tips.
E. Conclusion
In order to prepare for the next step, you’ll also want to write down an estimate of approximately how many pages you’d like to write for each section. You won’t necessarily split up each topic into an equal number of pages. Give the most important or complex topics more pages to fully explain them.
TIP: Aim for about 12 pages total, which will produce a 45-60 minute video.
Next…
Hour 7: Decide Upon A Goal Number Of Pages To Write, And Divide Into Three Assignments
What you’re going to do is work for nine hours, which will be divided into three assignments. Your goal is write about 12 pages. That means you’ll need to write four pages for each writing session (which is a very modest goal).
TIP: If you have graphics to create, you can split the time for creating these graphics among your writing assignment blocks as well as in Hour 22 where you’ll be inserting these graphics.
If you need stock photos or graphics, check out a stock photo site like www.DepositPhotos.com.
If you can’t create these graphics yourself, then use your time to find and hire a freelancer instead. If you need simple graphic, you may even find someone suitable on a site like www.fiverr.com to do it. Otherwise, try www.upwork.com or www.elance.com.