Part 4 - Reports, eBooks, videos, and audio products 

"Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing"

Warren Buffett

Once you've developed your idea, researched it, deemed it viable enough to turn into a product, and written or found content to add, then it's time to actually create it.

Remember that, especially at the beginning, you're best to write about what you know.

The question at this point is, "What is the hottest media to produce - Video, eBook, downloadable audio, all three together?

What is the format that people want more than anything else?"

The truth is that there's no straight answer for that.

Video is certainly very hot. We tend to be a generation of TV watchers so we're already trained to sit and watch something. Also, when people hear something they retain more information than when they just read it. And, when they also see it they retain even more.

But, that doesn't mean you should only concentrate on video - unless that's your ultimate medium of choice - where you're actually good at it, it's what you do best and it's what you're all about.

It’s important to understand that video might work in some cases, in fact in many cases, yet be virtually useless in others.

Sometimes, you need to do both text and video. For example, a video tutorial showing how to develop a website using a particular program will use the video to show how a particular task is done. Then an accompanying written step-by-step example that the student uses to actually do it is included in the package.

However, there are video programs out there, like Camtasia Studio, that allow you to show the students how it's done, then get the students to follow the prompts on the computer screen to do the task themselves. The program doesn't continue until the student completes each step. You can find out about Camtasia Studio by going to http://www.techsmith.com/.

While you're there, also check out their program called "Snagit". It's a really neat screen capture program with a difference. You can “capture” any area of a screen, or the entire screen, by selecting it, clicking a capture button, and then convert it into an image that you can add to your information product.

In essence, the capture software takes a “photograph” of your screen – it ‘captures’ it – just like a digital camera. You can then send that image to someone, or print it in your book or whatever you would use an image for.

I have used this feature to explain which button to select in certain programs. Sometimes it’s just easier to show something than it is to explain it. This feature is also used in this media book.

If it's much easier to show something than to try and explain it – consider explaining to someone how to tie their shoelaces - then you should be using either screen capture images, screen capture video, or actual “live” video.

The difference between ‘still’ screen capture and ‘video’ screen capture is that video captures whatever motion and audio is happening while you're capturing.

(If I had video capture going while I wrote an ebook you'd see my typing happening on the screen and hear whatever music I had playing, and then you'd see my mouse move as I kept going back to correct all my mistakes).

There are so many uses for video screen capture, you really should go and check out the TechSmith website for Camtasia Studio. Not only do they have a lot of examples but also it's probably the most used video program on the Internet.

So, getting back on track, to find out what format is best to use, first look at your target audience and then make the product choice that’s best for them.

If your audience is youth, then an eBook (an electronic version of a book) may not be your best choice because it may not get read. An audio or a video product would work better.

If your topic is on how to buy a used car, what to look for and things to avoid, an audio CD may not be the way to go. For this type of subject matter visuals are needed, whether that be a video, a narrated PowerPoint style of presentation with photos, or an eBook.

THE ADVANTAGE OF PUBLISHING YOUR OWN INFORMATION PRODUCT:

The beauty about developing your own product and marketing it yourself, instead of the conventional way of writing a book and sending it to a publisher for approval and distribution, is that you get to keep 100% of the profits.

If you wrote a book and got a publisher to publish it for you, you may find that, for the most part, you only receive a 10% royalty on the sale of each book.

I don't know about you, but I'd rather go for the 100%.

Plus, there's no guarantee that a publisher would even accept your idea. Not only that, but some publishers take over a year to get back to you and let you know if they'll even accept your book. Then you have to wait another year for it to be edited, printed, and distributed.

In comparison, this product, in its original form, took less than a weekend to write and get onto the net.

I know people who have developed a product and had it on the Internet, ready to sell, in less than a few hours!

As a business, which is what most writers forget that they are, and in my mind, that makes more sense than having to wait almost two years for their book to make it to market.

So, my advice to you is that if you get an idea for a product that you think will sell, and your research has shown that it's good, then go ahead and put a burst of energy into it and get it onto the net.

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