How to Write A Report In Under 24 Hours That You Can Sell for Profit by Jason Fladlien, copyright 2008
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Quick Legal Stuff Income Disclaimer:
This document contains business strategies, marketing methods and other business advice that,regardless of my own results and experience, may not produce the same results (or any results) for you. I make absolutely absolutely no guarantee,, expressed or implied, that by following the advice below you will guarantee make any money or improve current profits, as there are several factors and variables variabl es that come into play regarding any given business. Primaril Primarily, y, results will depend on the nature of the product or business model, the conditions of the marketplace, the experience of the individual, and situations s ituations and elements elemen ts that are beyond your control. As with any business endeavor, you assume all risk related to nvestment and money based on your own discretion and at your own o wn potential expense. Liability Disclaimer:
By reading this document, you assume all risks associated with using the advice given below, with a full understandin understandingg that you, solely, are responsible for anything that may occur as a result of putting this information into action in any way, and regardless of your interpretation ofthe advice. You further agree that our company cannot be held responsible in any way for the success or failure of your business as a result of the information presented below. It is your responsibility to conduct your own due diligence regarding regard ing the safe and successful operation of your business if you intend to apply any of our information in any way to your business operations.
Terms of Use You are given a non-transferab non-transferable, le, “personal use” license to this product. You cannot distribute it or share it with other individuals. Also, there are no resale rights or private label rights granted when w hen purchasing this document. In other words, it's for your own personal use only.
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Quick Legal Stuff Income Disclaimer:
This document contains business strategies, marketing methods and other business advice that,regardless of my own results and experience, may not produce the same results (or any results) for you. I make absolutely absolutely no guarantee,, expressed or implied, that by following the advice below you will guarantee make any money or improve current profits, as there are several factors and variables variabl es that come into play regarding any given business. Primaril Primarily, y, results will depend on the nature of the product or business model, the conditions of the marketplace, the experience of the individual, and situations s ituations and elements elemen ts that are beyond your control. As with any business endeavor, you assume all risk related to nvestment and money based on your own discretion and at your own o wn potential expense. Liability Disclaimer:
By reading this document, you assume all risks associated with using the advice given below, with a full understandin understandingg that you, solely, are responsible for anything that may occur as a result of putting this information into action in any way, and regardless of your interpretation ofthe advice. You further agree that our company cannot be held responsible in any way for the success or failure of your business as a result of the information presented below. It is your responsibility to conduct your own due diligence regarding regard ing the safe and successful operation of your business if you intend to apply any of our information in any way to your business operations.
Terms of Use You are given a non-transferab non-transferable, le, “personal use” license to this product. You cannot distribute it or share it with other individuals. Also, there are no resale rights or private label rights granted when w hen purchasing this document. In other words, it's for your own personal use only.
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Table Of Contents How to Write A Report In Under 24 Hours That You Can Sell for Profit ............................. ...................... ............. ............. ............. ...... 2 by Jason Fladlien, copyright copyright 2008......................................... .........................................2 2 Quick Legal Stuff........ ................ ................ ............... ............... ................ ........... ...... ...... ... 3 Terms of Use........ ................. .................. .................. .................. ................ ................ ............. ........ ....... ..... .. 3
Table Of Contents....... ............... ............. ........ ...... ....... ....... ...... ....... ....... ...... ...... ...... ..... ..4 What This Report Can Do For You ....... ............. .......... ....... ...... ...... ....... ....... ..... ..7 The True power of “Instant “Inst ant reports” ........ ................. .............. ........ ....... ....... ....... ....... ...... ... 8
You Need A Skeleton........ ............... ............ ......... ....... ...... ...... ....... ....... ...... ...... ...... ... 10 Coloring within the lines......... ................. ................. ............... ......... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... ...... ... 10 Mindset ......... .................. .................. .................. .................. ................ ............. .......... ....... ....... ........ ....... ..... .. 10
The Blueprint ..................................... ............................... ............. ............. ............ ........13 Why, What, How, What if......... .................. .................. ............. ....... ....... ....... ....... ........ ....... ...... ... 13
McClellan McCle lland's d's Theory The ory Explain Exp lained ed........ ................. .................. .................. ............. ......13 The Importance of the t he 4 Learning Styles................. ......................... .......... ..14 Making the Skeleton Dance......... .................. .................. .............. ......... ........ ....... ....... ........ ...... .. 15
Action Acti on Steps ......... .................. .................. .................. .................. ................ ............. .......... .... 16
The “Why” Section........ ................ .............. .......... ....... ...... ...... ....... ....... ...... ....... ...... .. 17 What Motivates us All.................. All............................................ ................................. .............. ......... ..17
How to Kill Procrastination Once and For All..... All........ ....... ........ ....... ...... ...19
The “What” Section........ ................ .............. .......... ....... ...... ....... ....... ...... ...... ....... ......21 Once You Y ou Know How People Peop le Learn, You'll Become Bec ome Rich ... ..... .... .... ..21 Learning Instead of Memorizing ......... .................. ............ ....... ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... .... 23
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Concepts Conc epts ......... .................. .................. .................. .................. ................ ............... ........... ...... ...24 Principl Prin ciples es......... .................. .................. .................. .................. ................ .......... ....... ....... ...... ...25
Action Steps................................................................. ............................................................................. ............26 26 Process Proc ess ........ ................. .................. .................. .................. ................. ................ ............ ........ .... 26 Procedur Proc edure e ......... .................. ................. ................. .................. ................. ................. ............ ...27
The “How” Section........ ................ ............... ........... ....... ...... ....... ....... ...... ...... ....... ......29 Repetition Creates Skill......... Skill.................. .................. .................. .................. ............... ......... ....... .... 29
Ghostt Coaching Ghos Coachi ng......... .................. .................. .................. .................. ............. ....... ...... ...... ...31 Action Acti on Steps ......... .................. .................. .................. .................. ................ ............. .......... .... 34
The “What If” Section Sect ion....... ............... ................ ................ ................ ............ ........ ......36 Painting Results in Advance Advan ce........ ................. .................. .................. .................. ................ ......... ..36
Possibl Pos sible e outc outcomes omes........ ................. .................. ............... ......... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... .....37 Where to Use Us e the Informati Infor mation on......... .................. ................. ........... ....... ........ ....... ... 38 Where Not to Use the t he Information Info rmation .................................. .............................. ....38 Action Acti on Steps ......... .................. .................. .................. .................. ................ ............. .......... .... 39
The Second Draft........ ................ ............... ............... ................ ............. ........ ....... ....... ... 40 Is a Second Second draft required? requi red? ......... .................. .................. .............. ......... ........ ....... ....... ........ ...... .. 41
Making This Report Work For You ... ...... ....... ....... ...... ...... ....... ....... ..... .... .... ....44 Action Steps ................ ................................... ............................................. .......................... 44 When Theory & Reality Realit y Meet......... ................. ................. .................. ............. ....... ....... ........ ......45
The Process, Step By Step....... ............... ................ .............. .......... ....... ...... ....... .... 47 Title of Chapter Chapt er......... .................. .................. .................. .................. ................. ................. .............. .......47
Why........ ................. .................. .................. .................. ................. ................ .............. .......... ...... ..47 What ......... .................. .................. .................. .................. ................ ................ ................ .......... ...47 How......... .................. .................. .................. .................. ................ ................ ................ ........... .... 48 What if........ ................. .................. .................. .................. ................ ............. ......... ....... ........ .... 48 5
Resources............................................................... 49
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What This Report Can Do For You Before you understand the procedures, it's important to understand why anyone would want to create a report in 24 hours using what I call the “WWHW” method. Actually, there are several obvious and not so obvious reasons. Here's the truth – I spend more time around internet marketers and wannabe internet marketers than I spend with my own family. I know these guys. And I know a lot of them have no control of their business. This week they're trying some clever new YouTube trick. Next week, it's Craig's List. Then it's yahoo answers. The problem with this approach is that it builds no long term value. Everyday Craig's List is cracking down harder. They hate marketers. Yahoo Answer's is doing the same. Most of these “one-shot” tricks are wiped out overnight due to some technological change. Half of them don't even work that good to begin with anyway. Once you know how to create reports that contain valuable information, you'll have a skill that no one can deny. You'll have the ability to conceptualize an idea in the morning, and have a written report finished later that night that you can sell for money. Well-researched, well written and well presented information offering solutions to desperate problems will always have value. Always. And when you learn to do it, you'll have this incredible power to enter into markets and instantly know if you're going to make money or not. Also, once you learn the “WWHW” report writing technique, not only will it streamline the process for you, but it will actually do your readers a greater service. Why? Well, information is so hard to present in a way that makes it easy to act on. We all know the statistic – 95% who buy information products never put them to use. Part of that is the reader's fault. But I contend that the publisher needs to assume a good chunk of the blame as well.
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Most people do not present their information in a way that makes it easy to act upon. And if they do, they do it in such a way that they create “mini clones”. When you learn how to write reports with the technique I'll show you later, you'll teach people how to use your information and apply it to their unique situations, instead of just mimicking you. Finally, there is one very under-rated benefit for being able to crank out reports so quickly and efficiently and still have them be top quality – it's the feeling of knowing that you can do it. We try so many things in life and come up short. That's why when you try something that works, and things just “click”... well that is such a gratifying feeling. So I want you to experience all of those things and more.
The True power of “Instant reports” It's hard to make money on the internet if you don't have a list. If it doesn't piss you off that other, less skilled marketers are doing hardly any work but making a lot more money than you simply because they have a list... then you should check your pulse. There are a lot of flashy tricks for building a list. But the best way, and the way all the top internet marketers do it is with free reports. I want you to consider this. Let's say you can create a report a week, using my method (extremely possible). Let's say the first five reports you complete are duds. Guess what? You're out a measly five weeks. You know how many wannabe internet marketers I know who go five months without creating a report to build a list? I know some that go five years. Five weeks and you found out what hasn't worked. If you keep trying, and you put forth a little niche research, you're going to create a few home run winners. Then you'll have a list. Even if you don't, let's say you create 50 reports that each bring in 20 people to your list. That's 1000 prospects in one year. All highly targeted. I wouldn't complain. Jeff Walker told me he built his business on 33 subscribers a week for five years. Look where he's at now. 8
A list this size is possible even with the crudest methods. Let's say you started taking this report and submitting it to every JV giveaway you could sign up for. Let's say you start buying cheap solo ads in newsletters and on websites. (You can get these for $20 or less a lot of times). Let's say you sign up for Mike Filsaime's Butterfly Reports and upload your reports there. Or you could create them, write a simple sales page, then offer affiliates a 100% commission on the product using the Rapid Action Script. Now you have other people building your list for you. We're just scratching the surface. Reports are great pre-launch content. Again, you have to look no further than the top dogs. All of them create free reports to give out to create buzz for a product they're about to launch. When you can create reports like I'll show you, you basically take control of your internet destiny. Let's begin.
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You Need A Skeleton Coloring within the lines A good marketer colors within the lines. Basically, you choose a tried and true, proven outline to hang your information on. Houses aren't built without blueprints. Mt. Everest isn't climbed without a detailed plan and a lot of preparation But consider this: If your idea was to build a beautiful house, and you could base most of it off of a beautiful house that you already liked, how much easier would it be? What if, instead of trying to figure out how to climb Everest on your own, you simply borrowed the plan of someone who already did it? You need a “color within the lines” template to hang your information on. Otherwise, you'll be at a loss to organize it and present it properly. Plus you'll fall victim to one of the biggest problems with information marketing... The unfinished report. However, before I give you the blueprint, I first have to give you some information on how the house is built. If I don't tell you how to read the blueprint before you use it, then the blueprint is of little use anyway.
Mindset Personal development expert Jim Rohn says we're effected by two things – what we know and how we feel about what we know. If I show you how to make a million dollars but subconsciously you think all people with money are evil, then you'll probably never put my information to use... even if consciously you wanted to. In order to use this report, you have to always have this mindset -- “It's easier to make decisions right than to make the right decisions.” I very rarely look back when writing a report. That's what the second draft is for. I just get it on paper. I'm not scared of writing something that might later be erased. I just do it. 1
If you can't accept this mind state, you'll achieve limited success with this report. So, promise me this – the next report you create, you'll never go back and re-write or change something once you put it down on paper. Only do this after you have finished the completed first draft of your report. Often, by then you'll realize that it doesn't even need to be changed. Usually I won't even make any changes until I get feedback from the marketplace. Their insight is far more accurate than mine. The second mindset you need is “Anti-Parkinson's Law mindset”. Parkinson's law says that the task at hand will expand to fill the allotted time. I used to paint houses. If you wanted to really do a bang up job, you could always find something that could be enhanced. If you let yourself get sucked into making all of these small improvements you'll never get done. The task at hand expands to fill the allotted time... unless you stop it from doing so. If you didn't say everything you wanted to say the first time, that's what your updated “2.0 version” is good for. If you felt you could've done a better job, then do it next time. Don't backtrack. Good enough is good enough. The marketplace forgives you for being less than your best. But they never forgive you for the report that could've changed their life that you never finished. This brings us to the last mindset, which is the “80/20” mindset. Basically, a small, few actions are likely to give you a majority of results for putting you in the right mindset to create reports as efficiently as possible. We're all hardwired a bit different. So please do this exercise before you start writing your report. Write down all the of the different tasks you can think of that contribute to your success at writing, then give each a ranking of importance with 100 being very important and 0 being not important at all. Highlight the five things that are the most important. Then create a list of those five things and hang it on your wall. You should spend 80% of your “reporting writing time” focusing on those five things. Anything else should be done as quick and efficient as possible, or just dropped all together. Let me give you a few personal examples. I isolated a very important factor that contributes to the speed and quality of my writing – my
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environment. I find that the more calm and soothing the environment is, the more productive I become. So I play Celtic music when I write. I have plants all around my office. I burn candles by my desk. I sometimes turn on my little waterfall thingy. I have pictures and posters on my walls that reinforce calm and soothing feelings. I always keep my office as clean as a whistle. Another huge factor for me is a clear mind. If I bring baggage to the table, I find I can't write to save my life. My mind must be absolutely clear before sitting down to write a report. What I do now is listen to a “paraliminal” CD before writing. It's unbelievable. It basically hypnotizes you using certain frequencies that puts your mind in a “meditative state”, and then it plants both conscious and unconscious suggestions in your mind. All I know is that after listening to a 20 minute session my body feels very light and I almost always have this thought that pops through my head -“I'm destined for greatness”. With a clear mind, a calm environment and a tried-and-true “color between the lines” outline, I can write high quality reports at will. And I don't possess any sort of extraordinary talent. And I don't have any ability that you aren't capable of having. What are the conditions you need for your success? What does your environment have to be like? What does your mind have to be like? How does your body have to feel? Answer these questions first, and then create a success environment that allows you to instantly slip into the proper mind state that is required for you to knock out reports at will. Let me close the chapter with this thought. What if you just eliminated two or three negative actions that stopped you from getting work done? And what if you replaced them with two or three positive actions that allowed you to get more work done? If this report accomplishes nothing more than that, then it will have been well worth your investment. But, we've only just begun! 1
The Blueprint Why, What, How, What if There are a lot of different blueprints you can use to write good reports quickly. However, I believe I have found one that works in every situation. I've named it the “WWHW” methods, and it stand for “Who, What, How, What if”. This idea came to me from two different places almost simultaneously. For a week I had been reading about learning and achievement motivation by Harvard Professor David C. McClelland. Then I got on a teleseminar with Eben Pagan. He basically had taken a portion of McClelland's work on learning styles, and adapted it as a model for creating content. His ideas were so damn good that I wrote a report the next day based on listening to that 1 hour teleseminar once. And I know I only got a few of the “bits and pieces” from Eben Pagan and a few bits and pieces from McClelland. What I did do, though, was kept working the formula myself and tweaking it to make it better work for me. I was using it in everything. I used it to write speeches. I was writing articles with my eyes closed, sometimes in less than five minutes for topics I was already familiar with. I refined some of McClelland and Eben's ideas, twisted them more and more, and then systematized the process into a way to create quick reports from it. So I got the inspiration from Eben, who actually got it from McClelland, who I had already studied.
McClelland's Theory Explained McClelland found, after scientifically studying learning, that there are basically four learning styles. A certain part of the population are “Why” learners. If you don't tell them why they need to know what's in your report, 1
they'll never be able to take action on it. It's like only giving them the last three digits in a four digit combination. They're stumped. Others are “What” learners. They say, “tell me what I need to know, and I'll figure out the rest”. Ideally, you'll need to define the concepts and principles behind the information you give them, and then you'll have to break it down into a step-by-step “follow this recipe” style of presentation. The third kind of learners are “how” learners. These are people who need more than just a step by step process. They are the people who don't usually pick up on it right away, but need exercises they can perform to improve the skills you've showed them. If you don't give them skill-building techniques and advice, they'll try out your techniques once or twice, and not be sure what to do. Most often they will then quit in frustration. So if you don't include “skill-building” exercises in your reports, you're likely to miss this whole group of people. The final kind of learners are “what if” learners. These are the guys that say “don't tell me about the labor pains, just show me the baby”. You have to paint results in advance for them before they can really appreciate your information. Most entrepreneurs are “what if” learners.
The Importance of the 4 Learning Styles Before we really break down how to use this information, let's step back a second and take stock. Using this blueprint will allow you to do several things. First, you'll hit all members of your audience, so you'll get the maximum amount of people as possible trying out your information. Second, you'll get insane testimonials because people will finally be able to get results from your report. This will give you powerful marketing material and make it easier to sell your products. Third, once you make this process a part of you, it's easy as pie to write reports. In summary – all your reports need to have the why, the what, the how and the what if. Now I'll show you how to implement them all to create your own outline that can work for any topic in any niche.
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Making the Skeleton Dance I'm going to share with you now how to create the outline for your report. Then I will go more in depth on each phase of the outline so you better understand the concept and principles behind it. The reason I'm doing it this way is so I can give you the forest first before we examine the individual trees that make that forest. A lot of people who try writing reports have trouble because they don't create an outline. However, I talk with a lot of information publishers, and they tell me they use an outline for writing their reports and products. That's when I ask them – does your outline guarantee you'll get your report done? Does it actually streamline the writing process? And most importantly – does it help you present your information in the best way possible? Don't get me wrong – using an outline is far better than using nothing. But using a poor outline is dumb because it forces you to write a poor report. Everybody is willing to teach you all of the sexy tricks and techniques of writing and marketing. But try to find information on how to create the perfect outline. There isn't much. The outline is the most important aspect of all, when it comes to actually writing the report. Here is the outline I always start with when writing my reports: CHAPTER XX A) Why 1. 3 motivators 2. “What if” Results B) What 1. Concepts 2. Principles 3. Processes 4. Procedures 1
C) How 1. Skill building exercises 2. Ghost coaching D) What If 1. Possible outcomes 2. Where the information should be used 3. Where the information shouldn't be used
That's it. That's my outline. I do this for each chapter. I create my chapters by picking out the ten most important points I have to present in my report, as they relate to the main topic.
Action Steps So here's what you need to do to make this work for you. 1. Come up with the idea for your report. 2. Do the research to locate the ten most important aspects/points/topics related to the main idea for your report. 3. Create an outline for each chapter, using the guide I have given you above. If this seems a bit confusing to you right now, don't worry. I'm going to walk you through each step, and also give you some examples to make the ideas clearer to you. If you stay with me, by the end of the next few chapters you'll have already internalized the process to the degree that after reading this report, you should be able to go out and create a better outline for your report than you ever have before in your life.
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The “Why” Section What Motivates us All The first part of the outline is the “Why section”. Around 31% of the population are “why” learners. So what's this tell us? At the very least, our report should give a list of reasons of why they should learn what we're trying to teach them. But that's not it. Every chapter should include a “why section”. And since “why” learners have to know why they need to learn something before they can actually learn it, it makes sense to start each chapter off with the “why's”. In fact, anytime I introduce a new concept, I immediately give a reason why the information is important. What “Why's” do you tap into? This is easy. There is six “why's” that all of us humans are hardwired to follow. Basically, each of us has a predominate reason for doing ANYTHING. If you dovetail your information into those predominate reasons, you're going to hook each one of your readers and suck them into your report. Once our basic motivations of hunger, water, clothing and shelter are met, there are three things that motivate us: Power, Affiliation and Accomplishment. More importantly, each of these motivators has a positive and negative association to it. Some people are motivated to obtain power. Others are motivated to not lose power. Some are motivated to help others and increase the depth of their relationships. Others are motivated because they are scared to think about what their life will be like if they didn't help others. Some people are just in it to do it and say they achieved it. Others are driven because they can't imagine living with themselves if they don't accomplish it. Let me give you an example. Let's say you're writing a report about losing weight. This is how you might start it off: I'm about to show you a method that will allow you to take control of your health, and live the healthy lifestyle that you know you deserve
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(positive power). No longer are you going to be at the whim of illnesses that have plagued your body in the past (loss of power). Not only will you improve your health, but think what it will do for the relationships you have with others. It will be a good example for your children. It will earn you the respect of your co-workers. And it will inspire others who also want to lose weight. (positive affiliation). You can't set tle for staying the same – what message would that be sending to the ones that are close to you? (negative affiliation) Finally, once you put this report to use, when you're finished you'll be able to look in the mirror and say to yourself -- “yes, I did it!” (positive accomplishment) and not “oh man... another failed attempt!”(negative accomplishment)
What I have just done there is hit every single one of my “why” learners right off the bat. Even if you're not a “why” learner, this introduction was still useful to you. And not only that, you have set up the perfect springboard that will push you right into the next phase of your report. Now, I don't always hit each of these six motivators. But I always touch on some aspect of power, affiliation and accomplishment. Sometimes I insert them in different parts of the chapter. But what I almost always do , before I sit down and write a chapter, is come up with a list of compelling “why's” for each positive and negative motivators. At the first least, it really allows me to enter into the mind state of the audience that I'm writing for. Consider how this can help your reports. First, it is a remedy for the worst writer ailment -- “fear of the blank page”. the hardest part of writing a report is getting started. Now you don't even have to really think when you sit down. You can just start. And as Gary Halbert was fond of saying – the acceleration of the accelerator is accelerating. Just putting yourself in motion is a great way to really get things going and finish up tasks you've been neglecting. Also, if you haven't been doing this, you'll find that once you do try it, you'll probably get a lot more positive feedback. This is because it will cause a lot of your “why” learners to get the “Ah-ha!” moment they were previously lacking. So let's return to the first portion of our outline: 1
Chapter XX A) Why 1. 6 motivators a) Positive Power b) Negative power c) Positive Affiliation d) Negative Affiliation e) Positive Accomplishment f) Negative Accomplishment
After you've come up with the topic for your chapter, go back through each chapter and create a list of “why's”. Why should they care about the information in this chapter? Why should they take the effort to learn it? Make sure you give them reasons related to power, affiliation and accomplishment. The second step is to give the potential outcomes for the reason why's. I don't always use this step, but I like to keep in on my mind when outlining. One of the reasons to lose weight would be to avoid being unnecessarily sick (negative power). The potential outcome from that is that you'd save money on medical costs. I like to make a list of potential real-world results that can happen related to motivators. At the very least, it helps me get one step closer into the mind of the audience I'm writing for.
How to Kill Procrastination Once and For All I want you to imagine this scenario really quickly. You get up in the morning and you head into your office to write a report. You sit down and instantly start writing. You never ponder. You never wait for inspiration to hit you. You never even have to worry about what you're going to write. 1
You do this again the next morning. And the next. And the next. And you can do it any time you write. This is me. It's not because I'm some sort of superstar. It's because I start everyday at the beginning of a new chapter for a report. I just sit down and start telling them why they should know the information. I hit all the important motivators. I paint some results in advance. I give them some scenarios. When I'm finished, I'm in such a state of flow that I'm ready to jump into the next part of the outline – the “What”.
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The “What” Section Have you ever read a USA Today from front to back, word for word? If you have, you're a masochist. Instead, you've probably only read what was of interest to you and relevant to you. And even then, you probably mostly only read the headline and skimmed the article. Too many product creators suffer from what I call “information ejaculation”. They tell you everything they know – whether it is relevant to your outcome or not. It's hard not to, if you don't have a system to stop you from being your own worst enemy. This is what the “what” portion of the outline is all about. It allows you to filter out all the possible information you can present to your audience, and helps you narrow in only on the most relevant and valuable information they need to know to get the results you promise. There are several reasons you want to do this. First, it allows you to control “information overload”, instead of being forced into paralysis because you aren't sure what information to present to your audience and where to present it. Also, if you don't present the right information, your customers are going to walk away from you shaking their heads saying, “I just purchased another ebook that really didn't give me what I needed to know.” Or, worse, they hit the message boards complaining about how you spent eight chapters on how to set up an email account, and only 1 chapter on how to locate a profitable niche. You have to follow this process if you want to hit the sweet spot that makes your customers say “That's just right – not too much, not too little.” Think Goldie Locks and the three bears.
Once You Know How People Learn, You'll Become Rich Before we get into the mechanics of this portion of your outline, let's reflect on your goal for writing your report. If your goal is to make a lot of money, then there is something you have to know about learning in order to make more money then you ever have before.
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If your goal is to help others out, and you derive most of your satisfaction from improving the lives of others, then it's even more important that you understand a critical aspect of learning. Most people don't understand learning. That's because most of us were brought up in a setting that did not facilitate learning – I'm talking about class rooms. Here's what learning is, that is most relevant to us. Learning is something that, once it occurs, changes your behavior. To help you understand what learning is, let's look at an example of what it isn't. I'm 17 years old, and I'm sitting in my economics class. My teacher is telling us we should set up a Roth IRA to plan for our retirement. I agree, we should. I think it's valuable information. So what do I do? Go to lunch, and never think about it again. I didn't set up a roth IRA. While I knew its merits and could explain it competently enough to pass that portion of my final exam, it begs the question – did I really learn about the importance of a roth IRA? No. If I had, it would've made me want to set one up. I didn't learn – I memorized. Now I'm 23. I'm out there struggling my butt off trying to make a couple dimes running an online business. I'm working 10-16 hours a day and I'm still losing the shirt off my back. Finally, things come together and I start making money. But I realize I don't want to have to work like this all my life. Instead of having to be active to earn my income, I want passive income. I want my money to work for me. On a long drive one night, I put into my iPod an audio book called “The Richest Man in Babylon” that I recently purchased. I listen to it, and it talked about investing. What did I do? The next day I called up a financial advisor and set up an IRA. The information hadn't changed. My knowledge hadn't changed. But the first time, learning did not take place. The second time it did. This is a fine distinction that most marketers never really understand Not only is it your duty to give knowledge and information to your readers, but you have to make it as relevant to their own personal experiences as possible. You do this and learning will take place on levels that you had previously thought never existed. 2
I have a process that I've created which allows me to not only present the “Goldilocks” amount of information (not too much, not too little), but also allows me to present it in such a way that the reader can take it, internalize it and connect it to their own experiences, and then actually learn the information. Here's how it's done.
Learning Instead of Memorizing Here is what the outline looks like for the what section of your chapter: 1. What
a)concepts b)principles c)processes d)procedures There are a lot of people who get pissed off when you give them theory. In fact, people think that theory is bad. And it can be bad if some fake charlatan is passing off theory to make up for lack of experience. If you don't give them theory, then not only are you isolating the “Why” learners, but you are also doing your customers the greatest disservice. You are not allowing them to learn, but only to memorize. You're not allowing them to internalize the information as you have done when you first conceptualized the idea. Instead, you've just given them some rules to follow. If that happens, they'll go and apply your step by step process, but they'll get stuck. Or they'll mess it up. Or they won't learn how to transfer the idea to a different set of circumstances. Or they'll get frustrated and quit. To ensure that maximum learning takes place, you need to give them theory before you give them “how-to”. On the flip side, all theory with no action steps is no good either. You give them the conceptualization, but you don't make it real to them. We need theory to allow them to conceptualize their own potential uses of the information we give them. We need action plans to allow them to take that information and apply it in the real world. When we give them both, they'll act immediately, and then they'll be able to strategically handle 2
anomalies and other unforeseen events that are bound to take place. They'll adapt to their surroundings, and they'll keep taking action. That's because we've made it as real to their experiences as possible. First, let me give you a quick overview of how I use this portion of the outline. Then I'll break down each step more in depth. After I'm finished, I'll give you some actual examples so you can see how this works.
Concepts The first portion of the “What” phase is to define the concept. This is simple. I just take the main point of the chapter, and then I define that concept in the most relevant way to my listener. Example – let's say we're writing to internet marketers and we're talking about “target marketing”. After I explain to them why they should know about target marketing, using the six motivators (the “why section” of the outline) I then define target marketing for them, based on my own personal definition. So I might say, “Target Marketing is getting a large group of people who share the same interest to step forward and identify themselves and say 'I'm perfect for what you're offering'. So when you first get into the what section of your outline, immediately take the main point and try to define the whole thing in one super precise and all-encompassing sentence. Or you might want to think of it as your “chapter elevator pitch”. An elevator pitch is a phrase someone creates that allows them to tell a complete stranger exactly what they do in under 30 seconds, and also makes that stranger interested in knowing more. The first thing you should for your outline is come up with an elevatorpitch definition of the main point of that topic. This helps your reader understand the theory and relevance behind the process. After you've defined the main concept of the chapter, you and your reader will now be able to speak the same language. Now you can go to the second part of the outline, which is the principles.
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Principles Let's use this report as an example. The concept behind it is “Using a specific outline in such a way to create well written reports as quick as possible that are most likely to help your customers get the results they most desire”. The principle is -- “This method works because we use the four basic ways that people process information, and create an outline that forces us to present our information in a relevant fashion that allows all of them to best process our information, internalize it and ultimately use it to their advantage.” The principle in your outline is used to support your concept. In other words, it is how you take data and interpret it back up your concept. To best optimize the learning process, you have to give them some science and facts before you tell your audience how it works. Think of it this way – show them that it works before you show them how it works. I always take my concepts and supplement them with scientific data of some sort. In this case, the scientific data is the four learning styles that were discovered by David C. McClelland. I've extrapolated his conclusions, and used them in writing my reports. I got amazing results, so now I'm sharing those results with you. The reason it works is because I've using a scientific formula based on research, tested it out with my own twists, and have gotten incredible results from it in my own business. That's the main principle behind the concept. Quick review. When starting the “What” portion of your outline, first define your main concept. Then, define the principles that lead you to hypothesize your concept, try it out and ultimately get success from it. Tie it to something factual, if possible. The last thing I like to do with principles is to tie them back to the real world. For example, I discussed learning styles a bit. I could follow it up by saying: “This makes sense, doesn't it? Have you ever felt yourself being able to learn about something instantly from one person, no matter what the subject 2
was, while another person couldn't teach you even the most basic stuff? That's because there was a learning style mismatch...” Action Steps
1. Take the definition of your main concept, and back it up with principles 2. Let you reader know how you conceptualized the idea, preferrably related to factual and scientific evidence 3. Tie it back to real world experiences. Once you've defined your concept, backed it up with a principle, and then tied it to an everyday experience, it's time to go to the next step.
Process There are two reports I find myself writing. The first report is one like this. It's something I've done so many times myself and in my own business, that I don't really need to do any research on it. I can just sit down and come up with an outline off the top of my head because I know the process so well. But a lot of times I write reports on subjects that I need to do a lot of research on or that I haven't quite internalized yet. When this happens, I find that I must do one thing in order to create a highly quality report: Create a visual aid that gives an overview of the subject I am teaching about. I either use flow charts, mind maps, outlines or I just make a drawing in my notebook. I've used an outline in this report that I keep coming back to. Each chapter I fill it in a little more, and expand on it. Have you noticed I've almost always done this before I've described the finer points within the outline? There is a very scientific reason for this. Before I can show you a concept that I've turned into a technique, I first have to make it real to you. The best way to do that is by making into something you can physically see with your eyes. So let's see how this ties into the “what” section. First, define the concept. Second, define the principles behind that concept that make it work. After doing that, make the concept real to them so they can see exactly how it works with their own eyes. Literally, by using a visual aid. 2
If you're really good an describing your subject, or it isn't terribly complex, just use an outline. For more complex stuff, take the time to actually create a flow chart or a mind map. I like to create two flow charts. One for the overall book, and one for each chapter. Don't get crazy with it. Just make a crude drawing in your notebook. Then get some simple flowchart software to make your charts quickly. I use the power point tool in OpenOffice, but I'm sure there are even better options available. Then, when it comes time to take the concepts and principles and make them real to your audience, you just drop in your flow chart or whatever visual aid you're using, and then you go off of that to explain to them the next aspect of the “what”, which is the procedure.
Procedure This is the simplest step of all. The procedure is your steps. First you do this, then you do this, then you do that and then you'll get this. What you'll notice about this report is that every chapter has a step by step action sequence in it. I try to never leave you saying, “well, what do I do next?”. Oftentimes I will put it close the end of every chapter with a summary of action steps, which I just pull from my outline. For example, here's the action steps for the “what” section of your outline: 1. Define you concept in one sentence that encapsulates all the main points of that concept 2. Give the principles behind that concept which led you to try it out, use it and ultimately get results from it. 3. Make your concept and principles real by using a visual aid showing how it all flows together. 4. Give a step by step sequence of what the reader needs to do to get the results that you promise to deliver to them if they use your information. Once you really nail this process down, you won't even have to think about it. Your mind will automatically take the information you process and 2
sort it into concepts, principles, processes and procedures. Then when you sit down and write your outline, it will come to you naturally. Also, what you're likely to find happen is that when you start writing your report, you might deviate from your outline. This is desirable, because your outline is just to help you get to your goal, which is to present the best information in the best possible way that will enable your readers to use it and get favorable results. Once you really flesh out your skeleton, you'll be able to come up with better ideas on the fly, and you should follow and flesh those ideas out instead of sticking rigidly to your outline. If it doesn't work, go back and rewrite it. But oftentimes, you'll find it comes out better than it would've if you just dogmatically stuck to your outline. But of course, none of it would have been possible in the first place if you hadn't sat down and did the outline the way I showed you.
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The “How” Section Repetition Creates Skill I started wrestling in first grade. I lost 5 matches, and only won 1. The next year I lost 10 matches and only won 2. In third grade, things clicked and I won 23 matches and lost 10. I was wrestling more because I was winning more. In fourth grade, I won 34 matches and only lost 5. From then on, I was a powerhouse. What happened? Each year I got a little better. I really only used four moves, but I practiced those four moves like crazy. At first, I couldn't do them to save my life. But three years later I was able to do them almost flawlessly, even when I was exhausted. You have to build in systems into your report that make your readers understand that there is an internalization process that needs to take place before they can truly reap the benefits that your information will allow them to. If you don't create the system, you'll find that your audience will not get a lot of results from your report. The only people who will become your success stories are those who are already predisposed and extremely determined to make it happen. Those are the 5%'ers we keep referring to. However, by just taking a few additional steps when using your outline, you can build in exercises they can perform repeatedly, so they can cultivate the skill necessary to get the results you promise they can get. This will allow you to get a ton more people off of the fence and taking action. This will motivate you to keep putting products out and making money, and the testimonials will make your marketing more effective. You'll find in a later chapter I talk about how to use the information and exercises I've outlined for you so far, and turn them into skill building exercises so you get the best results possible from my report. Let's look at an example. Let's say you're teaching someone how to become more fit, and you're outlining an excellent cardiovascular exercise routine they can use to almost instantly improve their fitness.
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What normally happens? They'll try your program out a few times, but then when something unexpected comes up in their life, they'll default right back into their old habits. There will be no lasting change. But what if you presented your program in a different light? What if, instead of having them complete the entire program, you also gave them the option to complete it in modular steps. For the first week, they can only work out for five minutes. This is just getting them into the habit of doing it. For the second week, it's ten minutes, and so on until you get all the way up to the complete workout. I've done something similar in this report. I've given you exercises for each specific aspect of the outline. I've broken the outline down so you can focus on doing it a chapter at a time. By reframing the outline into chapters, it makes it easier for you to go and do it. You must create “skill building exercises” for your readers to practice. Not all of your readers will need them. But there are going to be some who will have to have them if they are going to get any results. Let's review the outline so far. You've picked your ten main points that are going to be the ten chapters of your report. For each chapter, you've started it off with “why” your reader should learn the information in that chapter. Your reasons relate to the six main motivators humans have. After your why, you went into the what. First, you gave a definition of the main concept for that chapter. Then you explained why it works, based on how you developed, tested and got results with that concept. After that, you made the idea real by giving them a visual overview, either with a flowchart, outline or a mind map. Then you supplied them with a step by step action sequence for making it happen. Finally, you took that sequence and turned aspects of it into “skill building exercises”. You might've said something like “step 2 is tricky, and you probably won't get it right the first time. If you're experiencing trouble with this step, then do X...”. X of course, is the specific skill that you've created to help them internalize the process through a repetitive behavior. I'll tie all of this together for you in a bit so you can see how it all works. But before I can do that, we must talk about the next step – ghost coaching.
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Ghost Coaching Look at all the great athletes. They have coaches. Tiger Woods has several different coaches for different aspects of his game. Not only does he have someone coach him on his golf game, but he has a “mind coach” for the mental aspects of the game. Any task that requires any amount of skill can be better learned if you have a coach helping you. Why is this so? First, accountability. If nothing else, your actions are now not just accountable to you – they're accountable to someone else. When I really decided to approach internet marketing as a business instead of a hobby, I called my mom up. I told her, “Every time we talk or I visit, the first thing I want you to ask me is – 'what have you done in your business to get closer to your goals?” Not Hi. Not how's it going? I wanted her to make me extremely accountable for my actions. If I had been slacking I told her to ask me a simple follow-up question: “Do you think if you keep this up you'll get closer or farther away from your goals?” I can't describe to you how guilty I felt when I'd have to tell her that I hadn't been really taking my business seriously. Pretty soon I found myself taking action just so I could tell my mom that I wasn't be lazy. Silly, I know. But it works. So the first things that coaches do is they make you accountable. If you haven't been doing what you're supposed to, they'll know. If you've gotten off track or distracted, they'll know. This will make you more likely to meet you goal. The second reason why it's important to have a coach is for the feedback. I used to do a lot of marketing in the “how to pick up women” niche. Here's what's interesting about that niche. Most students think it's what you say that makes the girl like you or not. So they focus all their time on saying the “right” things. Then they approach a woman with poor posture, “needy” body language and poor vocal tonality. So even though they are saying the right things, their body language isn't congruent and it creeps women out.
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The thing is, these students have no idea that this is going on. But then they go to a workshop, and a coach will point it out to them right away. Then he'll say, “approach that next woman, but only do this...” The student will try it. It might work or it might not. But what's more important is he'll come back to the coach for further feedback. It might be something like “Okay, you're getting better but you're still doing this. Next time do X instead...” A coach takes what you're doing, analyses it, and then makes you change your behavior. No change in behavior, no change in results. When you're on your own, you have to guess for yourself what behaviors that need to be changed. The interesting thing is that most people who try something fail once, and go into what I call “overwhelm zone”. By failing to do it right the first time, they conclude that the information either is faulty, or it won't work for them. For some reason, it never occurs to them to try it with a different approach. On the other hand, if you do decide to stick with it, what behaviors do you change? It's kind of a crap shoot. Ghost coaching is addressing the most likely “sticking points” your audience will have in advance, and preparing them to analyze their feedback to change the behaviors that are most likely stopping them from getting their desired results. It's important that you truly understand this concept. First, most information publishers and information marketers do not even understand this. If you don't understand it, how are you going to make sure to address it in the report you write? But once you do understand it, you can effectively “coach” them from inside your report. Here's how you put this piece of information to use. You go back and analyze all of your “procedures”, which are your step-by-step action plans for each chapter. Then you develop a “skill building exercise” for the hardest one or two steps in your procedure. Then, you make sure to stress the importance of using that exercise to get feedback in certain key areas, with the idea that if 3
they're having trouble with that area that it's more important for them to just change their behavior to change their results. Let me show you how it works. We'll return back to the “how to get women” example. In your first chapter, you're talking about how to approach women. The first two steps of your “what” procedure may be: 1. Go to where women are most easily approachable 2. Come up with 3 or 4 different “openings” you can use to start a conversation Now, let's say you know that most men have trouble approaching women, even with conversation openers that have been proven to work and have been demonstrated in front of their very eyes as being effective. So you might first come up with a skill building exercise for this step. It might be “If you're having problems with step 2, then for the first week, your goal is to do nothing more than walk up to five women a day and say hi, and then walk away.” This is the skill-building exercise. For the ghost coaching portion, you might say “It's not important that you are successful at first. What is important is that you use each approach as a way to gain feedback. If you find you are afraid to approach women, then you must something – anything – to change what is currently causing you to feel this way.” What I've done here is addressed a potential sticking point in advance, and given solutions on how to remedy that sticking point. What doesn't work is sending your readers out into the real world with a bunch of great information, but not preparing them for the stumbling blocks they are likely to encounter along the way. But if you take the time to do this little extra step, here's what is likely to happen. First, the speed of skill-building will be increased. They'll get better results, and they'll get them faster. Second, it's a perfect opportunity for you to create back end products and bonuses that cover these sticking points in more depth. In fact, one of the bonuses for this very report is a free “30 minute strategic consultation”. Here's why I've created it as a bonus. 3
What I first want you to do is try out my outline for yourself. Since this is the first version of my report, I know I haven't made everything perfectly clear and as easy to follow as I could've. That's just how it is when you sit down and create something the first time. But by going out and applying my methods, I know for a fact you'll get way better results than you have been getting. However, there may be some aspects you still struggle with. After testing my method out, you have the choice, if you wish, to schedule a free 30 minute one-on-one strategic phone consultation with me so we can address those sticking points and come up with solutions that will help you get the most out of this report as possible. I've built this bonus into this report for two simple reasons. First, I figured the bonus would create higher value, thus making it easier to sell this report to you. Second, it's a great way for me to create testimonials, and since I'm not a great copywriter, I mostly use testimonials to do my persuasion for me. Anyway, if you want to take advantage of your free consultation and haven't done so yet, just email me at
[email protected] and we can coordinate a time.
Action Steps So to give you it all in a nutshell, here's the process for outlining the “How” section of your report: 1. Review your “step by step” procedure in your “what” sections 2. Identify the most problematic steps, and offer skill building exercises to help you audience master the skills required in those steps as quick as possible 3. Stress the importance of feedback and the role it plays in the learning process. 4. Use examples of how behavioral changes are required to change results, so your reader best understand what to do if they get stuck and can't make progress.
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What is your reward if you follow this section? Well, you're picking up a whole chunk of your audience that would otherwise be neglected if you left this step out. Also, since it is a formula, it just makes the whole outlining process of your report that much easier Finally, it creates immense value, which will boost the lifetime value of your customer and ultimately put more money in your pocket.
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The “What If” Section Painting Results in Advance I had a girl I dated who would always say to me -- “You're addicted to money.” Or she might say, 'You're obsessed with money.” Occasionally I'd hear “All you think about is money.” She was only half right. I love money, and I want to have a bunch of it, and I want to have it at a young age. But it's not the money I desire – it's what the money can do for me. I'd tell her -- “You live your life working for someone else's goal. You have to go to work at a certain time and you get off work at a certain time. And whatever they're paying you, they're making more than that from your efforts. That's unacceptable to me – If I have financial freedom, I could sit my own schedule instead of following someone else's. That's why I want to get rich” I'd tell her -- “Don't you want your family to have the nicest things that you know they're entitled to? I do. I want my brother to have every opportunity in the world to fulfill his destiny. If money weren't a problem for me, I could use my resources to help him. I could use my resources to provide a job for my mother so she no longer has to work in a steel mill. All of that's possible with a lot of money. That's why I want to get rich”. Finally, I'd tell her -- “Don't you want to see the most beautiful and fascinating places on this earth? Don't you want to meet the most beautiful and fascinating people on this earth? Don't you want to live a life of total abundance instead of a life of deficiency? Well you can do all that with money. That's why I want to get rich” If you create a report on how to make a lot of money, and then you don't explain to them what that money can do for them, a huge chunk of your audience is going to miss the bigger picture, and therefore be less likely to act on your information. There are two portions of your audience that need the “what if”. The most important portion are those who are only interested in the potential results, and won't learn anything until they know its ultimate outcome. 3
The second portion of your audience needs help seeing the promise before they are willing to pay the price. If you don't paint the most attractive results in advance, they'll not put in the effort it takes to get those results. You have to help this portion of your audience understand that the pain of discipline only ways ounces while the pain of regret weighs tons. There's no use of doing it right the first ¾ of the way only to screw it all up at the end. Apply the what if, and you'll be able to close out the chapter knowing that you hit every single learning style, and that you have best presented your information in a way that is most likely to give your prospects the results they desire. Here is the outline for the “What if” section: 1. Possible Outcomes 2. Where to Use the Information 3. Where not to Use the Information Let's discuss each.
Possible outcomes These are the things money can do for me that the woman I was dating didn't see. Once I explained these outcomes to her, then guess what – next week she told me was going to change her career. She realized that she needed to take control of her financial destiny, too, if she really wanted to get more out of life. In other words, I had taught her the importance of money. I could've given her a plan on how to make the money, I could've told her why she should make the money, but none of those would've been effective. The only thing that was effective was giving her very vivid possible outcomes. “What if” learners need very specific outcomes. “What if” learners need “Look, if you want to have X, Y, Z, and be able to do A,B, and C, then just follow this plan.”
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So the first step is to give them very descriptive scenarios of what is possible once they take your information and apply it in the real world. Once you've done this, it's time for step two...
Where to Use the Information With any information, there are places where it applies to better than others. For example, when you have the ability to write reports expertly using my method, you can use these techniques to create lead generation reports, reports with affiliate links, and you can even take the basic principles and use it to develop a sales presentation, or as an outline for a teleseminar. The idea is that after you give them very vivid examples, you chunk it up and generalize it. The reason is that for this portion of your audience to get the best results from your information, they need to project someone else's results into their own circumstances. By showing them the different places to use this information, you'll show them how transferable that information is. If they learn how to transfer the “what if” scenario to their own personal scenario, they'll be able to take your information and apply it to any relevant area where the information is useful.
Where Not to Use the Information To help them understand how to transfer the potential results to their situation, not only do you have to show them where to use the information, but you have to show them where the information doesn't apply. For example, you can't use my formula to write a romance novel. Also, writing these reports themselves is not going to make you rich. You also need to have some basic marketing skills. Writing advertisements with this formula is not a good idea. Although I do use elements of this outline in my sales letter. (I actually have a whole other approach for sales letters, and if you're interested in it, I could send the report to you for free – just email me at
[email protected]) And naturally, for whatever topics you're writing on, there's going to be a lot of places and circumstances where you information should not be used. By helping them understand the difference between where your information works and were it doesn't work, you'll help them best take that 3
information and transfer it to their own personal circumstances, so they can achieve the outcome they desire.
Action Steps Once you have started the outline of your “what if” section, here's what you do: 1. Come up with 2-4 possible outcomes your readers can have if they put the information in that chapter to use 2. Explain to them where the information applies so they best understand the principles behind it that are going to give them an outcome similar to the ones you described above 3. Tell them where the information won't work, so they further distinguish the mechanics behind where it can and can't be applied to get the outcomes they desire This part of your outline shouldn't take a lot of time. My only bit of advice here is that if you think some of the “what if” outcomes are obvious, that's because you're probably a “what if” thinker yourself. However, realize that not all of your audience is, so it won't be so obvious to them. At any rate, if you're a “what if” thinker, chances are you've been creating reports that only cater to others who share the same learning style. By the time you get to the “what if”, you'll have already hit the “why” thinkers, the “what” thinkers and the “how” thinkers. So then when it comes time to present the obvious, you'll have already covered everything that is equally as important but not as “obvious”.
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The Second Draft Let me give you an idea of how I conceptualized this report. It was a Thursday morning, and I had about an hour before I had to be at the airport, because I was flying down to an internet marketing seminar. I had an hour of idle time to kill, when an idea for a report hit me. My original idea was to create a short report on how to use this outline to write reports you could sell for money in as little as two hours (I have now turned that report into a bonus). When I sat down to sketch the outline, it just started unfolding, and I had 6 pages worth of outline material. Wow! It was clear that I needed to make a larger report. I finished up the outline with just enough time to get to the airport and make it to my gate without sweating it. I figured I wouldn't have time to work on the outline until I got back home, but as an afterthought, I shoved it into my “carry-on” bag. Good thing I did. I had a lay over flight that ended up getting delayed 6 hours! I was stuck twiddling my thumbs with nothing to do at the airport. So I broke out my laptop and just begin writing, based on the outline. Remember how I said I like to write in a certain environment? Well, let me tell you that an airport is not the best environment. In fact, one of my major criteria is that I won't generally work if I am not enjoying the process. Needless to say, I was not enjoying the process much. I was just killing time. Well, the flight got there, I folded up my laptop, and I didn't even glance at my report until a week later, when I got back home from the trip and things returned to normal. During that week's time, I somehow had gotten it in my head that the first three chapters were garbage, and I needed to trash the whole thing and start over again. Looking back, I'm sure I only felt this way because I wasn't enjoying the actual writing process. It got to the point where I didn't even want to work on the report because I thought I had to start over from scratch. 4
But when I sat down and read through the first three chapters, I realized they were perfectly fine. So I kept them. I have often found that you should never do a second draft until after you've stepped away from your report for a while, and given it some time to rest. I advocate writing without looking back. I almost never edit anything on my first draft. Whatever is typed out stays. Then, when I go back and read through the whole thing a second time, I'll decide if things need to be rewritten or not. Note – I'm talking about rewriting to enhance the ideas in the report, not for correcting spelling and grammar mistakes. I always read through my report twice just looking to correct mistakes. However, I still miss a lot, and I'm not the best role model for grammar and spelling... What I have found in actual practice is that it is rarely a good idea to write a second draft, especially if you use my report writing method. There are several reasons why shouldn't even consider the second draft. Perhaps the main reason is that your pursuit for perfection will leave you powerless from just getting it down and putting it out there. The second reason why you should consider if you should do a redraft is often you'll get all the feedback you need from the marketplace. I find it's better to get it out there and offer it at a low price, get the feedback, pull the product, and then redraft it and sell it for a higher price. However, you should at least consider writing a second draft of your report before you put it out there.
Is a Second draft required? The main purpose of a second draft is to clean your ideas up, organize them better, and to present them in a way that is clearer for your audience. It is not to make your report perfect. It works best when you have had trouble putting your thoughts on paper. If you go through a section and say to yourself, “That isn't really what I meant to say”, then you should definitely do a second draft. But if you go through your report and say “I think I might be able to say it better...” then I would recommend leaving it alone.
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The second reason why it pays to do a redraft is sometimes you'll find a better way to organize your information. Oftentimes on my outline I'll break things down into chunks, but when I start writing I'll come up with ways to combine all four learning styles at once. Usually, since I'm doing this on the fly it won't come out as clear as I'd like it. If I've deviated significantly from the outline, when I'm finished I go back and ask myself is the deviation is clear enough to my reader, or if it needs to be cleaned up. There is only one other reason that compels me to rewrite my first draft. That's if I get a big idea that I can implement into the report that didn't occur to me when I was writing the first draft. Here's my process, when evaluating whether or not to rewrite something: 1. Is this the point I really wanted to make? If not, I'll re-write it 2. Is the way I organized my information confusing to the reader? If it is, I'll re-write it 3. Is there another aspect to this section that I missed originally? If so, I'll rewrite it to include that aspect As you can tell, those rules are very flexible and are open to interpretation. That's why I've created one underlying philosophy that has helped me stay effective, productive and profitable. When in doubt, I don't re-write. Here is a fact I have found to be true – it's better to be first than it is to be better. In other words, the marketplace is more likely to reward you for speedily giving them a “good enough” solution than slowly offering them a “perfect solution”. They just want their problems solved. So when in doubt, put it out. I have what I like to call my “good enough” range. Once I write something that I deem “good enough” then I don't tamper with it. You should develop your own good enough range, otherwise you'll spend too much time perfecting your report. Here's what's great about having a “good enough” range. If you find out that your range is out of proportion to your marketplace, they'll let you know. They'll send you emails that say -- “hey, can you clear this up for me?” or “Hey, I don't understand this part.” 4
If you get enough of these emails, then go back and rework the second draft. To drive home the process of the second draft, let me give you the following scenario. Who do you think is more likely to make money on the internet – the guy who puts out 6 reports in 2 months that are “good enough” or the guy who really goes hard at it and only get 1 report down in 6 months. A no-brainer, right? And let's not forget, we live in “web 2.0” land, where it's very possible to create a report that goes viral. You're much more likely to bang out a viral report if you have 6 chances than if you only have one. Let me close the chapter with this final piece of advice. Most people rewrite too much. So, if you're like most people, you need to over-compensate your “good enough range”. Here's a good rule of thumb to follow – For every 6 sections you are considering re-writing, pick the one you think needs it most and just re-write that section. Leave the rest as they are for now. Only change them if you get a lot of feedback from the marketplace.
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Making This Report Work For You It's important that you put this information to use. Otherwise, it will be just another report that's sitting on your hard drive. Instead of using this information to change your behavior in a positive way, you'll be doing the opposite: Reinforcing the bad behavior of getting good advice but not acting on it. Regardless, it is my opinion that you owe it to your customers to present your information in a systematic method that guarantees you'll hit every major learning style in such a way that best facilitates action. As technology advances, marketing becomes more “product driven” than advertisement driven. This means that you can use one great product to sell a ton of other great products, because it doesn't cost you much to create and deliver information these days. In other words, those who have the best products and use those products as marketing tools are going to be the most successful. Everyone else will have to resort to using hypey 50 page sales letters. When I talk about making this report work for you, what I'm really saying is extracting the information given in this report in digestible chunks that you can use immediately in your business. It's more important to just take ANY aspect you've gotten out of this report and put it to work for you immediately. Small behavioral changes will lead to larger ones. Internalizing different aspects of this report can be leveraged to help you better internalize other aspects.
Action Steps Here's the procedure to follow to get the most out of this report. 1. Read this report, and highlight the three biggest “takeaways” you got from the report. 2. Create a plan to implement those ideas into your current business model right away.
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3. Take the point that had the biggest impact on you and do some sort of action step, regardless of how big or small it is, to act on that point and take action immediately. For example, some of you reading this have never used an outline. If that's the case, then here's your first step of action – pick out a topic that you've been thinking about writing a report on for some time, and create an outline for it. Do it immediately after you finish reading this report. Just use the outline template I have included later in this report. Remember, real learning only takes place if it changes your behavior. I've done everything within my will power to present to you information that is easiest for you to act on, no matter what your learning style is. Now it's up to you to actually act upon it.
When Theory & Reality Meet I was talking to a pretty big-time internet marketer at a seminar once who was an expert at email marketing. One of the things he said to me was, “There's no excuse for you not sending yourself a 'test' email first to doublecheck everything before you send it out to your list.” And you know what? He's right. There is no excuse. Yet big time gurus do this every day. If you have ever gotten an email that says {%FIRSTNAME} instead of your actual first name, you know what I'm talking about. I even told this marketer that I myself was guilty of doing just that two days ago. But there was a very real reason why. I was running late to a friend's wedding, my clothes still needed ironed and my date was waiting for me downstairs. However, I still wanted to send an email to my list because I wanted to tell them about a seminar that was being offered to download for free online, but was only going to be up for the next twenty four hours, and that there was no catch for downloading it. It was just something good to give to my list. Under these circumstances, I just fired an email off and went to the wedding. When I got back later that night, I noticed I made the dreaded FIRSTNAME error.
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How does that apply to this report? Well, in a perfect world every idea and theory would line up and fit neatly in your report. In a perfect world, you'd have an unlimited amount of time and energy to really make things sit as they should. However, you don't. You face deadlines. You face financial pressures. You face pressures to get your report out there before someone else writes one with the same idea. Don't stick to the outline as if it is gospel. Go back and look at my report. There are plenty of times where I've slightly deviated from my own structure. However, I can tell you for a fact that I never write a report without using the outline as a starting point. The real goal of this report is to help you internalize the process, so that the outline and presentation of information become second nature to you. It's more important that you're hitting the four major learning styles square in the eyes then it is to hit them in any certain order or with any rigid rules. It's more important to understand that you have to make an idea real with some sort of visual cue than it is to do a paint by the number flow chart after every principle you define. I hope I've made clear the real purpose of this report, which is this -- I want you to take this new information I've given you, mix it together with information you already know to be true and beneficial, and then arrange and match the two together to create your own, new strategies. These are what create those “AH-HA!” moments. If that happens, I will consider this report a huge success.
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The Process, Step By Step Here's an action plan I have created for you to help you put this information to use immediately. 1. Pick a topic that you want to write a report about 2. Do the necessary research to find the 7-10 biggest aspects of the that topic that your readers are dying to learn about 3. Break each of those main points down into a chapter, and use the following outline for each chapter:
Title of Chapter Why 1. This is why you should learn about X.... 2. X will allow you to take control of... 3. X will prevent you from losing control of.. 4. X will help others by... 5. Not doing X hurts others by... 6. This is how you will feel after you accomplish X... 7. And this is how you will feel if you don't accomplish X
What 1. For the purpose of this report, this is how I define X... 2. These are the principles which governs why X works... 3. This is the “overall flow” of how X works... (use visual aid) 4. This is the exact step by step sequence of how to use X to get the results you want
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How 1. This is how you can stick to the plan of achieving X by following the steps above 2. These are the problems that stop most people from following through with X, and here's how you overcome them... 3. Here's how you can use feedback when trying X to get the best results as quick as possible...
What if 1. If you follow the steps properly, these are some of the possible outcomes you can enjoy 2. These are where you can apply the techniques and strategies of X to get similar outcomes as those described above 3. These are where applying the techniques and strategies of X won't work, so you should avoid these scenarios if you want to get the outcomes described above... Then just do this for each chapter. Of course, you don't want to use these words verbatim, but they can used as a guide for your own outline. And under each of these points, feel free to add “sub points”. For example, under the “These are the principles which governs why X works...” it's recommended you write down all the principles in your outline before you begin typing the report. If you're still having trouble seeing how it all fits together, just go back through my report, and see how I used the outline myself. Try to identify each of the four major sections, and how they are organized and flow together.
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