Download pdf - Alexis Dawes - Desperate Buyers Only

7/31/2019 Alexis Dawes - Desperate Buyers Only

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Desperate Buyers OnlyAn information product creators guide to writing and marketing so that

people with problems will buy

Copyright 2006 Alexis Dawes

Web Profit EngineP.O. Box 516Summerfield, FL 34492-0516

http://www.DesperateBuyersOnly.com

Notice of rights

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmittedin any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the

publisher.

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Table of Contents

My Story 4

How To Get The Most Usage From This Manual 6

How To Choose Topics That Attract Readers Like Bee's To Honey - (It

has NOTHING to do with "Doing What You Love") 7One more great point about selling to desperate prospects... 26

Quick Content Creation - The Formula to Short, Sweet & Valuable 27Turning free apples into $5 apple juice - how I get free and sell high 27Compiling insider secrets - even when you're on the outside 30The key to writing so readers 'get it,' love it, and take action 34

Add the cherry on top 35Price it and put it on the shelf 36

How to Eat an Entire Army of Competitors for Breakfast and Still

Come Out Smelling Like a Rose 39The 5 Point Fish Hook 41The 5 Point Fish Hook at work 47The 5 Point Fish Hook meets the sales letter 50

Marketing Survival Guide - How to thrive like an Olympic gold

medalist in a sea of mere trophy winners 66Anatomy of a $200 a Day Site 71Anatomy of a $2,600 Site 79How to market your information product when there are an abundance of freebie sites 82

Appendix 83Where do readers congregate online? A sample Elance project description 84Where do readers congregate online? Research results checklist 86Desperately Seeking Problems 87Is This Really a Topic for Desperate Readers? 90Report Outline Templates 94Sales Letter Outline 95Collecting The Cash 96Final Words 98FREE 30 Minute Telephone Consultation 99

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My Story

I was born a writer. That's just my designated gig it life. But it doesn't meanI always enjoy doing it.

That's why you'll rarely see my name attached to magazine articles and otherworks that only pay me once. I learned a long time ago that it only costs aweek or so more to sit down and write an entire report, versus a 1,500 wordmagazine article.

For that extra weeks worth of work, you can get paid continuously formonths or years to come. Whereas an article may yield $500 up front, a

byline and a nice mimento for your great grandkids to look at in 50 years.Whoopee.

And I don't have to worry about my self-published reports going out of printand ending up on the remainder aisle for $5, where I'll get a 20 royalty per

book. I can update them at will, and keep on collecting the same $24.95.

Granted, it's not the same emotional gratification as seeing your book on thebookshelf at the local Barnes & Noble. But I got over it. I'd rather live inobscurity and have cash in my pocket everyday, than be at the mercy of a

publishing houses budget slash.

But it wasn't always such a cakewalk for me. I didn't always have the luxuryof collecting cash everyday.

In the beginning of my online sales adventures I read the advice of all kindsof authors who taught about writing e-books and that sort of stuff. There'squite a bit of good info out there. But none of it really struck a chord withme.

I'm not one of those "do what you love and the money will follow" type of

people. There are certain things I love to do, that I don't care to make moneyfrom. I just want to enjoy the sheer pleasure of doing it, and nothing else.

So I looked at it from a different angle.

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Instead of wondering how I could profit from the things I enjoyed, I beganlooking at the things that made my life unbearable. I asked myself, "Whatdreadful problems have I overcome, and could teach others to do in thesame situation?"

That began my path to a new way of thinking, and a far more efficient tacticfor writing. As I considered the difficult challenges that life had set up forme, I realized that a handful of my most pressing problems have hadsolutions that were simple and cut to the chase.

The thing that often takes us the longest to solve our problems is the actualleg work it takes to find a solution.

So I figured instead of writing about things that I enjoyed, I would write on

how to solve very specific, very difficult to solve problems.

It's really a no-brainer.

If you have a problem that's making your stomach churn day and night,causing you to lose sleep, get into arguments with your significant other,lose/gain weight, or just plain worry endlessly - it's a serious issue. Youwant a solution, and you want it quickly.

THAT'S the type of audience I wanted. The one's who needed a problem

solved, and didn't care for 200-page manuals to get to the solution.

After my revelation I sat down for an hour and wrote a 6-page report onhow to get a bank account if you've been placed in the ChexSystems. I putup a web site back in November 2004.

Since then I've written several more information products for desperatebuyers. And I've been generating sales on a daily basis since then. I'mtalking Christmas, holidays, everyday. The money doesn't stop. As long asthe problem exists, I make money.

So put away all your preconceived notions about the workings of theinformation publishing business. And be prepared to learn a technique thatnearly guarantees you'll always have a productive, cash producing business.

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How To Get The Most UsageFrom This Manual

1) Read through it once. Don't highlight anything. Don't take notes. Justacclimate your brain with the ideas presented.

2) Print out page 93 and keep it in your immediate workspace. Even ifyou don't sit down and immediately write your report, this worksheet willhelp you quickly see if an idea you run across is truly worth pursuing.

3) Choose just one target audience or topic, and become very familiar

with it. Once you've completed one report based on that target audience,

you'll know what it takes to crank out others on demand.

4) Keep your eyes and ears open to solutions for desperate situations.Listen to stories that friends and family members tell you. Can their

problems/solutions be turned into an information product? Always crosscheck your ideas against the Desperate Reader Worksheet on page 93.

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How to Choose Topics That Attract BuyersLike Bee's to Honey - (It has NOTHING to

do with "Doing What You Love")

Online infopreneurs fail for 3 main reasons--

1) They focus on general topics.

2) They focus on so-called 'hot' niche topics.

3) They follow the all-time favorite, and frequently quoted, adage, Do

what you love and the money will follow.

I know what I just stated is entirely contrary to what you've probably readand seen elsewhere. But the truth is the truth.

Normally when you create an information product that's based on one ofthese 3 premises there's no true needfor the information.

I'm not talking about going to Wordtracker.com and discovering there are50,000 searches for a particular keyword, and no information products tocover that niche.

Sure that's a pretty good demand, but not necessarily a need.

Just because 50,000 people want to know about digital cameras doesn'tmean they 'need' or even want to buy an information product that teachesthem how to take great pictures.

On the other hand, when you write on topics that people Need to Know, youenter an entirely different realm.

It's not just a possibility people will need your information - it's a fact. Andthat's what makes all the difference between extreme success andmediocrity.

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A perfect example of this theory at work is my report,How to Get a BankAccount Even if You're in the ChexSystem.

Having a checking account nowadays is not a luxury, it's an honest togoodness necessity item. The people who buy this report really need theinformation because they must have a checking account.

And yet if you're in that awful place called the ChexSystems - where youcan't get a bank account nearly anywhere for 5 lo-o-o-ng years - you knowhow vital it is to find a bank or two or three that will give you an accountregardless of your ChexSystems situation. Getting this information is likehaving a Fort Knox vault fly open right in front of you.

I know this first hand because unfortunately due to a fraudulent check a new

client gave me, my bank accounts were closed and I was placed in theChexSystems.

Until I finally found a few banks that offered accounts to ChexSystemsvictims, I was forced to use check cashing centers, and purchase moneyorders to pay my bills.

My problem is that I have clients around the world who send me checks andmoney orders. And it is IMPOSSIBLE to find a check cashing center that'll

put their hands on a foreign check.

It wasn't that I wanted a bank account, it was a NEED - and a very desperateone indeed. And I knew I couldn't be the only one hurting for thisinformation.

See the immediate difference between writing for a desperate audience,versus the traditional how-to seeker?

The only reason you should be writing traditional how-to information is ifyou're selling backend products to desperate readers who have already

purchased from you.

So how do you choose a topic that centers around a desperate reader?

Here's my step-by-step formula. Before you complete any of the tasks, it's

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important that you read through each step first. You'll see that some stepshave alternate options, depending on your findings.

I've created a chart on the following page to demonstrate how to effectivelygo through the steps.

STEP #1 - Choose your intended audience or topic.People who fish or fishing... scrapbookers or scrapbooking... clothingdesigners or apparel... physical trainers or physical training... mortgage

brokers or mortgages... you get the hint. It can be almost any intendedaudience or topic.

Here are 13 suggested audience bases to get your creative juices flowing.

1) People with bad/poor credit or financial difficulties.It doesn't matter how much information is freely available online related tofixing your bad credit. I know people who sell to this market, and it has

proven to be nothing but lucrative.

2) People losing a home.My sister once fell behind on her mortgage. When she was almost to the

point of foreclosure she searched high and low online for a lender thatwould give her a small loan. She also searched for information that wouldhelp her avoid the foreclosure process.

When faced with the prospect of losing the largest investment they've evermade in their lives, people turn to the Internet.

3) eBay sellersOver 430,000 people make their living selling on eBay. These folks are thePowersellers. Needless to say there are always hundreds of thousands moretrying to reach that coveted and highly desired status.

The problem is eBay has something like 40 million registered members. Soeven if you dismiss the Powersellers (who already do a great deal of sales)there's almost always going to be a great deal of competition.

What can you teach aspiring or existing Powersellers to help them furtherstand out from the competition? If you have a proven track record as a

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Powerseller you're got a solid case for a report.

4) Online marketersA lot of people who teach others how to create and sell information

products are always trying to steer their students away from selling to onlinemarketers. Maybe they want their students outselling them!

Now here's the truth. Online marketers are indeed rabid buyers. But... youhave to present unique information to them. You really can't just re-hashsome stuff and expect to do well.

I discovered a cool technique for getting traffic from Google, and I sell it inmy Back Road To Google report. It's not something that other people teach.It's a technique that I basically stumbled upon while promoting my own

sites.

My first month of selling the report I generated close to $10K.

So it's not that the market is overcrowded, it's that you have to come withsomething new and unique.

5) Network marketers who aren't making money.Network marketers come and go, come and go. Sometimes they jump fromone opportunity to the next.

But one thing is for certain. They DO spend a lot of money to better honetheir skills. If you've been successful in this field, there is always room foranother information product.

6) GamblersGamblers are poster children for desperation - (and I say that with a smile,

because I love to gamble!).

There's a never ending influx of new gamblers - (just look at the pokercraze) - they're often on the verge of losing something important (theirmoney), they may have already lost some money and want to get it back,and they're always desperate for more money. Need I say more?

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One thing I've noticed is that gambling secrets type e-books sell really wellon eBay. I've seen win the lottery e-books earn their authors upwards of$10K a month.

It seems like every few months a new one comes out, and all the gamblersbuy it in droves. If readers leave feedback saying the techniques actuallywork, it's like the ultimate payday for the author.

7) People going through divorce.Even if you've never been through a divorce, I'm sure you don't have toimagine how messy these things can get.

There's the division of assets, spousal support, child support, and just anincredible emotional strain that comes with the divorce process. And many

people do go online looking for divorce resources.

I recently ran across a site called DivorcePrep.com. Their claim to fame isthat they offer an audio/software set on secret divorce planning for men. Iquestion how wise it is to have a physical product like this, seeing howwomen can get into detective mode at the drop of a hat. (I'm a woman, Iknow these things!) But it's certainly a smart selling point.

8) People with a non-life threatening health problem.Have you ever had a chronic sinus infection? Sweet mother of pearl, if

you've never had one, you DON'T want one.

What about foot fungus? Eczema? Smelly breath? Acne?

People with non-life threatening health disorders often look online forremedies to their problems. Especially if the problem makes them lessattractive or smelly.

Just be careful what you say when you issue your advice. The FDA reallydoes crack down on people who appear to be giving medical advice, or whomake questionable claims.

9) People who want a status symbol that they cannot afford.Many people buy reports and e-books that tell them where to find luxurygoods at wholesale prices because they crave the feeling and the appearance

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that comes from having such status symbols.

What advice can you give to status symbol seekers related to cars, clothes,jewelry, art, etc?

10) People who want to lose weight.Dieters are all shapes and sizes. Some people want to lose 50 lbs. Otherswant to lose the baby fat they've accumulated during pregnancy. Some wantto lose a few pounds for a big party or a class reunion. Some want to get ridof 'man boobs.'

The range of 'reasons why' people want to lose weight is very expansive.

So the beauty of selling to dieters is that you can focus your report on one

specific goal. And while you'll only attract buyers who harmonize with thatgoal, you'll know that you always have a very distinct audience to sell to,instead of just going for the general dieter.

11) People who want to make money at investing.Once you get in to the 'hobby' of investing, it's hard to turn your back on it.It's the constant lure of big profits. Knowing that other investors haveflipped $500 into lifetime fortunes, or even an easy $100K is pure seductionto the investor.

So investors are always desperate for information on how to improve orenhance their trading strategies. Especially new investors who don't want tolose.

With so many segments (stocks, forex, commodities) and strategies(buy/hold, fibonnaci, swing trading) to investing there are many ways toenter this ever booming market.

12) People with problem pets.My next door neighbors dog recently died of cancer. My neighbor - whodoesn't have any children - looked at her dog as her child. She mourned justas deeply.

Pet owners are very passionate about their animals. They're often viewed asa part of the family, and are treated as such.

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I mean have you seen the local PetsMart lately? They've got a cookie barthat looks like a dessert smorgasboard for animals. And that's not even closeto being extravagant. Dogs and cats have designer coats, jewelry, pefume,

beds. There are gourmet bakeries for dog biscuits. Pet psychics. And the listgoes on.

So naturally when a fur/feather/scaly baby has a problem, pet parents arequick to seek solutions. And with an endless variety of breeds, you cantarget just one tiny segment - training a neurotic toy poodle, for example -and clean up.

13) People in trouble with the law.Many moons ago an associate confided in me that he hadn't filed taxes inseveral years. He had gone through some money trouble, but he wasn't sure

if he was going to be in trouble for not filing.

He dared not call the IRS. And he didn't want to pay for a lawyer until heknew what his options were. So he hit the Internet looking for an e-book.

At the time he didn't find anything. I found that to be incredible in itself.

People who are in legal trouble often search the Internet for attorneyrepresentation anyway. You can market your information product in thosesame arenas.

And again as crimes are varied, you've got a multitude of directions you cantake.

STEP #2 - Find web sites devoted to your chosenaudience/topic.I'm talking newsletters, blogs, discussion groups (forums), newsgroups,article sites, members only web sites, and sites that sell information

products.

You can do this by going to Google, and searching with a combination ofyour keywords and web site types.

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For example, if you target audience is homeowners, you'll search Google forthe following terms:

homeowner newsletters homeowner blogs homeowner discussion groups homeowner forums homeowner newsgroups homeowner private sites homeowner articles homeowner e-books homeowner books homeowner audio homeowner video

Notice, I simply took my target audience keyword (homeowner) andmatched it with what I'm looking for.

So what happens when you can't find anything relevant, after searchingGoogle?

Go to the Overture Search Term Suggestion Tool(http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/), and do asearch for your primary term, as well as any related terms.

If your term is 'homeowner,' you can also try-- home homeownership buy a home

Overture will return a larger list of related keywords. You can then use thislist to see how people are searching for specific information.

Once you have a list of keywords, go to Google and do a search for blogs,newsletters, content sites, discussion groups, e-books.

What's the purpose of this task? You have to make sure that your potentialreaders are active online. If you can't find at least 5-20 venues where yourreaders hang out or buy from, it's not worth trying to sell anything to them.

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For efficiency reasons, I personally like using a software program calledOnfolio Professional Edition to complete this task.

Onfolio allows you to collect content snippets and complete pages from anyweb site. You can organize the collected info into folders for easy retrievallater. What a time saver Onfolio is compared to typing out the name of thesite, copy and pasting the URL, writing a description, etc.

You can get a free 30-day trial from (http://www.onfolio.com/download/).

Now if you don't think you're good at online research I STRONGLY suggestthat you hire someone to complete this task for you. It's extremely importantto have this information at hand. Later on in this report I'll show you a

powerful way to use this data.

You can find a gaggle of professional researchers at Elance.com. Simplypost your request in the Administrative Support --> Research sub-category.

If you take this route, I suggest you request a minimum of 20-40 sites. Aproject like this will cost you around $50-$100.

STEP #3 - Brief yourself on the ways of your potentialaudience.Before you know what you want to sell to them, you have to know a bitabout who your readers are and what they do.

If you're already familiar with your audience, you can skip this part. But ifyou're not, then it's necessary to do a crash course on the ABC's of your

potential audience base.

If you completed STEP #2, you already know where they hang out online.Browse through a few of these sites, and write down the Who, What,

Where, When, Why and How's about your audience or topic.

Familiarize yourself with their terminology or industry terms. This isVERY, VERY important, so do not take this part lightly. You will nevercompletely understand an audience until you understand the words and

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phrases they're using. You will never be able to figure out what solutionsthey need if you don't understand their terminology.

What are their primary goals? What do they strive to do? What tasks dothey do on a daily, weekly, monthly basis?

What types of product or services are geared towards people in thisniche?

Is there a particular brand of product they discuss more than others?

What issues do they constantly come up against?

What topic seems to be hot at the moment?

STEP #4 - Learn what they're desperate for.Now that you know where your readers congregate, and you've discovered abit of history on them, it's time to figure out exactly what they're mostdesperate for.

You can do this in 2 ways.

1) Browse through the resources you culled in STEP #2, and make note

of any recurring topics. Is there a subject that's constantly written about?

If you're looking through discussion groups (forums) make note of anyrecurring topics, as well as posts that generate no discussions. If a questionis constantly being asked, it might be because the previous answers haven't

been effective for all readers.

In discussion groups, posts that generate no feedback from other membersoften point to a lack of sufficient information in the niche. This could be an

open door to a hot selling information product.

2) As an alternative method you can also go Google, and do a search

that combines your keyword plus the following set of problem trigger

terms.

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problems pros and cons complaints answers questions frequently asked questions help tutorials diy (short for 'do it yourself') advice

For example, if you've decided to target homeowners, you'll want to searchGoogle using these words: homeowner problems (or 'problems with owning a home')pros and cons of being a homeowner homeowner complaints

homeowner answers homeowner questions (or 'homeownership questions') frequently asked questions homeownership homeowner help homeowner tutorials diy homeowner homeowner advice

Searching Google with your keyword and these trigger terms allows you tosee exactly what people may want in a product and it gives you some good

sources for more in-depth research once you begin writing your product.

Now as you're examining these sites, here's a list of 11 questions that willhelp you determine if a topic is approriate to desperate buyers.

(By the way, I've included a copy of these questions on a separate sheet ofpaper in the Appendix. I keep a copy displayed in my workspace, and itdefinitely helps jogs several ideas a month.)

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1) What have they lost that's extremely important, and they need to getback?

2) What have they lost control of?

3) What are they on the verge of losing that's extremely important to them?

4) What difficult problems do they have to solve that's causing themconsiderable heartache, time, money or energy?

5) What impending issues would embarrass them immensely if revealed?

6) What new laws or rules are negatively impacting their lifestyle orbusiness?

7) What 3 (5-10-20) things are affecting their ability to successfully live outa lifelong dream?

8) What major purchases ($1,000+) have they recently made? What burningdesires do they have in learning how to use the product/service they just

purchased?

9) What skill - if not learned - would make them competitively weak in frontof others? What's holding them back from being powerful?

10) What's holding them back from reaching a position of spiritual power orhigher consciousness?

11) At what step will they typically get stumped for a project they'reworking on? At what point do they feel out of control?

12) In this niche, are peoples physical personas affected?FaceEyes/Sight

Nose/SmellEars/HearingMouth/Lips/TasteTeeth/Breath/Speaking AbilityHair

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Arms/HandsLegs/FeetBackStomachGenetaliaChest/Breasts

13) In this niche, at what step do people feel--HappySadDepressedAngry

STEP #5 - Locate the psychological hot spot.Just because a person has a problem, doesn't mean they have a motivation tofix their problems. The purpose of this step is to find out what theunderlying motivation is for a person to fix the desperate issue you'll bewriting about.

What pain are they moving away from, or what extreme joy are they movingtowards?

Looking back at your answers in STEP #4, does this topic affect the persons

ability to... Make or keep their money? Do or keep their job? Look good/smart/beautiful in front of others? Maintain a relationship? Maintain their health? Maintain or keep their car or home? Buy expensive/trophy items? Please a person of importance in their life?

Connect to a higher power? Successfully live a dream?

You should be able to answer with a definite 'yes' to one of these questions.If you cannot, go back to STEP #1, or alter your response in STEP #4.

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STEP #6- The DealbreakerMost information product creators follow the exact same line of thinking.

Think of a topic. Go to the Overture Search Term Suggestion Tool to seehow many people have searched for that topic. Go to Google to see how

many infoproducts are being sold in that niche. If you have a large numberof searches (5,000+), and few targeted infoproducts, you're in the money.

In my world, this oft followed logic is as wrong as two left feet.

Maybe it's because the keywords I use for my Chexsystems report all showfewer than 5,000 searches a month. And my niche is very much crowdedwith free and fee based competitors.

So I learned not to limit myself to popular theories. If I did, I wouldn't be

making the money that I am.

In any case just to clarify, I DO use the Overture Search Term SuggestionTool. I just use it towards the end of my topic choosing process, instead ofat the beginning.

And I DON'T use it to examine how many people are searching for aparticular topic. I use it to see if people are seeking solutions for a problem Iintend to write about. What phrases are they using to seek the solutions?

Why is this so important? Let me give you an example.

I had followed all of the above listed rules to a tee when I created my siteFree-Cash-To-Buy-a-Home.com.

My report targets people who want to buy a home, that don't have themoney for a down payment (desperate for money). I show them a variety ofstate and federally sponsored programs that will give you money for a homedown payment, or match what you have in your savings.

The problem here?

There are plenty of people within that targeted niche. But I hadn'tconsidered how to reach those people.

In other words, what's going to encourage Mark to go to Google, and look

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for a site like Free-Cash-To-Buy-a-Home.com? Why would he dropeverything he's doing and look for information like this?

If he has no idea that government programs like these are available, he's notgoing to actively seek them out. If he doesn't know that you can get

downpayment assistance, he's not going to visit Google to seek out anoption like this.

The bottom line... don't try to sell to people who don't know they have aproblem.

Your potential buyer must already know (or have some idea) that he cansolve his problem. He must know the terminology to use in locating asolution. YOU must know that terminology to target these potential buyers.(You already know the terminology since I suggested you learn the lingo in

STEP #3.)

If potential buyers aren't seeking a solution, then it's no use in creating aninformation product.

Let me repeat that... if potential buyers aren't seeking a solution, then it's nouse in creating an information product.

It's far more difficult to educate a potential buyer so that they'll want to buyyour product, than it is to cater to a person who already knows a possible

solution exists, and is seeking a solution.

You want them hurting enough that they're going to visit Google or someother related site, and look for an answer to their problem. The simple factthat they're taking a step towards seeking a solution means you're going tofind some motivated buyers in the mix.

So here are 3 sets of dealbreaker questions you must answer before youeven consider writing your infoproduct. If you cannot answer positively toany of these questions, DO NOT create that information product.

1) If your targeted customer goes to Google or Yahoo, what

terms/keywords will they use to find information like yours? Does theOverture Search Term Suggestion Tool list those keywords. If yes, you mayhave a winner.

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It's important that you figure out how expensive it is to advertise using thosekeywords on Google/Yahoo? You want your advertisement to be on the first

page of the search results. Will the price of your report justify the expenseof advertising?

I could have easily advertised my Free Cash report using real estate relatedkeywords, but the cost per click simply outweighed what I was charging forthe report. I would be paying $1-$5 per click, for a $9.95 report. Basicallyeveryone who clicked on my ad would have to buy in order to keep my headabove water. Not do-able in the real world.

2) Is this an eBay-able topic? Is this a topic that has a built in audience

on eBay? Are there existing categories geared towards people who wouldwant to read your report?

While eBay has been a nice source of revenue for my Get-In-Google-Now.com report, the Free-Cash-To-Buy-a-Home.com report did miserablyon there.

The difference? The Google report can be sold to webmasters/site owners.There are specific categories on eBay for folks within this niche. But not sowith the Free Cash report.

3) In STEP #2, you compiled a list of web sites where potential readers

congregate.

Do any of these sites recommend information products? Would they bewilling to do a review of yours, become an affiliate, or offer their readers anexcerpted article?

STEP #7 - Assess the competition, plan your focal point.

A lot of experts say you should assess your competition early on in theplanning process. I say hogwash.

There are hundreds of weight loss books on the market. There are probablyhundreds of authors who make money - or have made money - sellingweight loss tactics. And yet there's still room for more weight loss books.

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You cannot avoid competitors. They exist in almost every niche.

What you can do is learn how to differentiate your information product inthe way that it's written, or the way you sell it. (I offer some ideas on thelatter on pages 29 - 33.)

Besides, in the end you cannot be all things to all people.

If you write a 1,000-page comprehensive encyclopedia, some potentialbuyers will say it's too big. If you write a 10-page report, some will say it'stoo small. If you write a 50-page e-book, some people will say you didn'tcover XYZ topic enough.

Different strokes for different folks.

That's why you should asses your competition strictly to see how you cancreate a better, stronger, faster information product.

In performing the previous steps, you should have written down issues ofdesperation and psychological soft spots related to your readers.

As you go through your competitors web sites, look at how well they sell tothose points of desperation and psychological soft spots. Now examine howyou can yours better.

Perhaps you have more personal experience in solving the problem that

your competitors clearly don't have.

Maybe you can place a major emphasis on a point they seem to glazeover.

Can you explain the process with fewer words? More pictures?Diagrams? Video?

Can you locate an expert who can give a more in depth explanation of theprocess? (More on this on pages 30-33.)

Here's a form that you can use to asses the competition. Do fill it out, andkeep it handy. You'll be using it later in the creation process.

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Competitor Assessment Form

Name of site_______________________________________________

URL________________________________________________________

Name of Product Sold_______________________________________

Type of ProductE-bookBookAudioVideoPrivate Site

Additional Bonus items_____________________________________

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

Price_____________________________________

Desperation points mentioned in sales letter

1)________________________________________________________

Do I want to compete with this? YES NO

How can I compete with this?Expand informationShorten informationRearrange/reverse informationSubstitute information

Turn a negative into a positive

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2)________________________________________________________


How can I compete with this?

Expand informationShorten informationRearrange/reverse informationSubstitute informationTurn a negative into a positive

3)________________________________________________________


How can I compete with this?Expand information

Shorten informationRearrange/reverse informationSubstitute informationTurn a negative into a positive

4)________________________________________________________


How can I compete with this?Expand informationShorten informationRearrange/reverse informationSubstitute informationTurn a negative into a positive

5)________________________________________________________


How can I compete with this?Expand informationShorten informationRearrange/reverse informationSubstitute informationTurn a negative into a positive

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One more great point about selling todesperate prospects...

Marketers old and new often tout the importance of having a backend

product to sell to customers. The rationale is that once you get a customer tospend money on your material it's easier to get them to buy from you againand again.

This is DEFINITELY true.

But more importantly, I've personally noticed that when you help people getout of a desperate situation, they are 100 times more likely to buy from youagain. (Not a real statistic, just an insider observation!) Moreso than if you

just give them generic information.

I get testimonials from my GetCheckingNow.com readers all the time.However the amazing part is that I frequently get readers who ask me if Ihave any other products to sell them. I've never had this happen with anyother product I've sold, and I've developed A LOT of them.

The exact same thing has happened with people who purchased my TakingThe Back Road To Get On Google's First Page report that I sell at Get-In-Google-Now.com. One reader even went so far as to offer me and my kids a

vacation - (he sold a lot of videos because of my advice).

It's amazing how grateful people are when you solve a difficult problem forthem!

Now I won't go into depth about creating a backend product, because thereare plenty of books out there that offer the basics of infoproduct creation.

But I will tell you that you should at least be prepared with one other reportto sell to your readers. I know I've boosted my income by a cool 35% by

providing related information.

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Quick Content Creation -The Formula to Short, Sweet & Valuable

In my opinion writing the report is probably the easiest step to conquer,especially if you're dealing with a problem you've had some experiencewith.

And if you're writing about a topic you have no experience with, that's okaytoo. I'll show you some really basic actions you can take to bring your reportto life.

Now there are many, many ways to write a report. But for the sake of taking

you from Point A to Z, I'm going to give you two different approaches.

1) Resources

2) Insider secrets/solutions

Turning free apples into $5 apple juice -how I get free and sell high

I had a lady e-mail me asking what I was selling for $24.95 atGetCheckingNow.com. I explained to her that it was a list of banks whereyou could obtain a checking account even if you were in the Chexsystems.

She e-mailed me back asking why I was selling such information. Not quitein those words. It was more of a sarcastic-type message. The underlyingtone was like "why are you selling this stuff when it's freely availableonline."

Heres my exact response:

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People pay me for the convenience and effort it takes tofind the information.

Yes... you can find these banks on your own. However that'slike saying you can find a needle in a haystack. It'sthere, but do you really want to spend all your timesearching through all the garbage to find the diamonds?

The people who purchase from me either:a) Have looked through all the freebie lists of nonchexsystem banks and realized that many of them are bogus(which is the main reason why I launched the site - beenthere, done that);

b) Don't feel like searching online for a lists of nonchexsystem banks;

I'm not saying that I have some proprietary information. Iam saying that if you're in a desperate situation I canhelp you get out of that situation quickly and easily,without having to search through tons of information thatmay or may not be valid.

Warmest regards,

Alexis DawesAuthor, "How to Get a Bank Account Even if You're in theChexSystem"

http://www.GetCheckingNow.com

My point in telling you this story?

NEVER underestimate the power and salability of freely availableinformation.

The truth is, the banks I list in my report can be freely found online as nonChexSystems banks.

Don't get me wrong, the banks themselves don't advertise this fact. But thereare free sites that tell you which banks to go to. They are EXTREMELYdifficult to find if you're not search engine savvy. And not every free site iseffective.

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I used the information that I found to open a few bank accounts (because Iam in the ChexSystem). When I got accounts, I simply explained everythingthat I did to open the accounts, and began selling that info as a report.

And this technique can work for a variety of topics.

When people are in a tight situation they usually cannot get out of thesituation without some sort of outside assistance. If you can lead them to thevery best possible solutions, AND show them how these solutions cansignificantly reduce their stress level, they will pay for it.

Plus, not everybody wants to rely on the free information that's out there.

And even if they did, many people don't know how to effectively search for

information they need. They may enter 1 or 2 search terms, and give up.

My mother does this all the time. If she searches once, and doesn't findanything, she thinks the info doesn't exist. I can only imagine how manyother people also search like this.

So your mission is to locate resources that your prospects simply cannot livewithout, and give them all the insider information on how to best takeadvantage of those resources.

Don't just point them to a bunch a web site links and call it a $20 report.Give them the precise details on how to make those sites work miracles forthem.

As I mentioned before, inHow to Get a Bank Account Even if You're in theChexSystem I did this by telling readers what to expect when they calledeach bank for an account. I also give readers a heads up to any specialfeatures these banks offer. For instance, with one of the banks you can get aline of credit for only $14 if you have direct deposit.

I simply made freely available information more user-friendly. Here aresome suggestions that you can implement when creating your own resource-

based reports:

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If you're making reference to a specific company, tell the reader

what to expect during the entire conversation or experience with the

company.

If you give a reader a list of items to purchase, tell them where they

can find those items inexpensively. Everybody loves to solve a problemat a bargain rate!

DON'T reprint every resource that you find. Only make reference to

the most valuable one's. Remember, you're dealing with people in adesperate situation. They don't have time to sort. So give them theabsolute best possible solution up front, and leave the rest behind.

Compiling insider secrets - evenwhen you're on the outside

Insider secrets are absolutely attainable, even if you have nothing but anidea for a report. That's the good part.

Unfortunately, these secrets aren't always free.

Think of yourself as a detective who needs some vital information from

your acquaintances in the underworld. Sometimes you have to grease a fewpalms with the almighty dollar, euro, pound, loonie, or your designatedcurrency of choice - to get what you need.

So how do you go about finding covert accomplices who will spill thebeans?

Let me tell you my story...

One perinneal topic that always does well amongst desperate audiences iscredit repair info. The reason is obvious. Good or bad credit affects manyaspects of your financial life.

Knowing this, and seeing the glut of 'me too' books that basically spew thesame re-hashed information, I decided to take a different angle. I'm having a

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report created that shows readers how to get negative information removedfrom their credit reports by paying their debt off for pennies on the dollar.

Unfortunately I'm not an expert at this craft. I can't tell you how to bestapproach a collection company to negotiate such a deal, or if you shouldapproach the collection agency or the actual company that you owe the debtto.

No biggie.

I've found a writer who worked for a collection agency and knows theowners of two different collection agencies. She'll be interviewing each oneto determine the insider secrets they normally don't let the general publicknow.

For instance, what are the magic words to use when approaching acollection agency for such a negotiation... what to do if your offer isrejected... how to assure the negative information is removed from yourcredit report in a timely manner... and so on.

When it's all said and done I'll have a report filled with details on gettingderogatory information removed from your credit report quickly and easily.

Yes, there are a few competitors out there. But I'm coming from a unique

angle. Insider information straight from the collection agencies. Readerslove unique angles.

So I bet you're wondering where I found such a writer.

If you want the creme de la creme insider information there's only one wayto get - actually two.

1) Be friends or related to a person who can give you said information.

Sometimes you get lucky in this department, but most times you don't.That's when you have to...

2) Find an expert and pay them to part ways with their knowledge. Yes,I know there may be people who will let you interview them for free. Butyou rarely get the real juicy, detailed stuff this way.

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Once you lay a few coins on the table you can ask as many probingquestions as you want without any hassles.

This is what I do to locate experts.

First I determine a purpose for the interview. What information must Iwalk away with in order for the interview to be complete.

The purpose of the interview usually determines the types of questions Iask. So with a clear purpose in place, I'll write out many as 20-30 starterquestions.

Once I have the interview questions down, I go to Elance.com and post aproject under the Web Content category. Here's what I said in my latest

project description:

---------------------------

I'm looking for somebody who has worked (or currently worksfor) a collection agency in the United States.

I'd like to ask you 20 questions (with the possibility of10-15 follow up questions) on how a consumer can get anegative entry on a credit report deleted by bargainingwith the collection agency. I will e-mail you the

questions, and will expect detailed answers along withspecific examples.

Please bid only if you have direct experience workingwithin a collection agency or you have a friend/spouse whoworks within the industry. I want facts from the source,not from a book or web site.

This data will be used for a report I'm writing. However Ican maintain the confidentiality of the persons identity ifyou're still working within the industry.

I'll need the replies sent back to me no more than 3 daysafter sending the winner the questions.

Thank you!

-------------------------

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Five writers bid on this project. The bid's ranged from $100-$150.

An alternative if you just need a quickie solution is to use an online researchservice like Find It Quick (http://answers.finditquick.com/).

You submit a question to Find It Quick. You determine how much you wantto pay for the answer. If one of their researchers can help you, they'llrespond to the question. You pay only if the question is answered.

There are other sites that provide the same service. For example, bothGoogle and Yahoo offer Answer services.

But you DON'T want to use these two for the research you're doing. Why?Because it's a good chance that the web page featuring your question and

paid responses will show up in the top 10 in Google or Yahoo.

It's true. Google and Yahoo frequently gives top rank to questions featuredon their Answer sites. If this happens you're basically giving the informationaway to the people who you ultimately want to sell to.

It's better to use Answer sites that go under the radar. Find It Quick is onesite. Here are some others--

AllExperts - http://www.allexperts.com/

Ask Me Help Desk - http://www.askmehelpdesk.com/Able2Know - http://www.able2know.com/Ingenio - http://www.ingenio.com/default.asp?TF=1

As you can see, not only are there many easy way to find experts, it'srelatively inexpensive - sometimes free - and it can be used for any numberof topics.

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The key to writing insider secrets so readers'get it,' love it, and take action

Mile by mile it's a trial. But inch by inch, it's a cinch. I don't know who said

that, but that's the exact mindset I want you to adopt when creating yourinformation product.

Take the insider secrets you've learned, and turn them into a step-by-stepprocess. In other words, what should the reader do first, second, tenth?

Here's a very basic outline on how to write each step. Keep in mind that it'snot necessary to cover every point for each step. Some steps may not requireyou to do so. This is just a focal point so you don't forget anythingimportant.

What will the reader do now? Why will they complete this process? How long will this process take? What tools will they need to complete the process? Who will they contact? What web sites to visit? What will they need to do, say, write? What are the potholes/problems they should look out for? What happens if they run into a pothole/problem? What should they do?

Now in case you're wondering, these are the EXACT guidelines I used whenwriting my $97 report Taking The Back Road to Get On Google's First Page

back in January 2005.

The core, step-by-step section of this report totals less than 10 pages whenprinted out. And as I wrote each step I considered these questions.

A Harry Potter novel it's not. (And I tell prospects in my salesletter that it's acut-to-the-chase piece.)

But then again, you're not writing the next New York Times bestseller.You're helping a desperate person get out of a desperate situation. And theydon't want chit-chat. They want to be able to take action.

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Add the cherry on top

The final step in writing your report is giving it a name.

Whenever I choose a name for my reports, I try to mention a major, definingbenefit for the potential buyer. The title should tell the entire story in a fewwords. Prospects should 'get' the concept without them having to readanything else.

Here are a few templates to jog your creative juices. Feel free to use any ofthem for your own report.

Emergency Tactics to ___________________ Your _________________

Emergency Tactics to Avoid Your __________ From ________________

20 Things __________ Must Do To Comply With the New ___________

20 Things All ______________ Should Do to Avoid ________________

10 Things ___________ Don't Want You To Know About __________ - andHow It Can Save You From _____________________

_______________ _________________ in 10 Days or Less

_______________ No More in _____ Easy Steps

How To Get Over ___________________ in 10 Easy Steps

How To Clear Your __________________ in 7 Days or Less

How To Get a _____________________ Even If You're _____________(I used this one forHow To Get a Bank Account Even If You're in the

ChexSystem, and it works like gangbusters for me.)

How To Create _____________________ With Your ________________

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Price it and put it on the shelf

I don't consider myself to be some 'famous' writer. Never had a book in abookstore. I don't get overwhelming praise for my free newsletter, because I

don't have one. I'm actually a pretty private person, compared to otherinfoproduct producers who make their living online.

In a way, I'm glad I am as hermit-like as I am.

Other experts who tell you how to create and sell information productsalready have big names and reputations in the industry. They typically have

big lists of customers and prospects that they can sell to whenever theylaunch a new product. So it's not hard to understand how they can make$10,000-$20,000 in a single day, without doing anything except sending out

an e-mail.

I'm not like that. I write for many different niches. So I can't afford to do alot of time consuming marketing activities for each one. I like to do

promotions that will pay off continuously over the long haul.

As a result, the advice I give tends to be more practical and do-able. I'm anobody. Maybe you're a nobody. Nobody's can still make money, without

being committed to just one niche.

So how does being a 'nobody' relate to pricing? Well one would assume thatif you don't have a big name that you can't charge a high price. Even better,you can't charge a high price if you have a small information product.

I strongly believe selling to desperate readers dispels both of these myths.You can indeed sell your infoproduct for a nice price, even if your readersdon't know who you are. You can also do well regardless of the size of your

product.

My report at Get-In-Google-Now.com sells for a cool $97. The core of thisreport is maybe 10 pages. Since I've begun selling it in Febuary 2005 I thinkI've had maybe 3 people ask for refunds because they said they expectedmore information.

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My GetCheckingNow.com report is 6 pages long, and sells for $24.95.Prospects are well aware of the page length in this case. I mention it in thesales letter, so there are no surprises.

I think I'm able to achieve this level of success for a few reasons...

* Not all shoppers are looking for 'cheap eats.'As I said earlier, online buyers comes from all walks of life. Some people

perceive 'free' as being poor or inferior quality. Maybe they've been misledby free information, so they're leary of it. Likewise if you price a producttoo low some buyers get suspicious for the same reason.

The rationale I hear from quite of few budding infoproduct creators is that ifyou price low, you'll make it up in volume. Not always.

Most people overestimate the number of people they think are going to buytheir product. You might guesstimate 1,000. When in actuality you mayonly have the capacity for 500. That's a big difference in the bottom line ifyou've decided to sell for $9.95, instead of $22.95.

* Readers are looking for a new high.Internet marketing techniques are like addictive drugs. When a new tacticcomes out, the movers-and-shakers will try to have a go at it before anyoneelse. They understand that when the idea catches on with the masses, it

won't work as well. So they try to master it before everyone else does.

This was the case with my Get-In-Google-Now.com report. I was teaching anew technique for getting in Google, and the innovators couldn't stay away.Even at $97, I was pulling 10-20 sales a day easily.

When you match new tactics with desperate buyers, and there's thepossibility that they'll make more money, you can call your own shots.

* My sales letters are seductive.You'll learn my formula for creating a seductive sales letter in the nextsection. I use this formula for all of my infoproducts - including the one thatsells this manual. Would you agree that it works? Of course you would. You

pulled out your credit card and purchased it.

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So the bottom line question is still, how do you price your informationproduct?

Here's what I do:

1) Write down the prices of as many 'comparable' informationproducts within your niche. By comparable I mean products thattarget the same vein of information that you do. (You might have thisinformation already compiled when you completed the CompetitorAssesment Form on page __.)

2) Create a list of the top 3 information products. Thoseproducts you feel would be most likely to compete directly with your typeof reader.

3)Now ask yourself these questions:Does your information product introduce a brand new theory? Is itsomething that nobody else is teaching? If it's a product geared towardsconsumers, charge 20%-50% more than the highest priced product. If it'sgeared towards business people, charge 30%-100% more than the highest

priced product.

Does your information product explain a topic differently than your

competitors? Charge a median price. The average price between the lowestand highest products.

Are you selling an audio or video product, where everybody else is

selling a print product? Choose a price between the lowest and mediumpriced product. If you offer a brand new theory, go higher than the highestprice.

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How to Eat an Entire Army of Competitorsfor Breakfast and Still Come Out

Smelling Like a Rose

Competition - like taxes - is simply a part of the game when you're sellinginformation products. And this is 1,000% true online where anyone fromany part of the world can throw up a web site in a matter of hours.

To the untrained eye you'd think there would be no serious demand for a 6-page $24.95 report on obtaining a checking account.

Do a quick Google search for "non chexsystem banks" and you'll noticethere are several sites that freely offer lists of 100+ non ChexSystem banks.They run side-by-side right next to my AdWords listings every, single day.

And yet I'm still making an average of $150-to-$250 a day selling to thismarket.

What I've realized is that you don't have to target a niche that doesn't havecompetition. You can even peacefully co-exist in a niche where similarinformation is freely flowing like water.

Your job in closing the sale is to prove to your sites visitors that yourinformation is worth the money they're going to shell out. Your reportssalesletter is the key tool here.

Now before I get into the thick of things, I'm going to give you my quickiemanifesto on writing salesletters for your little reports.

Some seasoned online sellers HATE long sales letters. They say they can'tstand all that verbiage. It sounds like hype, they claim. It turns people away.

But guess what... you're going to turn people away whether you write ashort sales letter (they'll claim there's not enough details for them to make adecision), a long sales letter (they'll say it's too much hype), or a mediumsales letter (they'll say "I've never heard of this guy, so I'm not buying from

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him").

Furthermore, you're going to turn people away whether you give yourinformation away (must be something wrong with it because it's free) or sellit (that's too expensive).

You cannot be all things to all people.

I had a lady e-mail me about my GetCheckingNow.com site saying that Icharged too much. She said that if I understood the plight of a ChexSystemsvictim, I should give the info away, or sell for $19.95 instead of $24.95.

Keeping in mind that I have competitors galore, I told her to go to anothersite if she thought my info was too expensive. She got offended - (like I

care!). But the point again is that you can't please all the people all the time.

My experience in selling to consumers and small business owners is that toomuch sales data is better than not enough.

There was a time when I tried to sell my GetCheckingNow.com report witha skinny little salesletter, only to discover that I was constantly answeringthe same questions over and over again from potential customers.

What's the purpose of writing a short sales letter if you've got to spend the

rest of time replying to e-mails?

Make your sales letter as detailed as need be to convey why a prospectshould buy your report. If that means it has to be detailed and meaty, thendon't skimp on it. You write it once, you make it superb the first time, thenyou don't have to touch it again. It's on auto pilot.

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The 5 Point Fish Hook

Just because a prospect is at a point of desperation, doesn't mean you canjust say anything, and they'll buy from you.

On the contrary.

Always assume you are a nobody to potential buyers. They've never heardof you. This makes them nervous, especially if they've been scammed online

before.

Depending on the desperate situation they're in, they may be in a veryskeptical mood when they reach your web site. Perhaps they don't fully

believe the problem they have can be solved.

Desperate buyers absolutely need you to put their minds at ease, even beforeyou put their minds at ease with your product.

That's why no matter what I write in my sales letter, I always incorporate the5 Point Fish Hook. The 5 Points are akin to a martial arts move - (rememberthe ending from Kill Bill 2?).

You weave them into your copy. And each time a potential customer reads aPoint, it helps move them a step closer to purchasing your information

product.

First I'll explain how to use each point. Then I'll show you how I incorporatethem into my GetCheckingNow.com sales letter.

SALES LETTER POINT #1 - You empathize with the reader

more than your competition.In the most ideal situation you'd do this by telling your personal experienceswith as much candor and emotion (anger, despair, sadness) that you can

muster.But if you've never been in the hotseat it's extremely important that youdon't try to guess at what your readers pains are. You MUST find somebodywho has been in that situation to really understand why somebody wouldwant to buy your report.

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You can do this by:

1) Lurking in targeted online forums.BoardReader.com offers a free service that searches multiple online forumsat once. You simply type in the phrase or keywords you're looking for, and

press search.

This is an excellent way to locate forums where prospects are discussing aparticular problem.

For example, as I'm writing this report I did a search at BoardReader for theterm "stop foreclosure." I was lead to all sorts of forums - not necessarilyfinance related - where people were discussing ideas on how to stop aforeclosure.

I also took notice of how people felt about the foreclosure process, and thewords they used to describe their anguish. This type of first hand feedbackis priceless, as you can use these words in your salesletter. (NOT verbatimof course... but just using them as a guideline.)

You can find other forums related to different topics at the following sites--

BigBoards

http://www.big-boards.com/

They track some of largest and most active forums on the Internet. Morethan 1,300 forums are listed.

Forum A-Z

http://www.foruma-z.com/directory.phpA directory of forums in a variety of categories.

Forum Zilla

http://www.forumzilla.com/

Similar concept as Board Reader, but not as many forums listed.

Board 123

http://www.board123.com/forum_directory.phpA directory of forums launched through Board 123.

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2) Interview someone who has had the experience.WritersWeekly.com has an Interview Requests forum where you can postyour needs. It's at (http://forums.writersweekly.com/viewforum.php?f=3).

Sometimes you get a response here, and sometimes you don't. It justdepends on the topic.

3) Hire someone to share their experiences with you.eLance is a service where you can hire freelancers for all kinds of purposes.

For example, you can post a project in the Writing and Translation categoryrequesting an interview (either by phone or e-mail) with a person who hashad an experience like the one you're writing about.

Below you'll find a list of generic questions that can use for a number ofsituations:

How did you get into the situation/problem? (This information can beused in the Empathize With The Reader portion of your salesletter.)

How long did it take to develop into a full-blown problem? (Can beused in the Empathize With The Reader portion of your salesletter.)

How do you think the problem could have been avoided? (Can be used

as the basis for the reports content.)

What are the 3 things you hated most about the situation/problem?

What are the 3 major obstacles you've encountered as a result of this

situation/problem? (Can be used as the basis for the reports content. Ifyou know the major obstacles, all you have to do is come up with ways tosolve them.)

Let's say the problem couldn't have been avoided. What do you wish

you had known ahead of time to successfully work through theproblem? (Can be used as the basis for the reports content. Perhaps in asection called, "How Not To Make The Same Mistake Twice.")

How did the problem/situation get corrected? (Can be used as the basis

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for the reports content.)

Something like this would cost you around $50-$200. But remember it's aninvestment in the success of your report. The more authentic you can makeyour salesletter - especially if you've never been in the situation you'rewriting about - the better your sales.

SALES LETTER POINT #2 - Your competition (free andpaid) sucks. Webmasters who are really savvy about getting customersare frequently attracted to Google. The reason is simple. Google is themost popular search engine nowadays.

So if you want to be in front of a large audience of people searching for

specific material, this is where you should be. And consequently this iswhere you should be looking for competitors.

When you're listed in Google it's either through organic search listings(which is free), or through AdWords advertising, (which is pay-per-click).

Although I do look at the organic listings, I pay particularly close attentionto whose doing what in AdWords advertising. People who pay to play havea stronger vested interest in making a site work.

So as you're developing the rough sketch for your salesletter, be sure to havea look at the sites associated with your targeted keywords in Google.

I check out the top 10 organic listings. These are the sites that have usuallybeen in Google the longest, but aren't necessarily keenest sellers.

Then I look at the AdWords advertising. An easy way to see all the AdWordsad's for a specific keyphrase is to use the Google Sponsored Links searchengine (http://www.google.com/sponsoredlinks). Simply enter your

keywords, and you'll see all the ad's associated with it.

As you examine the competition you'll notice that some of them offersolutions for free. You must determine why your information is morevaluable than the free stuff.

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Is the free information outdated?

Do the site owners have ulterior motives - perhaps to sell visitors on amore expensive option once they have your e-mail address?

Is the free information written only to attract traffic to a web site(keyword optimized articles)?

Are their solutions too basic to solve a more advanced version of theproblem?

Are the site owners getting a commission from their freebierecommendations?

Write this information down.

Okay now look at the web sites of competitors who offer fee-basedinformation. Print out the salesletter, and highlight these 4 pieces of data.

1) What problems do they talk about in their salesletter?

2) What benefits or features do they claim their product has?

3) How do the deliver the information?

4) Price of the information.

And if you have the money, it would really be even more beneficial for youto order the information, so you can get an idea of how to differentiate yourmaterial. If not, use the salesletter as a guideline.

But remember this, don't dog them too much - just politely point out theirdeficiencies. You don't want to look like a "hater."

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SALES LETTER POINT #3 - Your information is morevaluable by the way you've formatted, written orresearched it.What have you added, changed or improved upon? What's your unique

take on the situation?

SALES LETTER POINT #4 - Your information is currentand/or appropriate for today's standards.Has it been newly researched? Is it based on some new rules, laws orstandards? Is it updated monthly to reflect new changes.

SALES LETTER POINT #5 - Your information can get

results for the reader NOW.You have to prove to the reader that when they finish your material, theycan begin taking action towards seeing instant results. Those instantresults don't have to be big. But they should be able to derive someglimmer of hope immediately.

This very simple formula is how I stay alive selling to a niche with a ton ofeager beaver competitors surrounding me. I'm talking competitors whocharge both more and less, and even give away similar information for free.

I know that my strength lies in my salesletter.

In fact, let's do a quick dissection of my sales letter so you'll understand howI effectively integrate these points. (You can read the entire letter athttp://www.getcheckingnow.com/ .)

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The 5 Point Fish Hook at work

To better illustrate these points, let's look at the copy for myGetCheckingNow.com sales letter.

Empathize With The ReaderHere I tell my own story of how I got in Chexsystems. It's important toconvey the exact details of the story, even if they're painful or embarrasing.Doing so establishes credibility, and shows that you know what you'retalking about when you make the pitch for your report.

I landed in the hotseat a few years ago when a new clientof mine gave me a check for $1,200 that bounced. I haddeposited the check in an account that I rarely used andwhen the funds were made available I withdrew $1,000 to paysome bills. (Mind you I already had $400 cash in theaccount.)

To make a long story short the check turned out to befraudulent. The account the check was drawn on didn't evenexist. When I tried to get in contact with the client thenumber was disconnected.

I told my bank what had happened and in return they closeddown all THREE accounts I had with them. I had been a loyalcustomer since I was a 19 years old - (and now I'm 30!) -and they simply gave me the old heave ho. To say that I wasangry would be an understatement.

So I took my business elsewhere and opened a secondaccount. Everything was fine. Then 2 months later I got aletter from the second bank saying they were closing myaccount because my old bank had reported me to ChexSystem.

Mind you the debt to the old bank had been paid. No matter.I was already in the ChexSystem. They closed my accounts aweek later.

It was awful!

Fighting ChexSystem was futile. Even though the debt hadbeen paid they couldn't remove the negatives. My old bankhad to authorize that.

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I asked them to remove the entry since the debt had beenpaid. Basically what I got was the equivalent of a virtualmiddle finger.

Prove The Competition SucksTo exemplify my competitors deficiences, here's what I said on myGetCheckingNow.com web site--

I searched the Internet at every available moment lookingfor a bank that didn't go through the ChexSystem.

I ordered access to web sites. I got free lists of so-called non ChexSystem banks.

And I didn't find ANYTHING that actually worked.

PROBLEM #1- The free lists of non chexsystem banks areoften old and outdated. They may have 100 banks listed, andonly 1 of those banks is valid. The truth of the matter isthat only a handful of banks don't go through theChexSystem, not hundreds.

PROBLEM #2- The fee-based web sites out there often gettheir information from the free lists of non ChexSystembanks. Basically these site operators are just looking tomake a fast buck. They've NEVER been in the ChexSystem.They don't even bother to pick up the telephone to verifythe information before they sell it!

Prove Value By The Way It's Written, Formatted or ResearchedI tell readers what to expect when they call each bank. If you're in theChexsystems, and you've applied for an account, but have been denied, thenyou know how embarrasing it can be when you're turned down. My insiderinfo saves readers that embarrasment.

Yes, this list is short. But it's concise.

It contains resources that I've actually used - (and I'mstill in ChexSystem hell).

You'll find contact information for all the banks,including web site addresses.

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But more importantly this report tells you what to expectwhen calling each bank for an account. There will be nosurprises or embarrasing situations because I've done allthe legwork for you. What you'll find is 100% user friendlyinformation.

Prove The Information is Current By Today's StandardsI mentioned the date of creation. This is very important as prospects

browsing your site will often want to know how recent your information is.

And in case you're wondering, this information was compiledNovember 2004. So it's still fresh and completely valid.(Unlike other companies that tease you with lists of 100+banks, which are sorely outdated.)

Prove Your Information Can Get Results For the Reader NOWProspects who are in a painful situation usually don't want to wait forresults. Even if you can't offer an instant solution, incorporate somethinginto your information where they can see some type of relief, no matter howsmall it is.

One of the banks will issue you a savings and checkingaccount right over the phone in less than 10 minutes. Yourchecks and ATM/MasterCard debit card will be sent within 5-7 days. (This is the bank I'm with and I LOVE them.)

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The 5 Point Fish Hook meets

the sales letter

The 5 Point Fish Hook is the anchor that makes prospects want your

product. It gives you credibility, shows that you understand the problem,and that your product is the hands down winning solution.

Unfortunately, even when you put them all together, they don't make ahighly effective sales letter. Think of the 5 Points as the roots of a plant. Theroots need water and the proper soil to make the plant grow. You cannot justlay the roots on a table, and hope they'll grow.

The key to making the 5 Points work lies in weaving it into a proventemplate.

Here is my own sales letter template. Since I perfected it in 2004, I use it forevery information product I create, and I consider it to be one of my mostvaluable secrets.

The 5-Second SalespersonYour sales letters initial headline is going to be the very first thing that mostweb site visitors notice. If it doesn't capture their attention, they might justclick away.

So the key here is to NOT make that headline cute or obscure. People whohave problems aren't for all the riddles. That initial headline should do onlytwo things...

1) Mention the point of desperation and/or psychological soft spot.2) Emphatically declare that you can solve the problem.

Here's the headline from my GetCheckingNow.com web site--

Are you desperate for a checking account of yourown, but find it impossible to get one becauseyou've ended up in the hellish nightmare called theChexSystem?

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You can still be in the ChexSystem and get a bankaccount TODAY - regardless if you've paid youroutstanding debt or not.

And here's the one from Get-In-Google-Now.com--

"Forget ALL the free advice you've read on how toget listed in Google. Because if you think you'veseen and learned it all - THINK AGAIN! I can showyou a cut-to-the-chase method to help yourmarketing message reach a top Google ranking within30 days."

"This technique has NOTHING to do with getting

links from other sites, submitting your site toYahoo!, or writing blogs.

"It's easy to implement, and you can start usingthis technique within the next hour."

(By the way... as of February 20, 2006 my rankingsare STILL standing strong, despite Google Dancesand new competitors. And mind you, I've been usingthis technique without modification since November

2004. The PROOF is in the rank, and the rank isstill there, thank you very much!)

The "I Identify" StoryAlcoholics Anonymous attendees go to meetings so they can learn how tocope by bonding with other ex-alcoholics. Same deal for dieters who go toWeight Watchers pow-wow's.

It's simply human nature that when we have a problem or live within a

certain lifestyle, we often gain solace by being around others who are in thesame situation.

So I like to start off my sales letter with an "I Identify" story. This is a storyof how I - (or someone else) - overcame the desperate issue to achieve

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success.

Here's my "I Identify" story for GetCheckingNow.com--

There's nothing worse than having to shell over apercentage of your hard earned money to a checkcashing spot because you don't have a bank account.Or having to ask relatives to deposit your paycheckin their account. Or worse yet, having to carryaround big wads of cash so you can go get yourmonthly fix of money orders.

But unfortunately millions of people have tounwillingly do these things every single day. Why?

ChexSystem.

As you probably know ChexSystem is an ever evolvingdatabase that banks and financial institutions useto blackball consumers who have had problems with aprevious bank account.

Bounce a check and you could end up in ChexSystem.Allow your account to become overdrawn and youcould end up in ChexSystem.

I landed in the hotseat a few years ago when a newclient of mine gave me a check for $1,200 thatbounced. I had deposited the check in an accountthat I rarely used and when the funds were madeavailable I withdrew $1,000 to pay some bills.(Mind you I already had $400 cash in the account.)

To make a long story short the check turned out tobe fraudulent. The account the check was drawn on

didn't even exist. When I tried to get in contactwith the client the number was disconnected.

I told my bank what had happened and in return theyclosed down all THREE accounts I had with them. Ihad been a loyal customer since I was a 19 years

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old - (and now I'm 30!) - and they simply gave methe old heave ho. To say that I was angry would bean understatement.

So I took my business elsewhere and opened a second

account. Everything was fine. Then 2 months later Igot a letter from the second bank saying they wereclosing my account because my old bank had reportedme to ChexSystem.

Mind you the debt to the old bank had been paid. Nomatter. I was already in the ChexSystem. Theyclosed my accounts a week later.

It was awful!

Fighting ChexSystem was futile. Even though thedebt had been paid they couldn't remove thenegatives. My old bank had to authorize that.

I asked them to remove the entry since the debt hadbeen paid. Basically what I got was the equivalentof a virtual middle finger.

So the negative mark was destined to stay for 5

years.

The Great Big LetdownThe great big letdown is where you tell why the competition isn't doing their

job. (Basically the same as SALES LETTER POINT #2 - Your competiton -free and paid - sucks.)

I searched the Internet at every availablemoment looking for a bank that didn't gothrough the ChexSystem.

I ordered access to web sites. I got freelists of so-called non ChexSystem banks.

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And I didn't find ANYTHING that actuallyworked.

PROBLEM #1- The free lists of non chexsystem banksare often old and outdated. They may have 100 bankslisted, and only 1 of those banks is valid. Thetruth of the matter is that only a handful of banksdon't go through the ChexSystem, not hundreds.

PROBLEM #2- The fee-based web sites out there oftenget their information from the free lists of nonChexSystem banks. Basically these site operatorsare just looking to make a fast buck. They've NEVER

been in the ChexSystem. They don't even bother topick up the telephone to verify the informationbefore they sell it!

About The ProductAs the title implies, here you'll tell the reader about the product, including

bullet points to highlight key ideas/sections.

Depending on the length or complexity of the product, you may find this

section to be a little sparse. This is the problem I had with my Get-In-Google-Now.com report.

The main volume of the report is maybe only 10-pages long, and itexpresses a step-by-step process. So it was difficult to fatten it up, becausetechnically there was nothing to fatten up.

So instead, I combined a variation of The Great Big Letdown with AboutThe Product. I showed potential readers that my report was different fromwhat was currently available by telling what they wouldn't find.

Would you like to witness this power in yourown online business?

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To have a top 10 position in Google withoutbreaking a sweat?

Even though the technique I'm using is based on alogical principle in the way Google ranks sites,it's not something most people would recognize as away to get your marketing message listed in Google.In fact, when you find out what it is you're gonnashake your head in utter amazement. (I still do!)

But isn't that the inherent nature of marketing onthe Internet? Just when you think you know it all -BLAM - there's something new to add to the

equation.

And I've compiled that "BLAM" into a new reporttitled Taking The Back Road To Get On Google'sFirst Page.

First let me tell you what you won't find in thisreport...

NO techniques that tell you how to rank high forobscure keywords. Remember, I stumbled upon thistechnique accidentally. I was targeting my mostfavored keyword, not some nonsense mumbo-jumbo.

NO search engine optimization basics here. That'snot my expertise. So if you're looking for abeginner's SEO guide, this isn't it.

NO talk about AdWords advertising. My technique hasnothing to do with getting a top 10 position for anAdWords advertisement or any other Pay Per Click

search engine.

NO 'black hat' techniques that are going to get youbanned by the search engines. This is a completelyethical tactic.

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NO submitting your site to 50 million differentdirectories, NO getting link partners, or usingpublicity tactics.

NO talk about eBay, newsletters, blogs, RSS, or anyother derivatives.

Taking The Back Road To Get On Google's First Pageis a step-by-step guide explaining my entireprocess for getting several top 10 Google listingsin less than 30 days.

It's a quick read, so it shouldn't take you morethan an hour to get through. You can begin

implementing the steps immediately. Depending onyour keyword you could see results within 2-3 days.Typically it's a 30 day or less turnaround. Once Iwaited 6 weeks, but ended up with a #2 position.Your results will be totally dependent on thekeywords you're using.

But you'll see it's REALLY a simple process.

* You'll see which sites I'm advertising on -

including names and URL's. I'll also tell you whichfeatures you must use in your advertisement forthis technique to work properly. (The features arethe MISSING LINK that turn regular ad's into topGoogle rankings - so you MUST know this part to besuccessful.)

* You'll have access to the actual advertisementsthat currently hold top 10 Google rankings so youcan examine them. You'll see what type of role (or

lack of) search engine optimization tactics playsin a top 10 placement.

* You'll see the screenshots listing my Googlepositions and the keywords used.

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* Discover why I think Wordtracker STINKS, and howyou can get a more accurate account of whichkeywords you should be targeting.

* But more importantly, I'll show you how other

people are using the exact same steps to gain top10 positions as well. This gives undeniable proofthat my technique isn't just a periodic occurrence,but something that happens all the time, when theright circumstances are all aligned properly.

Admit a Flaw About Your ProductEven when you think you've got a failsafe idea, there's always somebodywho can find a way to knock your product off of its pedestal.

That's why I prefer to openly admit my information products biggestshortcoming in the sales letter. I find that people really appreciate thehonesty you express. And you're better able to stabilize their expectations.

Here's what I said on Get-In-Google-Now.com--

But this ISN'T just a bunch of happy hypewith no downside.

Not every ad I run turns into a top 10ranker.

For example, using my technique I was only able tosecure a #23 ranking for a fairly competitivekeyphrase with 4,380,000 competing sites. Grantedit only took 48 hours, but it's still not in thetop 10 position.

September 2005 I ran 7 different ad's and 6 of themgot top 10 rank within eight to ten days. The lastone just lingered at #21.

The reality is you can't get top 10 positions all

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the time. And I certainly don't advocate that youcan.

Sometimes you have to test different keywords andad copy to figure out which ones work the best,

conversion wise.

For example, I t