| ontent? If you regularly provide tips, advice, case | | | | on had many overly long paragraphs and weak |
| studies or the like in a free newsletter or ezine or on | | | | closings on the articles. The author also had several |
| your blog, you may be able to repackage these | | | | passages where it looked like she wasn’t |
| articles into a free-standing product that readers would | | | | following her own advice elsewhere in the collection. |
| happily pay for. | | | | Another collection contained predictions and |
| Whether your audience is parakeet owners, paralegals | | | | observations that now seemed old and off the mark. |
| or paranoid landlords, if your information can hang | | | | Leave time in your production schedule to improve the |
| together usefully for that group, and they are willing to | | | | text. Again, you want readers to feel you’ve |
| spend money on learning what to do better, you can | | | | taken care with your product instead of just tossing |
| compile previously published material that was and | | | | previously published things together. |
| maybe still is free into a paid book, report, ebook or | | | | Step 5. Add exclusives. Provide a foreword |
| course. Here’s how. | | | | that’s new, a newly compiled resource list, |
| Step 1. Get clear on the audience for your product. | | | | to-do suggestions or a few never-published articles |
| (Sometimes you’ve already done this in | | | | – things that go above and beyond what people |
| focusing your newsletter or blog.) Identify a specific | | | | following you have already seen or received. |
| kind of person and something they want to | | | | Step 6. Reread every page of your text one more |
| accomplish, such as landlords who want to avoid | | | | time, looking for and fixing anything that might have |
| troublesome tenants. | | | | made sense in your ezine or on your blog but |
| Step 2. Select articles that fit the focus arrived at in | | | | doesn’t fit the new context. This includes |
| Step 1. Put aside anything that isn’t directly | | | | time-based references like “this week” |
| relevant – perhaps you can use those for a | | | | and references to current events that will seem dated |
| different compilation next year. | | | | in a year or two, as well as spatial references like |
| Step 3. Create a structure for the articles that makes | | | | “the box on the right” that no longer |
| sense for the reader and fits the contents you have | | | | apply. If you plan to sell a printed version of the |
| on hand. This order might be chronological, according to | | | | collection, include URLs that are fully written out rather |
| a series of steps. Or you might be able to group your | | | | than links consisting of just underlined anchor text. |
| content under a number of topical headings. Above all, | | | | If nearly all the content from your to-be-published |
| avoid a helter-skelter miscellany. What works best is a | | | | collection is archived on your web site, consider |
| structure that looks like it could have been planned that | | | | removing some of it, so regular visitors to the site are |
| way from scratch. | | | | less likely to feel you’re asking them to pay for |
| Step 4. After determining the organization and order of | | | | something anyone can access for free. Even so, if |
| the articles, go through a printout of the entire text and | | | | you follow the steps above, the product will have |
| edit with a critical eye – or have someone with | | | | coherence that influences those who buy to feel |
| good editing skills do that for you. Certain things that | | | | they’ve purchased an item of quality. And |
| seemed fine in the newsletter or on the web may | | | | instead of returns and refund requests, you receive |
| become annoying or nonsensical here. | | | | thank-you’s, testimonials and readers |
| For instance, one collection I was asked to comment | | | | recommending your product to colleagues and friends. |