photo credit: Davichi

Creating and publishing a Clickbank is one of the best ways to monetize blog traffic.

Clickbank not only makes it easy to publish an eBook by helping you bypass the merchant account setup process; it also makes it easy for you to expose your product to a lot of potential affiliates.

Here’s how to create and publish a Clickbank product.

What Do Your Readers Want to Learn?

Start by asking yourself: What’s the #1 thing your readers want to learn about?

Your Clickbank product should answer that question in an in depth way. Don’t worry if you’ve covered similar concepts in your free material already.

The idea is to go in depth and answer all the questions someone could possibly have on the subject.

For example, let’s say you run a blog on how to raise horses. You’ve already talked quite a bit about how to raise horses on your blog.

But if you created an all-inclusive guide to raising horses, with 150 page of content and 2 hours of audio, people won’t mind if you have some repeat. The all-inclusive guide is enough of a draw in and of itself.

Writing the Salesletter

The salesletter is one of the biggest parts of marketing a Clickbank product. It’s what gets someone from mildly interested to actually pulling out their credit card and buying.

There are a few different ways you can do your salesletter.

For one, you can write it yourself. If you have copywriting training, this is often the best way to go about it. You know your product better than anyone else and you’ll be able to write the salesletter with passion and conviction.

On the other hand, if you don’t have copywriting training, it can take quite a while to learn the skill. Instead of learning it yourself, you might choose to hire someone to do it instead.

The most important thing about hiring someone to do your salesletter is that you know enough about copywriting to be able to tell the difference between what good copy is and what’s not.

I’d recommend at least reading Dan Kennedy’s “How to Write a Salesletter” and “How to Write an Advertisement” before finding and hiring a copywriter.

Getting Your Product on Clickbank

Getting your product on Clickbank is fairly easy. You just need to read through all their guidelines and make sure you follow it to a T.

Clickbank has a few things that can trip newcomers up. For example, they have very exact requirements on how long the return period has to be. You can’t get creative and give a 1 year return policy and you can’t be stingy and give a 1 week policy.

There are just a few criteria you have to follow to get into Clickbank. Once you’ve setup your salesletter and product to comply with the requirements, just send in your application and pay the $50 startup fee. You’ll receive your approval notice within a few days.

Marketing the Product

Once your Clickbank product is live, the final step is to market it.

The first place to market your product is, naturally, your blog and your email list. Instead of just sending out a marketing blast, try to set it up so there’s a bit of a buildup to the launch.

Talk about the product before it’s launched. Hint at the things that are going to be in the product. Get people excited, before you actually put the product on the market.

If you can get affiliates involved, so much the better. Clickbank has a product ranking system called “Gravity” that’s based a lot more on how many affiliates sell your product than how many sales you make. The more affiliates you can get, the higher your gravity, the more likely it is that you’ll get more affiliates in the future.

If your initial sales look promising, you might also want to experiment with some paid traffic. Start with exact match keywords to get the highest ROI. If you’re profitable, then ramp up the traffic with phrase match, broader keywords and eventually broad match.

Creating a product and getting it on Clickbank isn’t difficult. The real trick is in making sure you have a high quality product people want, then lining up the proper marketing for that product. If you can do these two things, you’ll have a winner on your hands.

But like with all things in marketing, if you’re looking to command a great price and sell a lot of items, the product isn’t always enough…

Of course, a well-written product will serve you well, but there is still more you can do to increase the value of your product, boost your conversions and increase word-of-mouth.

Here are just a few ideas:

* Create a cover graphic. A graphics allows for a more tangible and traditional visual of your digital product.

HINT: Have a cover graphic for your PDF document as well. Keep the consistent professional image by having a cover page on your actual document.

* Go multimedia. Your customers like to consume information in different ways. Consider sharing your information through audio, video, etc.

* Add useful tools to your product. For example, checklists, worksheets, mindmaps, spreadsheets or anything that helps your customer apply what you’re teaching them.

* Include case studies and testimonials. Add them to your sales materials, but also incorporate them into your product for further social proof.

* Try physical. Consider offering your product in printed format. Services like Kunaki or Lulu can help you print your products on demand.

* Make updates. If your potential customers can see that you stay-up-to-date with the latest and greatest information, they will be more likely to buy your product with confidence. In addition, your current customers are more likely to tell others about you too.

The great thing about these ideas is you can add them one at a time. If you’ve got your product ready and want to launch it, get it out there and add the value as you go along. Your current customers will be wowed by the extras you’re providing them and you’ll likely increase your conversions as you go.

By the way, if you’d rather focus on the marketing and making money side of things, we can write your report or ebook for you. We’d love to give you a hand!

I always keep a library of reports (whether I wrote them, they were ghostwritten or if I purchased them) on hand because there is so much that can be done with them.

And  the thing about pre-made reports (i.e. PLR reports) is that you can unleash this awesomeness immediately.

Valuable:

Reports are valuable because they often have a higher perceived value for your readers than a simple article or blog post. Higher value means you can leverage the power of the report – whether you’re selling it as a product, using it as a bonus or using the report to sell something else.

Versatile:

Reports are versatile because you can do so much with them. You can…

* Use them as free gifts for opting into your mailing list.
* Offer them as bonuses for a paid product.
* Sell them as a product on its own.
* Give them away to generate buzz and promote your business.
* Allow affiliates to brand it and distribute them.
* Break them up into articles, blog posts or an email series.

And heck, you can just about do all those things with 1 report. Even if you start by selling a report as a product, when the report has run it’s course, you can start to utilize it in so many different ways.

Where to Get Pre-Made PLR Reports:

Well, yeah…we happen to sell some of these beauties ourselves and know other providers you might want to check out too. And even though we do sell them, let me be clear. We sell them because they ARE valuable and an important staple to just about any online business.

• All Private Label Content Reports: Mila and I have a growing library of reports for you to check out here. From health topics to business, we have you covered.
• DIYplr: We specialize in step-by-step tutorials with screenshots and photos…super high value content.
• Easy PLR Reports: Nicole Dean is a favorite PLR-provider of mine (because I AM a customer!) and she offers reports in a wide variety of niches. You can see all her available reports here…or check out this limited discount offer she has on these 4 business reports.
• Special Report Club: Melissa Ingold specializes in PLR reports for the Internet marketing niche and many of her packages come with squeeze pages, sales pages, graphics and other marketing materials.
• Mom PLR Ebooks: The name says it all…Wendy Wood has plenty of ebooks/reports on family topics.

How to Make Pre-Made Reports Your Own

Of course, you may be concerned that if you use PLR you may lose your voice or branding in the process. Not at all. Here’s the process I use to make PLR reports my own and to monetize them too:

1. Once you have your pre-made report, create a title page that includes your logo. You can also make a unique title for your report if you prefer. Perhaps a title that reflects a product that you you’re selling or reflects your unique perspective on the subject.

2. Add an introduction to the report. Don’t stress this one. Just a paragraph or two, maybe your photo and a note on why you’re sharing this report. Also, mention the product you feel is a perfect complement to the report and tell them why.

3. Read through the report and see where you can mention the product, add some of your own thoughts, examples and experience. This needn’t take a ton of time, but the more you can do to make the report yours, the better it will serve as a monetization tool as well.

4. Add a conclusion to the report. Sum up what you hope your readers get out of the report and also give a little harder push for the product you are promoting. Give them a number of benefits / reasons why to pick up the product.

That’s it…you’re done! PDF it, load it your server and distribute according to plan.

Here’s the monthly All Custom Content newsletter that we like to share with our Contentrix readers. By the way, email subscribers get monthly tips and a special offer on our services. You can sign up as well, plus get a free outsourcing content guide right here.

This month’s topic is all about transcriptions…and how to reuse, repurpose and make the most of yours.

Top 9 Transcription Uses for Your Online Business

You’ve probably heard that transcriptions can be very valuable for your online business…but have you stopped to think about the MANY uses  transcriptions actually have?

We’re all about making the MOST of your content and reusing and repurposing it where you can and transcriptions are no exception. That’s why we’ve come up with the “Top 9 Transcription Uses for Your Online Business”.

But first, if you’re not familiar with transcriptions, let us explain. A transcription allows you to have your audio content in written format. If you have any webinars, teleseminars, mp3s, podcasts, videos etc., you can have transcriptions created for you. They’re valuable pieces of content with a variety of useful functions.

1. Include the transcription with audio/video. This helps your readers who may have hearing impairment, can’t listen to audio online or prefer the written version of your content.

2. Turn the transcription into an ebook or other written product. Make it for sale or give it away as a bonus for signing up for your mailing list.

3. Make the transcripts and audio recordings an upsell for your webinar/teleseminar participants.

4. Repurpose your transcriptions into a blog post series. Break up the content into logical chunks and simply schedule and post.

5. Repurpose your transcriptions into an autoresponder series. Be sure to add promotions for your products or other products that you recommend.

6. Create a transcription of a call with one of your clients (with his/her permission, of course) and give it away as a  learning tool for your readers.

7. Entice experts to be interviewed. Offer them full rights to a recording and a professional transcription of their interview.

8. Use transcriptions as search engine fodder for your website. While audio content can’t be indexed by search engines, your text can!

9. Create articles and other content. If you are more comfortable with speaking than writing, you can record your articles and other online content. Have those recordings transcribed and your content is ready to go.

Just like with your other written content, there are always plenty of ways to use transcriptions. If you’ve taken the time to create high-value audio content, make the most of it by turning it into written format too.

If you need a hand with transcription, we can help you and for the month of November, you can save 40 cents per audio minute.

Check out our transcription services.  When you complete the service request form, tell them you’d like to take advantage of the “November 40 cents of
Transcription Discount” and we’ll take good care of you.

Your partners in great content,

Get more! If you’d like to stay up-to-date with All Custom Content, sign up for our mailing list here.

Yowsers, we haven’t posted an All Custom Content newsletter in a little while. Now that autumn’s here, let’s get back into it, shall we?

By the way, email subscribers get monthly tips and a special offer on our services. You can sign up as well, plus get a free outsourcing content guide right here.

This month’s topic is all about memberships…and how to make the most of yours.

The Membership Site Dilemma

A lot of people sing the praises of the membership site model for earning steady income online. In fact, there is at least one high-profile launch related to membership sites going on right now. But no matter what technology you have at your disposal, what your marketing approach is, there is always one big challenge to a content-based membership site that a lot of people don’t talk about.

That HUGE challenge is coming up with enough content month-after-month.

And it’s not just good enough to have content. You need to have GREAT content that attracts and retains your members, because if you don’t wow them, they aren’t going to stay around.

But where does that leave you? With a bit of a dilemma. If you focus too much on your content, it’s tough to dedicate yourself to marketing. But if you focus on marketing, your content (and your members!) may suffer.

Of course, you can always outsource your content. Hire some writers and be done with it. Well, that’s easier said than done.

As owners of companies that manage plenty of writers churning out a bunch of content each and every month, we can tell you it’s a BIG job just to manage the writers. You have to provide instructions, feedback, deal with scheduling conflicts and other bits of drama that occur when you’re dealing with human beings.

Here Are Some Approaches You Can Take to Balancing Content & Marketing:

• Find a business partner that wants to focus on either marketing or managing the business. If she does the marketing, you can do the managing. That way, your focus isn’t divided.

• Find a writer who is very passionate about the niche you’re in and hire them to be your editor. They’re in charge of ensuring the quality and consistency of the content while you work on the marketing. You could pay them for their time or perhaps work out a profit-share.

• You can put your focus on user-generated content. Think forums, member blogs, etc. If your members are creating the content, the pressure’s of you. You just provide the technology, grow the membership and encourage participation. Of course, getting a community going is a lot easier said than done, but with a good plan it’s an approach one might take.

• You can also work with All Custom Content and your project manager is built right in. Even if you purchase a lot of content that requires multiple writers, we deal with each and every writer for you. We make sure they meet deadlines, the content is up to snuff and that you’re happy with the finished result.

There’s no perfect solution for everyone. You have to look at your own strengths, resources and unique business needs.

A Few Extra Tips:

• Have a solid marketing plan for your membership site. While it’s nice to have that recurring income, members will come and go and you need to keep new members coming in.

• Don’t bite off more than you can chew. It’s tempting to offer new members the moon and they sky to get them to join, but it can be difficult to keep up if you don’t hit your member targets. It’s much easier to offer less in the beginning and add more and wow your members as membership grows.

• With the previous tip in mind – know your numbers. Know your conversion rate, know how many members you need to make X dollars, set a goal and know how many members you have at all times.

• Make it hard for your members to leave. We don’t mean hold them hostage or make it difficult to cancel a subscription. NO WAY. Give them something that makes it hard to leave the membership. Whether it’s access to software, online storage or something very valuable that they won’t want to give up, you’ll be ahead of the game.

• Create a lucrative affiliate program. Affiliates love recurring commissions, so if you want find a few good affiliates to promote your membership, you’ll all be very happy campers.

And if you happen to need a little help getting your content together, we’re happy to help you.

Get Every 10th Page of Content FREE

From now until October 31, 2010, we’ll create as much content as you need and you’ll get every 10th page free. Whether it’s articles, reports, blog posts or email messages, our project manager will make sure the job gets done. There are no writers for you to manage. Just go here to learn about our services.

We’d love to work with you. Just remember, if you submit a work request, make sure to say you heard about the All Custom Content October 10th page free special. And hey, if you need us month after month, we do volume discounts.

Steady Growth Means Steady Profits

We’ve seen a lot of people create memberships with a big bang and let things fizzle. While it’s nice to have big numbers from the very beginning, it’s also important to have a plan for your steady growth, so you can continue to profit and add features to your membership. If you’ve done your market research and you keep your focus on VALUE and MARKETING, you’re half way there.

To your membership site’s success,