If you’ve never written anything longer than a letter to grandma, the idea of writing an ebook must seem daunting.
A huge barrier that you need to overcome…
And I think a lot of that fear comes from the idea that your ebook has to be 100 pages long, or more. (I just heard an audio recording of a guy that took 10 months to write his book…LOL!)
I got this question from Donahue just a few days ago. He wrote…
Someone already asked my question…what is a good rule of thumb for length. I have seen 16 pages to 97 pages. My favorite is Triumph of the Stupid. (not just cause you wrote it).
Thanks, Donahue!
One thing I noticed instantly about this question was that the page count was relatively low. Several of the other questions had the count much higher.
And some of the other comments I received, from people who had actually finished writing their books, was that they had written over 200 pages. And I was on the phone with someone today who said the same thing!
200 pages!
I was astounded, actually.
Why?
Because an ebook’s value is not determined by it’s length. It’s determined by how well it solves the problem or completes the mission set out by the title and the marketing.
The book needs to keep your promise to your customer by providing the information.
And it needs to motivate the reader to USE the information.
So how long should an ebook be?
Exactly as long as it takes to do both of those things.
I can’t remember where I heard this, but the most valuable weight loss ebook in the world would be only three pages.
So what is in the three-page weight loss ebook?
Page 1: "You’ll be happier and healthier when you’re thinner."
Page 2: "Eat Less"
Page 3: "Move More"
Okay, so that’s a bit tongue in cheek (though I’m sure someone will actually do this some day). But it makes the point.
Now, I’ll tell you this…
You need to think like a marketer when you’re writing your ebook. And that means you need to look at this from your customer’s perspective.
And consumers really want one thing and one thing only…
To push a button and have their problem solved.
If you think about it, no one wants to go on a diet.
What they want is to be thinner.
And if you give them a choice between reading an ebook about a diet, and then having to actually DO the diet, versus taking a pill and waking up thin, they’d take the pill every time.
So let’s look at your ebook again.
If you are going to teach him to "quickly and easily make money in the stock market" or "build muscle fast" or "Drive a golf ball 50 yards further in 10 days", they’re NOT going to want to slog through 200 pages of content to do it.
At least, I wouldn’t.
I’m a busy guy, and I haven’t time to read 200 pages on 8 1/2 by 11 paper.
Do you?
I don’t think so. You want your solution QUICK, and if it seems like WORK, you’re going to say NO to the offer.
So do you think it actually adds value to say your book is very large?
I don’t think so.
If it were me, and I’d cranked out 200 pages on my topic, I’d start ripping out some of those chapters and making them into bonuses.
* I’d much rather read a 60-80 page ebook.
* Of course, I’d first read the 20 page quick-start guide.
* And then the three bonus books to take what I’ve learned to the next level.
BOOM! Did you see that?
We just turned our 200 page war-and-peace-sized monstrous ebook into a healthy 80 page ebook, and FOUR BONUSES!
Which do you think would sell better?
I agree with YOU.
I’ve got more easy bonus-creation techniques, too. I teach them to my private consulting clients.
But I’m thinking of doing a quick webinar to teach you this, and lots more of my Big Money Ebook concepts. Here’s what I have in the course outline so far…
- My two best writers-block crushers, so you never get stuck wondering what to write next.
- The basics of building an ebook. How do you do it? What goes where?
- 12 Easy ways to increase the usability and quality of your book.
- How to reduce refunds and returns, and increase sales for your NEXT ebook or other product.
- A video on how to use the ebook template
- My 7 Best Methods for building the Marketing Into your ebook so the book sells itself
- …and a long list of things that *might* make it into the course.
If there’s anything specific you want to know, let me know NOW what it is so I can include it for you. Even if what you want was already left in a comment by someone else, or I listed it in my quick outline, please repeat what was already written if it’s important to you.
Because if it’s important to you, it’s important to me.
So bring it on. Leave a comment below. Tell me what you need. Last chance — I’ve been getting great feedback from you all week.
To Your Success,
–Mark Widawer
P.S. I just realized that I didn’t tackle the question of "how short is TOO short." Well, I’m not sure there is a "too short". I have heard of 16 page ebooks selling for $100 dollars. It’s rare, but it happens.
Some information is VERY rare and VERY valuable.
Would you pay $100 for tomorrow’s winning lottery numbers? I bet you would. And you can do that in far less than 16 pages.
Interestingly, although that sounds like a joke, there’s some truth in there. If you build your ebook with the marketing inside, so that it is APPARENT that your customer will be better off WITH your ebook than his fifty bucks, they’ll BUY LIKE CRAZY!
That’s what my Big Money Ebook course is going to be about. Building the Marketing inside, and making it all easy and do-able.
Let me know what you need to know!
-M