Happy Friday!
I’m off to meet with a private client who flew in for a day of consulting and then I’m off to see the Thrashers beat up on the Maples Leafs. 🙂
But before I go, here is part 2 of the three part series on ebooks. (If you missed part one, you can read it here:
Important: Even if you are not selling information products, you should be using information, such as ebooks, to market your professional service. This topic applies to everyone.
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3 Idea Hangouts For Finding Red-Hot Ebook Topics
By Dave Dee
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I’ve always been impressed with those who seem to consistently be ahead of the pack when it comes to new ideas.
When I first started publishing information products online, I thought that certain people had a crystal ball they gazed into. Or some top-secret contact who was providing them with inside information.
Over time, I realized that it wasn’t magic that allowed these people to come up with red-hot ideas on demand. It was simply that they knew where to look.
I soon discovered many places where ideas seemed to always be found. I call these places “idea hangouts.” Here are three of my favorites where you can find ideas for your next ebook anytime you want. Almost like a genie granting you three wishes…
1. GOOGLE.COM
Google is the ultimate “idea hangout.” There are so many ways to mine the gold in Goggle’s amazing search database that it would take another article to graze the surface of this enormous iceberg.
What I want to mention are just two quick ways to find ideas by searching Google.
– Identify Listings
Search for a broad topic related to your area of interest or expertise. (I.E. “Tennis”, “Weight loss”, “Home schooling”.) Look at all of the web sites listed in the index of returned results. You’ll likely find some ideas for information products right there in the first couple of pages.
– Identify Advertisers
You’ll probably notice small ads either at the top of the page or to the right of the page (or both!). These advertisers represent your competition. They also represent your thermometer for taking the temperature of your market and gauging interest in specific topics. Chances are, what they’re selling you should be selling.
In both of these examples, you can click through to the web pages of the sites listed and study their respective sales pages. Look specifically at the “bullet points”. Each of these represents a potential idea for your next ebook.
2. AMAZON.COM
From the world’s largest search engine we move to the world’s largest bookstore. At Amazon.com you’ll really get your creative juices fired up.
Again, you’ll want to search the listings by entering a keyword or keyphrase into the search box on the main page at Amazon.com.
You’ll get a returned listing of numerous books, courses and other periodicals. Search these listed items for ideas for your own ebook.
— Example —
If you were to search for “Home schooling”, you’d find a variety of ideas just waiting in the listing of books available, including: home schooling for special needs children, getting starting in home schooling, choosing curriculum, home schooling field trips, home schooling support groups, home schooling for various ages (I.E. Pre-K, Elementary, Junior High, High School, etc.), home schooling for Christians, etc.)
Any of these listings (and the dozens of others listed) would be great ideas for the topic of your next ebook.
— Example —
Pay particular attention to the first page of the listing. Amazon ranks their listings based on popularity of actual sales volume. In other words, #1 is a better seller than #50. This is a ready-made indicator of demand!
3. MAGAZINES.COM
After visiting the world’s largest search engine and the world’s largest bookstore, it’s time to take a quick stop at the world’s largest periodical store, Magazines.com.
You’ll find every imaginable magazine listed at this site. The interesting part (and useful to you as a research tool) is this: you’ll also find the COVER of usually a recent copy of each magazine.
That is, you can search for “Parenting” and the engine will return a listing of magazines related to that topic. You can then click on the image of the magazine cover and you’ll be shown a larger copy of that cover where you can read the contents. (I.E. “How To Raise A Stubborn Child,” “27 Ways Discipline In Public” and “The Real Key To Your Child Getting Better Grades.”)
Each of these “cover stories” represents an idea for your next ebook.
The best part about it is this: the publishers of these magazines have done the research for you! They’ve measured the level of interest for these ideas and found it high enough to warrant not only writing content about them, but referencing that content on the cover of the magazine!
That’s your hint. People want this information.
So, there you have it, 3 “idea hangouts” where you can find ready-made, in-demand, red-hot topics for your next ebook.
Happy hunting!
Kick butt, make mucho DEE-nero!
~Dave Dee
P.S., If you have any questions or comments about this article, feel free to post a comment here on my blog.
PPS. If a multi-millionaire, who built a 25 million dollar a year
business was giving you advice for free, would you listen? Well
he is. Go to http://davedee.com/moneysecrets