If there’s a business model entrepreneurs should strive to succeed in, it
should be those that generate passive income.
Why? Because with passive income you’re literally earning money with
minimal to no effort on your part. Sounds like a dream, right?
Yes, it’s quite the dream life when you get to that point. But obviously getting
there is not easy. Otherwise, everyone will be living off of their passive
incomes and traveling around the world!
So, how do you find the perfect business that will generate passive
income for you?
If this is something you’ve been meaning to ask, then you’re in luck because
in this short report, you’re going to learn 5 of the best passive income
businesses you can start today!
1) Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is often one of the first methods newbies try out when they
first get involved in Internet marketing. The idea behind this business model
is very simple and is a proven profitable method. You simply need to promote
other people’s products as an affiliate, and you get a commission every time
someone buys those products through your affiliate link!
Commissions vary wildly. In some places like JVZoo and Clickbank, you can
get commissions as high as 90% or even 100%! If you’re an Amazon affiliate,
the maximum commission you’d get would be 10%, but the good thing is you
get a commission for all items bought on Amazon (not just the ones you’re
promoting on your website).
The key to getting good income with affiliate marketing is by sending plenty of
traffic to your website. It’s a numbers game basically so you’d need to look for
where your target audience is hanging out and promote your affiliate products
to them.
One great advantage of affiliate marketing is that it’s relatively easy to setup.
In fact, you can promote products anywhere you want – on your blog, on your
guest posts, on forums, on social media, on your emails, and many more
places!
All you have to do is just sign up to be an affiliate of a product you like, and
then use that special link and promote it. That’s it! Of course, not all affiliate
networks and product owners are going to approve your request. Most
networks do have standards in place.
Most of them will ask for your website address and ask you questions on where
you plan on promoting their products. If they don’t like your answers, then you
don’t get approved as an affiliate.
In most cases, product vendors require you at least have some solid online
presence before they approve your request. Product vendors do get scammed
too, so they tend to be pretty careful when it comes to approving affiliates.
If you find it difficult getting approved on a network, it’s best to establish your
online presence first by building your own website or blog, and letting it age for
a few months before re-submitting your application.
When your application gets approved, and you create valuable content around
the affiliate product, then you can pretty much get passive affiliate marketing
income for as long as the affiliate product is available.
2) Sell eCourses and Info Products
If you are an expert in a particular subject, and you want to share your
expertise with the world, then you may want to create your own course and
info products. However, if you don’t have specialized knowledge in anything,
don’t fret.
It’s not the end of the world. You can still sell eCourses and info products
even if you don’t have first-hand experience in any subject!
You’ve got two options basically.
• First is you take the time to learn the subject, research it thoroughly and
then apply what you’ve learned when you create your course.
• The second option is to just outsource the content creation to someone
who actually knows the subject.
There are plenty of freelancer-for-hire platforms. You can go through any of
them and place an advert for a qualified freelancer to come help you out with
your project.
The great thing with selling your own course and info products is that you can
set your own price. Unlike affiliate marketing where your commissions are
capped at a certain percentage, selling your own products allows you to put
your own price tag! If you think your course is worth $197, then set that price.
If you think $17 is a suitable price, then by all means choose that price. For
best results, however, you should, of course, do your own research to find the
best price for the product you’re offering. Look at what similar products in the
same niche are priced at. Check out what your competitors’ prices are and go
from there.
To boost sales, you may want to consider creating an affiliate program so
other people can help promote your product. If you offer your affiliates a good
share of the profits, you’d have plenty of applicants knocking at your virtual
door.
While you may think it’s not such a good idea to share your hard-earned
profits with other people, just think of it as hiring salespeople to promote your
product for you. You do still get to keep a certain amount for every sale your
affiliates make, so it’s still a win-win situation for everyone!
3) 3. eCommerce Store
eCommerce has been all the rage these days. Probably the most popular
eCommerce stores you see are those businesses that promote their products
on Facebook and Instagram! You’ll see plenty of these businesses
advertising their wares and services on your newsfeed.
With eCommerce, you can basically sell anything you want. You can sell your
own products and services, you can sell affiliate products, you can do
dropshipping, and so much more. Your options include selling things from
your own website or using a third party platform like Shopify to simplify the
business side of things.
You can have a brick and mortar shop, but also sell your products on your
own website, or even list it on eBay and Craigslist. The possibilities for
eCommerce are nearly endless.
A great advantage of eCommerce is that your business is open
24/7 and you can sell to anyone in the world, if you so choose.
If you’re selling physical products, you’d have to factor in shipping costs and
delivery times to your price. But for digital products, eCommerce provides a
platform where vendors get paid instantly, and buyers get access to their
purchase in mere seconds.
eCommerce businesses are also much easier to scale than brick and mortar
businesses. With eCommerce, you can simply add your products to another
platform or duplicate your current website, and you’d have a new income
stream on your hands.
While eCommerce is a great source of online revenue, not all eCommerce
businesses provide passive income. In fact, for most stores you’d need
someone to handle the orders, ship products (if you’re not dropshipping),
provide customer support, and so much more. However, once you reach a
certain level of success, you can pretty much build a team to work on your
business and just manage it from afar!
You can train your staff to handle all aspects of your business – from
sourcing products to fulfillment to customer service – everything really. If you
take good care of your employees, they’ll take good care of your business.
Once your team gets the hang of your business, they’ll work like a well-oiled
machine providing you with a hands-free passive income stream!
4) 4. Service Providers
For this type of business model, you can literally earn passive income from
any type of service. How? By outsourcing the work! This means you’d only
need to find clients, customers or buyers, and you let someone else do the
job for you. While this may not sound like a passive business model, hear me
out. Check out this example:
For instance, if you have an agency selling writing or designing services, you
can set up a website with your portfolio on it and promote it to the world.
When people buy your services, you hire out the work to a freelancer.
Alternatively, you can sign up on freelancer marketplaces, bid on jobs, and
when you win a project, you hire another freelancer to do the work for you at
a much cheaper rate.
Do you see the possibilities? You can have any number of clients and not
worry about not fulfilling any of the work because all you do is just hire
someone else to do the actual job. You simply pocket the difference between
the amount your client pays you and the amount you pay your contractor!
To ensure the quality of work doesn’t suffer, you’d need to vet your
freelancers thoroughly. Doing this may take time. While a lot of freelancers,
especially those based overseas, can afford to work on peanuts, the quality
may not be up to par.
You’d have to go through a lot of profiles and applicants before you find a
keeper. When you do find a qualified freelancer whose rates you can afford
(and still earn some profits), then consider yourself in business.
To make the most amount of profits, you’d have to win plenty of projects and
have a good number of freelancers on your team. Now the thing with
freelancers is they quite literally have the freedom to work with other clients.
If you want to book blocks of their time, say 40 hours a week, then you’d have
to hire them as regular employees, and not as contractors. A different set of
rules would apply in terms of pay and benefits, but for the most part, the
business model will still provide you with a good stream of regular passive
income.
5) 5. SaaS Business
SaaS, or software as a service, has been gaining popularity in recent years.
You basically create a software, or have it developed for you if you’re not a
coder, and sell subscription to people. There are plenty of apps nowadays
that have been created on the Saas model.
Popular examples include Microsoft Office 365, Salesforce, Google
Apps, Dropbox, and Slack.
To develop a SaaS business, you need to have a good and profitable idea.
You’d basically need to have a solid business plan in place because winging
a SaaS project is going to be very costly.
If you decide to just hire a developer without making sure your idea is going
to even work at all, or if there’s a market for it, then you could end up losing
thousands of dollars in developer fees! If that’s something you can afford to
lose, then by all means, go ahead and develop your software. However, for
more prudent entrepreneurs, a business plan is obviously the best option.
With a business plan, you will be able to define and clearly see what makes
your software stand out from your competitors. You’ll be able to validate your
idea and see if it’s actually going to be profitable or not. Tests are going to be
necessary, so you’d need to take this into consideration as well. Just because
you think your idea is great doesn’t mean everyone is going to love it too!
Once you find a winning idea, you’d need to find the best developers who will
share your vision and your passion for your software. You’d also need to
have a marketing team in place to help you market your product to your
target audience.
Developing your own SaaS is really not for the faint-hearted and the
financially challenged. Why? Because you’d need to spend a considerable
sum of money before your product even gets launched! And once it’s
launched, you’d need to spend even more money to market it in front of the
right people! So it will be months, or even a couple of years, before you break
even!
The good thing is once you start seeing some profits, your Saas business will
be pretty much on autopilot, and you can expect to see those dollars trickling
in your bank account regularly.
Marketing is a dynamic field that offers numerous opportunities to generate income. Whether you're looking to work for a company, become a freelancer, or start your own business, understanding the various aspects of marketing and how to apply them can lead to financial success. This guide provides a step-by-step approach to earning income through marketing.
Step 1: Understand the Basics of Marketing
Definition of Marketing
Marketing is the process of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising. It involves understanding customer needs, creating value, and delivering that value to customers.
Key Concepts
Market Research: Understanding your target audience, their preferences, and market trends.
Product Development: Creating products or services that meet the needs of your target market.
Promotion: Communicating the benefits of your product to potential customers through various channels.
Sales: The process of selling the product to the customer.
Step 2: Choose a Marketing Path
Marketing offers various paths, including:
Traditional Marketing
Print Advertising: Newspapers, magazines, and brochures.
Broadcast Advertising: Television and radio.
Direct Mail: Sending promotional materials directly to potential customers.
Digital Marketing
Content Marketing: Creating and sharing valuable content to attract and engage an audience.
Social Media Marketing: Using platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to promote products.
Email Marketing: Sending targeted emails to potential and current customers.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimizing content to rank higher in search engine results.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC): Paying for ads to appear in search engine results or on websites.
Niche Marketing
Influencer Marketing: Collaborating with influencers to promote products.
Affiliate Marketing: Earning commissions by promoting other companies' products.
Event Marketing: Hosting or sponsoring events to promote products.
Step 3: Acquire Necessary Skills
Education
Degrees: A degree in marketing, business, or a related field can provide a solid foundation.
Certifications: Courses and certifications in specific areas like SEO, PPC, or social media marketing.
Practical Skills
Analytical Skills: Ability to analyze data and market trends.
Content Calendar: Plan your content for the month or quarter.
Content Types: Blog posts, videos, infographics, podcasts.
Step 6: Implement Your Marketing Plan
Create and Share Content
Blogging: Write and publish blog posts on your website.
Social Media Posts: Share engaging content on social media platforms.
Email Campaigns: Send regular newsletters and promotional emails.
Engage with Your Audience
Respond to Comments: Engage with your audience by responding to comments and messages.
Host Webinars: Provide value through webinars and live sessions.
Monitor and Adjust
Analytics: Use tools like Google Analytics to track the performance of your marketing efforts.
Feedback: Gather feedback from your audience and make necessary adjustments.
Step 7: Monetize Your Efforts
Offer Services
Consulting: Offer your marketing expertise to businesses.
Freelancing: Take on freelance projects in your area of expertise.
Agency Work: Join or start a marketing agency.
Create and Sell Products
Digital Products: Create eBooks, online courses, or templates.
Physical Products: Develop and sell merchandise related to your brand.
Affiliate Marketing
Join Affiliate Programs: Sign up for affiliate programs and promote products to earn commissions.
Promote Products: Use your website, blog, or social media to promote affiliate products.
Step 8: Scale Your Business
Automate Processes
Marketing Automation Tools: Use tools to automate email campaigns, social media posts, and other marketing tasks.
Outsourcing: Hire freelancers or employees to handle certain aspects of your business.
Expand Your Reach
Collaborations: Partner with other businesses or influencers.
Paid Advertising: Invest in paid advertising to reach a larger audience.
Continuous Learning
Stay Updated: Keep up with the latest marketing trends and technologies.
Professional Development: Attend workshops, conferences, and online courses.
Conclusion
Earning income through marketing requires a combination of knowledge, skills, and strategic planning. By understanding the basics, choosing the right path, acquiring necessary skills, and implementing a well-thought-out marketing strategy, you can build a successful career or business in marketing. Remember, continuous learning and adaptation are key to staying ahead in the ever-evolving field of marketing.
How to Make Money with Online Copywriting Services
Understanding Online Copywriting
Copywriting involves crafting persuasive and compelling text, or "copy," intended to motivate the reader to take a specific action, such as purchasing a product, signing up for a newsletter, or engaging with content. With the rise of digital marketing, online copywriting has become a lucrative field. Here’s a guide to making money with online copywriting services:
1. Building Foundational Skills
a. Mastering the Basics
To succeed in online copywriting, it’s essential to master the basics:
Grammar and Style: Strong command of language and grammatical rules.
Persuasive Writing: Ability to write in a way that convinces and converts readers.
SEO Knowledge: Understanding of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to make content discoverable.
b. Specializing in Niches
While it’s beneficial to be a versatile writer, specializing in a niche can set you apart. Consider areas like health and wellness, finance, technology, or e-commerce.
2. Creating a Portfolio
A portfolio showcases your skills and helps attract clients. Here’s how to build one:
Sample Work: Create a few high-quality samples. You can write mock-ups if you don’t have any client work yet.
Case Studies: Document any successful projects, highlighting the results achieved.
Personal Website: Develop a professional website to display your portfolio, testimonials, and services.
3. Finding Clients
a. Freelance Platforms
Websites like Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer are excellent places to start. Create a compelling profile and start bidding on projects.
b. Job Boards
Check out job boards like ProBlogger, Contena, and Indeed. These platforms often list opportunities for freelance and contract copywriters.
c. Networking
Leverage your professional network. Join online communities, attend webinars, and participate in forums. LinkedIn is a valuable platform for connecting with potential clients and showcasing your expertise.
4. Setting Competitive Rates
Setting the right rates is crucial:
Research the Market: Understand the going rates for copywriting in your niche.
Value-Based Pricing: Charge based on the value you provide. If your copy can significantly boost sales, you can command higher fees.
Hourly vs. Project Rates: Decide whether to charge hourly or per project. Many clients prefer project rates for clarity and budgeting.
5. Providing Excellent Service
Client satisfaction leads to repeat business and referrals:
Clear Communication: Keep clients informed about progress and be responsive to their needs.
Meeting Deadlines: Always deliver work on time.
Revisions: Be willing to make revisions to ensure the client is happy with the final product.
6. Expanding Your Services
Diversifying your services can increase your income:
Content Writing: Offer blog posts, articles, and website content.
Social Media Copy: Write engaging posts for platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Sales Pages and Landing Pages: Specialize in high-conversion copy for sales and landing pages.
7. Leveraging Tools and Technology
Using the right tools can enhance your efficiency and effectiveness:
Grammarly and Hemingway: Tools for grammar and style checking.
SEO Tools: Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Yoast to optimize content for search engines.
Project Management Software: Tools like Trello, Asana, or Monday.com help manage projects and deadlines.
8. Continuous Learning and Improvement
The digital landscape is always evolving. Stay updated with trends and continuously improve your skills:
Online Courses: Platforms like Coursera, Udemy, and Skillshare offer courses in copywriting, marketing, and SEO.
Books and Blogs: Read widely on copywriting and marketing. Authors like David Ogilvy and Joe Sugarman are great resources.
Feedback: Seek feedback from clients and peers to improve your work.
9. Scaling Your Business
As you gain experience and build a reputation, you can scale your business:
Outsourcing: Hire other writers to handle overflow work.
Agency Model: Transition from a solo freelancer to running a copywriting agency.
Productization: Create copywriting courses, e-books, or templates to sell.
10. Marketing Yourself
To attract clients, you need to market yourself effectively:
Personal Branding: Develop a strong personal brand. Use consistent messaging across your website and social media.
Content Marketing: Write blog posts, create videos, or produce podcasts to showcase your expertise.
Testimonials and Case Studies: Use client testimonials and case studies to build credibility.
Conclusion
Making money with online copywriting services is a viable and potentially lucrative career path. By mastering the fundamentals, building a strong portfolio, finding clients, setting competitive rates, and continuously improving, you can create a successful copywriting business. Remember, the key to long-term success is providing value to your clients and staying adaptable in the ever-changing digital landscape.
The digital era has opened up numerous opportunities to earn money online. Whether you're looking for a full-time job or just some extra income, there's a method that suits your skills and interests. This guide will explore various ways to make money online, ranging from freelancing to passive income streams.
1. Freelancing
a. Writing and Editing
Content Writing: Websites, blogs, and companies constantly need fresh content. Platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, and Fiverr offer gigs for writers.
Copywriting: This involves writing persuasive content for marketing purposes. It's a high-demand skill with good pay.
Editing and Proofreading: If you have a keen eye for detail, you can offer editing services to authors, businesses, and students.
b. Graphic Design and Video Editing
Graphic Design: Create logos, social media graphics, and marketing materials. Tools like Adobe Creative Suite are essential.
Video Editing: With the rise of video content, video editors are in demand. Skills in software like Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro can be lucrative.
c. Web Development and Programming
Web Development: Build websites for clients using platforms like WordPress, HTML/CSS, and JavaScript.
App Development: Develop mobile apps for Android and iOS.
Software Development: Create custom software solutions for businesses.
2. Selling Products Online
a. E-commerce
Dropshipping: Sell products without holding inventory. Use platforms like Shopify and Oberlo to manage your store and suppliers.
Print on Demand: Design custom products like t-shirts, mugs, and posters. Services like Printful and Teespring handle printing and shipping.
b. Handmade and Vintage Items
Etsy: A marketplace for handmade, vintage, and unique factory-manufactured items. Ideal for crafters and artists.
c. Selling Digital Products
Ebooks and Courses: Write ebooks or create online courses on platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and Udemy.
Stock Photography: Sell your photos on websites like Shutterstock and Adobe Stock.
3. Affiliate Marketing
a. Choosing a Niche
Focus on a niche you're passionate about and has a good market potential. Popular niches include health, technology, and personal finance.
b. Building a Platform
Blogging: Start a blog and write content related to your niche. Use SEO strategies to attract traffic.
YouTube: Create videos and promote products. You earn a commission for every sale made through your affiliate links.
c. Affiliate Networks
Join affiliate programs from networks like Amazon Associates, ShareASale, and Commission Junction.
4. Passive Income Streams
a. Investing
Stocks and Dividends: Invest in dividend-paying stocks to earn a regular income.
Real Estate Crowdfunding: Invest in real estate projects online with platforms like Fundrise and RealtyMogul.
b. Creating Digital Assets
YouTube Channel: Create content and earn through ad revenue, memberships, and Super Chat.
Podcasting: Start a podcast and monetize through sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and listener donations.
5. Remote Work
a. Virtual Assistant
Provide administrative support to businesses or entrepreneurs. Tasks can include managing emails, scheduling, and social media management.
b. Customer Service
Many companies hire remote customer service representatives. Jobs can include handling inquiries, technical support, and order processing.
c. Teaching and Tutoring
Online Tutoring: Teach subjects you're proficient in via platforms like Chegg Tutors and Tutor.com.
Language Teaching: Teach English or other languages through websites like VIPKid and iTalki.
6. Gig Economy
a. Ride-Sharing and Delivery
Uber and Lyft: Drive passengers to their destinations.
DoorDash and Postmates: Deliver food and groceries.
b. Task-Based Work
TaskRabbit: Offer services like moving, cleaning, or handyman work.
Fiverr: Provide small services starting at $5, such as graphic design, writing, or voice-overs.
7. Specialized Skills
a. Consulting and Coaching
Business Consulting: Offer advice to businesses in your area of expertise.
Life Coaching: Help clients achieve personal goals and improve their lives.
b. Social Media Management
Manage social media accounts for businesses, creating content and engaging with followers.
c. SEO Services
Provide search engine optimization services to help businesses rank higher on search engines.
Conclusion
Making money online is achievable with dedication and the right approach. Whether you're freelancing, selling products, or creating passive income streams, there's a wealth of opportunities waiting. Identify your skills and interests, choose a method that suits you, and start your journey towards financial independence today.
Feel free to ask for more details on any specific method or for
guidance on getting started with any of these options!
Making money with your writing skills online can be rewarding and flexible. Here are several methods to consider:
1. Freelance Writing
Platforms
Upwork: A popular freelance marketplace where you can find writing gigs.
Fiverr: Allows you to offer writing services starting at $5.
Freelancer: Another platform to find various writing projects.
Content Mills: Websites like Textbroker or WriterAccess where you can get paid for writing articles, although rates may be lower.
Tips
Build a strong portfolio with diverse writing samples.
Start with lower-paying gigs to build your reputation and reviews.
Specialize in a niche (e.g., technical writing, copywriting, SEO writing) to command higher rates.
2. Blogging
Monetization Strategies
Ad Revenue: Use Google AdSense or Mediavine to place ads on your blog.
Affiliate Marketing: Promote products and earn a commission on sales through affiliate links.
Sponsored Posts: Partner with brands to write sponsored content.
Sell Digital Products: Create and sell e-books, courses, or printables related to your blog niche.
Memberships: Offer exclusive content for a subscription fee using platforms like Patreon.
Tips
Choose a profitable niche with a passionate audience.
Consistently produce high-quality content.
Promote your blog through social media, SEO, and guest posting.
3. Content Creation for Websites
Opportunities
Company Websites: Write blog posts, product descriptions, and website content for businesses.
Content Agencies: Work with agencies that provide content for various clients.
Guest Blogging: Get paid to write for popular blogs in your niche.
Tips
Reach out to websites directly with a pitch and writing samples.
Network within your industry to find opportunities.
4. Self-Publishing
Platforms
Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP): Publish e-books and paperbacks on Amazon.
Smashwords: Distribute e-books to various retailers.
IngramSpark: For wider distribution of print books.
Tips
Write in popular genres or niches to increase sales.
Invest in a professional cover design and editing.
Promote your books through social media, email marketing, and book promotion sites.
5. Copywriting
Services
Sales Pages: Write persuasive content for sales pages and landing pages.
Email Marketing: Craft email campaigns for businesses.
Ad Copy: Create compelling ads for social media, Google, and other platforms.
Tips
Study copywriting techniques and psychological triggers.
Build a portfolio with examples of your work.
Network with businesses and marketers who need copywriting services.
6. Technical Writing
Opportunities
Manuals and Guides: Write user manuals, instruction guides, and technical documentation.
Software Documentation: Create documentation for software and applications.
Medical Writing: Write for the medical and pharmaceutical industries.
Tips
Gain expertise in a specific technical field.
Build a portfolio with samples of technical documents.
Seek certifications or training in technical writing.
7. Online Courses and Workshops
Platforms
Teachable: Create and sell online courses.
Udemy: Offer courses on a wide range of topics.
Skillshare: Teach classes and earn royalties based on student enrollments.
Tips
Identify a unique angle or specialty for your course.
Develop high-quality video content and materials.
Promote your course through social media and email marketing.
8. Writing Contests and Grants
Opportunities
Writing Contests: Participate in competitions that offer cash prizes for winning entries.
Grants and Fellowships: Apply for funding opportunities for writers.
Tips
Follow contest guidelines carefully.
Submit your best work and revise based on feedback.
Research grant opportunities specific to your writing niche.
Conclusion
To succeed in making money with your writing skills online, it’s important to continually improve your craft, build a solid portfolio, and market yourself effectively. Diversifying your income streams by combining several of these methods can also help ensure steady revenue.
When it comes to getting the word out about your solutions, you have a lot of options for
content publishing, from white papers to case studies to eBooks. Each has its benefits
and drawbacks, and each can work to deliver your goals and objectives if you take the
time to understand them.
White Papers
Businesses use white papers to engage with their audience and industries by teaching
new information using a lot of facts and figures to influence the audience. White papers
are valuable educational materials that can be used internally and externally and work
in both businesses to business (B2B) and business to customer (B2C) situations. White
papers drive top of the funnel needs by quickly improving awareness of the problem and
the solution you offer.
Case Studies
Case studies prove your assertions by using facts, figures, and visuals to drive home
what has worked for a given customer. Case studies show through storytelling, moving
from problem to solution that gives the background and the results in a compelling way.
Case studies are very effective because they easily illustrate the effectiveness of a
solution using hard data.
eBooks
eBooks aren’t hard-selling documents. They usually take a short time to create, can be
marketed easily, and are valuable to most audiences, whether they are B2B or B2C.
They are cost-effective and easy to compile. For example, you can sassily create an
eBook from previously written blog posts that tie together and deliver a message. You
can include URLs and encourage your audience to get on your list, join your
communities, and buy your products and use your services – all through eBooks.
These three content types are well-known yet subtle marketing tools that you need to
use to ensure that your content marketing strategy will be successful. Plus, every single
piece of marketing collateral you create can be reused, repurposed, and reformatted to
increase the return on investment exponentially for all three types of long-form content
marketing, while grabbing your audience’s attention and keeping it due to the design
and information inside.
What Is Included in a White Paper?
A white paper is a datacentric multipage document that is written in a formal way,
helping the reader understand the issue, solve their problems, or make the right
choices. A white paper (sometimes written “whitepaper”) uses a lot of research and data
to persuade the readers on behalf of a specific recommendation or solution.
A white paper is a great way to showcase your expertise and to market yourself to your
audience without being in high pressured sales mode. Instead, you provide information
that highlights the expertise, knowledge, and value of the solutions you are
recommending.
Choosing Your Topic
When you decide that you want to create a white paper for marketing purposes and
educational purposes for your business, it’s imperative that you first choose a good
topic. Like anything else, when choosing a topic, you want to consider your audience
and your expertise, and you want to create a white paper that is focused on the solution
for the one specific problem that you’re highlighting within the white paper.
Preparing Your White Paper
A white paper needs to include a lot of data and research to make it a true white paper.
Therefore, to prepare you need to conduct comprehensive research that includes
references from internal documentation as well as industry resources that are
authoritative in nature as well as reliable and credible. It will help to create a thorough
outline or mind map (depending upon your preference) to ensure that you include all the
information needed.
Formatting Your White Paper
The format of a white paper is consistent with most business reports and
documentation, with the addition of a conclusion that is more of a recommendation at
the end to guide readers toward making a purchase.
White papers take a considerable amount of time to research, develop, and complete.
However, a good white paper can increase opportunities for your business and makes
for great evergreen content that you can use throughout your content marketing efforts.
This makes the hard work totally worth it in terms of your return on investment.
Sometimes the conclusion for a business report is written at the beginning of the
document, but in the case of a white paper, the conclusion or thoughts and opinions of
the writers are placed at the end. The final section is supposed to be the deciding
moment for the reader, and the white paper takes the reader on a journey through
awareness, consideration, and decision right in one report.
The main point is that you need to make your white paper persuasive and easy to
understand for the reader. For this reason, you’ll need to format the document in an
orderly way by choosing an accurate title, including an abstract or brief overview of the
white paper’s main points, and so forth, which allows the reader to understand that this
is the right document for them to read.
Then you need to state the problem and provide background information; all the original
research, secondary research, and information should be communicated here. Finally,
you’ll want to offer up the solution at the point of decision making, along with the major
findings repeated in the conclusion. Of course, always provide a list of references. It
helps to follow industry guidelines on formatting, using either MLA or APA citation
formats.
White papers take a lot of understanding and knowledge of research methods, data
collection, and subject matter expertise. Investing in creating white papers will pay off,
though, in many ways (as mentioned before), because its content that can be reused,
repurposed, and reformatted for use all throughout your marketing funnel. You can see
an example of a white paper here, called The High Cost of Doing Nothing.
What Is Included in a Case Study?
Another way to present information to your audience is through a case study. Case
studies provide analysis of a specific business problem and then compare the results of
using specific solutions, ultimately designed to promote one solution that the evidence
shows is the most effective.
Why Use a Case Study?
A well-designed case study will increase your credibility, showcase your success, and
provide a lot of content that you can use in other areas by repurposing the information.
Case studies illustrate to the reader how you or the subject created success in their
specific situation using your recommended or self-created solution. They build trust
through storytelling and are based on positivity and success.
A well-designed case study will include:
• Subject Matter Description – Your customer’s demographics, pain points, and
problems, and experiences up until the breakthrough, are good ways to explain
all the background before the subject used the solution, including perhaps trying
other solutions.
• The Subject’s Goal – It’s imperative to know what the subject’s goals were as
they figure out and find the real solution to their problem. Explaining the goal in
the way SMART goals are created is imperative here, so that they see how it all
works.
• The Subject’s Hypothesis – Once you explain the goal and the strategy that will
be implemented based on the goal, it’s important that the reader also
understands what was expected to be the results versus what they actually were.
• How the Subject Implemented the Strategy – Show the reader how the subject
implemented the strategy in a step-by-step way because this is something that is
often repeatable, and learning this process will help and engage your audience.
• What the Subject Experienced after Implementation – Give a lot of detail
about the results using numbers, data, and comparisons of “before and after” the
solution, so that it’s clear that the results were amazing after implementation of
the solution.
• The Concluding Findings – Coming back to how it was before, and what it’s
like after implementing the solution, is a great way to showcase the results again.
Highlight more information about how this solution will work for other people, too,
and why.
Formatting a Case Study
The format of a case study is important because it should be designed for your
audience and deliver the information to them in the way that they best understand and
like to receive the information.
• Title and Subtitle – You may want to wait until you’ve finished to make the final
title and subtitle. It should be succinct and to the point but also elaborate on the
results in the subtitle.
• Executive Summary – This is information about you and your business and
background about how and why you developed the solution you did. This should
be designed based on how your audience sees it and not as a sales page. Just a
paragraph and some relevant bullet points that point to your success.
• About the Subject – Always include a summary of everything you can about the
subject matter or person you’re doing the case study about. Include their
business profile, links to their information, and background info about them so
that the audience will grow to care about the subject.
• SWOT – Include a few paragraphs about the problem the subject had prior to
using your solution, and the goals and objectives they wanted to achieve before
finding the solution. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats the
subject was experiencing is an important decision-making point to expand upon.
• About the Solution and How It Worked – Include some paragraphs,
testimonials, and other information that shows exactly how your solution
specifically benefited the subject the case study is regarding. Always use
numbers and data here to quantify the contributions your solution made that
impacted the results.
• The Impact or Results of the Solution Defined in Terms the Audience
Understands – Remember to focus on the impact and results of the solution
over everything else. Use terminology that you know affects how your audience
feels and acts.
• Amazing Supporting Facts, Quotes, and Visuals – Of course, throughout the
case study, include different types of content that help make boring information
palatable. Graphs, charts, quotes, and facts go a long way when they’re beautiful
visually.
• Your Call to Action – Some people will say that not all case studies need a
CTA, but if you don’t put one, your readers will not act on what they’ve
consumed. CTAs are essential to help your audience get their results and
essential for you to ensure that your audience is activated. Invite them to join
your list, go to a landing page for more info, or to a shopping cart to get the
product or service now.
The main point of a case study is to showcase your solution for the problem and how it’s
better than others, and why using all the data they’ve collected during their process to
demonstrate to the audience how the solution works and why it works too. If you want to
see an amazing example of a case study, look no further than this: HubSpot Case
Study showing how Rock & Roll Hall of Fame grew its audience using HubSpot.
What Is Included in an eBook?
The simplest of the three types of long-form content marketing options that we’re
discussing is the eBook. You can use eBooks to capture more subscribers, as a way to
reuse content you’ve already created, a place to tell a compelling story, and as a way to
get more content on more marketing channels – as well as to deliver a variety of content
to your audience at every step of their buying journey.
Reasons to Publish eBooks and Why It Works
An ebook is an excellent way to compile, publish, and share information to your
audience that allows you to cover a topic more in-depth than even a long-form blog post
will allow. An eBook can provide a content upgrade that brings your audience to your list
and provides amazing value, and it’s in a sharable format that your audience will be
happy to share, thus helping you build your list even bigger.
To create a well-designed eBook, you’ll need to:
• Know the Goal of the eBook – Before you even pick a title to the eBook, you
need to understand what the goals you have for it are on two fronts. One, what
do you hope to accomplish by publishing the eBook? Do you want more email list
members, or are you trying to build your private community?
Secondly, what is the point of the book from the audience’s perspective? It must
be about educating, informing, and engaging with your audience that doesn’t
make it obvious that you’re selling something to them or that you’re publishing
this book to build your email list. Sure, that’s why from your perspective, but for
them, it has to be a lot more compelling than your email list.
• Choose the Right Topic – The topic of the eBook is informed by the goals you
have for the eBook from your audience’s perspective. Where are they in the
buying journey? Where are they inside your marketing funnel? Where do you
want them to be, and what information is needed to get there?
• Create a Compelling Title – Based on the information you’re going to include in
the eBook, you need to create a compelling title that tells your audience what to
expect if they download and read this eBook. Don’t be too clever and tricky with
titles; be straightforward using keywords and topics that are of interest to your
audience.
• Outline and Organize the Chapters – Once you know what you want to talk
about, you’ll need to create your outline and organize the chapters in a logical
format designed to take them through the buying journey, depending on who the
target is.
• Write Each Chapter – When you have an outline, you don’t even have to work
on the eBook in order. You can outsource parts, use information from PLR
(private label rights content), and other sources to fill out the information for each
chapter of your eBook.
• Format and Edit the eBook – Once the eBook is complete, it’s time to format
and edit it. Formatting and editing ensure that the eBook is easily readable and
takes into consideration the design based on who is reading it and where they’re
reading it.
• Add Attention-Grabbing Graphics – As you go through and edit the eBook,
you’ll need to note places where graphics can help draw attention to or explain a
difficult concept better. Have these graphics designed and then added to the
eBook so that the information is more understandable to the audience.
• Include Other Design Elements – Consider adding interesting typography,
colors, drop text, arrows, and other features and design elements that will take
your eBook from plain to exciting.
• Include a CTA – Every single eBook should include at the end or the beginning
or both (and sometimes in the middle if it’s long) a call to action of some form that
takes them to the next level in their buying journey.
• Create a Converting Landing Page – Every single eBook, eReport, or product
you create, whether free or for a price, needs to have at least one specialized
landing page just for that thing.
• Promote Your eBook – Once it’s done, you have to promote it just like you
would any other product or service. Therefore, you need to create promotional
materials such as graphics, memes, blog posts, sales pages, landing pages, and
advertising copy and graphics.
Writing an eBook is a lot simpler than you may think. It’s simply designed and organized
using an outline or a mind map to ensure you don’t miss out any of the information that
you want to share with them. An excellent example of an eBook is the one you’re
reading right now.
How to Determine Which Type Works Best for Your Needs
The main thing that you need to do is to figure out why you want to create the content,
who it’s for, and what you want the results to be after they’ve consumed the content.
Having said that, each of these three types of content will work for you regardless of
those factors as long as you keep the audience in mind as you create it.
• Know Your Audience – Everything always starts with knowing your audience.
Create audience personas throughout their buying journey so that you know who
the content you’re creating is meant to incentivize.
• Understand Your Business – Craft a mission statement or value statement for
your business that helps drive you. Plus, develop the basic information and
branding information that you’ll include in all the content you create, such as
business background, skillset, and expertise. That way, you can always look at
that information to guide you.
• Know Your Goals and Objectives – Each piece of content you create has its
own goals and objectives. You need to always keep that in mind as you outline
the content and products and services.
• Know the Needs and Desires of Your Audience – This information is
paramount for the success of your business. Whenever you can, relate the needs
and desires of your audience to your products and services.
• Write for Your Audience – Everything you create that your audience will view is
for them before it’s for you. Even if you have a goal of your own related to the
content (and you should), the main goal you must consider is what action you
want the audience to take after consuming the content.
• Use the Right Type of Visuals – You’ll need graphs, charts, and visuals that
explain your information simply at a glance. While you will write the info out in
sentence form for the content, you’ll also want to transfer it to other types of
visuals to make it clearer.
• Know How You’ll Deliver the Content – How you will get the content in front of
your audience member is also important in terms of deciding the form the content
will appear. All case studies, white papers, and eBooks ultimately end up in PDF
format today for ease of sharing, but will you deliver it within the other content
you have, via a sales page, as a low-cost product, or as part of a membership?
• Determine the Ways You Will Promote the Content – You also need to know if
you’re going to use remarketing, paid ads, content marketing, email marketing,
and so forth to promote the content you create. Create this material alongside the
main thing so that it’s ready to go.
The most important thing is that you get to know your audience so that you know
exactly how they want the content you create designed and delivered to them. That is
the only way you will know before you even create the content that it resonates with
them and drives them to act.
How to Create Effective Outlines for Your Content
It doesn’t matter what you’re writing; you can make it better with an outline. Many
people balk at creating outlines. However, if you don’t create an outline, it’s going to be
difficult to ensure that you cover the information you planned, in the way that you need
to, and with enough intensity to affect your audience members and make them want to
take action.
• Choose Your Topic – To pick the right topic, you need to know who the
audience is, what they want and need, and how that gels with your skills and
solutions. A topic doesn’t have to be the same as the title. You can perfect the
title later as long as you know what’s going to be included.
• Establish a Purpose for This Topic – It can help you choose topics better if you
know what the purpose of the content is. For example, if you’re creating a case
study in order to help your audience members in the decision phase of their
buying journey, then you know the call to action should be to go to the landing
page and make a purchase. This can help you highlight the purpose in a way that
makes sense going forward.
• Create a List of Main Ideas – From that main topic, and the purpose, create a
list of main or broad ideas to cover. You can just brainstorm this without much
thought. Just look at your purpose and the topic and come up with some bullet
points you want to discuss.
• Organize the Ideas Logically – Try to put these main ideas into a logical order
so that it makes sense to the reader. Staring at the beginning and ending with the
end is often the best way, but it depends on the point of your document.
Sometimes people like knowing the end first, then getting to the reasons later.
• Decide What Sub-Points You’ll Cover for Each Idea – Under each main point,
you’ll want to list bullets or sub-points about each main idea that you will discuss.
• Review and Adjust for Clarity – As you create the outline, you may come up
with a better order as the creative juices flow. That’s great; go ahead and review
and adjust as you go.
• Start Filling Your Outline in with Information and Research – Once you have
a list of chapters and the sub-points you want to talk about in each chapter, it can
also help to write a synopsis about the information to remind you about what you
wanted to say when it’s time to write. You can also link to your research within
each area to make it easier when you start writing.
After you have done the outline, you have the information you need to research and
learn about in order to get the information inside your document. It can help to
describe, for example, the point of each chapter and what it’ll include so that you know
what you’re going to be writing about for each area.
The great thing about an outline is that it enables you to start working on the document
at any point within the outlines as you learn the information, talk to the experts, or
otherwise have clarity on what to write. It makes it simple to determine the parts of the
project that needs to be outsourced, where you’ll need graphics, and so much more.
Outlines make writing easier because they help put your mind in the right frame as you
develop the content for your ideal customer.
Essential Components Included in All Three Types of Long-Form
Marketing Content
No matter which type of content you have chosen to create, all of it needs to have
certain things included to make it worthy of marketing and sharing with your audience.
These additions will ensure that the content you are promoting is branded appropriately
and feels valuable to the audience too.
• Great Cover – If you’re not a graphic designer, consider outsourcing your cover
creation. Covers need to speak to the audience about the content in a way the
audience understands and makes them curious enough to click through and buy.
• Attention-Grabbing Title – Sometimes titles are not created until the very end of
the writing process. The main reason is that you may come up with an awesome
line within the content that speaks to what the title should be. The title, though,
should state what’s inside clearly in a way that makes the audience member
want it.
• A Compelling Author Summary – You can call this background information
about the business too. However, it needs to make the audience feel as if the
person who created this document is smart enough to do so and has the right
information too.
• Table of Contents – Including a table of contents is simple if you use MS Word.
You can use automatic table creation if you use the right text styles; it’s just a few
clicks of a button and helps your readers navigate the document easier,
especially if it’s long.
• Fact-Rich Well-Designed and Developed Content – The content you include in
your document needs to be fact checked, and the charts, graphs, and images
you choose need to be well designed and look good.
• Plenty of Data and Stats – You must prove your assumptions and assertions in
the document, and the best way to do that is to include industry data and stats
from people that your audience respects, including your own internal data and
research.
• Telling Charts, Graphics, Images, and Visuals – When you include any of
these visuals, they should help clarify the words within the paragraph that you’re
trying to explain. It should advance what you’re already saying.
• Internal Links – Include links to your other work that adds to what you’re telling
them within the document. Or, you can also add links to other content that your
readers might enjoy and, of course, links to your landing pages and the next step
you want them to take.
• Social Sharing Buttons – You can include social sharing buttons right inside
your document so that the readers can share it with their friends in a way that
ensures you capture their information.
• CTA – As always, all content you publish should include a call to action, even if
it’s content you have sold. The main reason is that it’s about what they need to
do next. Now that they know this information, what’s next?
Including these components in your documents, no matter whether it’s a white paper, a
case study, or an eBook, will ensure that you make the content work for you and
provides value to the consumer at the same time.
What Makes These Types of Long-Form Content Work?
When you create any type of long-form content, it gives you more room to accomplish a
lot when it comes to marketing. Long-form content gives you the space to develop your
niche authority and thought leadership, and provide more value to your audience.
• Helps Your Audience Evaluate Your Information – When you provide all the
information to your audience that they need to make the right decision (to buy
your products or use your services), they can take time to evaluate your products
with you guiding the story instead of someone else.
• Demonstrates Your Value More Clearly – It’s not really an overnight thing to
create a long-form white paper, case study, or eBook. You really do have to have
some form of experience and knowledge to make it work. That’s the reason it’s
so impressive.
• Provides Facts and Figures – Any of the types of papers – white paper, case
study, or eBook – is a great way to showcase the facts and figures that you want
to highlight to your audience in a way that tells a story instead of just a boring
stat.
• Influences Decision Makers – Most decision makers for businesses and
families want to make the right choices. You can help them by presenting the
information in an organized and complete manner. All three types and forms of
content deliver on this.
• Helps Generate More Leads – For your part, the more types of content you
publish and promote, the more leads you’re going to generate. Some studies
show that having at least 100 landing pages is key to building a large, interested
audience.
• Facilitates Teaching Difficult Concepts – When you have more space to put
the content, you can include more aspects that can help you explain difficult
concepts easier. It’s hard to explain, for example, the power of “fear of missing
out” in even a 1500-word blog post as compared to an eBook or a case study.
• They Are Convenient – These types of content are very convenient and easy
for most people to create. You don’t need any type of specialized software to
make any of these; you can use Google Docs to do it.
• Establishes Expertise and Authority – Having enough information to create a
white paper, case study, or eBook takes some time because you must have the
experience and examples to do it.
• Advances Thought Leadership – The more information you can share with
your audience that is of substance, the more you can start to drive the thought
process of others. When this happens, you start becoming someone who is
sought out for their information.
• Focuses on Problem Solving – The format of white papers, case studies, and
most eBooks for marketing are focused on problem solving. When you focus on
solving problems, people prefer it.
• Provides Social Proof – You can use the number of downloads, and even how
many people who share your information on social media, as proof that your
ideas are popular and valued.
• They Are Easy to Repurpose Increasing Return on Investment – Since these
are digital files, it costs you nothing to distribute them far and wide compared to
print versions. It’s simple to sell them or give them away with the technology we
have today. Plus, once you create the information to put in the document, you
can repurpose it and use it in other documents, blog posts, and content.
The value you provide to your audience each time you create a white paper, case study,
or eBook is immeasurable in total, but it is measurable in terms of the goals you’ve set.
You’ll convert more of your audience to customers, and you’ll know how to thrill them
once you do. This type of content just makes everything you do so much better and
more effective.
What to Do Now
Now that we’ve looked at the differences and similarities of white papers, case studies,
and eBooks, plus the benefits of them such as the ability to distribute easily and reuse
the information to increase return on investment, it’s time to get started creating your
own long-form content.
One idea is to start with an eBook or a case study, and then you can put the information
you learn from the eBook and case study for a future white paper. Start with the
information you already have and then build on it as time moves along. Eventually, you
can combine everything into a comprehensive white paper that can be used,
repurposed and reimagined in a hundred ways throughout your business to promote
growth.
