Why are you reading this
- To learn from Eben Pagan on how to create content that others will actually read and take action
Background
- Our society has changed dramatically from an agrarian and manufacturing based society to a knowledge based society. Approximately 70% of the modern workforce in developed countries is knowledge based. The chief output of knowledge workers is information.
Basic Concepts
Since we are talking about information products we need to clear up the common confusion between data, knowledge and information. Knowledge is what we know. It is our map of the world. We use this to make decisions. Our knowledge resides in our brain.
Data is/are the facts of the world for e.g. your eye color, height and so on. If knowledge is our map of the world then data is the description of the world.
Information is data related to a concept. For e.g. all the facts about publishing books could be captured in a book and the book is then said to contain information about book publishing. Information is the main way, beyond our five senses, to increase our knowledge of the world.
Learning Objectives
In part 1 you will learn about the five mindsets, five personality types , 5 golden rules and the five strategies, that go into creating great information products that actually get used.
Golden Rule #1 - Learning is successful only if it leads to behavioral change
The five mindsets for creating effective information products
Mindset #1 - Accept the fact that humans are irrational and machine like. For someone steeped in hard sciences such as engineering this may be an alien concept.
Not only are we irrational but we are also very machine like. Each day we wake up and go through the same routines. We live life unconsciously.
How is this important? Most authors write to appeal to the rational/logical brain and lose their audience completely.
Mindset #2 - Your product is the customer's obstacle.
Your product is not a miracle but an obstacle. What stands between the promise of your product and the customer is money. Money that he needs to pay in order to obtain the product.
Mindset #3 - Be a marketer and not an expert
It is a common human habit. The more and more we tend about less and less we end up becoming an expert. We tend to look down on others. We believe that the world will beat a path to us to partake of our wisdom. Build a better mousetrap and the world will continue to ignore you.
Mindset #4 - Product Value = Believable Result
If a product promises to raise your IQ to 200, your height to 6 ft and gender to the opposite...well you get the idea. A product has to promise a believable outcome for it to be credible.
Mindset #5 - A well named concept or product is a valuable concept or product
A correctly named concept/idea can increase the value of your product by 10 fold. Ideally the name should touch all emotional hot buttons and convey the intended outcome.
Incorporate the following concepts into the name:
Fast, easy, fun, risk free, low hassle
Golden Rule #2 - Start with the customer and what they want.
Customers hear 1% of what you say and 100% of what is important to them. Most authors start with what they think is important to the customers. Be a guy on the side and not a sage on the stage. Take responsibility for drawing out instead of putting in.
Personality Types
Primary Interest - Each person is primarily interested in one or two things that they talk about most of the time. These could be people, places, things, activities and information.
To/From - You are either motivated away from something or towards something.
Sensor/Intuitive
Sensor -Very much in the know about what is going on in the now
Intuitor - Sixth sense.
75% of the population is sensor hence the reason to stick to specifics, concrete, verifiable, etc.
Judger/Receiver
A judger expects the world to conform to his or her idea of it. A receiver is a free spirit. He is a person who would try to conform to the world around him.
If you have someone who comes late to a meeting you may have a receiver. If you see someone getting upset about that you may have a judger in him.
Formal/Informal
A good combination to strive for - 80% formal and 20% informal
The five strategies for creating information products
Strategy #1 - Start with the unmet emotional needs.
A person who is unhappy with something will almost always attribute it to something outside of him. He will blame his happiness on forces outside his control.
Help cater to this need.
Strategy #2 - Narrow your focus
There is never any credibility to a person or a product that claims to be all things to all people.
Strategy #3 - Practice concrete thinking
This means to think external, specific, measurable, tangible, and verifiable.
Avoid idealistic, conceptual and generalized thinking. People have a hard time relating to such concepts. Also this leads to more varied and unintended interpretations unintended by the author.
Strategy #4 - Be edgy authentic
People like to learn from an idealized version of them. Not one just like them or far better than them.
By being edgy you are being a bit more authentic, more true to yourself. You are pushing the envelope by saying something you have never said before.
Strategy #5 - Assume responsibility for others
As counter intuitive as it might seem we need to assume responsibility to get our consumers to take responsibility. Our responsibility does not end when the prospect purchases the product.
The three levels of learning
Each level builds on the previous.
Level 1) Insight. E.g. ah now I get it.
Level 2) Action. Taking action on the insight. Emotion creates action. We can create emotion by giving people a powerful reason.
Level 3) Transformation. This happens when we adopt a different model. This causes a change in self image. Behaviors and insights change when self image changes.
We humans actually do not like to learn new things. Instead we like to have what we already know validated. Most people have a problem understanding what transformation is.
When we encounter a problem we tend to fall back on familiar devices to solve them such as working harder. This is called translation. When we transform instead of translate we adopt a different model. We elevate our thinking to a higher level.
Transformation is a paradigm shift.
Golden Rule #3 - Teach for action and transformation not knowledge.
Golden Rule #4 - 3 Point Rifle Shot. Headline, body and call to action should all line up.
Golden Rule #5 - Done is better than perfect
Watch out for part II where I cover other great stuff.
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