Information Publishing

You can be a digital publisher from what you already know! Many people are experts at something but they don’t realize it. It might be gardening in a particular region, cooking for a special diet, oil painting, home repairs, the care of special children or finding good travel deals.

If you have a passion or interest in a subject and if you’re willing to continue learning about it, you can be  an information publisher or “infopreneur.” The information publisher can write eBooks, white papers, Ezines and articles and produce videos and podcasts on topics for which people need or want information.

If writing is hard for you, consider speaking into a speech to text converter or speaking your articles into a digital recorder and transcribing them later. Also, consider outsourcing the writing job to a freelancer with a good reputation and an excellent command of your language. Many eBooks and white papers are written by freelance writers that you find on sites like Elance. See our Outsourcing Resources for more on this topic.

Some approaches to writing or producing informative content are to write about a subject in which you are an expert, to research a subject in depth and become an expert, to partner with an expert or to hire writers/producers to create the content for you. On this page you will find resources for article writing and directories, eBook publishing, Ezine directories and help for writing white papers.

Article Resources

Article Dashboard
There may be an infinite number of article directories on the Internet and perhaps one reason is that Article Dashboard gives away free article directory software so you can start your own directory. This site appears to be a solid directory with informative articles and search functionality that works. It has a good page rank so you may consider submitting articles here to promote your expertise.

Associated Content
You can submit articles to Associated Content. Writers are paid every time someone views their article. It’s probably not much, but it’s a way to get practice and to pick up a little change. And who knows, you might hit the jackpot topic and get viewed often.

Easy PLR (Private Label Rights)
Buy the rights to already written articles and do what you want with them! Most people rework them a bit here and there and then publish them on their information/content site or turn them into special reports they sell or offer for free. This company sells PLR articles at a very reasonable price … way cheaper than most.

Psychotactics
Psychotactics is a company that teaches how the brain works so you can more effectively reach people with your information products and marketing. You can purchase a home-study course on article writing as well as get free content on the subject through their email newsletter (we suggest signing up). Go through this site carefully, as the free stuff is in different areas. For example, if you sign up for their newsletter, you can get this free report on why most headlines fail.

eBOOK Resources

ClickBank
ClickBank is an affiliate network for selling digital products, particularly eBooks. If you are thinking of publishing eBooks, ClickBank is an outlet for selling your books. As an affiliate network, others can market your eBook on their site. ClickBank takes care of paying the commission to the affiliate. The advantage to using ClickBank is that it is a highly visited site and you may get a virtual sales force for your product.

Read Is Affiliate Marketing For You? for more on affiliate marketing.

Ebook Business Blog
Check out this blog if you need motivation about the business side of writing eBooks .Although they do cover how to write and create them, they recount lots of stories that describe how eBook writing is a great money making opportunity.

eBook Software
You can write your eBook in Word and then convert it to a .pdf file if you have Adobe Acrobat (not just the free Acrobat Reader). However, you can also use software that is specifically made for publishing eBooks. This site has a long list of eBook-relevant applications. Once on the site, just scroll down for the list.

Lulu
Lulu is a publishing on demand service that allows you to upload your product—a book, music, or graphics. For books, you can select the type of binding and whether you want it printed in color or black and white. Lulu takes care of the publishing and the sales transaction. It’s free to get started.

Self Publishing
This site has loads of great free information about how to write and publish an eBook (or any book for that matter). It covers how to create, publish and sell eBooks. You can also subscribe to their newsletter.

Ezine Resources

Best Ezines
This is a directory of over 3,000 Ezines. Here you can see how Ezines are organized and written. You can also submit your Ezine to this site.

Ezine Articles
Ezine Articles is an article directory you can use in several ways. Authors have can promote their expertise by submitting articles to the site (with a link to their business site). Also publishers of email newsletters can freely use up to 25 articles per year from the site, as long as they follow the guidelines, which include publishing the author’s name and not modifying the article.

The Ezine Directory
This is a decent looking Ezine directory (there are a lot of funky ones out there) to which you can add and promote your Ezine and check out others in your niche.

Ezine Tips
At this site you can read tips on starting and promoting an Ezine by fellow Ezine writers.

General InfoPublishing Resources

Specialized Information Publishers Association (SIPA)
If you are an information or newsletter publisher, you may find this organization helpful. Their mission is to foster growth, training and professionalism in the field of information publishing.

Virtual Book Tour Secrets
Even though this site has a lot of hype and self-promotion, it’s based on an interesting concept. The company owner teaches ways for authors and infopreneurs to publicize themselves and their products virtually and how to repurpose their content. Some of his free videos are worth watching. We have not reviewed his paid product at this time, so proceed at your own risk.

White Paper Resources

How to Write White Papers
A white paper is an authoritative report describing a problem and how to solve it. They are often used to educate potential customers. Internet business expert, Perry Marshall, offers a free 5-day e-mail course on how to write effective white papers that can serve to increase traffic to your website.

White Paper Source
This site focuses on white paper writing and marketing for the “white paper enthusiast.” It has resources, training classes and an active forum. Looks like a good resource if you want to head in this direction.

Writing White Papers
Does your inner geek reveal itself when you think about writing a white paper? If so, this web site is for you. It is by White Paper expert and author, Michael Stelzner and has everything you wanted to know about White Papers but were afraid to ask (because you might really find out).