Create an eBook
An eBook is an important marketing tool for coaches. Having one lets you sweeten any initial offer or invitation. You'll use the eBook to turn a risk-y situation for a potential client into a no-risk situation.
"The initial consultation is free and I'll you'll leave with my eBook on XYZ whether you decide to continue or not."
In this exercise, we are focused on your very first eBook. Your second eBook can be a hundred-page masterpiece. However, your first eBook should be something you can create today.
We're serious. An eBook has to be useful and appealing. It doesn't have to be long.
The Workbook Is the Shortest Useful eBook
A Workbook is a very short eBook that usually ends up being 3-6 pages. There are only four parts.
1. The title. That's only one sentence, but you'll put a lot of thought into it.
2. An intro. This is an intro of yourself. Many people you send the eBook to won't know very much about you.
3. A primer. This is where you show off your knowledge a bit. But it should be short. In fact, if you've ever written a blog post you should probably start with that.
4. An exercise. The exercise is what makes this eBook format useful. If the reader does the exercise, their life will be transformed and they will credit you.
5. A summary with a Call to Action. Your eBook is a sales tool. If they liked your exercise then they should hire you.
Tools to Create Your eBook
If you already have a tool that you use to make pretty documents, use that. Many people use Word or Pages.
If you do not, then we recommend a free online tool called Beacon.by. Beacon gives you well designed templates and lets you load in your existing blog content.
Tools to Share Your eBook
At first, you'll just email your eBook to people.
Later, you'll find it's more convenient to have a link. Most of you can upload your eBook to Google Drive or Dropbox and then share the download link there. You shouldn't worry about your clients sharing that link--that's never a big problem.
Then, much later, you may try selling your content directly. We recommend the service Gumroad.
Example from Nik
Content
Headline: Analyzer + Emphasize the positive change
1. Intro (2-3 paragraphs)
Who are you? Why do you coach and why that topic? What can people expect from the book?
Example:
Welcome! My name is Nik and when I'm not helping people set goals and stay accountable to them, I'm a writer, college student and black hole for pizzas. After experimenting a lot with my own approach to how I set and chase goals, I realized for me, breaking things down into tiny packages and tracking them to a tee is what gets results. Many people are frustrated because their goals are fuzzy and so they forever feel out of reach. Hence, I'd like to share my approach with others. That's why I'm a coach and that's what this ebook is about. After reading it, you'll know: 1. How to make a vague goal very specific with a trackable metric. 2. How you can break that metric down into manageable, daily chunks. 3. What you can do to seamlessly integrate those chunks into your day.
Possible testimonials: I learned X from my coach’s book.
2. Primer (2-3 paragraphs)
Surprising insight about your topic/what common knowledge is. What’s the most important thing people in stage X need to know? How do you use this knowledge to help people get Y result?
Example:
Common sense tells us setting goals is enough. We think, we visualize, maybe even write down what we want, yet 92% of people still fail their New Year's Resolutions. That's because we forget the most important part: making our goals trackable. If you don't know when to stop losing weight, you're already frustrated before you start. But 20 lbs in 20 weeks? That's a pound a week and thus, feels doable. In my coaching, I help people define a target number for their biggest goal that they can work towards, and then we derive weekly milestones from that.
Possible testimonials: My perspective about [topic] changed when I read this book.
3. Three Exercises
Easy Intermediate Advanced
Alternatively: 3-Step Plan
Example:
Keeping this theme of specifying and tracking in mind, I've designed a 3-step plan that helps you go from fuzzy goal to daily to do's. Exercise #1: Turning Your Goal Into A Number Let's stick with the goal of losing weight. What's the target? 20 lbs. Good. Now, can you transform that number into one that allows you to decrease it in a meaningful way every week? For example, 20 lbs won't go down as fast as 320 oz. ... [Explain] Exercise #2: Breaking your number into weekly and daily chunks. [Explain] Exercise #3: Carving out MIT time. [Explain]
Possible testimonials: I learned [lesson] from doing this exercise and have seen [example] results.
4. Summary
Where can people find out more about you?
Example:
How's your goal looking right now? I hope this ebook helped you transform it from a fuzzy idea to a specific target that feels attainable. If you want to learn more about goal setting, I've written extensively about it at niklasgoeke.com[LINK]. If you need more help and would like to work together 1-on-1, you can find me on coach.me[LINK].