There are many ways to connect with your prospects and build a profitable online business. It used to be that writing an eBook, or having one written for you by an author with more experience writing on your topic, was the way to make money on the Internet. Things have changed quite a bit since 2005 or 2006, and this is no longer the best way to make residual income online. The industry has shifted, and now it is better to start off with a short report, in order to build a list of as many prospects as possible.

There are several reasons for this change in the way we now do business, but perhaps the greatest one is that there is just so much more competition these days in almost every niche you can think of. Instead of sending people directly to a sales letter for the eBook on your topic, you will want to send them to an optin page where they can exchange their name and email address for a short report that will tell them more.

You can then direct them to a sales letter for a product or course on your niche topic, and you will also be able to send them follow up emails that contain more information. Over time you will be able to build a relationship with your prospect based on trust and familiarity. This is extremely valuable to your business.

Take a look at what you would like to achieve with an Internet business. Set up an optin page that offers a short report in exchange for someone’s information, and then market to them over time. You will see that people will respond in a positive manner to this style of marketing.

Learn how to write a short report from the training course I went through in 2009. This has changed my business and allowed me to build relationships with more people than I could have ever imagined.

I write lots of articles, but I needed a better way to connect with people online. Writing short reports is the best way I have found to reach out to new prospects by showing that you have a level of expertise in your niche. These reports are a way of providing useful content to your prospects while showing that you are credible in your niche. You can then use them in a variety of ways in order to build your list and to drive traffic to your sites.

There are several ways to create your report. I have learned this strategy from a training course I took on how to write short reports. The fastest and easiest is to use articles on your topic and combine them together. Remember to follow the rules on this by keeping the article intact. This means that you must not change a word, and keep the resource box at the end. You can choose several articles on your topic and create your short report. Add a few paragraphs at the beginning and end and it will be complete.

I also like to repurpose other writing I have done in order to create my report. This would include using outlines from teleseminars I have given, using transcriptions of webinars I have taught, and even taking my autoresponder messages and turning them into a logical sequence to present to my prospects.

For each report, my goal is to distribute it to as many people as possible. I like to set up an optin page to give it away to new people, email it to my list as a bonus for staying with me, and to give it to joint venture partners as a way for them to introduce me to their lists.

Within the report I include links to my own and affiliate products, as well as to my main site. The idea is to make sure people have a way to reach you when they decide you have something to offer them.

When you are getting started on the Internet with information products, it is typical to want to write an eBook on your niche topic. The problem is that you can’t be sure the eBook will sell until you have spent valuable time marketing. It also does not help you to build a relationship with the people on your list. For this reason it makes a lot of sense to write a short report before you write the eBook. This will tell you if it will be worth your time and effort to take the report and turn it into a much longer piece of writing. I have a free report on writing short reports that you can access right away.

Short reports are typically anywhere from about 7 to 15 pages long. This gives you enough space to present your specific topic to your prospects. This type of writing can also be completed much more quickly than an eBook. The result is a short report that will be ready to market in days instead of weeks. This will allow you to determine very quickly if there is a market of hungry buyers in your niche who would be interested in a more detailed presentation of information in this area.

I like to give away my short reports, but you may decide to sell yours instead. My thinking is that I would prefer for more people to have my report in their hands. I also encourage people to give away my short report in any way they choose. This means that they can use it as a bonus for one of their own products, or simply give it away to their list. Either way, my information will reach more people and my list will grow. This is because I include my contact information on each page of the report. I ask people to sign up when they receive it in order to receive even more information on that topic.

Short reports work well in any niche you can think of. The idea is to choose a specific topic and give as much information as possible. If you receive a favorable response to your report, you will know that an eBook will be a worthwhile use of your time.

I also include some affiliate links in my short reports. This brings me residual income for many months to come. The idea of building your list and earning some income, before you have ever sold anything, should be attractive to you. I also repurpose my content almost immediately, giving me more formats in which to distribute my information.

Short reports can help you to connect with your prospects and to position you as an expert in your field. These reports need only be about ten to fifteen pages long, and can usually be easily completed in less than a week. The important thing to remember when choosing your topics and titles is that you must be very specific.

You must also decide beforehand what actions you want your readers to take, and which products would work well as a follow up to your report. By thinking about these things ahead of time, your writing will bring you a better relationship with the people on your list and income for months or years to come.

Choosing the topic can be tricky, so you will need to do some research to find out what people are interested in learning about right now. The title will also be important. It must be catchy and promise something specific. For example, I could write a short report on article marketing, but if I use that for the title not many people will be interested.

If I titled it something like How To Write Articles That Will Be Read By Thousands Of Your Prospects there would be much more interest. If I included something on how to write resource boxes that will make your prospects take action immediately, even more people would want to read my report.

Once I have chosen my topic and my title, I them decide what action I want readers to take when they read my report. I usually include a few affiliate links, so having them click on these links to see if the information is a fit for them is one of my primary goals. I choose the affiliate products I promote very carefully, and will only promote what I have used and benefitted from personally to grow or enhance my business. This has been a major strategy that has led to my list trusting me to only recommend what I feel strongly about.

After your list has read your report, what do you want them to do next? I want them to purchase one of my products or join one of my membership sites, so that is my focus as I begin to distribute what I have written about.

Be sure to include several links within your report that will allow the reader to retweet your report. This can be done quite easily by using a graphic link right in the report that will take them to their Twitter account to update their status by telling others about what you have written. This will make the report go viral in just a matter of days or weeks, and will keep it circulating for long into the future. Writing these short reports every month will increase your income and build your credibility with your list.

Another way to start making money right away on the Internet is to give away brandable and other short reports. These are small reports, anywhere from about fifteen to forty pages long, that contain your affiliate links. When you are deciding what to give away to your list and other prospects, think about the topic of your reports, the affiliate products and services you will promote, and what you will do to follow up after these reports are in your prospect’s hands. Right now I am offering a 30 minute phone consultation to anyone who invests in the small reports training from Jimmy D. Brown so we can map out a strategy for you together.

When I was just getting started online, I read everything I could get my hands on – physical as well as digital – that would help me to accelerate my learning process. I soon learned that I could write my own short reports on my niche topics and give them away or sell them to my list of prospects. Soon I realized that other people, people with years of experience on the Internet, were making their reports available in a rebrandable format.

This meant that I could take their content and add my affiliate links to it, using a process referred to as rebranding. A simple, easy to use software program allows you easily drag and drop your file into the window, add your affiliate links, and save your branded report. You can then distribute these reports however works best for you. I have sent them to my list, given them away on Twitter and Facebook, included them as bonuses with other products I sell, and added them to one or more of my membership sites.

I started out by writing articles for my prospects and including a link to these aticles in my emails to my list. People seemed to enjoy receiving this information and were not aware that I was writing so many articles on how to start an online business, so it was a win-win. Soon I began to write short reports for my list, and that was even more beneficial. Now I am always looking for reports and eBooks to share with my readers.

One that I particularly enjoy is called PLR Secrets. There is so much information in this eBook that I use regularly in my business to increase my income. Feel free to share this eBook with your list and anyone else who would benefit from the information. I particularly like the section on how to become THE trusted authority in your niche. Let me know what you think about this information, and how I can help you to become a trusted authority in your niche. Thi is an excellent way to make bigger profits with your current list.

I first discovered rebrandable reports about a year and a half ago. These reports are written by other marketers who have a topic they want to share and affiliate programs you can join. This is an example of a rebranded report. As you can see, it is filled with valuable content that will help the readers to achieve their online business goals. Giving these reports away has made me an incredible amount of money.

The process of rebranding the report is one I cover in my technology training program. It only takes a few minutes to enter your affiliate links and then rebrand the report with your information. Then it is ready for you to give to your list.

The people on your list are expecting to receive helpful information from you on a regular basis. By finding reports that will be of interest to them, you are achieving two goals: giving them the information they want and promoting affiliate programs through your link.  Do this every few months and you will increase your income exponentially.