By Diane Thomas

Writing an eCourse is good business! It's an excellent way to build your Opt-in List, promote products or your Website, establish yourself as an "expert", build confidence and trust with your potential customers, and more...

As you know the average person online must be exposed to a product 6-7 times before they purchase. By offering an eCourse you are providing those exposures in a very short time.

Writing a mini-course is actually quite simple. If you have been writing articles for your business (and you should be) you can write an eCourse.

If you need help writing your articles, go to eBook Crossroads for a listing of article content sites.

Creating an eCourse is not rocket science. I'm going to show you how in 5 easy steps:

1, Naturally the first thing to do is choose your subject matter. Choose a subject that is of importance and of interest to your customers.

If your using the Couse to promote a product choose a subject that will enhance the use of your product.

2. Make a list of topics relevant to your subject and put them in the order you wish to present them. Each topic will represent one lesson.

The ideal number of lessons for an eCourse is 5-10. Anything longer may cause "students" to loose interest.

Take into account that your first lesson should be an introduction to the course and the last should provide a conclusion.

3. Now you want to develop your content. The easiest way to do this is to write an article on each topic.

Write in short sentences and paragraphs using a friendly tone. Basically you should write as you speak bringing your personality into the article. This will help your readers identify with you and ultimately you will gain their trust.

Make sure that your eCourse provides new and unique information or advice, and that the information is accurate.

And remember, your primary purpose is to inform and educate, not to advertise. Placing an accessional link to a related product is acceptable, but blatant advertising is not. Save your advertising for the resource box.

4. Make a template so each lesson is consistantly presented. The top of your lesson should contain the eCourse title, your name, the lesson number and title of the lesson.

As this is an eMail it is advisable to put a statement at the top that the recipient has subscribed to the eCourse and they may unsubscribe if they so choose.

The bottom of your lesson should contain an introduction to the next lesson, your resource box and your unsubscribe link.

5. Load your eCourse in your follow-up autoresponder at a 1-2 day interval and your set to go.

For the best results, here are a few tips and techniques:

Write one eCourse for one product. Do not load your course with multiple product links, this is not a sales letter but an educational vehicle.

If using affiliate links, use a method to hide them. http://www.tinyurl.com will provide a free short url. Another option is to link to a page on your website with a product review or the like.

If you have a related trial product or free demo offer it for download at the top of each eMail. Make it part of your template.

Place a link to your eCourse in your signature files on forums, articles, etc. This is a great way to increase subscribers.

All right now, you have your five easy steps to write an eCourse, plus tips and techniques. Go forth and prosper!

©2006

About the Author

Diane Thomas is the editor of eBook Crossroads.com and has been providing resources for writers and publishers for 5 years. She publishes a monthly ezine, "The Insider", offering articles, tips, contests, free downloads and much more!
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