9 Easy Steps to Create a Special Report You Can Offer Blog Readers | The Zebra Blog

9 Easy Steps to Create a Special Report You Can Offer Blog Readers

Step 1: Go to your Club Zebra account and download 20 Insider Tips to Bring Your Real Estate Blog to the Next Level. Denise Lones and I wrote answers to the 20 questions real estate agents ask most about blogging. There are three versions of the document — PDF, Word 2007, and Word 2003. You can use the Word document as a template to prepare your own special report. (Note: If you  are not already a Club Zebra member, you can join for free and collect these documents in your Club Zebra vault.)

Step 2:  Select a title. Write a hooky title that is very specific. Use a number in the title. Examples:

  • 10 Secrets about FHA Financing Your Lender Never Told You
  • 10 Important Things Buyers Must Know About Buying Foreclosed Properties
  •  20 Staging Tips That Will Add Thousands to Your Bottom Line
  • 5 Insider Tips to Win the Bidding War on HUD Homes

Step 3: Create a list of questions and answers. Write all of the questions in a list on a Word document. Answer the questions with comprehensive answers.  Scan the special report template for idea about length and style of blog posts. Use bulleted and numbered lists to answer some of the questions.

Step 4: Assemble images. Create a folder containing the graphics you will use in your report. Illustrate your special report with photos and/or graphics. Don’t forget that you must own the rights to all images you publish online and offline. The images that appear in 20 Insider Tips … are  stock photos I purchased at Dreamstime.com. I also buy images at iStockphoto.com.

Step 5:  Create a cover. This is very simple using the template. Simply rewrite the headline on the template and replace the photo with your own graphic.

Step 6:  Insert questions and answers. Copy and paste the questions and answers you wrote into the report template.

Step 7:  Add your copyright line. Replace the copyright link in the document footer with your own copyright. The footer is a great place to include a link to your website or blog! The copyright and footer appear on every page in the document. You only need to edit the footer on a single page. The new footer will display on all pages automatically.

Step 8:  Write an ‘About’ page. Be creative here … You may want to expand the format in the template to include a bulleted list of your certifications, designations, and credentials. Use a photo of yourself and include a company logo.

Step 9:  Save as PDF. Word 2007 lets you save the document easily as a PDF file. If you are using another word processing program, select a PDF creator and publish your report as a downloadable PDF.

You’re finished! Voila!

(Frances Flynn Thorsen is a guest contributor to the Real Estate Zebra Blog. Fran and Denise Lones of The Lones Group collaborate as Co-Creators of the newly launched No Blogger Left Behind blog coaching program, the first blog coaching program that lets bloggers measure their results as they bring their blogging to the next level!)

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2 Responses to “9 Easy Steps to Create a Special Report You Can Offer Blog Readers”

  1. John Hurlbut says:

    What a fantastic article guys!!! I love it!!!

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