In my Guest Post on Problogger, I shared a super-simple way to create your own short reports - and why you should. I followed that up with some more easy content development tips you could use to create reports super-fast.
If you haven't read both of those posts yet, do that first. You'll be amazed at how easy this is! Keep a notepad handy too, because you'll probably think of a dozen ideas just reading along. 😉
Today, we're going to take it one step further. I'll show you how to easily make your new reports rebrandable, and turn them into a viral marketing machine!
Creating PDF Files
A report is offered in PDF format. PDF files are very easy to create. PC users can download OpenOffice free. Write or open your report in the word processor. Then you can simply click File > Export As PDF.
You'll now have two files: the document and the PDF file. Be sure to keep the original document on hand in case you ever want to make changes. You'll also need that document to make your report rebrandable...
Going Viral! Create A Passive Marketing Machine
Once you create a great report, your job is to get it in the hands of your target market. As many hands as you possibly can! This takes quite a bit of work if you're a one-man show (like most of us).
You can easily put an entire Marketing Team to work for you, without hiring a single person! All you have to do is make your report rebrandable, which will give your competitors a nice incentive to market your new report to all of their readers.
Rebranding means that you allow other people to include their website link in your report, or to swap out your affiliate links for their own. If you have an affiliate program, you could allow them to rebrand your report with their affiliate link to your product.
You might be asking yourself why you would want to "share the wealth" with your competitors. If you have an affiliate program of your own, the answer is obvious: they'll make sales for you! But if you are an affiliate yourself, and you let people rebrand your report with their own affiliate links, you'll still benefit from the exposure and any other links within the report - such as a link back to your website, for example. If you're smart you'll include a strong call-to-action to visit your site and sign up for a follow-up report or case study on the same topic...
How To Make Your PDF Files Rebrandable
Now that you know the why, here's the how: You can use a simple program called Viral PDF to easily make any document or report rebrandable. This is the most highly recommended product for the task, it's only $27, and you can download it instantly. Literally - 27 bucks and 27 seconds and I was getting started.
Before you get worried that this may be complicated, or over your head, let me assure you that it is super simple. The program comes with GREAT documentation - very step by step. There is also a support/brainstorming forum for users, and a helpdesk for any issues.
It also includes documentation for end users - to help them easily rebrand your reports or PDF files. No need to write the instructions yourself as they've already taken care of that for you.
And a little bonus: when you order Viral PDF it sets you up as an affiliate automatically, and even includes a BrandtheBrander tool to embed your referral ID into your rebrander tool. This is all handled for you - you'll receive an email with the affiliate details after you order the software, and the documentation walks you through the rebranding option. That way if anyone enjoys the software and wants to order a copy of their own, you'll earn commission automatically. Brilliant!
Here's the link: http://www.viralpdfclassic.com
Honestly, I couldn't believe how fast and simple it was to set up, and make my reports rebrandable. I love it! 😀
If you're ready to take your marketing to the next level then put these 3 posts to good use, download Viral PDF, and create your own viral marketing machine!
Best,
About Lynn Terry
Good insight, I am currently in need of any post about PDF I would possibly get my hands on because I need to put my e-book together.
Let me know if you have any specific questions - happy to help!
This would be a great session to have at NAMS (hint,hint) following the report writing session 🙂
I agree - noted!
For anyone reading along, NAMS is a niche affiliate workshop and a dont-miss event! See: My NAMS Recap or Official NAMS Site
I learned a lot from both your articles. I can't believe how inexpensive this tool is and that I have never heard of it before. This is going to save so many hours for me. Thank you for the heads up.
Ditto - and as many times as I've used it to rebrand reports from others, I can't believe I didn't snag it sooner!
OK, I feel kind of dense - but what is meant by "rebrandable"? Lynn Terry has a pdf report on writing reports and uses the viral pdf program - so now I have an opportunity to send it to my list and I can rebrand it - but what does that mean?
I'm with Nan on the "dense" part! Is viral pdf some sort of a control mechanism over your brand? How do you make money with affiliates?
Rebrandable means that you can change certain elements in the report or ebook. The author gets to determine what those elements are. It might be a link on the cover page that says "This report is brought to you by -Your Name- of -YourWebsiteLink-".
Or they might let you rebrand certain links to your own affiliate links, so that you can profit from the report. If you are their affiliate, that will help you sell their products.
The author might also SELL rebranding rights to a report, allowing you to replace their links with their own for a reasonable fee.
Or, the author may let you replace the links for free and promote the product, so that they get exposure to other links within the report.
There are tons of possibilities!
Let's say I wrote a cool little free report that had a few affiliate links in it. But it is also written by me, and encourages readers to come to ClickNewz and subscribe to my blog for a 2nd free report with even more information. I might let people rebrand it so they profit from the affiliate links... but I would still profit from the list-building aspect.
Make sense?
so very helpful, terry. makes sense and i see all the options (well, as far as i know). thanks for the quick reply.
Would you have to use open office or could you just use microsoft word or any other word processor?
You can use Word - you'll just need a 3rd party app to convert your documents to PDF format. I used PDF995.com. It requires several extra steps to make your links live, and even more if you have text links (text that is hyperlinked) vs raw URL's.
With openoffice.org, you create the document - or even open a Word document - and then File > Export to PDF. All links remain hyperlinked in the PDF version with no extra steps. It's just quick & easy... and free, for those that don't already own Office or Word.
I just watched the first video on using ViralPDF, an explanation of viral marketing, and one thing that was mentioned is that a free version of the report is offered to affiliates to rebrand and send. Why would anyone purchase it if they could get it for free just by signing on as an affiliate?
A free repoort is a lead-in to the paid product. I didn't watch their video, but that is how it works. Not the exact same product. So affiliates can rebrand the FREE report as a way to get people interested in the merchant and the next product in the funnel.
Thanks for the information, Lynn. It sounds like another tool for the arsenal. It's hard to imagine the possibilities if a report goes way viral. I have got to get on this and see what happens.
Thanks again, Andy
Hard to beat for $27! I'm having tons of fun with this one already 😉
A lot of people don't realize this - but you can get reports with PLR or Private Label Rights. Our friend Nicole Dean offers them at EasyPLR and she has a coupon code set up for us: LYNNROCKS. You just type that in at checkout to get $5 off.
She currently has 4 PLR Reports there, but adds new topics/titles all the time. I purchased a combination of e-courses, reports and article packs to use the content for one report.
You can also use the article packs as a good base for a short report. She has articles on a variety of topics: debt, genealogy, identity theft, video games, wedding planning - just to name a few...
I've been making viral pdf's for quite some time now and love them.
Another quick tip for using PLR. You're not limited to the PLR reports you can buy. I've also bought article packs from here site and simply copied and pasted the articles into one word document. I slightly rewrote them (mostly beginning and end) to make them flow better as you read through the report, added an introduction, cover page and table of content and the report was done.
Exactly - great tip Susanne. I did the same thing and ordered various formats of PLR on a topic and combined them to create a meaty short report!
Hi Lynn,
If my memory is correct, the only rebrandable PDF I downloaded--I think from Nicole Dean--was an .exe file, which of course doesn't work on Macs. Viral PDF doesn't work on Macs. Do you know of any PDF rebranding software for the Mac OS? Since Macs are an increasingly large part of the market--especially among laptop users--it seems like these folks are missing a big marketing opportunity, yes?
Thanks!
Good question - I just asked on Twitter, and will search Google as well. If there's not a solution yet, there should be!
Thanks, Lynn! I've been looking around as well and didn't see anything.
I don't know of any Mac-based software that does the job - but if you're thinking of creating something, I reckon' the way to go is a web-based service (so that Mac and PC users can both access the same tools).
@Leslie M-B - I think you're spot-on when you say that Macs are an increasingly large part of the market. We create cross-platform software, and we're seeing an increasing number of internet marketers turning to the Mac. But still, PC's reign supreme right now - outnumbering PCs several-to-one.
Brent
I often find it the case that a good piece of software doesn't have a Mac equivalent, so I picked up a copy of VMWare Fusion for my Mac http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001F5VBRU/ and I can run Windows inside a box on my screen and share files back a forth. Or better yet, have dual monitor setup and run Windows on one and OSX on the other.
I would be very interested if you could find a Mac tool Lynn. Saw your tweet on Twitter 🙂
I agree with Brent that a web-based service would be a great solution for everyone.
Thank you Brad - that seems like the most common solution for Mac users. My webinar room is not very Mac-compatible for example (it does try, but really falls short) but I have several Mac users that emulate Windows or run dual.
Way to go Lynn, Another step by step post. As luck will have it I created 3 reports. I used your old blog post idea as the basis and it was really simple. I was dreading writing the report but easy peasy. I did use Open Office.org because I was a little overwhelmed with pdf converter choices but now I will use viralpdf next time, thanks
I use both. I create the document in the OpenOffice.org document writer, then the simple "export to PDF" feature to convert it into a PDF File. Then I keep both documents, and use ViralPDF to make it rebrandable! This set of resources makes it super simple, quick & easy!