The first thing you need to do is decide what to write about over your five-lesson course. This task is easier than you think. Since you’ve already picked out an affiliate product to promote, all you have to do is create a course around this product.

In other words, create a course that gives you the opportunity to promote the affiliate product in each and every lesson.

Let me give you a few examples:

• Your affiliate product is a tomato-growing guide. You offer a five-step overview/guide to growing tomatoes, such as: Test your soil, fertilize and condition the soil as needed, choose the right tomato variety, plant at the right time, encourage growth with careful care.

• You’re selling a copywriting product. You offer a five-step guide to writing a sales letter. (E.G., profile the target market, attract attention, hook readers with an interesting opening, arouse desire for the product, call the prospect to action.)

• You’re selling a gluten-free cookbook. You offer one or two popular gluten-free recipes in every lesson.

If you’re selling “how to” information, then offer a five-step process whenever possible. That’s because a chronological course (where each lesson builds on the previous lesson) helps engage readers and keeps them reading your course. That’s because not finishing the course leaves the uncomfortable psychological feeling of “unfinished business.”

Tip: If you can’t offer a step-by-step process, then you can offer five in-depth tips (e.g., “Five Tips for a Flatter stomach” or “Five Secrets to Improving Your Conversion Rate”).

While we’re focusing on selling ebooks in this course, you can certainly use this course to sell a physical product or any non-informational, too.

Examples:

• You’re selling bow hunting clothes, supplies, or equipment. You offer a five-day course about how to be a better bow hunter.

• You’re selling bathroom tile. You offer a five-day course on how to remodel the bathroom and install the new tile.

• You’re selling domain names and hosting. You can offer a five-day course that teaches beginning marketers how to get their first website up and running fast.

Today’s task: Start brainstorming what type of course you can send to your prospects. As mentioned, the actual content of the course depends on what you’re selling – in other words, they should be closely related. And if your course is to be successful, it needs to have one other crucial element… which you’ll learn about next time!