This is a product review on Product Creator Pro, another product in our review series.

Product Creator Pro allows you to quickly and easily create stunning books, newsletters, reports, and more. Product creation has never been easier.

What our first reviewer said:

If you are looking for a easy way to format either a book, newsletter, or report then this product is what you are looking for.

This is a step by step process that will help you create a professional looking product that you will be proud to put your name on.

What our second reviewer said:

Product Creator Pro is a product design platform. It claims to be a push-button simple way to create beautiful ebooks, reports and newsletters. You simply create your document in Word, then log into Product Creator Pro and let it do the rest.

1.    You choose a product type (eBook, Report, or Newsletter.)
2.    Then, you choose your cover.
3.    Personalize by uploading a cover image, a logo, and an author photo. This is also the step where you enter your title and subtitle. If you haven’t already set up your profile, you can do that here too, so your name gets pulled as the author.
4.    Choose your page template. This is the layout and style of the pages within your eBook.  You can also choose a single column or double column layout.
5.    This is where you upload your Word document.
6.    You will then be taken to an editor, where you can look over your document and do any editing that you need to do.
7.    The final step is where you preview and download your document.

Now, here are some thoughts about all of the above.

When uploading a cover image and author photo, it doesn’t give any guidance about what size to use, and you have no control in positioning them. They will be placed according to the sample shown, so you have to try to guess what size photo is going to fit and then just try again if it doesn’t work. Not every cover uses the same size pictures.

Whatever you set in the profile is the information that’s going to be on the cover. You aren’t allowed to save multiple profiles, although I’m told that will be available later at a higher price.  You can change the information each time you go through it if you want different information on different products.

It ONLY accepts .docx so you must use a newer version of Word to be able to upload your document. You are able to cut and paste though if you need to.

The preview is kind of hard to really check out. It would be nice to have a zoom feature, so you can really get a good look before you use a download credit on it. If you need to change something after the preview, you have the option of using the Back button to get to the part you want to change, or click Start Over to clear everything and start again. A Navigation bar would be great, so you could go right to the one thing you need to change.

You can’t force a page break if you don’t like the way things look. You also can’t use tables.

There are currently two options on pricing. You can go with a free version which allows 3 download credits per month and limited page templates, and has “created by Cover Creator Pro” on all of your downloads. Or you can choose the Premium version which costs $299 per year and gives you 20 downloads per month, no branding on your finished products, access to all of the page templates. It also provides some additional training. Image credits do not roll over from one month to the next. Each month you will start with the monthly allotment.

If you sign up for the free version and then upgrade from within your account, you are given some additional options for payment: $49 per month, $129 per quarter, $199 per six-months, or $299 per year.

Product Creator Pro is something I’ve been very excited about, and still am. The functionality is a little limited right at the moment, but I know the developers are working on adding new features. They’ve already added image support, which wasn’t available when I first started testing this.

Here is a list of things that it won’t do, but I’m told are coming:

• Multiple user profiles (additional cost)
• Zoom feature for the product preview.
• Kindle support.
• CreateSpace support (probably after Kindle)
• Navigation bar for the steps.
• Support for tables, page breaks, background colors, and non-standard fonts.

Honestly, although it seems like it might be best to wait until the features are added to upgrade to the premium version, I have a feeling that with added features, the price may go up. I don’t know this for sure, but it wouldn’t surprise me.

Once some of its limitations are addressed, this is going to be very powerful.

Click here to learn more about Product Creator Pro.

Have you used this product? …What’s YOUR feedback?

This is a product review on Kindle Secret Niches, Volume 1, another product in our review series.

Kindle Secret Niches, Volume 1 strives to teach you how to maximize your eBook profits by tapping profitable Kindle niches where the supply does not meet the demand.

What our first reviewer said:

This is a short report that will guide you through one general niche and the sub-niches that you can find in it.

She breaks the main niche down, explains it then goes into each sub-niche while explaining the sub-niche.

If you are wanting to get into Kindle publishing in an area that is not filled to the brim, then this report will help you.

The main niche and sub-niches she goes over could keep an aspiring author busy for years to come, while making a nice chunck of change.

There is a bonus that I’ve seen others sell that didn’t do as well covering the topic as she does.

What our second reviewer said:

Kindle Secret Niches, Vol. 1 is an interesting companion to Kickstart Kindle Promotion. I’m guessing that she is bundling these products. This product shares some popular but overlooked niches. These would be good areas for writers who have an interest in these niches.

I’m not sure if the two products would be good bundled together. The Kickstart product is for someone who has books already published on Kindle. If they were looking to expand their niches, this might be of benefit. It’s been my experience that most writers have more ideas than they could ever tackle in a lifetime, so they are not looking for more. The niche selection is more of a product of interest to newbies.

This would be a good low-priced entry level product leading into a funnel of support for writers all through the process. As an intro product, this has all sorts of possibilities.

Depending on the sales package, this would also be a good product  to promote as a follow-up to Rachel’s outsourcing course. Niche ideas are perfect for someone who has little personal interest in a niche and will outsource most of the writing.

Rachel might think about offering her outsourcing product as an upsell to this product. She could also promote this as a low-cost product for those who have already purchased the outsourcing product.

Click here to learn more about Kindle Secret Niches, Vol. 1.

Have you used this product? …What’s YOUR feedback?

This is a product review on Kindle Answers, another product in our review series.

Kindle Answers is software that seeks to minimize the amount of research time it takes to write an eBook and help you with your post-publication promotion, so all you have to do is get the book written.

What our first reviewer said:

Kindle Answers is a great little piece of software that does exactly what it’s supposed to do. It will search Yahoo Answers for a specific keyword and give you a list of the questions (and answers) that have been posted there.

You can search for Open questions only, Closed questions only, or All. For research purposes, All is a good choice; once you have your book written on a given subject and want to promote it, you can search for Open questions, and provide an answer that will lead people to your book, or your website.

The interface is pretty simple to use, and the documentation is quite good. The problem I did have with the documentation is that it’s spread across several website pages. A PDF version would be great. I do like the fact that everything that is in the two video demos is also shown with screenshots and text. Well done!

This is called Kindle Answers, probably because of the Kindle mania going on right now, but this will work for any info product you’re thinking of producing.

The software is for PCs only, so if you’re a Mac user, you’re out of luck, unless you have parallels or something similar.

It seems from the WSO thread that the delivery system after purchase is a little confusing, but the product owners are staying on top of questions, so that’s good.

Pros:
Does What It’s Supposed To – It Simplifies Research
Easy to Use
Good Documentation
Good Customer Service

Cons:
Documentation is Scattered Over Several Web Pages
PC Only
Confusing After-Sale Process

What our second reviewer said:

It does run the reports as advertised. This is a great way to find and join conversations where you can demonstrate your expertise (and promote your books/products). This will help build relationships and build up a readership.

I don’t agree with the gray/black hat tactics mentioned in the documentation. It suggests using more than one account to answer your own questions or to provide social proof for the answers from your other account. This is opposed to the relationship building it takes to build up a readership of ardent fans who are eagerly awaiting your next book.

Used in the correct way, I think it’s a valuable product. I would recommend it.

Click here to learn more about Kindle Answers Software.

Have you used this product? …What’s YOUR feedback?

This is a product review on Enhanced eBook Profit Secrets, another product in our review series.

Enhanced eBook Profit Secrets is a guide to making profitable eBooks using Microsoft Word and/or Open Office; it’s for people who are looking to sell PDFs.

What our first reviewer had to say:

Barbara ling has written about 40 information products. The focus of this one is “How to Make the Most Profitable ebook Imaginable”. The author also writes that the sort of book she intends to help the reader produce is a high quality one that makes learning easy for the customer and make s the writer money (my wording).

There are 47 pages, covering what the author believes are seven of the best secrets.

The ebook is delivered as two reports. One is in Microsoft Word format and the other is in Oracle’s free Open Office format. Both versions were produced with Open Office Writer.

Some of the suggestions were designed to add the potential for more profit for you as the author (and are used by Barbara Ling in this book so you can judge whether you like them and will use them) and some were meant to make the ebook more readable.

The numbering of the pages is a bit confusing. For instance, the tenth page, where the practical material starts, is numbered in the footer as page 2. This is something which happens with a lot of PDF’s.

The style is unique; light and chatty. I don’t mind it but felt that some of the points were a bit harder to follow because of it.

The book needs some revision. An example is page 18 of the Open office version where the graphic covers up some of the instructional text.

Some points seem incomplete.

For instance:

On page 5, the author says to look at a certain page and, “You should see” but what you should see is not detailed.

On page 28 of both versions of the report, the example is incomplete and the part which the author refers to in the text below it is missing from the example as shown.

A statement like “Quick, now look at, oh I don’t know, the page that …..” is a bit strange in an instructional book. It’s like the book was not fully checked before release or, maybe, it’s just the author’s style. But, it’s not helpful.

The author says, “The more professional your book comes across, the more confidence the readers will have in buying your future products”.

I agree with that comment.

The use of a picture of a key to indicate especially important information is overdone. The contents of some highlighted areas were not special or were repeated information where the earlier appearance had already been highlighted with the key picture.

The header and Footer instructions seem to be missing some minor details which the reader should have no trouble working out themselves but they should have been included.

This is not a deal-breaker in my opinion, but it is a common occurrence, and I think it will annoy readers because their work won’t reflect the results which the author shows unless the reader figures out and does the extra small steps.

I disagree with the author about a couple of points.

She shows a link in her book to a “Warrior Special Offer”.

In theory, only Members of the Warrior Forum should be able to access these offers.

• They may not fit the interests of the book’s readers.
• The content of the thread about that offer is not under your control.
• If the book in which you put the link is available for more than a few weeks, the thread about the offer may be closed, deleted by moderators or contain material which does not impress your readers or competes with your products or services.

The author also suggests on Page 16, that you might include one or more graphic advertisements for related products in the book. I know from feedback in a number of forums and from readers directly that they dislike this in a book they paid for. It will affect their desire to buy more books from you unless your material is unique and very high quality.

I believe that affiliate links in a book should only be used where the products or services linked to are relevant to the material in the book. This is a bit different to some of the ways the author uses them.

I’ll finish with a few comments about the other. I cannot detail too much about suggestions which the author focuses on because that is what you buy.

But, my comments relate to how I judge them on the value I see for potential buyers of this ebook when the suggestions are used in their own books.

The main text of the book finishes on Page 31. Most of the appendices after that are at least partly promotional.

The offer includes another report about writing ebooks which I did not see. I am not sure if it was written by Barbara Ling.

This report I reviewed covers how to format and add potential income sources to a book in Word or Open Office.

The suggestions are not exclusive to this book. Some should be used in every ebook in my opinion, so that could make the book useful to people who don’t have the knowledge.

Overall Impressions:

I don’t think there is anything unique in this book which shows how to make exceptional ebooks.

I think the author needs to revise the book to make some things clearer where material seems to be missing.

What our second reviewer had to say:

I really wanted to like this, since it is of great interest to my audience. I learned things from it, but not what the author intended, I’m sure.

She does use the method she describes in the book in the creation of this product. The step-by-step instructions do work.

The method she demonstrates would work well for creating free reports. Less than one third of the report (can’t call it an ebook) is content. The rest is promotion of herself and her products. After seeing one of her products, I wouldn’t purchase any other of her products because they would be the same 2/3 sales ratio.

This product may have triggered by current soapbox about relationship marketing. I feel that this approach violates the trust I have with my audience. If they pay for content, I want to deliver value.

There are a couple of typos. I dislike this in a product targeted at writers.

I think this would be a good product if it were titled Enhanced Free Report Secrets. I think this product will generate little profit for its buyers. People might not ask for a refund, but they probably won’t purchase another product from this source. This goes for this product’s author as well as anyone who follows this method.

Overall Impression:

I vote NO for promoting this one.

Click here to learn more about Enahnced eBook Profit Secrets and its OTO.

Have you gone through this product? …What is YOUR feedback?

This is a product review on Publishing Players System, another product in our review series.

Publishing Players System is focused on the creation of physical, promotional materials to use with offline clients.

What our reviewer said:

This is a product review on Ultimate Fortune Chase, another product in our review series.

What our reviewer said:

“The Ultimate Fortune Chase” is a collection of interviews with 14 established marketers. These interviews cover a range of topics, mostly focusing on fundamental IM topics like list building (starting from scratch), product creation, keeping the relationship with your list going strong, affiliate marketing, video, driving traffic… you name it, and someone in this series has talked about it  

All interviews follow a typical format, starting with the story behind the person being questioned, right from the beginning when they were looking for elusive IM success, leading up the story of their first successes and how they kept the ball rolling from there. Each interview ends with references to where you can find out more about the business of the person who was interviewed, and I found some special offers hidden in this part on a couple of occasions. The meat of the interview typically incorporates standard mindset ideas (focus, giving value, keeping away from short-term trends/plans, etc) and concrete actionable strategies.

The product does cover plenty of ground, despite some redundancy across interviews (only to be expected, as the fundamentals are the same – it’s good to see some consistency). I won’t be able to go over it bit by bit because there is a fair amount of content, but I will share my overall impressions:

Pros…

• Has real-world information
• Begins at the beginning, so that’s reassuring, and we all love a good story that we relate to!
• The information is based on experience and not theory.

Cons…

• Since there is plenty that’s covered, it’d be nice to have a mindmap guide to see what is where. As such, this would take someone plenty of time to dig into, unless you’re super-organized about multi-tasking and listening to your audio files while in the car or at the gym!
• I read the transcripts, and often the grammar is off by a bit, and there are some amusing errors
• Although a lot of the interviews are about battling info overload and overwhelmed, I felt a bit overwhelmed by this very product – a bit ironic! Just having a mindmap/overview/guide to what is covered where, and encouragement to pick one thing and run with it would help, in my opinion.

Overall Impressions…

Overall – there is some solid advice here, and I like that they advocate good stuff – like actually providing value, quality – instead of promoting shortcuts. There’s good mindset advice and you can dig out some good strategies from deep inside the transcripts or the audios… but it may take you a while to consume it all. A good reference-style product and valuable and accessible information for those who are starting out, probably not earth-shattering for the more experienced.

Click here to learn more about Ultimate Fortune Chase and its OTO.

This is a product review on Instant Cash Formulas, another product in our review series.

Instant Cash Formulas strives to teach you how to build a list from scratch and develop meaningful relationships, even if you have no idea how to start.

What our first reviewer said: