The most important factor is the topic of the report as this will determine the demand for the information. If the report solves a specific problem or explains how to do something you will achieve the best results and collect the most subscribers for your opt in list.
There is no point writing a report if no one wants to read it so make sure you do some research to see if people actually want the information. To do this you can use a free keyword research tool such as Good Keywords. All you have to do is look for keywords that are searched for at least a few thousand times each month.
As well as this you can also search for specific keywords in the search engines and look at the results pages to see what other products are currently targeting the market. If you see many pay per click listings promoting various products related to the market its a sure sign that there is money to be made from this type of information.
Its possible to write a 20 page report in as little as one hour if you have a good knowledge of the subject matter or if you are good at researching. The internet is full of useful information and its just a case of collecting the best bits and rewriting it using your own words.
After you have found a topic you will need to look for relevant information in the search engines. Depending on what the subject matter is you should be able to find many useful articles and reports related to what you want to write about.
The next thing you need to do is use this information to create an outline for your report. Its important not to just copy other people's work but instead try to improve it and create your own unique version that is slightly different.
If you are creating a report that you intend to give away for free to your subscribers you will only need to write about 15 to 20 pages depending on the quality of the information. People don't have time to read 50 pages or more so its actually beneficial to the reader if you keep it short.
After you have written the content you can insert your own affiliate links into it for related products in order to earn backend commissions. For best results you should not include too many product recommendations as readers will just think you are trying to sell them something and not actually provide any real value.
Once you have done this you will need to convert the content into a PDF document so that you can give it away to your subscribers. This can easily be done with a software program called Instant PDF Generator: http://www.marketingoasis.com/direct/instantpdfgenerator/
Its important to remember that if you intend to give the report away for free it doesn't have to be the same length as an ebook which is being sold. But if you want to impress your subscribers and quickly build credibility you should still make sure that the content is high quality.
Download free ebooks and software here: http://www.marketingoasis.com/direct/freemonthlygift/
This article was written by Simon Akers who is the editor of the Marketing Oasis newsletter, a free internet marketing ezine packed with tips to help you succeed and increase your profits: http://www.MarketingOasis.com