How to create your own information product

In the last article we talked about why informational products are the best type of products to sell online. An information product can be a digital book (known as an e-book), a digital report or white paper, a piece of software, audio or video files, a website, an electronic publication (ezine), or a newsletter.

Any product that is informational, instructional, or educational in nature may be considered an information product.

If you missed the last article, you might want to break your cage enough to read it first so that you have a full understanding of what we’ll be discussing this week, which is how to create your own information product.

As covered in detail in the last article, here are some of the reasons why information is the best product to sell online:

It’s quick to build, quick to market

No inventory to store

Startup costs are low

You can automate the sales and delivery process.

There are no shipping and handling fees

One of the great things about information products is that you don’t need a product designer or manufacturing plant to produce the products. You also don’t have to spend months and months developing products.

If you have a computer and a word processing program, you have everything you need to create a best-selling information product in no time.

Great, you say, but I’m not a writer. How the hell can I get into the information business? The good news is that you don’t have to be a great writer to create a great information product. If you don’t have the ability to create the product yourself, there are several avenues you can take to achieve information product success.

Co-authored with a writer

In my opinion, expert knowledge is much harder to come by than great writing skills. If you’re an expert on a subject that people will pay to learn, you just need a good writer to take your expert knowledge and put it into a sellable form.

I know many subject matter experts who can’t write their names in the snow and many excellent writers who don’t have the expert knowledge necessary to create an information product that will sell. Co-authorship can be a perfect match if a fair co-authorship agreement is reached. Co-authoring means that you both get credit for creating the product and share the revenue.

If you’re an expert on a subject, but not a writer, find a writer who will co-author the project with you. Conversely, if you’re a writer with no specific background, find a subject matter expert and partner with them to create the product.

Hire a ghostwriter

A ghostwriter is someone who will write the eBook for you anonymously, with the writing credits going solely to you. You provide the expertise and guidance and the ghostwriter puts it in a readable format. You can hire ghostwriters by the hour or for a flat fee, depending on the scope of the project.

There’s no shame in using a ghostwriter to put your thoughts on digital paper. You really don’t think all those professional athletes and Hollywood actresses can write 300-page books now, do you?

publish a directory

Can’t think of a topic you’re qualified to write about? Try to build a directory. A directory is nothing more than a list of specialized information that you market to a particular segment of the buying public. For example, my company publishes a wholesale and drop-ship industry directory that is a list of company names, addresses, phone numbers, and website addresses. I just have someone research the industry and compile their findings into a directory format, package it up nicely, and sell it online for $27.

Sign up for an affiliate program and sell your information products

There are thousands of companies that sell informational products, and most have affiliate programs that you can sign up for. Becoming an affiliate basically means becoming a reseller of the company’s products. You promote the product, you make the sale, the company delivers the product, and you earn a commission.

The key to creating a successful information product is this: the information must be worth far more than the price of the ebook itself. If you’re charging $27 for your product, you need to give the buyer many times that price in perceived value.

I asked information product expert Jim Edwards, co-author of “How to Write and Publish Your Own eBook in Just 7 Days,” for his advice on creating a great information product.

Here are Jim’s top 5 tips:

Niche It: Make sure you’re targeting a highly defined niche audience…don’t try to sell to everyone. You can make a lot more money showing life insurance agents how to find more customers to buy $250,000 policies than trying to sell a product in improving generic sales skills.

· Hit their pain: Make sure your information product addresses a painful problem that your target audience members will do almost ANYTHING to solve. The more intense the pain, the more they are willing to pay to get rid of it.

· Give them a sample: Give people a taste of what you offer in your info product by giving them a sample. Just like the wholesale clubs make you buy tater-tots in 50lb containers. bag by giving you one to try, you can induce people to buy your information by allowing them to read the first chapter or listen to the first few minutes of an audio.

Entertain them – People hate being bored. Increase the power of your product by adding humor, drama, and other entertainment elements that make them want more and more. This will not only help with future sales to satisfied customers, but will also keep refunds low and increase word of mouth.

· Keep it Evergreen – Don’t make the mistake of creating a product that hits a fad or fleeting market. Create info-products that can be updated with very little effort. This allows you to create a product once and maintain sales for years (literally) to come!