The Confident Copywriter

Posts Tagged ‘information products’

The Internet is teeming with a flood of facts, figures and news. This is why we love it, isn’t it? A few clicks and you can find out who sang that song, how to make Chicken Marabella or how to sell your house without a real estate agent. It’s a beautiful thing.

Most of the time. All of this information comes from people like you and me – people who want to share their expertise and knowledge with the world. And, sometimes, people who simply want to make money. That’s why some information is great and some…well…not so good.

“Information products” is a broad term for videos, newsletters, articles, blogs, e-Zines, software, reports, CDs, DVDs, and e-Books that share information. Creating an information product of your own requires very little start-up cost, and can bring a new revenue stream. You might like it so much, you’ll want to do it again and again. Big name ‘gurus’ like Bob Bly and Clayton Makepeace have done it. Unless you’ve been sleeping in a cave, you’ve heard the names Dan Kennedy and Perry Marshall. They’ve built entire empires on information products.

What makes information products so appealing?

• Work from home – even part-time
• Quick timeline from idea, to production, to market
• Zero inventories
• Follow-up sales
• No employees, payroll or storefronts necessary
• All you need is an idea, a computer and the drive to see it through.

Getting Started

First, you must decide on a topic. This can seem overwhelming if you’ve never written instructional or educational materials. Writing what you know is a good place to begin. It will also be much easier to layout the path for your project if you are already knowledgeable. In which topics do you have expertise? What are you good at? What do you enjoy doing? What do you think about in your spare time? It is in these areas of your life that you will find fodder suitable for informational products.

How to Mine Your Expertise

• Make a list of your favorite hobbies, pastimes, specialized job or career knowledge, recipes, fields of interests, pets and/or life-changing events – include anything and everything you think might be a potential topic.
• Don’t pre-judge …just think!
• Identify a target niche: Going over your list, look for areas in which you can create specialized content, as it sells more and commands a higher price.
• Think about how your expertise can meet a specific need or solve a problem. Problems and needs are emotionally charged, making these arenas ripe for product demand and customer gratitude.
• Avoid fads and short-term issues. These will decrease the longevity of your material and, as a result, reduce your return on investment .
• Once you’ve found your topic, make a list of 8-10 key messages you wish to convey within the text. This will become the outline, guiding and shaping your finished product.

Every great invention began with a flash…a “lightbulb moment”…and as you complete these steps, you may suddenly realize, “Hey! I can do that!”

More on this topic in coming weeks. Your thoughts?