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With the creation of the World Wide Web came unlimited moneymaking opportunities to reach target audiences who were craving information about a wide variety of topics. To meet the heavy demand, online marketers have been creating blogs, video channels, and products to serve their needs.
Previously, a consumer would have to enroll in a college course or purchase a print book to absorb the details they wanted to know. But now, it can be downloaded in an instant – from the comfort of their own home, or streamed onto their device immediately.
As someone who wants to profit from the demand for information, you have the ability to do it without putting in a lot of money or investing in expensive tools. It’s easy and fast to create and launch an info product.
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What is an Information Product?
An information product is a piece of content that provides information on a particular topic and is usually educational in nature. Information products often come in the form of a book, report, audio, video, or graphic. Each of these items is a product in its own right.
Many people create info product packages. These often consist of multiple components or products, covering a more complex topic. Each component can be sold separately. However, when the components are combined and sold as a package, the seller is able to charge a higher price for the package.
Types of Info Products
Here are some of the most popular, well-known, and easily recognized, types of information products.
- eBook or digital book – This is the most well known type of info product on the internet. They are simple, easy to create, and can vary in length. Ebooks are among the least expensive information products to create and sell. They may come in a variety of formats such as PDF or other formats used with readers such as Kindle.
- Reports and Manuals – These types of information products are specifically geared toward a certain segment, problem, or topic.
- Audio Products – This type of info product can be a recording or series of recordings delivered on a physical CD or digitally in MP3 format. These are great for interviewing people and passing along information that your buyer can listen to anytime.
- Video Products – Video products works well for tutorial types of information as well as teleseminars, slideshows, and other visual events or activities. An example is a video that shows people how to install WordPress.
- Seminars/Webinars/Tele-class – Record a webinar or tele-class and sell the digital recording along with a digital transcript of the call or a checklist.
- Tutorials – These info products usually consist of a guide and supporting items, which give your readers the step-by-step instructions needed to learn how to do something.
- Workbooks – These info products work best when used as a supplement or bonus to a book, report, guide, or tutorial.
- Coaching Products – This type of information product is similar to tutorials but also may contain components specific to coaches such as scripts, which the coach may follow to teach a group or class.
- Information Graphics – This type of info product works especially well with abstract or complex concepts, which are difficult to visualize. Examples include mind maps, flow maps, tree maps, time lines, etc.
Why Sell Info Products?
If you have been pulling your hair out looking for a way to make money online, the search is over! One of the easiest ways to make money is by writing and selling information products in electronic book form. This is the ultimate product for online sales, simply because the potential is enormous!
An electronic book, as you may already know, is not a traditional book that you can turn the corner of one page down to mark your place. (Yes, I am guilty of that!) It is a regular computer file, no different from the hundreds of other files you may have on your hard drive except that it is structured to look and read like a traditional book. You can either read an electronic book on the monitor of your computer, or print it out so that it is portable.
An electronic book can be viewed on any type or brand of computer. You can send them as email attachments or download them from the Web. Electronic books are extremely versatile! They take up very little room on a hard drive. Some people have hundreds of eBooks on their computer – a library that they personally chose.
Digital Self-Publishing
Digitally self-publishing an eBook is quite different from publishing a traditional book. With a traditional book, you have to pay the costs of any printing yourself if you choose to self-publish. Then, if the book does well and you need to reprint, you have to pay those costs again, which eats into your profits. If you have the goal of having your book published the customary way by a big-name publishing house, get ready for a long wait.
First, your book has to be approved. That can take a year or more, if it happens at all! Most people who have the dream of publishing their book have a folder full of rejection letters to show for their efforts. If by chance your book is approved, it is not published right away. There’s a wait for that, too. All told, it could be several years before your book hits the market, and even more time before you see any profit from your labor!
There are no printing costs, and very little waiting time involved with publishing an eBook. Statistics show that eBooks sell better than audio books and paperback books, and information eBooks sell best of all.
Low cost, high profits and no headaches makes for a clean and profitable business
30-Day Product Creation Blueprint
Below, you’ll find a 30-day plan to help guide you in the tasks you need to do in order to launch an info product into the digital marketplace. If it takes you more time (or less), that’s okay – every operates at a different speed.
Day 1: See What’s Selling
If you want to become a competitive info product seller, you need to know what kinds of products to release into the marketplace. They might be a variety of media formats, niche topics – some broad, some drilled down, etc.
Look to see if people are selling one-off courses, memberships, coaching, and more. You want to know what topics are selling best. You can learn a lot just by looking at various marketplaces to see what’s on bestseller lists.
If you’re in a niche where there are multiple narrow topics, like diets, you want to know what is most in demand, like keto versus calorie deficit, for example. This will help you tailor your creation to a hungry audience.
Day 2: Find Out What Format Consumers Are Demanding
Format is an important criterion for your digital info products. Consumers like to abord information is many ways, and some topics are better suited to certain formats than others.
For example, if you’re teaching someone to build a blog, it’s best to show them each step in over-the-shoulder videos. Or, if you do use an eBook, it should include screen captures of the steps so they can see (not just read) what to do next).
Sometimes, even audio files are best, depending on the topic. The motivation niche does well with podcasts. People often consume inspiring content while working on harder tasks, such as building their business or even working out at the gym.
Day 3: See What’s Developing in Your Niche
New developments are an important part of guiding your niche audience. They’ll turn to you for important, breaking news in the niche. They don’t want to have to go scour the ‘net and find it on their own.
In addition to a simple Google alert, you can do a quick check on news sites and subscribe to online and print publications where new industry news is shared among leaders and consumers.
Day 4: Know What You’re Up Against
It’s not shady to be spying on the competition – it’s smart business, so sign up to their list to keep tabs. You have to know what others are doing so that you can stay one step ahead. You never want to copy them or their ideas.
The key to success is to be informed about their digital info products so you can make sure yours will serve the needs of the audience better. Maybe you expand on a topic or show a different slant.
Day 5: Be in Tune with the Needs of Your Target Audience
Most marketers spend mere minutes picking a topic for their info product. But savvy entrepreneurs take their time and conduct research over days or even weeks until they have the right idea.
You’ll get that by being highly in tune with your target audience. They can be found in forums and on social media sites chatting about the niche topic, expressing their views and concerns and helping you pinpoint a topic that they would eagerly purchase.
Day 6: Understand the Value Already Being Offered in the Marketplace
Take a look at the products selling in your niche and make a list that shows what all is in each product and at what price point. It’s not always about volume (like a 100-page eBook), but consumers may also balk if you’re trying to charge the same for a 5-page report as they’re paying for a 50 or 100-page one.
Look for the main product as well as extras being offered, like cheat sheets, templates or other add-ons they throw in for extra value. You have to make sure yours is competitive.
Day 7: Come Up with Your Info Product Concept
Once you know what’s on the marketplace, and how you can create something better than the competition, it’ll be time for you to sit down and come up with a product idea of your own.
Your product needs to be the solution that helps your audience solve a problem. You can have a broad product, such as one that encompasses all dietary advice, or something drilled down, such as how to detox from a sugar addiction.
Day 8: Figure Out What Will Be Included in Your Funnel
You don’t just want one product in your launch, you want at least two (maybe even more). This is where you’ll spend time considering what can go into your funnel. A funnel is a series of offers the customer goes through to add on to their purchase during the sale.
For example, they might buy an eBook about dieting as the front end product. The first one time offer upgrade in the funnel might be a fitness plan to pair with it. If you want to go with more than one upgrade offer, you want to keep adding value.
Day 9: Expanding on Your Idea with a Comprehensive Outline
Once you spend a day or two nailing down your product concepts, you’ll want to detail the specifics of what will go into the product. Some people find it helps to have a table of contents or outline to follow as they create.
You can do something simple or outline it in extreme detail, depending on how much time you want to devote to it, and how much forethought you need to put into it. Some people prefer to fly by the seat of their pants when writing, while others do better with strict structure.
Day 10: Determine Your Price Points
Pricing is something many new digital info product creators get wrong. They think that as long as they undercut the competition, they’ll sell a lot of products. But there’s such a thing as perceived value.
If you price your 50-page eBook at $7, people might think it’s a sub-par product. You’re not just pricing the product for yourself or your customers, either. When it comes to online revenue, affiliate income is something you want to consider heavily.
No good affiliate is going to come onboard for a product launch unless you make it worthwhile for them. Sharing 50% of a $7 eBook isn’t enough to make them even consider your product.
Day 11: Make a Media Decision for Your Product Deliverables
When you think about your personal skills and the media format most of the products in your niche are delivered in, does anything in particular come to mind? It may be text or video, most likely.
That doesn’t mean you have to do what everyone else is doing. In fact, you might set yourself apart being able to deliver something outside the norm. But take some times to think about the best format for the dissemination of the information you plan to provide.
There are editors and tools you can use (both free and paid) that will help you spiff up a product so that it has a professional appeal if you don’t feel like your natural talent and skills are up to par.
Day 12: Pinpoint the Best Platform for Your Launch
Where do you want to sell the product from? You might choose a place like Udemy, your own website – or one of the popular third party platforms like Warrior Plus, JVZoo or ClickBank.
There are many other ways to sell directly from your site, like AMember. Just make sure you have a way to implement an affiliate marketing program. Without affiliates, if you’re an unknown, it will be harder for you to have a successful launch.
Day 13: Choose a Launch Date for Increased Success
The sooner you can get your launch date chosen and announced, the more chance you’ll have that affiliates will promote for you. They need ample time for bonus creation and promo planning.
Choose dates that aren’t already extremely crowded. You can find these on calendars on the platforms or on sites like Muncheye. Choose a date that gives you plenty of room (plus a cushion) to create the product and get everything uploaded and checked.
Day 14: Set Your Funnel Up on the Launch Platform
Every platform has a different sequence of steps for getting your launch set up. If you’re on Warrior Plus, you’ll create a product listing for the front end and any upgrades. Then you’ll create an offer that connects them all.
You should be able to see the funnel in a graphic representation to show you how the customer will flow from one offer to the next (such as if you have upsells and downsells, for those who decline an upgrade).
Day 15: Set Up a Page for Affiliate Details
After everything is set up on the platform of your choice, you’ll need to go ahead and create an affiliate page known as a JV (joint venture) page. This is a single page your prospective affiliates can go to for details of your upcoming product launch.
You’ll include funnel details, what’s in each product, price points, commission percentages, swipe emails, and links to the platform where they’ll grab their own unique affiliate link to promote for you.
Day 16: Unveil the Launch Details to Affiliates
When the JV page is set up, you can take the link to it and send it, along with launch details in an invitation to affiliates who are on your list, if you’ve begun building one for that purpose.
A listing on Muncheye will announce it to a larger group of prospective affiliates, and you can categorize your listing according to platform and type of launch. Include your JV page link there so people can find more details.
Day 17: Create a Buzz on Social Networking Sites
Take the same link and make the rounds on social media, if you’ve been networking with other marketers who can promote for you. You can make an upcoming launch video for YouTube, or post the launch in certain marketing groups that allow it on Facebook.
Day 18: Network with Affiliates to Get Them Onboard
Sometimes, it’s a personal connection that will bring the best affiliates onboard. Contact people individually, not in a post you make where you mass tag (spam) people. Offer a personal invitation based on what you know about their own online business, such as why your product is a good fit for their audience.
You only want to take this approach with top marketers in your niche – those who will make strong competitors, as well as good affiliates. Find them on leaderboards for their own products as well as contests where they promoted as an affiliate and send them a message and review access.
Day 19: Choose Some Affiliates to Recruit with Benefits
If you want to make sure you get a few top promoters onboard, come to them with perks no one else gets. That might include a spot for their banner on your download page or a bump in their percentage of commission earned.
You might even create a unique bonus for them to use in their promotion. For example, a simple five-page report they can tack on as a bonus and put their name on as the gift giver is a great enticement.
Day 20: Start the Info Product Creation Process for Your Main Product
Info product creation is something that can take hours or weeks. It all depends on how well you know the topic, how easy content creation is for you, and how much you want to share.
You can start today (if not sooner) and it can be done in a day or you can continue for longer. You want to make sure to go back through the product after you finish to look for any gaps in information, mistakes or other things that need repairing.
Day 21: Work on the One Time Offer Upgrade
After completing the front-end product creation process, you’ll need to work on your upgrade(s) if you have any. This might be as simple as repurposing content into a different media format, or coming up with something entirely different and complementary to the front end.
Day 22: Write Your Front-End Sales Letter
Sales copy is something that many find intimidating, but you can find great swipe files and even templates online to start with if you need them. You can also look at similar product sales copy to see what types of things need to go into it.
This would include coming up with your own storyline, detailing the product highlights, giving them a call to action, and more. If you feel weak with your copywriting skills, you can even outsource it to someone else.
Day 23: Create the One Time Offer Upgrade Sales Letter
You’ll do the same today, but for your upgrade offer(s). Keep in mind that the copy you create for this page Is a bit different from the front end sales letter. Now, at this point, the consumer has already been converted into a buyer.
You have less resistance, but they’re still looking for value. You want to reassure them that they made the right decision, and then proceed to explain why it’s a smart idea to upgrade their purchase.
Day 24: Set Up a Download Page with Perks
You have the ability to simply upload files to some third-party sites, but many marketers choose to use a download page instead. This gives you more control over what the buyer sees after their purchase.
For example, you can promote other products you have on the download page, or those you’re an affiliate for. You can also add banner ads for certain top affiliates who promised to promote you.
Day 25: Send Out Review Copies to Special Affiliates
At the time it’s all finalized, and the product has been edited to completion, you want to contact the top affiliates you’ve been networking with and provide them with review access. Don’t do this for everyone – just the elite affiliates you want onboard.
Day 26: Double Check the Technical Workings of Your Launch
Go through the buying process before the launch goes live. There are ways to create a test purchase, so you can see if the funnel is working properly, taking the customer from the front end to each upsell or downsell you’ve added, and finally to the download page.
Day 27: Write a Welcome Email for New Buyers
Remember, these buyers can be added to a special email autoresponder list after their purchase. You want to create an email that welcomes them to your list and makes them feel as if their decision was a good one, and one way to do that is by creating a little free gift for them for becoming a subscriber.
Day 28: Stack Value with an Unexpected Freebie
If time allows, create another unexpected freebie to add to the follow-up emails your new subscribers will receive. These don’t have to be full product creations, but a taste of something they will find valuable if they remain subscribed to your newsletter.
Day 29: Plan to Motivate Affiliates and Customers During the Launch
For those who chose to have a contest with their digital info product launch, make sure you take time each day for a leaderboard update you share on social media and via email to affiliates.
This gives reminders to other affiliates to send out their promotion, and it’s also a feel-good move to show appreciation to the affiliates already promoting for you. This kind of hype is motivating.
Day 30: Leverage Your New List of Buyers for More Money
Spend today thinking about what comes next. Will you create another product launch? What will you promote as an affiliate to your new list of proven buyers? The only thing you don’t want to do is sacrifice your reputation by doing something shady, like selling their contact information.
Make Money Selling Info Products
There are many different ways that you can start making a living online from the comfort of your home. Perhaps of all the options available, creating and selling your own information products is the easiest to start. It affords a huge flexibility and a great passive income source.
So, what’s holding you back from creating your own information products?
When you know how to make money online selling information products you can profit from your knowledge repeatedly. Use the tips, ideas, and information provided here to start making money selling your own info products.
