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I know many people want to discover the best way to sell information products on the Internet. Creating an information product business is a fantastic way to build a sustainable online business which can generate passive income for you – meaning you can create an information product, set it up online and your website does the selling for you 24 hours a day, even while you sleep.

In this guide I’m going to outline my “formula” and give you some more ideas along the way so you know where to start in creating and marketing your own info product.

Before you get started learning to create and sell your own information product, I recommend you first check out the following sections if you’re new to this:

• Getting Started – how to find your niche and an overview of the info product business model
• Start Building Your List – learn the best way to start building your list fast
• Build a Blog – how to start your own blog for your niche

I consider these the important building blocks for your business before you get started creating your information products, so be sure to familiarize yourself with the process first.

Different Types of Info Products

Information products are not limited to just ebooks. You should think of an information product as any kind of product you can create which helps your target market solve their problems or teach them how to do something. There are many different formats that your information product can take:

• Ebooks – Probably the most well known type of information product, ebooks are simply digital versions of books which are typically in PDF format. These can be read on almost any computer, and typically contain text and images. Great for any kind of how-to product, guide or any kind of training.
• Video Training – Video products are now easier to create than ever. You can create screencast type videos where you record presentations on your computer screen or show a process through screencam software. Alternatively you could use a pocket video camera and create on-camera live training.
• Audio Training - This could be audio interviews recorded from Skype, or in-person interviews. You could also create monologue type audio products with you talking about a particular topic to your microphone. You can also take the audio from your video products and offer as an audio training for people on the move.
• Membership Sites – A membership site can be a collection of different information products in one, you may have downloadable PDF reports, or you may have all the information accessed online through a secure members area. You could also use a membership site to deliver monthly coaching type services
• Live Group Training – It’s now easier than ever to conduct live online training through webinars and teleseminars. This means you can produce your product live (you can record it too) and train larger groups of people at once to leverage your time
• DVDs and CD Boxsets – Packaging your video or audio training as a boxset is a great way to add value to your products, and it’s now very easy to have your products fulfilled remotely using online services
• Software – If you can create a software or web application which helps solve a common problem in your market, this can be sold as an information product. Software can also be setup as a continuity program so you sell monthly access to your tool for reoccuring revenue.

The Info-Product Formula

The formula I have used to build my own and my clients businesses is farily simple but very effective. Here’s an example of the formula from my BusinessJolt business:

I know that this is a fairly simplified overview of the formula, but in effect this graphic shows the essential steps of the process. The process is based around converting leads into buyers, which should be your main objective. Once you have converted your prospect into a buyer and got them on your buyers list, it becomes much easier to market future products and services to them.

Once you setup your information product business in this way, you can focus on driving traffic into your system and developing more products for your list which will be sold at the backend of your business, as well as building relationships with existing buyers.

What Makes A Hot Product?

So you’ve found a niche you want to build your information product business in, the next thing you need is an idea for the product you will create. This is often the stumbling block that stops people succeeding with this business, but in reality it shouldn’t be hard as a little research will give you the answers you need.

When you’re creating an information product, you need to always have your prospect in mind. You need to put yourself into their mindset and think about their situation, and the problems, fears and desires they want to satisfy or resolve in their lives. If you can get inside the mind of your prospect, you’ll really put yourself into a much stronger position to be able to create powerful, valuable products for your market.

When I’m looking for ideas for new products, these are the main research methods I use:

• Forum Research - Niche forums are a goldmine of ideas for new products. Start by finding forums in your niche by searching for “niche discussion forums”, “niche forums” or “niche message boards” (replace “niche” with your niche name). Look through the popular posts in the forum and note any reoccuring trends or topics, or common questions people are asking. You want to look for people who are looking for solutions to burning problems – the more urgent the problem, the more willing people will be to pay for a solution.
• Social Media Research – The Internet has made it easy for us to spy on what other people are discussing. Use search.twitter.com to find conversations in your market and see what people are discussing. Also look on facebook and look for common threads.
• Look What Is Already Selling – Although you should always try and come up with a unique edge or twist for your product, looking at what is already selling is a great way to get ideas for your own products. Look on Amazon for books in your niche, or look on sites like Clickbank.com or Cj.com for digital products being sold in your market.
• Survey Your List - If you’ve already built a list or started to build a list in your niche, surveying them is a great way to get ideas for products. If you have no idea for a product then use more general open questions, but if you have an idea and want to clairfy the needs of your market, you could give a few options for product ideas and see which comes up top. Use a service like SurveyMonkey to do your surveys.

Product Creation Methods

The next step in the process once you have an idea for your product is to actually start creating the actual product content. I’ve used a range of methods to create products for my own and my clients businesses, all have their own advantages so it’s best to go with whichever you feel most comfortable with and feel you’re most likely to complete the product with:

• Brain Dump - This method works best if you already have existing knowledge of your topic for your product. The idea is to “dump” all of your knowledge about the chosen topic and then format this into a product. I find the best way to do this is to use a mind mapping application like Freemind or Mindmanager. This allows you to organize your knowledge into separate threads which might relate to a particular sub-topic – which in turn may become one chapter in your ebook or a module in your video course (see above for different product formats). Once you’ve extracted all of your knowledge and ideas you need to format them into sections or modules and then add additional content, images and anything else you want to include to create your product
• Interview An Expert – This is one of the fastest and best ways I know to create a product, and it works in almost any niche. You find an expert or authority in your niche, and simply ask for an interview. Most experts will be happy to give interviews, especially if they have their own products or websites as they will be happy for the promotion. You can record your interview through Skype using software like Pamela, and also get it transcribed to add value (I recommend creating a formatted transcription to add even more value). You could even create an interview series to make your product even better and more comprehensive.
• Reverse Interview - This is a great way to get your product created quick if you have knowledge on your topic. The best way to do this is to plan out the modules or chapters of your product, and write questions for each of these modules which someone will ask you. This allows you to create the content on the fly, and you will also have an audio and text version of your product (once you get your audio transcribed). This can be done in person using software like Audacity – just find a friend to interview you.
• Hire An Expert – Hiring an expert can be a great way to create a high value product without too much work on your part. If you’re going to hire an expert, I recommend finding niche forums and looking for experts there. If you’re outside of the Internet Marketing niche, you’ll often find people who are all too willing to write or create your product for you for a lot less than you’d pay an outsource worker. You’ll also get the benefit of their specialist knowledge. When hiring an expert, it’s best if you provide the outline for the product and then let your expert create the product from there.
• Hire A Ghostwriter - The alternative to hiring an expert is to hire a ghostwriter. This is someone who will write your ebook or create your product for you but they won’t neccessarily have expert knowledge on your topic. They will research your topic and create your product, usually from scratch. This can be a very hands-off way to create your product, but you will pay more for this, and won’t always get the benefit of expert knowledge on the topic. You can find ghostwriters on many of the freelance networks like Elance or Odesk

Whichever product creation method you choose, it’s always a good idea to try and plan out as much of your product as you can before you start. You should have a good idea of the main focus or topic of the product, and the different subtopics which may be included in your product. This will help when it comes to writing questions for interviews, planning out chapters in your product, or giving product specifications to people you’re hiring to create the product for you.

Create Your Product Sales System

Once you have created your product, you need to prepare the system which will sell your product online. Automating this part of the process is key to your business being able to run on autopilot and allowing you to work on developing new products and driving new leads into the business. I will give you an overview of the system below, and you can find more detail about the system in my free video series which I recommend you sign-up to if you want to build an info product business.

Here are the main components of the sales system:

Squeeze Page – If you followed my email list building guide you should already have your squeeze page setup. The idea of the squeeze page is to give away a free gift (such as a short report) in return for your prospects name and email. This gets them into your system (or funnel).

Sales Letter – This is the page that does all the work for you. Your sales letter will talk directly to the prospect and show them why they need your product. You don’t have to be an expert copywriter to write your sales letter, but copywriting is a great skill to have – check out these great resources to aid your copywriting education: thegaryhalbertletter.com, marketingbullets.com, copywritersboard.com

Here’s a very simple formula for your sales letter:

1) Headline – This should grab the attention of your prospect and ask a question or make a statement. e.g. “how would you like to learn the simple formula for creating information products from scratch”

2) Story/Introduction – Describe the problem your prospects are facing, emphasise the problem, and describe your search for a solution.

3) Your Solution – Introduce your solution (your product) and describe the benefits of your product (bullet points work great for this). Ensure you focus on the benefits not features – so focus on what it will do for your prospect.

4) Your Guarantee – Wherever possible, offer some kind of money back guarantee to boost conversions. This could be a 30 day or 60 money back guarantee.

5) Call to Action – Introduce the price of your product, and tell them what they need to do next – i.e. order your product – click the order button.

Payment System – You need a way to take orders and payments from your buyers. Paypal is the easiest solution to this, and you can also use their button creator to setup a system to take people to a product delivery page after purchase (for more information on this see my guide here)

Delivery Page – This will be the page your buyers see after they have purchased and paid for your product. On this page you will have a link to download your product, and any files that your buyer needs.

Depending on your product management system, you may also want to have an optin box on this page to request buyers to subscribe to your list for product updates. One of the advantages to using a system like Nanacast or DLGuard is that you can have the subscriber automatically added to your list when they purchase, so you then only need to notify them to confirm their email address.

Setup Your Sales System

Now all you need to do is hook up the pages together and test out your sales system. Here’s how you do it:

Squeeze Page > Sales Letter – You should already have your squeeze page setup. Now you need to set your thank you page in your autoresponder to be your sales letter. This will act as a one-time offer page which people will see directly after they subscribe. If you do not want to offer your product for sale directly after your prospect opts in to your free list, you can skip this and simply set the sales letter up as a stand-alone page, and promote this page in your autoresponder followup. The only disadvantage with this is that you have no direct sales revenue on the front end of your business.

Note: If you’re using your sales letter as an OTO (one time offer) you may also want to setup a stand-alone sales letter if you’re going to get affiliates promoting your products as they may want to promote your sales page direct (you can use a system like Ejunkie (basic) or Nanacast (advanced) to allow affiliates to promote).

Sales Letter > Payment System – If you’re selling your product and using Paypal for payments, take the button code paypal gives you and add this link to your payment button on your sales letter. This will then take the buyer to Paypal for payment when they click the button.

Payment System > Delivery Page – Your payment system should be set to send your buyer to your delivery page after purchase. If you’re using a different system you may need to create the delivery page within the software as this may be a protected page. Usually if you’re using software like Nanacast or DLGuard, you can set the pages within the management software.

You should now have your full sales system setup. The only thing left to do is create your autoresponder follow-up messages which continue to deliver content and promotions automatically following signup or purchase of your product.

Getting Traffic To Your System

If you don’t send people to your websites, you have no way of making money or getting them on your list. You need to try build up a steady stream of visitors to your squeeze page or sales letter. I recommend driving traffic to your squeeze page or to your blog. Some traffic sources will be better suited to sending traffic to your blog, although you’ll probably convert less of these people into subscribers.

Here are some of my main traffic generation methods:

Article Writing & Marketing – Article writing is one of the most simple but effective methods of driving traffic to your websites. Simply write a unique article on a particular topic relating to your niche or product, submit it to a site like Ezine Articles, and drive traffic back to your sites through your resource box in the article. Remember when writing articles that you can also get some SEO benefit from the keywords in your article, so think carefully about these, and also use one of your main keywords when linking to your site from the resource box.

Blog – Although you can drive traffic to your blog, your blog itself is a fantastic traffic generation tool. You can write great content on your blog, and share it through social media and other platforms, and drive people back to your blog and into your funnel (by having a high visibiity optin box on your blog).

Some other traffic sources are also much more effective if you send people to your blog rather than to a squeeze page as it’s a much less direct sales approach, but if you have good content and a good optin offer you should still convert those people into subscribers, and hopefully into buyers.

Affiliates – When other people promote your product, these are known as affiliates. You will need to setup your product on a system like Ejunkie or Nanacast if you want people to promote it. You offer these affiliates a commission on each product they sell, usually between 30%-75%. Having affiliates promoting your products can allow you to grow much more quickly and leverage your time, you will have to drive less traffic yourself as your affiliates will do it for you.

Pay Per Click (PPC) – This is one of the most popular forms of paid traffic. You can use a network like Google Adwords to promote your products across their search engines and related sites. You bid on specific keywords and pay for each visitor they send to your site. PPC can be a very powerful traffic strategy, but it can also become very expensive very quickly. It’s best to test your system and optimize conversions as much as possible before sending paid traffic so you get the most from your budget.

Facebook, Twitter & Other Social Media – Social media sites have become huge in the past couple of years, and now many of these sites see more traffic than many of the search engines. If you can build up an audience on these sites you can drive them back to your blog or product offers and into your funnel.

Youtube & Online Video – Online video is huge, and growing every day. You can create simple videos, either screencast videos or on-camera videos with a pocket video camera, and post these on YouTube or other video sharing sites to share your ideas and knowledge. Posting great content to these sites can be a great traffic source, as you can add a link below your videos which sends people back to your blog where they can see more of your content and also be exposed to your optin box.

The Next Steps…

You’ve now seen my complete formula for starting an information product business and getting started selling your own info products from scratch. The next steps are to go out there and start your business. Find a niche, build a blog, start building a list and start creating products. If you need more help on starting your info product business, I recommend watching my free video series which shows my complete process in more detail.

Also check back on this blog regularly as I’ll be posting loads more great tutorials and information on how I’m building my information product businesses so you can learn from my experiences too.

Tags: create information product, info products, information products, sell ebooks, sell information products