12 Steps to Creating Your First Info Product
By Donna Gunter
The creation of your first info product is a huge first step toward implementing multiple
streams of income in your business. It means that you have something to sell prospective customers
to "size you up" as they consider purchasing your services, that you can sell something 24-7
from your website that demonstrates your expertise, and that you're well on your way to creating
a passive revenue stream for your business.
Your process doesn't have to be as detailed as I've outlined here, but if you want to
do a thorough job in the creation process, I suggest that you embark on all the steps.
1. Solution to a Problem. The best-selling information products provide a direct solution
to a major problem of your target market. If you're a professional organizer, the problem might
be how to clean and store and organize holiday decorations so that they can be easily found
and used from year to year. If you're a weight loss coach, the problem might be how to stay
motivated when you've hit a weight loss plateau. Jot down some of the primary problems of your
target market and the process by which you help your clients resolve these issues.
2. Determine Your Offering. Info products come in all types of formats, from ebooks to
ecourses to recorded teleseminars to podcasts to special reports to CD and DVD sets. Take stock
of your target market and determine what format would best fit their lifestyle. Are they virtual
business owners who work from home at their computers for most of the day? Then an ebook or
ecourse would probably work well for this group. Are they busy executives who travel frequently?
Then you might consider a portable audio format. You can also combine formats to appeal to
a variety of learning styles or lifestyles.
And, of course, cost is a major consideration. Do you want to create a physical product
that has to be shipped, or would an electronic download work? There are much greater costs
on your end to produce a physical product than an electronic one, and you also have to deal
with product fulfillment as well if you choose to sell a physical product. I tell my clients
to start with an electronic version and test it out, and if it's successful, move to a physical
product, which has greater perceived value in the eyes of consumers.
3. Pricing. Pricing of info products is all over the map. Check out your competition
(yes, there will be competing products on the same topic aimed at the same target market) and
see what they're charging. You also need to take a look at your contact database and make some
assessments of the value of your information to them as well as what you think they will pay.
You can survey your database to determine this info, or base it on comparable offerings in
the marketplace.
Many times my clients get hung up on the notion of comparing pricing for their info product
to what they can find in the local bookstore. Generally, pricing for info products is higher
than retail bookstores because the info being sold online is specialized for a target
market and is delivered immediately upon order (if it's an electronic download).
The pricing strategy that also seems to sell better online is ending your price with
a 7, like in $17, $47, etc. If you offer a high-priced product, consider offering payment via
an installment plan, where you charge a bit more each month for the product than if someone
were to pay for the product in full at time of purchase.
4. Technology. Do you have the technology in place to create and deliver your offering?
If it's an ebook, you'll need either a PDF writer program or ebook compiler software. For an
audio program you'll need a microphone and audio recording and editing capabilities. For an
ecourse you'll need either autoresponder software or a direct to desktop solution. For delivery
you'll need a shopping cart that can deliver electronic products or take shipping info for
physical products as well as some type of merchant account to take credit and process credit
cards. You'll also want a sequential autoresponder service to follow up with your buyers.
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