Your first time out of the gate, you’re going to be tempted to tackle an information product project that is much too complicated. After all, you know so much and can’t leave out any of the valuable points! Or, you lack confidence that anyone will pay you a dime unless your ebook, book or course is crammed with every imaginable tip and technique.
Don’t give in to this temptation, or you’ll be hamstrung and unable to finish that crucial first information marketing project. Instead, choose one of these easy formats for compiling and packaging useful information, and you’ll have your first product on the market – and making money for you – in no time.
Creating information products can be a lucrative way to share your expertise and generate income. The ease of creating these products can vary based on your skills, knowledge, and resources.
Here are my Top Nine Easy to Complete Information Products:
1. Compilation of expert contributions. Here you request others who are respected in their field to provide you with content that you bring together into a product. Why would busy experts provide you with original, thought-provoking and useful material? They often will do so at no cost if you come up with an interesting enough question for them to answer and tell them their contribution should be a page or less.
Promise them a copy of the finished report, where they’ll be able to see how peers and competitors responded, too. Also tell them how you’ll be publicizing the product. No matter how well known they already are, prominent people love publicity. After all, that’s how they got to be renowned in the first place. In most cases, you’ll set up this compilation as a downloadable PDF report.
I have several examples from The Get Series including GET More Business and Get Media Savvy
2. Q&A report. Instead of asking many others one question, you can create a product by asking yourself – then answering – many questions. This works well when you simply collect commonly asked questions. You can also focus or the hardest ones, the most unusual ones or the funniest questions. If you find the idea of writing a formal article or a book intimidating, this may be the ticket for you. When it comes to anything you know more about than the average person, you’re probably in the habit of answering questions on a daily or weekly basis anyway. This one too would get sold as a downloadable PDF report.
Examples: CBC.gov took the questions asked via mobile, made screenshots and put them in a pdf format.
Bishop Auckland College example is of Interview Questions with Sample Answers
3. Audio interview of an expert such as on Podcast. In this option and the next two, you create an audio product in just one hour plus a little preparation time. Simply persuade someone whose opinions, experiences and knowledge others want to hear to be interviewed for an hour, and record the session. Voilà, a product! Many experts will agree to do this for free providing they receive a copy of the recording and permission to sell it or use it as a bonus product for something else.
It’s easiest to record such an interview on a conference-call line using a service like Free Conference Call (http://www.freeconferencecall.com). Sell your interview either as a downloadable MP3 or as a CD that you send to the buyer by mail. Some information marketers also provide the option of customers buying a transcript in addition to or instead of the audio recording.
Podcasts can cover a wide range of topics. Plan your episodes, record them, upload them to podcast channels such as Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, etc and distribute them through podcast directories such as MyPinkPages.com
Podcasts are excellent examples of interviewing experts including The EntreprenHer Show and Screw the Commute with Tom Antion.
4. Audio interview of you. Just flip option #3 upside down, and you have another quick-start information product: Someone else interviews you for an hour. The interviewer could be a friend or someone with a great voice and smooth interviewing skills whom you hire to do the interview. Record the question and answer session, and in little more than one hour, you have a product to sell.
Prepare for the interview by writing an introduction and conclusion for the interviewer to use and a list of questions. Keep the illusion of spontaneity by not writing out in full your answers to these questions. Instead, make notes on the points you want to make during the session and keep them in front of you as you and the interviewer go through the agenda, question by question. To the listener, interviews arranged in this way sound exactly like those in #3, so I’m not listing separate examples.
Podcasts featuring the host sharing her own ideas like Beyond Busyness is one example.
5. Teleclass recording. This audio option differs from the interview format in that it’s instructional in flavor and may include participant questions and your answers. You can charge for this kind of session in two ways: First, those who participate in the call might pay to do so, and second, those who were not present on the call can purchase the CD or MP3 recording.
While some teleclasses become products as a multi-session series, it’s best to start with just a single one-hour class. Webber Training has several FREE Trainings and also offers Fee-Based Teleclasses and the Women’s Internet Marketing Summit we hosted several years ago.
6. Ebooks are one of the simplest information products to create. You can use word processing software (like Microsoft Word or Google Docs) to write your content and convert it into a PDF.
Ebooks can cover a wide range of topics, from how-to guides to informational content. You can include text, images, and even links for additional resources.
7. Checklists and Cheat Sheets: Creating checklists or cheat sheets is relatively easy, especially if you’re knowledgeable in a particular area. Use a simple design tool or even a word processor to compile the information in a clear and organized manner.
These products are concise and can provide quick solutions or step-by-step guides for specific tasks or challenges.
8. Video Tutorials or Webinars – If you’re comfortable speaking on camera, creating video content can be straightforward. You can use platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, or webinar tools to host and share your videos.
Video tutorials or webinars allow for a more engaging experience. You can demonstrate processes, share your screen, and interact with your audience.
9. Templates and Swipe Files – Create templates or swipe files that others can use as a starting point for various tasks. This could include business templates, email templates, or design templates.
Provide these files in commonly used formats like Word, Excel, or PDF. Include instructions on how to use them effectively.
Remember to consider your target audience and their preferred format when choosing the type of information product to create. Additionally, focus on delivering value and solving a specific problem for your audience.
