
An information product, or info product for short, is any type of content-based product that helps your audience accomplish something they need help with. A typical info product could be an ebook, audio or video recordings, or some combination of these. You can also move into print or Kindle publishing as well, but usually the first step is to create a digital product that can be sold on your own website.
One reason digital information products are so lucrative is that there’s very little expense in creating them, unless you hire outsourcers. Even if you do outsource some of the creation, info products don’t tend to cost more money the more you sell. Once your product is created and your costs are recovered, everything after that is all profit, and can be set up to sell for you time and again. It’s like opening a store that sells for you even when you aren’t there.
No matter what your business is, whether you have a niche blog, provide services to others, or provide coaching or consultations to people, you have information that you can turn into a content-based product. And having products set up for sale on your website is an excellent way to make more money in whatever business you’re in.
More Doors = More Money
One of my mentors always likes to say “Money loves speed.” I added to that: “Money loves speed and quantity.”
When it comes to the items you have available for people to buy, the more you have out there, the more each individual item will do for you. It’s one of those times when 2 + 2 + 2 can add up to more than 6. How is that?
It’s simple really: when you have more books and/or products out there for sale, they become MORE than just products that can be sold, although they are certainly that. They also become more DOORS (entry points) for people to come into your “store.”
Think about that for a minute.
If you had a tiny little store in a busy, busy city on a busy, busy block, on a busy, busy street, and you had just one door and one product for sale how much would you sell?
Not very much, I imagine. Perhaps not every person would even see your door, because of all of the other stores on the street. And even if every person that came by on the street in front of your store DID come in, they would only have one product to choose or not choose. And perhaps not every person would be interested in that one product.
But let’s say that you had 10 products for people to choose from. Boom. Automatically, all of the people who come into your store have 9 more items to choose from, and you have increased your chances of making a sale on SOMETHING for everyone who comes in.
But let’s say that you also put in a back door and a side door to your store. That means that you not only have increased the number of products you have to offer, but you also have increased the number of people who will see all of those products, by increasing the number of ways for them to enter your store.
How do you add more doors?
Well obviously, one way is to sell in more places. You can have your books on different platforms, including your website, and you can have it in different formats, including Kindle, print, and audio. But the first and easiest way to add more doors is to add more books/products. Yes, not only does that give you more items to sell, it also gives your customer/reader more ways to get into your store.
Because of course once they have one of your books or products, they’re going to check to see what else is available. And no matter which one of your books catches their eye first, and gets them in the door, you HAVE caught their eye. You have led them through the door.
So… that increases your income by not only increasing your catalog, but also by increasing your customer base, and by increasing future sales from the same customers. It’s the kind of money that comes in easier over time, because the more you produce, the more of the work your books/products do FOR you. And the more your CUSTOMERS do for you.
Believe it or not, getting started creating your info products doesn’t have to be hard. It’s not a start-from-scratch situation. More than likely, you have a wealth of content already at your disposal, just waiting to be used in a fresh new way.
Analyze Your Content
The first step in turning your existing content into products is to analyze what you already have. That could include things like articles, blog posts, emails, social media posts, and more. It could also include the answers to questions you get often asked by customers, readers or subscribers.
Also look at items that you use behind the scenes in your business. They can be turned into business plans, checklists, or workbooks for people to achieve results in their own business.
I think you’ll find that you have lots of content just waiting to be turned into products that you can SELL and DOORS leading new customers into your business.
Thanks for the reminder, Teresa. I’ve been going through my 7 year old blog and have found content that can be turned into a course or infoproduct with a little more effort on my part and some planning.