When we talk creating information products, we’re usually talking about money.
And for good reason. Some marketers make huge money selling info products online.
Maybe you’ve thought about making an info product of your own. But there’s a question that’s held you back:
- “Will I be able to sell it?”
It’s a question full of anxiety. It tricks you into thinking creating an info product is a tremendous risk.
After all, what if you spend weeks or months creating an info product—and it fails?
You—Yes YOU—Can Make Money Selling Info Products
First, let me say that anyone can create a profitable info product.
Anyone, including you.
It will help if you know internet marketing and sales online of course. But don’t let a lack of internet marketing experience stop you.
Anyone can learn to sell info products online.
You—yes YOU—can make money selling information products. Check out The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Information Products for more on this.
Business Owners Have a Massive Head Start
If you already run a successful business, you have all the ingredients you need to create a successful info product—right now—even if you don’t know it yet.
This is true any type of business—even traditional brick-and-mortar businesses.
Own a restaurant? You have one-of-a-kind recipes. You have years of experience in the kitchen. You know how to get quality food. You know what food to buy locally vs. foods that are better from overseas.
All of these could be turned into extremely valuable information products.
Doctors, dentists, lawyers, landscaping companies, roofing companies, cleaning services, copywriters, graphic designers, personal trainers, accountants, local golf pros… I could go on and on.
Whatever your business, you have expertise. And there are people who would love to learn how to do what you do.
What I Learned from My First Info Product
My thesis in this article is that anyone can create and sell info products.
Some of you reading this don’t believe me.
You’re not convinced that you could create, sell, and profit from information products online.
To you I say—I understand where you’re coming from.
The first information product I made was a little one-hour video training for marketing writers.
I knew what I had would help them. I knew I could create and deliver the content. I knew people would like both the product and the result they’d get from the training.
But actually asking people to pay me money for it?
Yes, it was terrifying.
Funny thing though…
The experience opened my eyes.
There were many, MANY benefits to the process of creating and selling that training.
Benefits that went FAR beyond the money I made selling it.
The MANY Ways to Profit from Info Products (Beyond Money)
Let’s set aside the issue of selling your info product for a moment.
Yes, anyone can create and sell info products online. We’ll talk more about the money and sales topics in future articles.
But for now, let me tell you just a few of the many ways you can profit by creating an information product—beyond the money itself.
1. Turn Your Competition into Customers
It’s easy to hate your competition. They’re taking away customers that could be buying from you.
But what if you could turn your competition into a completely new audience of paying customers?
Info products give you a unique opportunity to profit from people who would otherwise only be taking money out of your pocket.
2. Get Better at Your Work
“While we teach, we learn,” said the Roman philosopher Seneca.
He was right: we learn best by teaching.
Creating an information product forces you to think through exactly what you know.
It’s a process that often leads to new insights about how you do your work.
In turn, these insights help you accomplish your work better and faster than you ever did before you created an info product.
3. You’re Forced to Document Your Process
Long ago I created a Google Sheet to document a research process I use with new clients.
To this day, I still pull out that Google Sheet and use it with new clients. Using it ensures I don’t miss anything.
This is the value of documenting your process, something I would never have done if I hadn’t created an info product.
4. Reach New Customers
If you’re a consultant, you can work with a few dozen people a year at the most.
When you create an info product, you can reach many more people, including markets you could never reach otherwise.
If you’ve dreamed of helping more people with your work, an info product is a great way to do it.
5. Make Onboarding New Clients Much Easier
No matter what you sell, there are usually some standard things you do with new customers.
This is especially true for services businesses. If you sell hours or labor, you probably have a specific set of steps you follow with new clients, every time.
When you create an info product, you’ll almost certainly include this “onboarding” sequence. Which means you’ll have a great new way to onboard new one-on-one clients.
Instead of giving each new client a personal orientation, have them go through your info product, then meet with them to answer questions.
By itself, this can save countless hours for consultants and other service providers.
6. Instant Credibility
When you have an info product for sale, people will automatically assume you’re an expert.
This is another great positioning tactic for freelancers and consultants. Sometimes it’s not easy to gain the respect and trust of new clients. But if you have info products for sale, it’s much more likely the client will view you as an expert, not just a contractor.
7. Gain High-Ticket Clients
Some coaches and consultants draw their entire customer base from lists of people who’ve purchased info products from them.
It’s a natural step. If a customer has already purchased an info product for you, it means you have their trust.
A high-ticket coaching or consulting program is much easier to sell to this kind of audience than to cold traffic.
8. Upsell Current Customers
One of the best ways to make money is to create new things to sell to current and former customers.
In fact, according to the Harvard Business Review, “acquiring a new customer is anywhere from five to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one.”
Selling info products to your customer list is a perfect way to make more money from people who already know, like, and trust you.
9. Advertising Campaign Material
Info products can act as gateway products in a traditional sales funnel.
They can be especially effective in retargeting campaigns.
Run an ad promoting your content, then retarget the people who clicked. Show the retargeting audience an ad for your info product.
10. Use the Products as Premium Giveaways
Contests are a great way to compel action. And giving away “five copies of my program” is an ethical bribe you can use in all sorts of situations.
Want to poll your audience? Need feedback on a new product or service? Want to offer prizes to affiliate partners who bring you regular business?
Offering a drawing for a free copy of your info product can be a very effective way to drive action in all those situations.
11. Gain New Skills
When you sit down to create an info product, it will feel like there are a thousand things you don’t know.
Where do I host the product? How do I create member logins? What kind of payment processor should I use? Should I record my face on the video? Should I talk over slides? How do I record my screen anyway?
You’ll hit and overcome these and many more obstacles along the way.
12. Discover New Business Opportunities
Creating an info product means you’ll promote your info product.
Promotion almost always means meeting new people. Don’t be surprised if some of these people start offering you opportunities.
I’ve been on podcasts, had guest post opportunities drop in my inbox out of the blue, and made dozens of new friends this way.
13. Create the Perfect Outsourcing Training
I occasionally outsource work to other writers. I have a few I trust to do a good job with the work. Before they worked for me, I made sure they went through an old info product training I have for the type of work I wanted them to do.
That gave them the framework I wanted them to use. And it helps us as we talk about changes and edits. They understand my language, my goals, and my pet peeves. But only because they’ve been through my training.
Is My Business, Niche, or Skill Set Good for Info Products?
You might be wondering: “Could someone in my business or with my skills create a successful info product?”
The answer is yes.
No matter what industry you’re in or what skills you have, you can create an info product.
Here are 13 examples of what it might look like.
1. Business Coach
Skill areas:
- Motivation
- Accountability
- Process improvement
Possible info product:
- The 30-Day Time-Management Overhaul: A Revolutionary New Approach to Time Management for Busy Corporate Executives (email autoresponder series)
2. Freelance Writer
Skill areas:
- Writing
- Editing
- Proofreading
Possible info product:
- The Non-Writer’s Guide to Effective Web Content (video course with cheat sheets)
3. Marketing Agency
Skill areas:
- Marketing Strategy
- Graphic Design
- Marketing Automation
Possible info product:
- The Beginner’s Guide to Marketing Automation (eBook)
4. Fitness Club
Skill areas:
- Fitness
- Nutrition
- Wellness
Possible info product:
- 31 Ways to Lose Weight after the Holidays (eBook and video course)
5. Retail Clothing Store
Skill areas:
- Fashion
Possible info product:
- What to Wear to Your Interview: A Guide for College Students and Recent Graduates (video course)
6. A Family Restaurant
Skill areas:
- Recipes
- Kitchen equipment
- Local food acquisition
Possible info product:
- 31 Meals You Can Make with 100% Local Food (eBook)
7. B2B Software Company
Skill areas:
- Process development
- Their own product
Possible info product:
- Certification in the company’s product (training course with formal certification)
8. Local Pro Golfer
Skill areas:
- Golf
Possible info product:
- How to Drive the Ball 300 Yards (Video course)
9. Landscaping Company
Skill areas:
- Lawn Mowing
- Landscaping
Possible info product:
- The Complete Picture Guide to Backyard Landscaping (eBook)
10. Stay-at-Home Mom
Skill areas:
- Taking care of children
- Transportation
Possible info product:
- 50 Healthy Brown-Bag Lunches You Can Make for $ 2 Each or Less (eBook)
11. College Student
Skill areas:
- Studying
- Test taking
- Campus geography
Possible info product:
- The Science of Taking Multiple-Choice Tests: A Guide for College Students (eBook)
Those are just a few examples. As I hope you can see, the list could go on for many pages to come.
Bottom line: whatever your business, whatever your interests, or whatever your skills, you have what it takes to create and sell an info product.
Conclusion
As you know by now, I firmly believe anyone can create, sell, and profit from information products.
Personally, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the process of creating my first info product.
I’ve benefitted tremendously from info products since then—financially of course—but also professionally.
Most of all, creating info products gave me more confidence than I’d ever imagined.
I promise you: if you can find the courage to create an info product, you’ll be amazed at what you’ll learn—in addition to the money you’ll likely make from the process.
As a bonus, if you stick with it for a while, someone will eventually buy your product, consume it and then come back to you and say, “Wow, that was amazing!”
I have no words to describe how good you’ll feel when that happens to you for the first time.
A Life-Changing Experience
Knowing someone learned something life changing from my info product?
It doesn’t get much better than that.
But here’s the thing about info products:
Creating info products can make you money—a lot of money—if you do it right.
But more than that, the process of creating and selling your own info product is a life-changing experience.
It will make you better at everything you do—for the rest of your career.
How much of a positive impact could you have on people’s lives?
How much could you learn about yourself?
How could you find ways to integrate an info product into your existing business?
You’ll never know until you try.
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