By Patti Waterbury
Establishing your credibility within your target market is critical to business growth. We all turn to experts to help us solve our problems or guide us to the answers we seek. Before prospects will turn to you for solutions, they must be convinced of your capability to help them.
Information products are ideal for building your status as an expert. People appreciate the knowledge and expertise they find in quality books, ebooks, telecourses, and video courses, and are willing to pay for them. With the step-by-step system for building solid information products I’ve outlined here, you can soon have a product or program working hard for you.
There are several advantages to creating your own information products for your specific target market. Here are a few:
- Build your credibility-become the expert in your field, the person clients and peers turn to for answers.
- Prove your capabilities-clients can “try out” your services by utilizing your product before investing more money in hiring you for their projects.
- Achieve multiple streams of income-your product can be sold on your website, 24-7, while you’re busy working with clients.
- Leverage your time-the time you spend creating the information product is paid for repeatedly by those who purchase it; you can also recommend your product as a source for answers to clients’ questions.
- Utilize it as one marketing strategy-your information product can be your best marketing tool.
But What Type of Product Should You Create?
When considering an information product, start by determining what knowledge and experience you have that can be compiled quickly into a product or program. If you’ve already written articles, consider expanding them to create an ebook, a telecourse, an e-course, a print book, or a presentation. Combine your target market’s needs with your knowledge and passion to create a product that has value for clients.
If you’re just starting your business, your first product should be something you can use to generate leads. This is often a newsletter, white paper, or report that you give away in exchange for potential clients’ contact information. You’ll begin to build trust with prospects by addressing your market’s needs with high-quality information or advice. Once you have that in place, you can then begin creating an information product to sell, such as a book, audio program, DVD set, etc.
Value is critical-both for the free lead-generating product and for those you sell. People are hesitant to trade their contact information for products, even free ones. Make sure your report, book, or program is filled with value. Your prospective customers will be satisfied; they’ll be back for more and your credibility will skyrocket…along with your business.
5 Steps To Developing Content For Your Information Product
>Step 1: Choose Your Role
As the author of your product, you’ll have a choice in how the content is presented.
- You can be the Expert and use your experience as the proof of your abilities, knowledge, and expertise.
- You can be the Interviewer. In that case, you compile the information from interviews of experts and present the results in your product.
- As the Researcher, you gather all the information from research on your subject. You aren’t the expert yet, but after presenting your information in product form, you can eventually leverage that knowledge and position yourself as an expert on the subject.
- A Repurposer is someone who modifies existing content (with permission) for a different purpose or audience.
Step 2: Create A Framework For Presenting Your Content
There are various frameworks in which content can be organized and presented. Here are some options:
- Problem & Solution-State the problem and present a solution to it. You could focus on the major problems or issues your target market faces and offer optional solutions for each.
- Numerical-Present your information as a series of lessons, strategies, factors, or keys.
- Chronological-If there’s a certain order your content must follow to make sense or to be usable to your market, then this is the framework you should utilize. Make it easy for prospects to access your information.
- Modular-Breaking content into modules is often ideal; it allows the author to expand several separate ideas or philosophies in one product. Those modules can be broken down further into chronological tracks to make the information user-friendly.
- Compare & Contrast-Present information in the form of scenarios or experiences, then compare and contrast them against each other or various possible solutions.
- Reference-Compile information critical to your market in a form that can be used as a valuable reference tool or resource.
Step 3: Choose A Title That Sells
Because you only have fractions of seconds to catch the attention of potential buyers, make sure the title you choose is compelling. It must convince buyers they need this product to succeed. Or it must entice them to explore to product further.
Grab the reader’s attention by writing the title in a style that intrigues them. Offer a solution to a problem, use suspense, or tell a story in the title. Include an emotional connection or address a pain or fear. Don’t rush through this step. Invest time choosing the title-it’s critical to the success of your product.
Step 4: Create A Table Of Contents For Better Organization
By building a table of contents before you begin creating the content itself, you’ll stay organized and on track. The table of contents acts as your outline, helping you decide where certain information belongs and how to feature concepts, theories, facts, and experiences. It also allows you to break your information into manageable pieces, letting you lay them out in the desired format.
The table of contents also helps readers or listeners (depending upon the format you choose) understand what you’re presenting, why, and how it can help them. It lets them see the value you offer in one brief look.
Step 5: Create Your Content
Now use your table of contents as a guide to creating your product; follow this “roadmap” you’ve established. Even if you only write or format one page a day, you’ll soon have the first draft of your book, ebook, telecourse, DVD course-whichever format you choose-ready to edit, polish, and publish.
Creating an information product can skyrocket your business. One ebook can lead to an ecourse, which can then lead to speaking engagements. Your credibility will grow with each product you create, pushing you quickly into the “expert” status. Use value-filled information products to build your business, expand your vision, and serve the world.