It has been said that everyone has a book in them. That may be
True, but getting it published and printed is another matter.
However, digital info products don't have to impress a publisher
Or justify a 100,000 copy print run.
There are only two things that matter:
1) Choose a subject that other people will be interested in.
2) Choose a subject that you can write about honestly and with
Conviction
I firmly believe that every single person reading this (yes -
That includes you!) Has at least one subject like that
Within them
What will vary is how much valuable information they can
Document - 10 pages or 500 pages - and how many people will be
Interested in it - 100 or 50,000
But no matter how specialized it may be, the power of the
Internet can be used to reach that market.
Not only can you surf for ideas, you can also sound out your
Target market, get feedback on sample sections, and create
Demand for your info product even while you are writing it.
Off-line, you can use any idea-generation or brainstorming
Technique to come up with subjects, but just to start you
Should consider:
:) Employment - current or past
:) Hobbies and Pastimes
:) Sports and Recreation
:) Local Area - tourism, history
:) Family - children, parents, lifestyle
Then: Create your Info Product
There are a number of free (or nearly free) products available
That will help you produce electronic books - usually either
Compiling a self-contained .exe program or using a modified
Browser and html-style files to reproduce your material
The only format currently established as any kind of standard
However, is Adobe Acrobat's PDF format the key advantages of?
This are cross platform (PC, Mac, UNIX) compatibility, faithful
Reproduction of your page layout and graphics, good navigation
Options through links, bookmarks, thumbnails, indexes and
Searches
For many people the clincher is that Acrobat can be almost
Transparent to use - it's "Print to PDF" printer driver lets
You use your favorite software to produce your material rather
Than having to get to grips with a new package
The downside of Acrobat of course is that it costs a deal more
Than the average shareware program, so you need to be sure you
Will re-coup the cost through sales of your info products.
Finally: Sell it effectively
While finding a marketplace to sell a 10-page booklet to 100
People is not feasible in the "real" world, it is the kind of
Niche marketing that the internet can be powerfully used for
A complete sales strategy for any info product is likely to
Involve newsgroups and forums, e-zines and newsletters, and
Intelligent use of search engines - all designed to channel
Targeted, qualified traffic to a website that sells the
Info product benefits and closes the sale.
There are many free resources available on the internet to help
You through this process - including an email training course
That will take you step by step through creating and selling
Your first publication
Of course there are also resources worth paying for, and you
Will decide how much time and money you can invest according to
Your circumstances and ambitions
Suffice to say in closing that there has never been a better
Time to consider info products as part of your on-line business.
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