5 Easy Ways to Create Great Info Products

So you've decided to start publishing an e-newsletter, or you'd like to develop a Special Report as an added-value for your customers, or maybe you've even decided to teach a teleclass or a seminar as a way to bring prospects into your business. 

So now you have to decide what you’re going to write or speak about. So just how do you come up with the content? 

Well, you can start with looking at the knowledge you have that could truly benefit your prospects and customers.  What do you know a lot about, that your customers and prospects don't?  What information could you provide that could help them to improve their business, or make them happier, or show them a different way to do something, or provide them with tips on how to buy or use the product or service you provide? 

The key is finding out what information your prospects and customers need or want most.  Asking them is the easiest way to find out, and it is a great way to generate content for your info products.

If you have made arrangements to speak to a group, ask the person coordinating your talk if there is a way to survey the group as to their most important questions relative to your line of business. 

For example, if you offer Wellness Coaching Services and you are speaking to a group of corporate executives, find out what their burning questions are related to wellness.

In a corporate environment, they should be able to quickly and easily compile this information via an email sent out to all employees who have been invited to your talk. Knowing that your goal is to speak directly to their concerns, they will probably be more likely to attend as well.

When you get the results of your survey, look for common or recurring questions and focus your talk on the answers to these questions. Save any remaining questions as topics for your e-newsletter. You can use this as an incentive to get attendees to register for your e-newsletter by saying at the end of your talk “If I didn’t cover your most pressing question, I invite you to register for my free e-newsletter where I will address all remaining questions.”

Here are five more ways to generate ideas and content:


1. Add a page to your web site where visitors can submit questions.  You could title it "What is your most pressing question about [insert your topic of expertise here]. Make sure the page is visible and accessible from all of your web pages.  Consider promoting this service throughout your web site to drive people to that page to submit a question.


2. Purchase the domain name "askYOURNAME.com" (where "YOURNAME" is your first and last name) and publicize it as a service and great place for consumers to get their most pressing questions, in your subject area, answered.  Registering domains is cheap, and you can always point it to a page in your existing web site if you don't want to pay additional web hosting fees.


3. Include an email address, or web page address, in your e-newsletter or any other form of regular communication, inviting your prospects and clients to submit their questions.  Odds are if one prospect or client has a question, there are many others who also have the same question.


4. If you do presentations or seminars already, hand out a survey at the end to find out what attendees liked best about your presentation (it's always a good idea to get feedback anyway), and to find out if there are other relevant areas they would like to see you speak on, or if they have questions they'd like answered.


5. Keep your eyes open and your customers in mind when you read trade publications, magazines or newspapers. If you come across something you think would be of interest to your prospects and customers, share it.  Is something going on in the news that is relevant to your product or service?  Write about it.


In addition to using this information to drive newsletter or presentation content, you can also use it to develop articles and content for your website, or to write Special Reports, Tips Sheets, or How-To Guides you can sell or use for marketing to your prospects and customers.

(C) Copyright 2005 Debbie LaChusa, 10stepmarketing

4 Easy Ways to Get Free Marketing Exposure

Are there really ways you can get valuable marketing exposure without spending any money?

You bet there are. The trick to uncovering these methods is to think of creative ways you can get your products or services in front of, or in the hands of, your prospects. And that last part is critical. It is only valuable marketing if it is targeted at the people you have identified are most likely to buy your products or services.



1)    Share Your Knowledge

If you have specialized knowledge or expertise related to your business, think of ways to share that knowledge. Consider writing a regular column for a website or publication that targets the same customers you target. Become a regular contributor to a magazine or radio or TV program.


2)    Create Information Products

Package and distribute your knowledge in the form of an Ezine, Newsletter or Special Report. Build your contact list and distribute this valuable information on a regular basis. Use this as an opportunity to market your products and services and be sure to Include special offers or bonuses to recipients who act by a certain date.


3)    Offer Seminars and Do Presentations

Do you offer a professional or personal service?  Consider booking yourself for speaking engagements where you can provide valuable information in your area of expertise to groups of people. Make sure the groups are representative of the types of customers or clients you believe are most likely to benefit from your services. This tactic serves several marketing purposes.


First, it gets you out in front of your prospects.  In marketing this is called “generating awareness” and it is the first step toward making a sale. 


Second, it allows people the opportunity to get to know you and/or your services. And with a service business, where clients are buying “you” (that really is what they are buying when they purchase your services) it is crucial that they understand the services you provide and that they get to know you. People like working with people they like. Given the choice between hiring two people with the same skills and services, most people will choose the person they like or feel the best chemistry with.


Make sure to give attendees a special offer on your products or services at the end of your presentation. Give the offer a deadline to create urgency for them to take advantage of the offer on the spot.


4)    Give Something Away

Find a way to give away samples of your products or services. Is there an association or group meeting or any other event that is looking for donations to be given away as door prizes?


Why not donate a package of your services or products? You will gain exposure (a free advertisement by the group leader) among the entire group when your package is either auctioned off, or announced and given away in front of everyone. You are also giving the person who wins the package the chance to sample your products or services at no risk.


You could further leverage this marketing by offering the “winner” an incentive to refer others to you. The “winner” might also be a great person to provide feedback to you, or a testimonial regarding how they felt about your product or service, that you can use in future marketing.


Yes, there may be a hard cost associated with the product you are giving away, or a “time” cost associated with the time you are donating, however when you weigh that cost against the number of people who are being exposed to your products or services, usually it is well worth it. And it certainly is cheap (and usually more effective!) in comparison to buying an ad.


My advice is to incorporate this sort of activity into your operational budget and simply consider it a cost of doing business.


There are all kinds of ways to generate exposure of your products and services without paying for advertising space. Yes, sometimes this does involve giving away product or service, but I don’t consider that a hard “marketing” cost. I have found that the benefits always outweigh the cost of my time or my products.


The trick is to target well, or in other words, locate where your prospects congregate or what media they read or view, and then find creative ways to get yourself, your products or your services, in front of them in those places.

(C) Copyright 2005 Debbie LaChusa, 10stepmarketing