Information Products for Authors: How to Create and Profit from Ebooks, Workbooks, Teleseminars and More (Part 2)
As you learned from Part 1 of this series, when it comes to creating information products – whether a free report that you give away for new subscribers to your mailing list or a revenue-generating product such as a special report or series of recordings – information products can have many advantages for authors. You can use them to compliment topics from your books, thus attracting new readers while you increase revenues.
To increase your chances of success, start by doing a bit of research and planning prior to product development. Following are the steps you can take.
1. Generate Product Ideas
Start by listing the questions you are asked most often by your readers. If you find yourself answering the same questions repeatedly, consider that insight into potential product development opportunities. Also make a list of any topics that you didn’t cover in your books that you think readers would enjoy.
2. Get Input from Your Target Audience
Survey your target audience–not your friends or your family, but the people you most want to reach. Find out what needs they have that you can fill with the right product. You can use a tool such as http://SurveyMonkey.com to gather data.
3. Evaluate Internet Search Demand
Google’s free keyword tool allows you to type in a key phrase and see the number of monthly searches conducted locally and globally. This tool also generates a list of related keywords, which can be a great way to inspire product ideas while determining demand for the products you create.
4. Find a Market Need
The best information products fill a need for the buyer, which means your product should solve a problem, provide how-to advice or reveal hard-to-find industry information. Also, a product that is too broad may have a harder time finding an audience versus one that is designed for a niche market. For example, if you’re an author of a travel guide, instead of creating a report with general travel packing tips, you might create a series of reports with packing tips for specific destinations, increasing appeal with travelers headed for those locations.
5. Choose Your Format
Decide if you are creating an ebook, special report, audio series, video series, workbook, or other type of information product.
6. Establish the Right Price
Every market is different and your price will depend on many factors: how much your audience can afford to pay, how much they want or need your information, scarcity of competition, your authority and reputation in your field, and perceived benefits of your offer. Also consider the perceived value of your product. A price that is too low may send the message that it won’t be worthwhile, while a price that is too high may limit the number of purchases and raise expectations with those who do buy. For best results, test different pricing options to determine which will work best.
7. Create a Great Sales Page
I’m going to take a stand here and tell you that I despise long-form sales pages. I can also tell you that you can absolutely sell products without them. (Can you imagine how absurd it would be if your favorite retailer created overly-hyped sales pages for every single product you clicked on?) Instead, create a great, content-rich sales page that describes the benefits of your product, includes compelling testimonials (from real readers who received an early sample copy, not friends or family!), establishes your authority as the product creator, and makes it easy to purchase.
8. Automate Delivery
Consumers buying online want instant gratification. Make sure you automate the purchase and delivery of your products using a shopping cart system such as http://ejunkie.com or http://payloadz.com.
9. Promote, Promote, Promote
You can have the best product on the planet, but if nobody knows about it, it won’t matter. Make sure your product page is optimized for the search engines. Consider purchasing Google pay-per-click ads to test sales conversion. Cross-promote your product on your blog, social media sites, newsletter, speaking engagements, and everywhere else where you have the opportunity to reach your target audience. The more effort you put into it, the more rewards you will receive.