In the previous lesson we talked about various types of information products, and we covered several benefits of digital information products in particular.
Today we’re going to go more in depth about the process of creating your information product. More specifically, we’re going to discover WHERE to get the content for your product…
(Watch this video…)
Main points:
(1 hard way and 8 easy ways)
1) Compile it yourself (hard work) – Research online, Google, Wikipedia, Articles, go to the library, etc.
2) Your Brain – How can I turn my experience into a product that I can sell? Or… what idea can I extract from my brain and sell?
3) Someone else’s brain (probably an expert) – Many experts love giving interviews, and they’ll do it for free.
4) Partners create it – This works especially well if there is another part of the process that you can be responsible for.
5) Contributors give it to you – Article compilation, giveaway event, etc.
6) Other stuff you own (Recycle and repurpose)- Old college papers, old books/ebooks… turn them into audio/video, etc.
7) Public Domain – Books, images, music, and even video. Resource: www.gutenberg.org
8] Private Label Rights Material (PLR) – Can be a great source of content. But be sure to DO something with it, rebrand it, maybe add unique content, etc.
– see video for Resale Rights vs. PLR
– I’ll do a demo of rebanding a PLR ebook in lesson #47
9) Outsource it – See the basics of outsourcing in lesson #39
– Use someone locally (ex. craiglslist.org)
– Use a specialty service
– Use a freelancer. I use Rent-a-coder
Resource: Outsourcing for Internet Marketers
10) Any combination of the above.
Action steps:
1) Decide where you’re going to get the content for your infoproduct.
2) Do it. Get the content.
In the next lesson we’re going to look at how to take this content and turn it into a product!
As always, you are welcome to post your questions and comments below.
Have a great day!
Great information as always. I agree with using outsourcing when I become stuck for great content and need a little push to get something started. A great idea is only market “hot” for so long before it becomes stale.
http://www.noien.com
Your info never ceases to amaze me. God bless you!
Hi Eric,
Great video as always. I like your 8 easy ways. I’ve used giveaways and PLR sites but still need to create my own product. I’m in the process now.
Just wanted to mention that it’s important to check the PLR rights for any restrictions.
I had not thought of public domain as a resource – thanks for the tip
Looking forward to your rebranding demo
Thanks again Eric
Eric,
There is no doubt that you provide the best training online. I bought several programs, been member of some others but guess what I am always coming back to your blog. It is far superior to anything I have seen so far.
On a side note I am wondering what is your opinion on direct domain forwarding to affiliate hop link and then to mask it so when one clicks on it, it would show your url but actually it would show sales page from product affiliate is promoting. Is this legal at all?
As always thank you very much for the great lessons!
Good point on the PLR Luca… always read the license and make sure you understand the specifics. I should have mentioned it, as I’ve learned the hard way on that one… as both the infringer, and the one who was infringed on. So be sure to ask the creator of the product any questions if you are not 100% sure of anything.
As far as being legal… yes it is, but you might want to check with the specific affiliate program to make sure they allow it.
I do often send domains directly to affiliate links (you might even notice a few in my lessons 😉
However, I generally do not ever mask them. Part of the reason for this is because I do not want people to think that me or my domain is the owner of the site that I’m promoting.
Also, the people running the affiliate program sometimes frown on masking. And I think the main reason for this is to avoid confusion from customers, and to help eliminate fraudulent sites.
Great info :-), I never thought to use my university reports, am not sure if anyone is interested in database design and distributed e-business case studies. I need to think how to market this. Thanks Eric…
Sure thing. And the same principle would apply to website content. If you have good content that doesn’t necessarily work for an infoproduct, you could turn it into a website… maybe even a blog. And then you can monetize it in various ways like list building and affiliate marketing, and/or use it to drive traffic back to your money site.
OR… hehe… you could simply sell it as PLR material to internet marketers. We’ll buy anything 😉
Thanks Michael and WA 🙂
Hi Luca,
I watched the video you posted on your blog…GREAT JOB!….the software looks interesting and you did a very good job at demonstrating it!
Thanks Gary,
It was my first attempt at doing a video. Totally off the cuff. I was impressed with the results of the video and the software. Do you have a blog?
Eric,
Recipesecrets.net states that you can use a list of ingredients from any recipe online but the method instructions must be changed into your own words inorder to avoid plagerism. How can I verify this claim.
Further to this, recipesecrets.net is selling cookbook software.
Well Eric,
You brought out I good point that nobody wants to
tell you. I’ve asked on dozens of forums and so-called
GUROOS and have NEVER gotten a reply.
The Question: “Where do you find those government
websites with all those ‘Public Domain Reports
Articles”?!?!?!
IE: Military Manuals, (Let’s say Welding from
Army and Navy)
Outdoor manuals/articles on hunting/fishing/
camping/1st.aid/survival/ etc.
Everyone says they are out there, BUT nobody
will tell you where! I’ve spent days going thru
1st Gov.gov with no luck.
So now it’s your turn. “WHERE ARE THEY!!!”
Grandpa Bill
Very nice! Making product can be a daunting task =(
Great ideas Eric! Thanks for the info that you have been giving us in this series, it has been inspirational. The product my brother and I are promoting is based on a book from before the times of copyright (see the info on gutenberg.org). Just takes time to to put a different spin on the material and market it, but the results can be great! Thanks again Eric!
eric,
your tips are the best. you are one of the marketers
that give real advice online
I would probably take their word for it, but you could always email them and try to get it from them in writing for verification.
First of all… not all of it is online. There is an article in this month’s Wired magazine about how Obama’s new CIO is basically attempting to centralize all the government data by putting it online and and make it all searchable from one place online.
But that hasn’t happened yet. So for some of it you might have to go to libraries and maybe even Washington DC.
BUT… there IS a ton of stuff online, and the government literally owns 1000’s of websites.
For example, I just went to:
http://www.navy.mil
and I did a search for “welding” in their search bar, and it came back with 1100 results!
It appears that most of those results are news/articles on their site with the word welding in them… and from what I could see, those articles were not copyrighted 🙂
Hi Eric,
This was another great lesson as usual…it’s getting more exciting as we get closer to having our own product.
I do a lot of article marketing for affiliate products….I was thinking if I created enough articles from one particular niche I’d have enough info for an ebook. Would you recommend this as another way?
🙂
Get Over 150 Premium Niche Websites that Pay Directly to Your Paypal Account $12.95
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Yes compiling articles would certainly be an option. And remember, you don’t have to write all the articles yourself 😉
The reason my posts are far in between is because I have a day job to attend to. If I have trouble producing quality posts on my own, infoproduct work would be a nightmare for me. Looks like outsourcing is my only redemption.
Eric, as always you provide excellent information with enough detail so that the truly motivated can actually accomplish something! As you point out in this lesson, PLR content can add to your “streams of income” but you do need to put your own unique spin on it and with your ebook cover software these older products can certainly be given a facelift!
I think it’s awsome to get all this information from you.I don’t have words to write.
Thanks for your kind effort.
I was curious how long it took to put your video together?
Rick
Some of them I spend about a week researching before I make the video. Others I’m able to make in a single sitting in an afternoon. I think this one took about a day. First I write the outline, then make the powerpoint, then record it, then edit/produce it, convert it, upload it, write the main points, write the followup email. So for these videos its more than just recording a video.
Pingback: Internet Marketing ABC » Blog Archive » How To Create an Information Product
Hi Eric
As Usual great information. Thanks this is motivating me yet agin!
Thanks
Denise
Hi Eric,
Thanks for the 10 ways to create an information product! This somehow reminds me that the sources for creating info products in reality maybe inexhaustible; depending on one’s drive to create. It’s nice that you distinguish between No.1 and No. 2. But perhaps No. 2 is far the hardest way to do it?!
Looking forward to your future lessons as usual,
Angelina
Hi Luca,
I don’t have one main blog yet like you guys…just a few small montetized mini blogs for the moment 😉
Thank Eric for your valuable information and advice.
Now that I’ve set up my Blog on WordPress, I hope to practicalise some of your teaching on how to improve traffic to my Site and other important aspect I may need to know.
My Site is http://www.homebusinessassurance.com
Kindly check my Site and advise me accordingly on how to improve on it.
JoAnn,
1) Our website RecipeSecrets.net does not sell cookbook software.
2) You can check copyright law for recipes at:
http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl122.html
3) When in doubt, be on the safe side and use your own recipes.
Pingback: LESSON #46: Creating an Information Product (Part 2) | Eric’s Tips
Good start. I would recommend changing the name of your wordpress blog (in your admin panel blog settings) from homebusinessassurance.com to just Home Business Assurance.
Next you should use a custom permalink structure like I show in lesson #34:
Lastly, I think your site needs a nice picture to give it a splash of color. I RARELY say this (most people’s blogs are too crowded and too colorful), but I think yours will benefit from a photo (probably containing a person) to give it a human touch.
Eric, your post always give such good insight to the IM process. I am still a newbie considering most of the people here who have been doing this for awhile. But I am just excited at what online can help me in my life.
Yes, it’s a great post, and of course gives you a lot of “mind food”, and I think that if you really do not have the time, or do not know how, or whatever your reason might be, the easiest way to get some content is PLR, or outsourcing.
But always keep in mind when choosing the site where you will get the PLR content. There are some crapy and extremly old stuff, that you do not want to be involved with. And when you get the information, you can always change it, right? It is easier to change a ready to go article then create one.The English language gives you that opportunity:) Look who is talking:), my english is awful:) But really, there are some good private label rights stuff out there, you just have to be careful.
Hey Eric!
That was a great presentation you did!
Yes, I do make use of PLR materials and I find it the easiest way to “re-create” a new info-product. I’m now going on the next step of designing new images, i.e. ecovers, mnin-site to have a “new look” for the PLR material.
Are you also covering this as well?
Excellent Video with Excellent Advice yet again!
Very motivating and Inspiring
Yes I am covering re-branding PLR material in lesson #47, and I covered ecovers in lesson #40. Thanks!
Hi Eric!As a Newbie to IM,I have saved every tip from lesson 1.Cannot afford to spend much,but have reached the stage of having 1st product to sell.Have’nt made a cent on it yet because I need to do an e-mail campaign on it.I have no list & invite anyone out there to a JV under your guidance if U don’t mind.
Eric,
Great information. I am updating my site and need a quick way to get some more content. Excellent video. I only saw 3 so far. that this rate I might watch them all before tommorrow. Once again great information.
thanks,
dyuane
Hello Eric
about getting the content, do you think is worth to get a membership with any of the PLR membership sites?
Hello Irving,
PLR membership sites are definitely a great way to get content. Eric offers an inexpensive PLR membership here:
http://www.monthlywebcontent.com/
Hello Micah,
thank you for the link, I think PLR content is best for newbies like me…I have one more question, I am in Mexico, do you think it would be better to market the info products in Spanish or I am better of selling in English? or may be I should do both!!? what do you think..?
Both is best! You can use your bilingual ability to your advantage in both markets.
Here’s a recommendation Eric posted that shows the benefits of reaching multiple language groups:
Great tips on creating your own products. From watching this video, I now believe that creating your own products is easier than I thought before. Thanks Eric for this lesson.
yesterday i tried to set up a website,no luck doing it.i have an hp vista and tried to find a place to store my info from hostgator they said to chose a custom network location this is were they say stop you can not do that.so now i have a host and a product and no where to go with it,what can i do now?
Hello Robert,
Here is Eric’s lesson on how to successfully upload your website:
Eric,
I am learning a lot from this. One issue with US public domain is that it may be not applicable or copyrighted outside the US. Is there anyway of checking this in the US or do you have to look at the local country/ use a lawyer?
Interesting question. I would say check with your country if they have any kind of copyright database.
Overall, I believe the US has stricter copyright laws than most of the rest of the world, so if it’s in the US public domain, I’d be pretty confident using it anywhere.