Information Product Development Tips

One of the ways you can improve your relationship with your clients and customers is to create information based products.  While this is a common method of making money for professional speakers, authors, trainers and consultants, it also can be applied to all types of businesses.

Regardless of YOUR particular type of business or industry there are informational products that you could create and either sell or give away that positions YOU and YOUR business as the expert resource.  The key is to identify the type of information that your target prospects and customers want to know more about and then create a product that answers those questions.

If you think about it, you probably could come up with many different titles and types of products, but if you’re starting out with information products then pay close attention to these basic tips:

1.  Select the best information product type for how YOUR prospects want to consume the information.

For example, as an Internet Marketer I create video and interactive information products with active links.  For a health club, you might want to create a booklet or special report that showcases certain exercises and also promotes your business.  There are hundreds of combinations and types of information products that you can select.  The two main information marketing product categories are physicalproducts, like books, cds, DVDs and Digitalproducts, like MP3 downloads, Audio podcasts, video-casts, and formatted .PDF documents.   You can easily turn any newsletter, special report, tip sheet, top 10 list or white paper into a .PDF informational product.  Digital products are easy to create, cost you virtually nothing to distribute, and are highly effective and profitable.

2. Create a compelling headline, subhead and benefit product description.

You can checkout our titles in the product store on this site, but the key for you is to select a title and description that is benefit oriented. Remember, benefits attract attention and features support the benefits. You need both, but benefits come first.

3. Price it according to the perceived value.

Information products should not be priced as “cost plus” or “competitive pricing”… they should be “priced for perceived value” that you create in the mind of the prospect. They are buying the solutions to their questions or problems, not the paper, plastic, CD or digital file.  The real issue is what your information is worth to the customer?  A book filled with rah-rah clichés is overpriced at $10.  A CD album that shows someone how to make an extra $200,000 a year in their business is a bargain at $500.

4. Promote them in all of your sales and marketing efforts.

Again, they are NOT designed to replace your core products and services. They are used to position you and your business as the expert resource and preferred vendor of choice.  People want to do business with companies that they know and trust.  Offering informational products goes a long way to improving that trust because you are helping them solve their questions and concerns.  Add them to your website as bonuses. Give them away at trade shows. Use them on sales calls. Include them in your other advertising.  Just think of the many ways you can use information products to increase your sales and build a better connection and relationship with your target market.  Be creative and take action.

As you develop your information products, keep all of this in mind.  Make sure you offer real-world value that people can use immediately.  They will come back to you again and again.

Want more on how to create and market information products? Wish granted!

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