You have a message to share, right?

Otherwise, why would you put yourself through the hell of figuring out what content is, what an information product is, how to use all the different technologies available to share what you know with the world, right?

How to bill. How much to bill. Whether to charge something or give it away.

And the list of questions can be endless, eh?

Pretty soon, you’re stuck in an endless loop of what to do, when and how. You grab on to the latest “guru’s” message and then, when it doesn’t fit, you’re back to the drawing board.

You find reasons to walk to the mailbox. Or sit and stare.

Or anything other than tackle the question of why an information product. Let alone creating the bloody thing! That’s a whole ‘nother ball o’wax (and a class, doncha think?)

What IS an information product

An information product is, essentially, anything where what you’re teaching, selling, or sharing is packaged in a usable way that doesn’t always require you to be doing the work.

Some folks have specific “things” they consider an  information product. Others say blog posts and pins and posts are information products. I consider individual things like that “content” and when they’re packaged they’re an information product.

Wanted to put that note in so as you read you know where I’m coming from.

Oh, and another thing, anything you create as a single information product can be repurposed a bunch of different ways (so you can STOP working so hard to feed the ContentBeastie™).

Or you could do the reverse: you can take a bunch of things you created separately and assemble them into an information product.

There are a gazillion reasons to create an information product. And we can cover more of them in another post (or drop your reasons in the comments). Let’s focus on the top 3 for the moment.

Reason 1: You want to increase your income without working 48/7

Yup, you read that right 48 hours a day 7 days a week…whhhaaat?

When you’re on your own, it can feel like you need 48 hour days to get everything done.  There are always more things to do than there is time in the day.

And one of the best ways to get off that roller coaster ride is to package what you know and make it available for sale at your client’s convenience. That way you’re earning money by sharing what you know (even if you’re asleep or dealing with the latest business crisis, or, heaven forbid, taking a vacation someplace nice).

An  information product shares what you know with those who need what you know even when you’re not face-to-face or ear-to-ear with your client.

Reason 2: You want to reach more people than you can reach with one-on-one sessions

By very definition one-on-one services can only be shared with the number of folks you can cram into your schedule. If you work 24 hours a day, that is

• 24 1-hour sessions
• 48 30-minute sessions
• 96 15-minute sessions

Heavens to Betsy, listing it like that could wear a body out.  Are you really up for working 24/7? You may feel like you are now and you may be.

That’s not a very balanced approach and it will drive you into the ground sooner rather than later.

Although taking the time to package what you know in at least one information product may seem intimidating, time consuming or a waste, it is truly time well spent because you can move on.

And once that first information product is created, there are at least 4 ways it can be used

• a text version
• a series of images (which could be steps, pretty pictures…think how you could put things into a picture…the side benefit is you have some visuals to post on Pinterest and other places that love those images)
• an audio version
• a video version (combine that audio, the text and images or how about the audio and images. There’s repurposing, eh?)

So you get a 4Fer…and that, my darlin’ one, is called leverage.

Whoo Hoo! Can you say FREEDOM?!?!?!?!?

Reason 3: You want to build credibility in your marketplace

Think back to the time when you saw someone’s book for sale, whether at your local bookstore, online, or on a website.

Or maybe there is a set of CDs, downloadable recordings, or videos where you could absorb what is shared at your own pace. There was at least a momentary “ah, they know what they’re talking about.”

Or maybe it was something you could download for free as a bonus from a class or from someone’s website.

Honestly, it doesn’t matter whether it is a free thang or a paid thang. It is still an information product.

Now maybe they know something, maybe they don’t. And it is the perception that counts in this case.

You want that for what you’re up to, yes?

So putting together an information product helps you tell those who are hanging from a thread, waiting for what you know, “hey, I’m here, I’m ready to help.”

Ignore the naysayers!

The voices in your head pop up, insisting that you

• don’t know enough (I guarantee you do)
• or aren’t wise enough (if you’re more than a few hours old, you are)
• or a you can’t do a recording because you’ve never done one (if you can talk, there is a way to record what you have to say)
• or video is only for the big name, beautiful stars (eek, heaven forbid someone see you without your makeup or best duds on…it doesn’t matter)
• or don’t have enough tech savvy (you may not and that can be found in many places)
• or books are difficult or have to be hundreds of pages long (they don’t and there are plenty of different ways to package what you know…more than you probably want to think about)

Love up those fears, tell them to go play on the playground for a bit, and they can come back in later (or, preferably, never).

And then ask yourself these questions:

• “Am I ready to ready to break out of the mold of one-to-one, pay-by-the-hour services?”
• “Am I tired of trading time for buckeroos, or Euros or dollars or whatever?”
• “Am I ready to reach more people, with less effort?”
• “Am I ready to stop spinning my wheels and take the next step?”

If you answered yes to any, or all, of these questions you’re ready to create an information product! (Yes, I know there’s a bunch of techie stuff involved. I’ve been creating huge info products for years and would love to be part of your team getting that stuff done!)

Ready to take action? You can quadruple what you create by putting each tidbit in the 4 formats (text, audio, video, and image). How’s that!

In the meantime, take a deep breath. You can do this, one do-able step at a time. We can do this. Together.

P.S. Betcha have some low hanging fruit ready to be harvested right now!