There are no real new or totally unique human needs or wants. They have been the same for a long time: money, self esteem, sex, health, relationships, beauty and greed. Your information should tap into one of these universal wants or needs:

“How to Earn an Extra $50,000 – $100,000!”

“Stay in Shape Exercising Only 10 Minutes, 3 Days a Week”

“How to Have the Best Sex of Your Life”

If you already have an established email list or database of prospects or customers, one of the easiest ways to find out what they want is to ask them. Are you trying to sell them what they want or what you think they need? Find out what information is vital to them and how they want that information packaged. How much information do they really want? How much are they willing to pay for it? You would do well to ask these questions to a representative of your list before you ever put your fingers to the keyboard. If you don’t have a database, get one.

You can also discover who else is already providing information to your target market. Who are the top information providers in your field? Who are the best? The biggest? The most expensive? Sign up for their email list. Let their salespeople sell you. Become a customer. Get their product. Rip it apart. What makes it so special? Is it a matter of design? Is it the marketing? Find out their strengths. Probe for weaknesses. Observe what other startups are doing. Are they gaining market share? If they are, what are they doing to draw away customers from the big boys?

If your list is already buying info products from someone else, here are a few questions to ask:

What do they like and/or dislike about your competitor’s product?

What would they add to your competitor’s product to make it perfect?

What would they remove from your competitor’s product that is not necessary?

If they could design it exactly the way they wanted, how would they do it?

Ask questions, find out what they do and how they do it. Then, the best way to distinguish the information you are offering from your competitors is your competitive advantage. Make sure your information product is:

- Faster to implement
- Cheaper
- Simpler
- More efficient
- Prettier
- More secure (longer, stronger guarantee)
- Has more features, benefits to the consumer
- Better value
- Better design
- Advertised more
- Better advertised
- More easily available

These are the things people look for and the more you can do better than your competitor, the larger your competitive advantage and your list of very satisfied customers. Always remember, when you’re selling anything, you’re not selling a product – you’re selling the results it produces.

Above all, don’t forget to position your product properly. Remember, people are lazy. If they have a choice between easy and hard they’ll take easy every single time. If they have a choice between fast and slow, they’ll take fast every single time. If they have a choice between simple and complicated, they’ll take simple every single time.

Needless to say resell rights come in many forms and sizes. They can come in large packages of many products that are bundled together and offered for an almost suspiciously low price (junk), or they can be offered as a single product for thousands of dollars. If you’re looking for a way to make money with resell rights, you want to make sure you purchase something that actually has value, which means it will cost more than a few dollars.

Resell rights have different restrictions, limitations and allow you to do different things, so as always, be sure to read the terms and conditions.

Basic resell rights often only give you the right to sell the product and don’t offer much other flexibility. You usually cannot claim the product is your own and you do not have permission to offer the resell rights to anyone else. Sometimes you can change the affiliate links to your own, other times you need to leave things exactly as they are. Basic rights are usually the cheapest to purchase, so it can be a good way to get started.

Some of the conditions or restrictions to look for are as follows:

• The price(s) you can sell the product for.
• Can it be given away as a bonus?
• Can it be given away for free?
• Can it be modified in any way?
• Can you change the affiliate links to your own?
• Are there any conditions for distributing the product on membership and auction sites?

Master resell rights often include a web or sales page with the product. They give you the right to resell the product and allow you the right to sell the resell rights to your customers as well. However, that is typically as far as it goes; your customers cannot sell the resell rights for the product to their customers. While master resell rights usually do not allow you to alter the product, they quite often allow you to replace the affiliate links with your own, and usually offer more flexibility in terms of how you distribute the product including pricing.

If you’re buying the resell rights to software make sure you know the product well enough to deal with any troubleshooting inquiries. Some software rights sellers are prepared to deal with inquiries themselves which is a definite advantage for you. Software may also come with a FAQ or troubleshooting webpage or link to the manufacturer’s webpage that you can use.

There are also two types of resell rights that may be referred to as private label rights. The first type is where you are given resell rights for a finished product and you are allowed to put your name on it as the author or creator. This is usually for information or software products.

The second type of private label rights is known as source code rights. The product may or may not be ready to sell. Sometimes it is raw material that you can use to produce a finished product such as information for an ebook that needs to be organized, or the source code for a software product. With the source code rights you can change the product in any way you want. You can add your name as the author, put in your links, add, remove or change the content, or even split it into several products.Most often with both types of private label rights you are able to sell resell rights and even master resell rights.

Most private label rights packages also come with a webpage, sales letters, graphics and other ads that you can use to sell the product. If you are buying private label rights you are also able to edit the product. This is especially important if you are buying rights for software. Private label rights are usually priced in the hundreds or thousands of dollars range, however they offer you more flexibility and the opportunity to make a lot more money than you could with basic or master resell rights.

As always, take time to do market research before purchasing the resell rights to anything. Make sure there are people who actually want the product and are willing to pay for it. Find out how many other people have bought the resell rights, so you know how many competitors you have. How do they market the product? And are they successful?

Under no circumstances should you ever purchase a CD of millions of email addresses. These emails have been harvested from the internet and if you contact anyone on these lists, you will be spamming them. Also avoid opt-out lists where recipients are placed on a list involuntarily and then invited to unsubscribe if they want to.

It’s important to note that the lists are always rented, never bought. The list owner is the only person who ever sees the actual list. You rent the one-time use of the list, send your promotion to the list owner, who in turn sends it out to the list.

Since you only get the one-time use of the list, instead of trying to directly sell the recipients a product or service, pull out all the stops to try and collect their email address. Since most people are unlikely to buy from the first contact, this allows you to contact them again and again until you eventually sell your product or service to them. Offer a free gift or ethical bribe, get their email, then sell to them later. This way, not only can you try and sell one product to them later, but over the span of their lifetime with you, you can sell to them again and again,

The average list rental will usually cost between $0.01 and $0.50 per name with an average of about $0.20 per name. Additional specifications, including postal/zip codes, ages, gender and job types carry an additional cost of about $0.05 per name. A typical response rate from a rented list hovers around the 0.5% mark; of course it depends on the list, the copy and the offer, but 0.5% is average.

List Brokers

It’s not always a simple and easy task to find the right opt-in email list to rent for your business. In fact, most of the time it’s a very difficult task and takes lots of research, patience and time. That’s where a list broker can help. Their job is to help you chose and acquire the properly targeted list at the right price. They will even sometimes negotiate for you with the list owner. And the great news is that it won’t cost you a thing. The broker earns an industry standard commission of around 15-20% from the actual owner of the list. Most brokers have a minimum order value of $1,000 (or 5,000 names at $0.20 a name) to make it profitable for them.

Since list sales reps usually work on commissions, they may sometimes try to sell you more names than you want or need, instead of the best names for your campaign. However, you should remember that it is list quality, not quantity that counts.

Here are some tips on choosing a list broker:

• Make sure you have a specific definition of your target audience for them to work with.
• Having a budget in mind will help as well.
• Find out if the list is single or double opt-in. How did they opt-in?
• Ask the list broker if they will review your offer / copy.

Although they will most likely not be a copy editor, they should have a good idea if it will be successful based on previous offerings.

It would also be worth it to insist that there be a warranty built into the contract that will protect your business should the rented list fall foul to spam or data protection legislation.

Perhaps the most important thing about purchasing email lists is to test them first. That means sending a test email to 5-10% of the list before purchasing it to test your response. Be wary of list owners that won’t allow you to test their list. Most will charge you for it (or include the initial rental charge if you do decide to rent the list) so don’t expect it for free. It’s also not a bad idea to send a couple of test emails testing different elements of your email before you blast it to the entire list.

If you’re just starting out, or looking to grow quickly, purchasing a list can be a very viable option. Always remember to research list owners to make sure they are reputable. If they have testimonials, or email/phone numbers of past clients you can call, all the better. Just remember, you’ll get what you pay for.

Step #1 – Research

The first step in selling information is the research or gathering step. If you know a lot about something or have a core expertise, a good part (but not all) of your research may lie in determining that the information you have is something other people want. In the upcoming paragraphs, we’ll discuss how you research, discover, acquire and/or organize your ideas.

What do you know that we don’t? Or who do you know that knows something that the rest of us need or want to know? You don’t need to spend years becoming an expert in something. You do however need to borrow, license, acquire or rent the expertise from someone. If you don’t have an expertise that you can write or speak about, the easiest way to go about finding someone who does is to look for an expert who is under marketed. Then ask them if they would consider letting you repackage their information and take it to the marketplace. Negotiate a way to split the profits that will be mutually beneficial; then they’re happy, you’re happy and you’ll both have more money in the bank. Here’s an example:

You go to a PTA meeting at your kid’s school there’s this guy there speaking on how to influence your children to form good study habits. He really seems to know what he’s talking about and is selling an under-priced Saturday seminar on the subject. You could approach him with an offer to either market for him on a commission based basis, or better yet, take his information and repackage it in the form of a self help book, ebook, audio or video disc, or anything else for that matter, then split the profits with him.

No matter whether you yourself are the expert, or you are using someone else’s expertise, proper research is essential. No matter how much you know, or how great your expertise, you need to be able to back what you have to say up with facts, studies and real world examples. Take some time to make sure that what you’re saying is correct and can be verified. Nothing ruins your credibility more than when a customer catches you saying something that is not true. If they catch you just once, how can they know that everything else you say is correct? Check, and double-check the facts before you put anything to print.

There’s been a saying that’s been floating around for quite a while; it goes like this: “Copying from one or two books is plagiarism, but copying from many is research.” That doesn’t mean to copy anything word for word, or to take other’s ideas and call them your own. But it does mean that you can learn from the experience of others, form your own conclusions, then put them to print, audio or video. Take any non-fiction book for example; most of the concepts and ideas in the book have surfaced somewhere, sometime in the past; everything is not by any means a completely new idea or concept. The key is how you package them. How you put them together into something that is concise and easy to apply and understand.

I believe it was Jay Abraham who said “All the notes had already been discovered long before Mozart came along.” It’s not the notes that are important, but how they are packaged together (into a song) that matters. Information is much the same, you can take the same information, repackage it into something that is easier to understand and implement and you have a whole new product. It’s a simple concept called repurposing or repackaging information. An ebook could easily become an audio CD set, or a home study guide.

In conclusion, make sure you take the time to produce quality work, and that means researching your information. Be sure others back up what you have to say, as a mistake can be drastically costly to you or your business. Don’t forget that once you publish your information, there’s no taking it back — it’s out there forever.

Researching the Market

Before you even start creating an information product, or make a deal with an expert to use his or her expertise, you need to research the market. An easy way to do this is to look for other people that are selling similar information. If there isn’t anyone selling it, there’s probably a good reason – there’s no market for it. That doesn’t mean there’s no one who wants your information, it just means no one wants to pay for it, or not enough people want to pay for it to make it profitable. It would be very rare that you come across a category of information no one else has tapped, and in my opinion you’re better off with something that is tried and true than something new. There’s no reason to try and reinvent the wheel.

Determine who your potential customers are and then determine their needs, wants, and expectations; figure out if there is a demand for your product. Get their opinions about it. Find out how they would like it packaged (book, audio CD) and how much they would be willing to pay for it. Then take a look at who your competitors are and how well they are doing. Find out what they’re doing, how they work, then do it better. It’s as simple as that.

While market research may appear to be a tedious, time-consuming process, it is often necessary if you want to be successful. It is an invaluable tool that can save you time, effort and money.

Step #2 – Packaging

Packaging isn’t limited to fancy graphics and showy slogans on the package of your product. Packaging is how your information is organized, including the form you sell it in, at what price, and how easy it is to use. The main goal of packaging is to make sure that your product is desirable to the consumer. That means everything from choosing the right format for selling your information, to making sure that it is organized in a fashion that is easy to understand and simple to implement.

These are the three steps which are essential to proper packaging:

1. How you physically package it
2. The way you organize the materials
3. Choosing the best price to sell your information for

Packaging Information

This isn’t what color or type of packaging you should use, but the format that you use. The format is the medium which you convey your information through. This could be anything from an ebook, to a DVD, to hosting a live seminar.

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of information marketing is how the information is packaged, or put together into a format that is easy to follow, can be quickly accessed, and can achieve fast results. That is what makes the information that you have to offer so much better then that of all the other information floating around out there. There is tons of raw information swarming all around us. But most of us don’t have the time to sit down and decipher it into something that is easy to understand, and easy to use. Not only do you need to provide the information, but you must provide the tools for the user of the information to integrate it into his or her business and/or life.

There are tons of different ways you can package your information. Thirteen of the more popular packaging techniques are listed below.

1. Publish a book or article
2. Host a seminar
3. Become a public speaker
4. Host a teleseminar
5. Publish a newsletter or ezine
6. Create a computer program or educational game
7. Produce a television program or infomercial (informative commercial)
8. Become a consultant
9. Teach or train
10. Publish a magazine or newspaper
11. Become a talk show host
12. Create a product (how to course, audio CDs, video etc.)
13. License your information

Put yourself in the shoes of your target audience. What format of information would you want most? What would work best for your needs and lifestyle? Don’t stop at just one format though. If you start with an ebook, put it on CD. If you have a home study course, teach it in a seminar or teleseminar. Start with one format, then branch out and expand. Different people like different formats. Some people might like a home study course, then to go to a seminar and learn that way, then listen to audio CDs in their car as a refresher. Give some choice, but not too much or people will put off making a decision.

Organizing Your Materials

The big thing about organization in general is the fact that it keeps things neat and tidy and puts them in a place where you can easily find and use them. When you’re organizing information the goal is much the same. A good information product must be:

• Organized
• Simplified
• Systematized
• Personalized
• Interactive
• Ready to use, on demand, instantly

Most people don’t have the time to spend studying and reorganizing the readily available data into something that fits their unique circumstances. They want something they can use now, which is easy to understand and provides fast results. And the best part is, they’re willing to pay for it.

To illustrate this, let’s say you own a late model car that requires lots of love (think maintenance and repairs) to keep it running in tip top shape. You may have a decent knowledge of how cars work and enjoy working on yours, but you don’t know absolutely everything about everything, and might need a little guidance once on a while. When you need help, you have a few options:

1. Ask a friend or acquaintance for help who might possibly know something you don’t.
2. Plop yourself down in front of your computer and plough through webpage after webpage in an attempt to find something helpful (and correct) on the internet.
3. Or, you buy a readily available book for $29.95 at your local book bookstore that explains everything you’ll ever need to know.

Do you spend the $30 for the book, waste countless hours researching for credible information on the internet, or ask a friend who might know? Since I value my time, the choice for me is easy; I spend $30 for the book. Research shows that most other people feel the same way. Why? The book gives you access to immediate, credible, specialized information that you can quickly act on.

Price

A well-thought-out marketing strategy takes into consideration not only the marketing factors, but also pricing strategies. While it’s always important to make a profit, if the market won’t bear such a high price, it’s better to lower your profit margin than not do any business at all. You may actually be able to make more money with a lower price than you will with a higher one. Make sure your marketing plan combines marketing and pricing.

Also be sure your price is fair and competitive with the marketplace. If your price isn’t right, people will pass you by without even giving you a chance. Above all, always be sure you test different price points adequately to determine which will make you the most money, not get the most sales.

Step #3 – Marketing

When you’re selling anything, marketing is the absolute most important skill to have. If you wanted, you could market junk with right marketing campaign (not that you would want to).

Marketing information can be both harder and/or easier than marketing other types of more physical products. If you’re trying to convince people that they need the information you have to offer, it can be quite a chore to actually persuade them to purchase it; especially with all the free information floating around on the internet. However, simply find the right audience that knows the true power of properly packaged information and the impact that it can have on their lives and their business. If you find the right market and they’ll be begging you to sell them anything they can buy…