Creating your own information product is a must and a great add-on if you already own a small (or large) business. The rewards of creating your own product are a definite advantage. Not only do you get to share your own, or someone else’s expertise, but by doing so you get to help improve your customer’s quality of life. The best part is that you keep all the money you make – you don’t split it with anyone else, nor do you work for a commission. You get all the money, along with the recognition of having your own product that you created.

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.

Related posts:

1. 3 Steps To Make Money Selling Information On The Internet