Before the internet, information was not always easy to come by. If you needed a recipe, you would most likely have to go to the book store and buy a cook book or go to the library. If you ever wondered how something works, you could only guess or of course go to the library again. In other words, before the internet information was NOT at our fingertips like it is now. Have you ever found yourself sitting on the couch, seeing something on TV and wondering "Cool, I want to know more about that" and all you have to do is simply go to your computer and type what ever it is you are looking for into google and all of a sudden you had everything you needed.
With the help of the internet, there has been an information explosion and with this information explosion, six ongoing trends have formed:
"Infopreneuring"
It is not information, however, that we need more of! We are already drowning in information. The problem is not a lack of information or ideas but a lack of information that is packaged properly. Information needs to be categorized into specialized knowledge that the consumer can use quickly. This is the job of an infopreneur - an entrepreneur that sells information.
So, how can you be an infopreneur? Anyone with a good idea and some persistence can do it!! You just need an interesting story or expertise that people want PLUS good marketing skills! Your life story or your life's expertise have market value. You don't even need a unique, new system. It can be old knowledge, repackaged and
remarketed in new ways. Look at all the diets out there. There are only 3 variables in the diet game: food, exercise and mental attitude.
The formula is pretty simple:
1. Identify a Core Human Desire/Need
2. Find new technology for solving this Core Desire/Need and/or find a new way to market to this Core Desire/Need With a winning idea, and many different media to market it, you can then branch into many related support products....bringing in more residual income (see creating a funnel in the last section of this chapter).
There are 3 Essential Skills that you need as an infopreneur:
1. How to research, discover, acquire, and 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 have to spend years learning a core expertise. You can find some expert who is undermarketed and take his or her idea to the marketplace. Just
remember to organize this information in the communication age style....easy to learn, simple to use, fast results.
2. How to express, display, package, communicate yourself. Here are some core packaging skills you will need to develop, rent or acquire:
* Find the best prices for materials
* Designing useful, interesting packaging.
* Creating low cost ways to organize your materials
3. How to sell, distribute, disseminate, promote yourself and your product. Marketing is the essential skill. Here are some core marketing skills which you will have to buy, rent or acquire:
* Writing compelling copy
* Understanding psychology and human nature
* Learning the secrets of direct mail advertising
* Buying the best and cheapest advertising.
* Tracking your results.
* Managing a database.
* Tapping into the Internet
You must have a core expertise that is either a revolutionary new technology or is an old expertise that has a new marketing strategy. As I said earlier, you don't have to be the expert yourself. But you do need to borrow, license, acquire the expertise from someone. You are looking for an expertise that has a large and growing body of interested people who can be easily identified, who have an immediate need/want/problem that they are highly motivated to solve, who have the money to spend and are willing to spend it.
Once you have identified your market and your expertise then, the process of figuring out how to market your information in a way that causes people to want to buy it! Basically, there are no real new or totally unique human needs or wants. They have been the same for thousands of years: sex, money, self-esteem, health, relationships, beauty, greed. Your information should tap into one of these universal wants/needs. The title you select, the words you use to market your information, the benefits your information offers, the way it is packaged will cause consumers to flock to your product. Once you have discovered the right combination of message and media, you have cracked the code.
Here is an example of steps to follow to become an infopreneur. Let's say that you are passionate about cooking with hot spices.
1. Brainstorm the most profitable topics
2. Deliver hot and sensual content.
3. Publish quality, in-demand information. You'll be surprised at how quickly a following develops.
4. Monetize... Google AdSense automatically places relevant ads on your site, generating an excellent financial foundation. Refer pre-sold visitors to the affiliate programs of Barnes and Nobles for spicy cookbooks, and other merchants for cookware, food processors, and so forth. In-context textual recommendations from a trusted advisor convert into sales. Similarly, earn income by creating a page about the best spice retailer in each of the 100 largest cities around the world. Get paid via a pay-per-lead model from each. Increase revenues by selling your own e-book of "The World's Hottest, Most Exotic Recipes... Cooking with Fire." Even promote your own "hot 'n spicy" catering service for local clientele.
There is no limit to the number of ways to monetize your traffic -- the above are only a few possible examples for the "hot 'n spicy" niche. Nor is there a limit to the number of niches in the small business world...
Robert Allen published a book in 1980 called Nothing Down: How to Buy Real Estate with Little or No Money Down. It took over two years before the money started to flow. But it was worth the wait. Since that time, he has earned millions of dollars in royalties. And every six months he still gets nice royalty checks. That's the power of residual income... it keeps flowing and flowing and flowing.
Here are 8 tips that will help you get started producing audiotapes, books, reports, pamphlets, or any other medium you choose to sell to distribute your information:
1. Produce an information product for an audience that's already waiting to buy it. This will guarantee your greatest chance for success.
2. Clearly identify your target market and direct all your promotional materials towards them. When promoting and marketing your product, first identify the it's purpose. Then find a target market that will benefit from it. Once you've done that, find ways to bring them your message. Speak to them in ways they can relate both to your product and to you. The rapport this builds between you and your prospective buyers will ultimately lead to sales.
3. Always test the market before producing anything. This will save you time and money, if, by chance, you're not on the right track. If test marketing indicates your target market has no interest in the information your product provides, simply redirect your focus, find another topic, and start again with enthusiasm. Or stick with the same topic but find another market that may be interested in what you have to say.
4. Keep your products simple, yet highly informational. Remember the concept is not to compete with Hollywood, but to offer valuable information to specific groups of people who share the same interest.
5. Never stop searching for effective ways to promote your products and reach your target market. Marketing is everything.
6. Create ancillary products such as special reports, audio tapes, and books to complement your initial product
7. Seek out others in your industry who might be willing to joint venture with you on a project.
8. Establish an effective order taking system. Keeping track of your sales, your customers, advertising responses, and your shipping is critical if you plan on being successful.
No comments:
Post a Comment