If you are sitting there reading this post today, early in 2008 considering the possibility of getting into your own information publishing business this year, then read the next few lines closely because we’re going to tell you about one example (of many) that shows exactly how it’s done.

First, for first-time readers – you may wonder what is an ‘information product’?  (Returning readers or existing information marketers, it’s always worth a review 🙂

Information product or the act of creating information products otherwise known as information publishing is the highly profitable and exciting world of packaging knowledge into forms that help provide your readers with useful, valuable, desirable and sometimes entertaining information that provides solutions to challenges or pleasurable results for your audience.

Falling into this category would be typical non-fiction, ‘How To" books, travel books, cookbooks, home repair and renovation, finance, business, pet training, weight loss, alternative health, yoga, personal development…and so on.

Really, think about any non-fiction non-fantasy section in your bookstore and there you have a massive range of topics to choose from.

As you will see below, and as we share with you in the 6-Week Information Product Profits Formula, you need not be a writer and don’t have to create 200-page books or e-books – this business is all about packaging information in usable ways NOT about being a literary master.

Beyond books you have e-books, audio streaming or audio CD, special reports, paid newsletters, video streaming or DVD’s, live events such as teleseminars, webinars and in-person seminars, courses, workshops, bootcamps, training, consulting…and too many others to list here.

The most successful information products are very good at…

• Tapping into pockets of demand within a target market
• Quickly organizing information into a simplified, step-by-step format
• Communicating clearly, concisely with good examples
• Understanding the market well enough to forsee demand
• Knowing how to leverage authority people and websites within their market to reach massive distribution
• Have a range of products from low-end, lead-in products to higher-end, back-end products

Everyday there are dozens of new e-books, self-published books, audio programs, video programs, membership sites, etc…launched – we see many of them as we are asked to promote often. 

I came across this press release earlier today for a 31-page "How To Buy A Digital Camera eBook" and thought it was worth looking at in more detail from an information publishing point of view.

5 Takeaways For Aspiring Information Marketers:

1. It’s only 31-pages!  Let me ask you this question – could you take a topic you either know about today or can learn about because of your intent interest and organize a 31-page e-book around the topic?  Don’t be scared off by the 250-page books you see in the bookstore, in many cases the information contained in those books doesn’t come close to requiring 250-pages and in any case, when you become active in your market and your information publishing business grows you will also grow your content for future editions. 
2. Choosing a hot topic.  Dennis Hays has recognized a major transformation has and continues to be made from traditional cameras to digital cameras – pretty sure there is a market for his information?  Not rocket science right?
3. Passion and interest.  Obviously the author has a passion and interest in their topic – but how many of you reading this could say the same about photography?  If not photography, what else?  Everyone has interests and passions – it’s just a matter of lining them up with in-demand questions and desires.
4. There is a single-purpose, highly focused goal for this e-book.  Read this TWICE!! This is where self-publishers like you can really make a killing in your marketplace over traditional authors.  With writers or authors publishing books they typically cover broad topics with the intent of generally informing the user – but with information products you can become laser-beam focused on solving a very important challenge for your market.  In this case, how does a newbie traditional camera owner know what questions to ask when they buy a digital camera so they don’t get taken to the cleaners, ripped off or end up spending money on something that doesn’t fit their needs?  Notice that every great, high-demand, hot selling information product is based on limiting pain or increasing pleasure for their readers – that’s what makes the information highly valuable at a GUT level. 
5. In our Ultimate Information Entrepreneur’s Success Package we outline 40 different ways to locate markets and topics and position information into those markets for maximum profit – one of the methods is "Simplification"  You could make millions based on this technique alone.   Start by choosing a market you are passionate about, seek out the latest technologies, teachings, methods, tools, etc… and look for ways to explain them in a simpler way — OR — use case studies to explain how existing information would apply to your market.  For example, in the space of digital photography – a 30-page e-book on the different photo editing software packages would be right on the money.  You would start with what comes bundled with Windows and perhaps Apple, then examine a few of the leading applications that go beyond the basics.  What is especially great about a topic like this is that you can earn recurring income by launching a back-end membership site – say $9/month to keep people up to date as new technologies come out.  Your target audience is hundreds of millions of people – even a small portion who pay you $100/year is a massive number. 
6. Include a Checklist or Summary.  I’m a huge fan of including a 2-3 page checklist and summary either as part of my e-book or as a bonus to an information product bundle.  Checklists, spreadsheets, summaries are looked at by your audience as ‘tools’ adding considerable value and attraction to your products.  Checklists are easily designed within MS Word – for those would like to get a head-start, you can re-purpose a template we provide for you as one of many tools private members of InfoMarketersZone can access.
7. I have one more takeaway left, and it has to do with how I found this e-book in the first place, can anyone guess?  I was surfing google news and came across this listing because it was issued as a press release. From my experience coaching information publishers almost nobody thinks of using press releases, of those that do, most are doing it wrong.  Press releases are highly effective for getting media attention, attracting joint venture partners, getting you website search engine attention, branding your business and more…

If you have read all 7 takeaways from this e-book case study, are you more pumped, more hopeful that you really can turn your hunger for knowledge into a lucrative online publishing business? 

You should be…I’ve helped hundreds of people get there and KNOW that if you want to operate your own business on your own terms then information publishing is one of the best options available – period!

Get started fast by taking our free 7-part Information Profits course here. 

Then – fly ahead at warp speed by becoming an elite member of InfoMarketerszone where we have a TON of video tutorial information, tools and templates, audio interviews with successful infoproduct publishers, a private mentorship forum and more…