How to Create Your First Information Product

If you are new to the online marketing scene you are probably considering how to create your first information product. You are doing your research, you’ re reading the right sites and you see e-books for sale all over the internet, (probably even bought a few). You are trying to figure out the next hot topic so you can position yourself to reap the windfall. But that is the problem!

Stop Searching…Start Doing

Forget the research, chances are you already have the information in your head. You just need to overcome the curse of knowledge so that you can teach your skill to others.

The Curse of Knowledge

I first came across the idea of the curse of knowledge in the book, Made to Stick. The authors, Chip and Dan Heath, were trying to point out that when you know something, it is difficult to see things through a beginner’s eyes. Your knowledge becomes second nature and your brain begins to assume that everyone knows what you know. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Chip and Dan use the example of tapping out a song with your fingers on a table. Have you ever tapped out Happy Birthday or the Star Spangled Banner? You hear the song in your head. It is unmistakable. But your wife sitting across from you asks you to stop. What are you doing, she asks. And no matter how hard you try you can’t get her to recognize the song. You hear the notes in your head but she only hears the monotone tapping and can’t recognize the tune. Try it, it is pretty crazy actually.

You are “cursed” with the knowledge of the song you are tapping  and you can’t get other people to recognize it. At least you can’t get them to hear it until you realize that they can’t and you break it down for them even further. Maybe you start to hum it. Now it doesn’t take too long for them to recognize it. You have broken through the barrier by breaking down the material to a new, more fundamental level. This is how you will create your first information product online.

Analysis Paralysis

Everyone has something that they more about than most of the “regular” population. It doesn’t matter who you are, you know something that other people want to know. They may even pay you for that information. So stop the researching! Don’t try to be someone or something that you aren’t in order to cash in on a hot topic or a fad. That doesn’t work and you don’t need to do it. You already have the knowledge inside your head. YOU are an expert at something that other people are beginners at. You can help them, you just have to stop thinking about what topic you want to write about and start thinking about how to write about a topic you already know.

YOU Know Stuff

I love working with people and helping them find their online niche. So often people search for something they think is an undiscovered goldmine. This is so the wrong approach. Yes, you have to make sure that people are looking for and will be willing to pay for your knowledge. Beyond that, don’t worry about traffic numbers, levels of competition or how great you think your future competitors might be. Just write the damn thing!

After 3-4 months of researching niches and trying to figure out an angle for my my first info product, I was getting frustrated. I constantly found reasons not to pursue certain ideas. “I don’t know enough about it” “There is too much competition” “Nobody wants to know what I have to say about that” Finally I just decided on something that was easy to me and I knew other people wanted to know how to be good at it. It wasn’t a giant niche. I wasn’t going to sell the next $997 superstar e-course. But if I did it right, maybe I could make a few bucks.

And I did! That book went on sale in January of 2008 and it has been making a few hundred dollars a month, every month, since then. It is an old school, long form sales letter site. It is VERY outdated. But I can’t bring myself to update it or sell it. That site was my first one, it was my baby. WordPress wasn’t out back then (or I just didn’t know about it yet) so I had to teach myself HTML to get it up. It was a bear. But the hardest part was recognizing the knowledge I already had in my head.

Know Thyself

Here is a question you need to ask yourself to discover the knowledge you have and write your first info-product:

What have I done and succeeded at that others wish they could be successful at?

Once you have that answer you need to realize that the stuff you know is NOT second nature to the rest of the world, it is second nature only to you. Now you need some follow up questions so you can break through the barrier of the curse of knowledge:

1.     What mistakes did I make along the way?
2.     If I were to do it again today, what would I do differently?
3.     What specific actions were the key to my success?
4.     What misconceptions hinder people’s success?
5.     What things do people do that  impedes their success, even though
they may think these things are helping?
6.     What activities would seem risky to a newbie but you know
are essential to success?
7.     If you were to hold someone’s hand through this process,
what steps would you give them?
8.     What barriers seem impossible to break through as a beginner,
how did you break through them?

When you examine your knowledge through the lens of these questions, it is truly amazing what you already know! Are you pretty good at training your pets? Have a knack for growing a vegetable garden? Are you a good parent? Good student? Do you have some type of certification other people may be interested  in?

Trust me….you have knowledge that other people want to know. All you need to do is break through the curse of knowledge that is preventing you from seeing this. Once you realize just how awesome you are, all you need to do is break down your knowledge to a fundamental level. There are people out there who need to know what you know.

Now get tapping…..

Brian

Brian is the guy behind this blog, a Managing Partner with GoBeyond SEO, and he operates several other fun or profitable websites. He is always looking for solid people to connect with online. Drop him a line today or sign up for the e-mail list above.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts