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Selling Information Products?

I’m an economist. OK, not a profession that is always that useful in business but it does come in useful when understanding pricing and customer behaviour (well, sometimes!).

Lots of us are on the internet selling information products. We may offer other services (I’m a business coach as well) but the joy of information products is that they can earn us money while we sleep – or while we enjoy a pina colada on the beach – or at least that’s the theory!

And when we first start selling information products the main business model we learn about is most often the product funnel. You know, when go from low priced product to higher priced product generating a ‘funnel’ of customers as you go – more of them will buy your lower priced products and then you feed progressively smaller numbers of customers into progressively higher-priced products and programmes?

And it’s a great model. Tried and tested. It definitely works.

But I like to mix things up a bit and there’s a theory that relies on some fancy-pants behavioural economics mixed up with a bit of psychology that, when shaken, gives you a decoy. OK doesn’t have a lot to do with those old-fashioned wooden decoy ducks, but it’s a technique that shows you how to earn more by leading your customers to buy more of your higher priced products.

What On Earth Is Decoy Pricing?

Here’s what it is, and a bit of the how-to along with an example for you to go away with today.

OK, let’s talk about two of your products or services. One is more expensive than the other. Now, if you were to offer your customers a straight choice between the two, then what you’ll find is that more people will go for the lower priced product (which is great, you’re in business, you’re making money).

But, if you bring in a ‘decoy’ – a third information product, let’s say, that you have no intention of ever selling, then you can lead your customers along the path of wanting more of the more expensive product.

Sound good?

And better yet, you can get as many as three times as many people to buy the more expensive product than when you just offered a choice of two products.

I hope this has got you thinking about how this can make you more money for the same effort selling your information products?

How Does It Work In Practice?

The process is really simple and here’s how it works. Let’s look at an example:

You have two products, a CD course and an mp3 downloadable version of the same course. Let’s say you offer:

1. Downloadable e-course $50

2. CD e-course $100

What do you think your customers will buy? Well if you ran this on your site I bet you’d find that many more of them would go for the downloadable course, option 1. But how about when you run with this?

1. Downloadable e-course $50

2. CD e-course $100

3. Downloadable e-course PLUS CD course $100

Did You Spot The Decoy?

Yep it’s number 2. Your customers don’t really want the CDs, but when they see what great value option 3 is for them – a saving of $50 – then you’ll find that this outsells the downloadable course on its own.

OK you might have to play around with the pricing to get this to work well in your market, but I hope you can see how the principle of it works and how you can use it in your information business to make more money selling your products and services.

I’d love to hear about whether you’ve used this or any other techniques for selling information products and services? Leave a comment on my blog.

There are many kinds of internet business and if you’ve an expertise in something, such as creating a particular type of goods, then you could stick with that. You still have to learn about internet marketing to be able to sell online. Probably, the best type of online business is selling information products.

1 Everyone who logs onto the internet, unless they’re vaguely surfing, are searching for information of some sort. When people come across a problem they have, they decide to look on the internet for information about it, or ideally to solve it. If you can provide that solution then you have an almost guaranteed sale. Again, you may have an expertise in something where you can provide lots of information. If not, then you must do some research and choose your niche from what you find.

2 Preferably, you should choose a niche which is very big. It’s OK choosing a small one if you want to be a big fish in a small pool. But if you want to make money from it, then you need to know there are lots of buyer available. Therefore, there will be lots of competition. Knowing there are lots of buyers is one problem solved for you. The important thing about the competition is to differentiate your products from theirs. Find out a way of making your products unique or original, so that you’re the only place buyers can get them.

3 Having chosen a niche, what you’re doing is creating information products. These cost you nothing, except time. But once they’re made, you can make money from them a long time into the future. After that you need to develop a line of products providing more and better information.

There are so many people looking for information that an entire new industry has sprung into action these last few years. It is now possible to build a profitable online business creating and selling information products.

So what are information products?

Very briefly for this article, information products are delivered in different formats such as:

Ebooks – Usually PDF files formatted to look like a real book, but with fewer pages. A typical ebook is between 70 and 100 pages, but can be a lot less, or a lot more. Ebooks can sell for anything from a few dollars to hundreds. A price point of $67 or $97 is not unusual.

Special Reports – As with ebooks, special reports are normally supplied as PDF files, but they tend to be much shorter. typically 5-10 pages. Special reports are usually focused on answering a single problem or teaching a specific method for something and have a lot less fluff and filler than ebooks often do.

White papers – Sometimes the answer to a question can be contained in a page or two – a list of resources, for example.

Videos – with the ease of use of hand held video cameras such as the Flip, and screen capture programs it is very easy now to produce short videos to answer people’s questions. Buyers seem to like video products and are often willing to pay a premium price for them.

Audio – spoken word information products – often called podcasts – are popular with people who regularly use MP3 players and Smartphones as they allow folks to learn while on the move. Sometimes it is quite easy to simply read out an article or short report into a program like Audacity to make an audio info product that will sell well.

Membership sites – When information can be delivered over time, in installments, it can be very profitable to do so from within a membership site. This gives the vendor an ongoing income from subscription fees as well as a frequent opportunity to offer members other offers.

For someone who might never have written more than a casual letter or a high school report, writing information products does not sound like something to be considered as a business! But when we get down to the basics of what constitutes information, and avoid any online marketing jargon, it’s not so scary! Let’s just think of ‘Googling’ which is simply people searching online for some kind of information!

When we do a Google search we are almost always trying to find an answer to a question. Some of those questions can be answered very easily, but sometimes we have a problem that is too complicated for a simple answer

Some people might take the time to pursue some more extensive research but there are apparently more people who prefer to buy a ready-made solution

The more urgent the problem, the more they are willing to pay for an answer.

The difference between online and offline information products is that offline everyone has a view as to how much a ‘book’ or a ‘magazine’ is worth and will rarely pay more than the accepted norm. Online, however, it is the information that is valued, and not so much the delivery vehicle. So people will often pay a lot more for an answer to a pressing need online that they will offline.

Creating your own information products has one very big advantage. When you sell it, you determine the price and you keep all the profits. And as the cost of creating, producing and supplying digitally downloadable info products is virtually nil,the potential profits can be enormous. You can literally start a real business but with no overheads.

In addition to sales you make yourself, you also have the chance to attract and recruit other people to sell on your behalf. In internet marketing these people are called affiliates. They will promote your product to their lists, and be responsible for any advertising costs they incur. You simply pay them a commission for each sale they make.

Typically, you will pay them 50% – 75% of the sales price, which sounds like a lot, but consider the sale one you wouldn’t have otherwise had, and it has cost you nothing. You may ‘only’ make 25%, but that 25% is 100% profit. It is a great deal!

Some product writers prefer to offer their product as a free gift in exchange for an email address because building an email list is a very important part of internet marketing… if you already have a list of a few hundred people to announce a new product to, you don’t have to start a new launch from scratch every time you have a new information product to sell!

It should be a part of all marketers’ routine to actually create free information products to attract subscribers.

An online marketer who creates information products is providing a valuable service because although most any information can be found for free on the internet it takes time and dedication to find it, compile it and present it in a clear and understandable manner.

While it’s true that affiliate marketers can earn as much as 50 to 75% commissions selling information products, creating and selling your own products is the best way to secure personal success into the future.

Are you looking for a realistic way to quit your job. And join the increasing number of people making serious money online? Why not make money selling information products online.

What’s stopping you? No really what’s stopping you?

Is it money? Because you don’t need a penny to get started. Is it lack of knowledge? That’s not a problem any more, as more and more successful people are sharing how they did it for free.

Is it time or lack of should I say? Well there is, with anything, a certain amount of effort and time involved. But there is no time limit. You can work at your own pace on a day that suits you.

The truth is there is no big magic secret out there that once you discover will instantly make you rich. That’s what kills people’s ambition. People want the dream but as soon as they come to a hurdle they give up. I’m here to tell you that YES there’s work involved. But the rewards are incredible online. And well worth the effort.

Ok so to start up your online business from scratch you need a product with a website and get targeted traffic to your site. You can become an affiliate for free. This will enable you to promote other peoples information products. And with thousands of products to use with no limit to the amount you want to promote. You can have massive success doing this.

Next you need is a website. There’s no need to waste any time or money anymore on creating or building a website from scratch. You can set up a blog which will act a website where you can customise and use as your platform to promote your products.This is again totally free and very quick to do.

Finally you will need some targeted traffic. Without this you will be lost in the void of cyber space. Driving people to your site can be done also for free. There are several ways but writing short articles about a product is extremely effective. These articles can then be submitted to article publishers that will generate you a heap of traffic.

You can promote other peoples information products that sell for $30 to $100 and earn around 50% to 75% commission on every sale. Just think if you were promoting 10 different products and you were making around $35 to $50 per product every sale. And you only sold about 5 products a day, you would be making around $150 to $250 per day.

You see once you are up and running online a lot of the work is on autopilot. So once you have 1 website all set up you can then make another then another and another etc.

There really is only 1 thing left in your way. And that is You.

It’s up to you to start up your online business. And there are free ways you can use to get started. With no money down.

All it takes is some belief and a little effort. I can show you step by step how to go from scratch. To creating free accounts using other peoples information products and generating free traffic from the search engines.

Once your business is up and running you can see and watch it grow and grow.

Making money online is actually very straight forward… Anyone can create an online business that makes you money within a matter of days if they are willing to put some work in.

GRAB your free 7 steps to success report that shows you step by step how to go from scratch to cash in the bank Now.

There is a possibility to make a lot of money selling information products, assuming that you know how to do it properly. Unlike ready-made merchandise, they involve a lot of time and effort to make, especially when it comes to research. One good thing about these products is that you will never run of market for them, given the high demand. The trick is to have a solid plan that will give you lots of opportunities for profit. Some of them are:

1. Products that sell for USD 50.00

These products include workbooks, reports and audio recordings, which can give you more audience for your business and will help you acquire good revenues. When it comes to these products, remember that “the more the merrier” applies almost all the time.

2. Products that sell for USD 100.00 and above

These information products include complete systems or programs which can generate high dollar returns. You can offer a video seminar series which offers comprehensive or detailed instruction or a bundle which includes an e-book and some audio recordings. Depending on your niche and market demand, you can price these products somewhere between USD 100 to USD 10,000.

3. Coaching or consultation services

Consultants are always on high demand and if you are an expert of something, then you should not make hesitate to make money off it. Consultants can demand as high as USD 500 an hour.

4. Seminars, workshops and training

Aside from one-on-one consultations, you can conduct seminars, trainings and workshops. These classes can last from one to several days and can be conducted in person or online. You can offer packages in which you can charge USD 300 each person for full-day training. If you have an audience of say, 50 persons, then that’s a clean USD 15,000 for you. You can give discounts for groups with bigger headcounts.

5. Membership programs

Membership programs can bring recurring revenue to your business primarily because there is always money coming in. Members have to shell out monthly or yearly fees so they can enjoy the benefits of the program. Some of the examples you can create are resource websites and coaching services. You can charge membership charges for as high as USD 1,000 a month, which of course depends on the demand for your service and the kind and amount of benefits that you offer.

There are several factors that you have to keep in mind in order to form an effective strategy in creating and selling information products. This strategy should get the attention of your target market and set you apart from the competition. You have to offer products that meet specific needs in the marketplace and you have to define the target market who can actually afford to buy your products. You should be able to provide a good sales copy which will inform buyers of the benefits of getting your product or service. If you are going to run an online business, building a great-looking website with high usability is essential which you will use to take online orders from buyers.

Did you know that the information industry is expected to reach over $400 billion by the end of this year? That’s a lot of money that is being spent on just information products. This should be a clear indicator that people are still spending a ton of money on what they want. And what do they want? They want solutions to their problems. If you can provide solutions, you will make money fast. No doubt about it. Now since the information industry is so huge, it will be a smart move to start selling information products so you can get a piece of that pie.

The easiest thing to put together is a short report. Short reports are usually around 15 to 20 pages long. So it really shouldn’t take you more than 3 hours to put it together. The key is to not try to get it perfect. Just get it done so you can get it out there and start making money. You can always go back and update as time goes on. Write it, do a spell check and move on. Don’t dwell on it. If you do you will never get it out there.

Now once you have it complete you need to start selling it. If you are really trying to make money fast, you have no time to waste. You need to jump in head first and give it all you’ve got. Just think, if you have a good report and you are able to sell 100 copies in 24 hours at $9.95 a pop, that would be a quick $1000 almost. What other way do you know you can make that much money that fast? There are not very many. I can tell you that. You won’t make that much on a 9 to 5. When you exchange hours for money there is only so much that you can make.

But when you put together your own information product and start selling it, the amount of money you can make is unbelievable. I know people who have turned writing short reports into a million dollar a year business. And guess what? You can do the same thing.

If you are willing to put in some work and create a short report, then you can make some money fast. You see, these types of reports are big sellers online. People spend millions and millions of dollars every single week buying up information products that solve their problems. And according to Outsell Inc., the information industry is going to reach over $400 billion by the end of 2010. That’s a lot of money. And its all being spent on information products such as short reports.

The purpose of the report is to provide a solution as quickly as possible. For example, lets say you know a way for someone to drop 30 pounds in the next 30 days. If you put together a short report, you would quickly explain everything that needs to be done in order to reach this goal. Usually, the short report wouldn’t be more then 20 pages. And you would be able to sell it for around $17. Now as we all know, the weight loss industry is big business. Everyone wants to know how to drop the weight fast.

So creating this type of report would appeal to millions of people, literally. And what you have to realize is that when you are selling online you have access to the world. I have sold information products to people in Australia, Africa and Germany. And I was only able to do that because I was doing business online. I say this to say that the amount of money you can make from short reports is unlimited.

The great things is that you can create as many of these reports as you want. You could create a new one every week if you wanted to. And each one could turn into thousands of extra dollars in your pocket each and every week. And remember, your report can be on anything as long as it solves a problem. This by far is one of the fastest ways for anyone to make money fast.

If you have every found yourself in a tight situation needing cash fast, then read this article all the way through as I will show you how to turn a short report into fast cash. First let me share with you a few numbers. Now according to Outsell Inc., the information industry will reach $480 billion by the end of 2010. Short reports are considered to be information products. That means by creating these little reports you will have a chance to get a piece of that $480 billion dollar pie.

Now lets talk more about this type of report. I’m sure you are already thinking that putting together a report like this will take too much time and effort on your part. And you know what? You are right, creating short reports can take a little bit of time. But if you write on a topic that you are familiar with, you can literally cut that time in half. I would say you could pump out a good report in a matter of 3 hours max.

With your report you are trying to solve a problem. That’s the key to making money fast. Solve a problem that you know a lot of people are having. And the quickest way to provide a solution is via a report. A short report is just a report that gets straight to the point. Not extra stuff. The report should be only 15 to 20 pages long. And the price should be right at $7. If your report turns out to be about 30 pages you can up the price. Otherwise keep it at $7.

Now just grab your paypal button so you can accept payment, put it on your site, and start promoting it. If you don’t know how to set up a website you can a free, drag and drop service such as yola. Once everything is set up you need to start driving traffic to the site. Many people have used this very technique to make $1000 in just 24 hours.

With this article my goal is to open your mind up to all the money that can be made by writing simple short reports. Yes, this will require you to sit at your computer and actually do work. But if you are willing to do what needs to be done, you can make some money very fast. If you haven’t noticed, short reports are the business these days. Everyday, millions of dollars worth of information products are sold online. ClickBank alone has a transaction every 2 to 3 seconds. Just imagine how much money is passing through that site every single day.

And guess what? You can get your piece of all this money being spent on information products. All you need to do is create your own short report. Now before you completely shut the idea down, just hear me out. A short report only needs to be 15 to 20 pages. Which really isn’t a lot. And if you know a lot about the particular topic, it will be pretty easy for you to put together. Now the goal of your report is to solve a problem. You should focus on one thing that you know a lot of people struggle with. For example, you could write a report showing a bride how to lose 30 pounds before her wedding day.

Or you could write a report showing an aspiring actor how to use the internet to get their work out there and get jobs. The possibilities are truly limitless. Just make sure your short report is solving a problem and you will be good to go. When it comes to pricing your report, keep the price around $7. If your report turns into 60 pages, consider turn it into two separate reports. This will make it possible for you to make even more money.

Most people get online looking for solutions to their problems. If you can give them a solution you will be able to make a lot of money very fast.

There are many kinds of information you can sell over the internet, like eBooks, newsletters, online reports and many more. As long as the item possesses information needed by someone in the internet it can be sold. Information is both time and money, which is the reason why there are people willing to pay for the information you have. Here are a few reasons on why you should engage in selling information in the internet:

1. Information products do not have stock and inventory. Selling information over the net only needs up computer space since it is digital and you do not have to worry about other things like counting stock and checking inventory.

2. Cost effective. Selling information over the internet does not involve shipping and handling. The only thing needed is a click of the mouse and you are done delivering your information to your buyers.

3. Information products are manageable (both easy to create and market online). You only need to have a computer and a good way of advertising online and you are set to go. Also, information is not that hard to create especially in an online environment.

4. Immediate access for the customers. Selling information online allows customers immediate access with just a click on a single button. This makes no waiting on their part which is good for online business.

5. Available most of the time. As long as you have internet access you can sell information and create more.

These are some of the simple reasons why you should venture in this kind of work in an online environment.