WHAT ARE INFORMATION PRODUCTS?
“Information products are how you take your potential and put it to actual results.”
Through your education and experience, you have attained considerable knowledge, and that knowledge has value. Information products can monetize that value by providing data and information in formats that instruct consumers towards achieving their goals. Your expertise, conveyed through media like eBooks, webinars, and several others, becomes a (mostly digital) product to be sold much like any other.
Let’s look at some popular formats for information products:
eBook – You’re probably familiar with this information product format which took the publishing world by storm at the beginning of the new millennium. Fiction and non-fiction eBooks continue to sell to the tune of billions yearly. This format is the prime illustrative example for two of infoproducts’ main competitive advantages: digital product and electronic delivery, which greatly decrease or eliminate expenses in both manufacturing and shipping.
Webinar – This format often introduces consumers to other larger-scale infoproducts while providing education and guidance. It’s a shorter format than the online course and virtual conference. Using internet video technologies, the producer creates an online seminar which consumers can (in the virtual sphere) attend and participate in.
Online Course – A class students can take on the web, like the ones offered by educational institutions, except you (or someone you hire) are the instructor. This format is suitable for more complex or intensive subject matter.
Virtual Conference – In this format, the producer (you) might gather a group of experts to discuss and expound on a specific topic or industry. The technology here is basically an expanded version of the webinar.
Workbook – A digital workbook is simply an eBook in which the consumer can key in answers to strategy questions or analysis. Consumer applications of the workbook include financial goal-setting and study guides.
Membership Site – This format usually involves a website where content is available to the consumer via subscription to the site or a section thereof.
App – Another ubiquitous information product, the app is among the most interactive formats. It allows the consumer to use your knowledge and data customized to their desires/needs.
Another advantage of the digital information product is the option to combine two or more formats for a richer consumer experience. For instance, an eBook can be easily packaged with an e-workbook for added value, increased profit, or both.
