Speaker Services E-News - 5/09
Training, Marketing and Development
http://www.speakerservices.com

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Content:
-  Note from Susan Levin, founder
-  New & Renewing Speakers/Authors
Article: 12 Steps to Creating Your First Info Product


slNote from Susan Levin, founder

As I am writing this month’s e-zine I am busily preparing for the 3rd annual Speakers’ Summit on May 2 & 3.  Aside from learning from the incredible experts
I am always inspired and find myself developing new concepts and strategies to keep my business fresh.  Last May I claimed that I wanted to create a blog and 60 days later I was blogging.  Have you seen my blog?  It is packed with tons of useful posts that could catapult your business to the next level.  

Yesterday I was at Linda Hollanders' Womens' Small Business Expo and I took along my brand new ultra flip video camera and did some video interviews.  You can three of them on the Blog posted April 30- Don't Let Vido Pass You By. Take a peek.

I also said at the last Summit that I wanted to create a membership club and 6 months later The Speakers’ Community was born. There are 60 plus folks in the Community who have access to our expert trainers on a daily basis and the best part is that no one ever has to leave home.  You too can take advantage and join us for 60 days complimentary.  Be my guest. Well I wonder what I will dream up this go around.  Stay tuned as you will be the first to hear about it.

BTW: I am speaking at the Summit about how to create info products easily and simply along with four other dynamite speakers. The mp3’s and the handouts are available to order if that is of interest to you.   Go to http://www.speakerservices.com/teleclasses/detail/88 for the details and learn more about:  Four Play: The Fundamentals for an Orgasmic Presentation - Jack Barnard- Create and Sell Info Products - Susan Levin-Web 2.0 Marketing - Michelle Price- The Magic of Speaking is Invisible – Jack Barnard- Solid Gold One Sheets – Sheryl Roush -  Corporate Sponsorship - Linda Hollander.

I am including an article today written by Donna Gunter the 12 Steps to Creating Your First Info Product enjoy.

Reminder:  There is Gold in the Gift of Gab––Speaker Services online directory since '92 brings professionals and authors together with audiences. Come on and get out there-speak your way to more business.  Ask me for the speakers guidelines.

The video demo (3 camera shoot is coming up June 8.  We have a few slots open and if you are in the Los Angeles area you are more then welcome to be an audience member.  We have another amazing Speakers’ Bootcamp scheduled for July 30-August 3.  If you are ready to get down and do some intense learning then this is the place that you’ll want to be.  Best of all we are at a hotel that is in Marina del Rey and it is a beautiful experience.

Susan Levin
Speaker Services & Speakers’ Community
310-822-4922 PST
_____________________

Meet our New & Renewing Speakers/Authors, May ‘08

Click here to see listings of Featured Speakers/Authors
http://www.speakerservices.com/categories/featured.html

Stephany Alexander,  Author,  Video Arizona, California, Utah
Relationship expert and author of Sex, Lies and the Internet shows how to stay safe in the world of Internet dating and increase your chance of finding Mr. or Ms. Right.
Abuse, Online Dating, Relationships, Women's Issues

Chellie Campbell, Author, Video, S. Cal, Nationwide
Author of  Zero to Zillionaire, The Wealthy Spirit and creator of nationwide workshops that ease financial stress shows how to make more money – and have more time off for fun!
Finance, Motivational, Prosperity, Success

Richard Florczak , Author, Video, Los Angeles, Nationwide
Mel Gibson’s private chef and author of the award winning cookbook, The Private Chef reveals how to transform everyday meals into movie star-quality cuisine in a demonstration customized to your group’s needs.
Celebrity Chef, Cooking, Food/Entertainment

Robert Forster, S. California
Academy Award-nominated actor and motivational speaker Robert Forster will speak to your group for free or to benefit charity.
Inspirational, Motivational, Self-Esteem

Dr. Jon Herbert, Los Angeles, CA
Chiropractor shows how to make lifestyle changes today that lead to increased health and well-being tomorrow.
Alternative Healing, Healthcare, Healthy Aging

Guru Meher Khalsa, Los Angeles, CA
Life Coach and Yoga Master shows how to tap your inner wisdom to find the solution to any problem and the secret to true Life Coach and Yoga Master shows how to tap your inner wisdom to find the solution to any problem and the secret to true happiness and personal fulfillment.
Happiness, Motivational Empowerment, Personal Fulfillment, Self Improvement

Kira Wagner, Author, Video, Ventura County, S. California
Author/coach presents Freedom’s Formula – the shortest path from where you are now to living your dreams.
Communication, Personal Development, Spirituality

See all entire list of Speakers/Authors:
www.speakerservices.com

ARTICLE

12 Steps to Creating Your First Info Product
by Donna Gunter

The creation of your first info product is a huge first step toward implementing multiple streams of income in your business. It means that you have something to sell prospective customers to "size you up" as they consider purchasing your services, that you can sell something 24-7 from your website that demonstrates your expertise, and that you're well on your way to creating a passive revenue stream for your business.

Your process doesn't have to be as detailed as I've outlined here, but if you want to do a thorough job in the creation process, I suggest that you embark on all the steps.

1. Solution to a Problem.

The best-selling information products provide a direct solution to a major problem of your target market. If you're a professional organizer, the problem might be how to clean and store and organize holiday decorations so that they can be easily found and used from year to year. If you're a weight loss coach, the problem might be how to stay motivated when you've hit a weight loss plateau. Jot down some of the primary problems of your target market and the process by which you help your clients resolve these issues.

2. Determine Your Offering.

Info products come in all types of formats, from ebooks to ecourses to recorded teleseminars to podcasts to special reports to CD and DVD sets. Take stock of your target market and determine what format would best fit their lifestyle. Are they virtual business owners who work from home at their computers for most of the day? Then an ebook or ecourse would probably work well for this group. Are they busy executives who travel frequently? Then you might consider a portable audio format. You can also combine formats to appeal to a variety of learning styles or lifestyles.

And, of course, cost is a major consideration. Do you want to create a physical product that has to be shipped, or would an electronic download work? There are much greater costs on your end to produce a physical product than an electronic one, and you also have to deal with product fulfillment as well if you choose to sell a physical product. I tell my clients to start with an electronic version and test it out, and if it's successful, move to a physical product, which has greater perceived value in the eyes of consumers.

3. Pricing.

Pricing of info products is all over the map. Check out your competition (yes, there will be competing products on the same topic aimed at the same target market) and see what they're charging. You also need to take a look at your contact database and make some assessments of the value of your information to them as well as what you think they will pay. You can survey your database to determine this info, or base it on comparable offerings in the marketplace. Many times my clients get hung up on the notion of comparing pricing for their info product to what they can find in the local bookstore. Generally, pricing for info products is higher than retail bookstores because the info being sold online is specialized for a target market and is delivered immediately upon order (if it's an electronic download).

The pricing strategy that also seems to sell better online is ending your price with a 7, like in $17, $47, etc. If you offer a high-priced product, consider offering payment via an installment plan, where you charge a bit more each month for the product than if someone were to pay for the product in full at time of purchase.

4. Technology.

Do you have the technology in place to create and deliver your offering? If it's an ebook, you'll need either a PDF writer program or ebook compiler software. For an audio program you'll need a microphone and audio recording and editing capabilities. For an ecourse you'll need either autoresponder software or a direct to desktop solution. For delivery you'll need a shopping cart that can deliver electronic products or take shipping info for physical products as well as some type of merchant account to take credit and process credit cards. You'll also want a sequential autoresponder service to follow up with your buyers.

5. Create the Product.

This is typically the most labor intensive part of the process, as you're actively recording or writing or videotaping your information for the product. Some products are easier to create than others, especially if you're recycling other content that you have into a new product. If you're starting from scratch, however, give yourself a full 3-6 weeks of steady work time for product creation. After creating the product you may want to have it proofread and/or edited in some fashion by a proofreader or an audio/video expert.

6. Graphics.

A picture tells a thousand words, and more importantly, info products sell better when the visitor has a graphic representation of this intangible info product item. If graphic design isn't your specialty, find someone to design an ebook cover or podcast album art for you. You may want to have the designer also create a website header banner for the product that you can use on your sales page. You can generally have both of these done for around $200. The more professional your image, the better perceived value your product has.

7. Domain, Hosting, and Website.

I believe that each info product should have its own domain name and sales page to be most effective. Domain names are pretty inexpensive, so you could actually buy several for each product -- one that reflects the product name, for example, and one that reflects the result someone will receive after using your product. You can use the various domain names and websites for a variety of testing purposes as you go to sell your product. If your plan to create multiple info products, you'll probably want to obtain a website hosting account that will enable you to host multiple domains from the same account. Another option is to forward your product's domain name to a "hidden" page of your primary site.

8. Copywriting.

There is a specific formula to copywriting for one-pages sales letter websites. The best way to get ideas for your sales letter is to create a Marketing Swipe file of other sales copy that you like. From your swipe file take a look at the headlines, the introduction, the subheadlines, the listing of benefits, the product description, the outline of the features, the call to action (request to buy), the closing, and the postscripts. You'll begin to see a pattern emerge when you look at 4-5 sample sales pages.

9. Shopping Cart.

Once your product is complete, you need to upload the product into your shopping cart and set up the cart for purchases. This may mean that you also need to set up shipping and handling charges for physical products and integrate your shopping with your shipper of choice. If your state requires the collection of state sales taxes, you'll need to integrate that as well.

10. Followup Autoresponders.

Creating a series of autoresponders to follow-up with a customer after purchase enables you to stay in front of the customer and reminder her about your other product/service offerings. Design a series of 3-5 autoresponders that will be sent out after a purchase to check in with your customer and tell her the next step she needs to take after her purchase. This might mean referring her to another info product, asking her to join some type of subscription service, or experiencing your service with a free trial.

11. Capturing Contact Info.

Sadly, not everyone who visits your website will buy what you're selling. However, you can still capture their contact info by creating a free giveaway for those who may not be ready to buy. This might be a special report or free ecourse, and you follow the same steps outlined previously for creating this giveaway. You'll also need to create 3-5 followup autoresponders here as well that will ultimately offer them your product once again.

12. Publish and Promote.

Now, you're ready to sell. Publish your website and begin to promote your offering to your own database. You can create a buzz about your product by writing a press release, offering a free teleclass, buying ads on other websites or in other newsletters, publishing articles, creating podcasts, purchasing pay-per-click advertising, requesting colleagues to send out notices to their contact lists, and creating an affiliate program in which others can sell your product for a commission.

Creating your first info product can be a time-consuming process. However, once it's created, you stand to earn income from it for years to come. Start to expand your business offerings today with information products.
Copyright (c) 2007 Donna Gunter

About this author

Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps self-employed service professionals learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To sign up for more FREE tips like these and claim your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at http://www.GetMoreClientsOnline.com

  And in the Blog

- Don’t Let Video Pass You By

- 12 Steps to Creating Your First Info Product

- Market Your Services Via Web Videos

- Publicize Via Social Networks

- USA Today Says Web Video is Marketing Go