Archive for the ‘Information Marketing’ Category

Nine Questions You Must Ask Before Creating An Information Product

By: Darcy Juarez on: February 12th, 2013

People.

You, me everyone…

We have a voracious appetite for information.

We want information on how to do things better, faster and easier.

We want information on how to be more successful, how to be healthier, how to play guitar, how to be thinner, how to create wealth…the list goes on.

Over half of this country’s economy is on expenditures on information and information products according to an article I read recently.

However, with a demand for so much information, how do you know which niche will be successful for you when considering what information products you should sell?

I once read that 90% of success in relationships is in selecting the right partner. The same holds true for picking an information product to sell.

Here are nine questions to ask yourself when picking the topic for your next information product. Your answers will greatly increase your chances of success:

Do you really enjoy it?  Not everyone loves and has a passion for what they do even if they know it inside and out.  So although you might have expertise in a specific area, if you don’t really love and look forward to working within it, you might want to consider going with something you are really passionate about instead.

Think about what you continually gravitate towards. What do enjoy reading about and researching? Is it something you like to learn about without the promise of making money from it? Chances are if you pick a topic that you find interesting, you’ll not only enjoy creating information on the subject but it’ll also be easier for you.

Does it appeal to buyers? The key to developing an information product that people buy is picking a subject that attracts readers, gets them to drop everything and then holds their interest over the long haul.

Look for a strong  emotional connection to your product that will attract new buyers. Emotions can be good or bad.  For example, there might be a common distrust of big government or a common good of wanting to cure cancer. When you find a strong emotional connection, you are on the right track.

Is it long-lasting? It’s true you don’t know the future and what will or won’t be popular, however, you also want to make sure your topic isn’t a fad. Fads come and go which means your so will your income. In the health arena, fad diets such as the “grapefruit diet” and the “cabbage soup” diet. Hobbies are another common place you’ll find fads, such as latch hook rugs  or friendship bracelets. Sure, you could sell a book on “How To Lose Weight By Adding This Miracle Fruit To Your Diet ” and make a quick buck if your timing is right, but in the long run, fads fade and so does your money-making opportunity.

Is it usable? In order to get repeat customers, you’ll want to make sure your idea is usable. You want to make sure your information fills a need for people. For example, a newsletter about when and where restaurants are having specials (saves them money) and reviews restaurant menus is a very usable product.

Is your topic narrow enough that you can you dominate your niche? Often topics are too broad to dominate. Picking a topic like gardening or health will give you a lot of competition and make it difficult for you to dominate. However, if you narrow to say, organic vegetable gardens, you’ll have a much easier time becoming the leader in your field.

What makes you better or different than your competitors? Take the time to make a list of your competitors. What makes you better or different than them? Why would someone choose you over your competition?

Can you think of “endless” ideas you could develop for this niche? You’ll want to be able to write about multiple ideas within your niche and even have ideas for different products you could develop in order to dominate your niche.

Is it timely? Information needs to be relevant and timely to succeed. If you are too far ahead or too far behind a product’s time, it won’t do well in the long run. A publication that discusses social media for musicians, you might not want to focus on MySpace, but you would want to include YouTube and Music Clout.

Will people buy it? You can have the most relevant, timely, usable, interesting idea in the world, but if you can’t sell it, you’re wasting your time. Define who your target market is and determine how you will market and sell your product. As Dan Kennedy says, “50% of your success is in the list.” Make sure you know who your customers are and how to find them.

Ask yourself these questions before you commit to an information product to sell.  When you do, you will help you increase your chances of success and eliminate wasted time, money and frustration.

Do you have any other tips for helping pick the right topic to focus on when picking an information product to sell? If so share your ideas in the comments below.

NOTE: Today’s your LAST CHANCE to sign up for Dave Dee’s

FREE training call happening in just a few hours at 8PM ET.

He’s calling it:

 ”How to make $117,000 in 67 Minutes… Starting From Scratch… With Your Own Info-Marketing Business!”

Dave’s going to lay out exactly what he does to create information marketing businesses from SCRATCH – in fact, he’ll go through actual case studies of real people he’s helped launch 5-6-7 figure businesses… several times from absolutely nothing!

You’ll discover:

* How to unlock and identify exactly who it is you can best serve with the skills, experience, and knowledge you already possess.

* The #1 thing your prospects are looking for and exactly the way you need to describe it to draw them irresistibly to you like a moth to a flame.

* The single most important component of your entire onlinearsenal – in fact, if you get THIS right, you can practically build a thriving business from just it alone!

* The key secret to creating an information product that practically SELLS ITSELF!

* A SIMPLE three-step formula for having a real deal information products business that takes all the head-scratching out of what most Gurus tell you is an extremely complex process… and makes it easy.

* Plus a whole lot more!

 

ONLY a few seats remain – this has caught on like wildfire! And note – there won’t be ANY kind of replay or recording.

You get one shot and that’s today at 8PM ET.

So I suggest you sign up now before it’s too late.

 

The 3 Biggest Mistakes To Avoid When Creating Info-Products

By: Dave Dee on: January 10th, 2013 3 Comments

“Anyone who never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”—Albert Einstein

Recently I was reading about some of the top mistakes made in 2012.

From political campaign miscues to Apple’s Public Relations nightmare with their new mapping service to Facebook’s mobile strategy which relied too heavily on one type of technology…companies talked about what they did wrong.

Mistakes are inevitable when you are out there giving it your all to create the business and life you want. I know I’ve made my fair share of them and my guess is you have too.

There are two things about not getting it right: Don’t be afraid to mess up. Failures, mistakes happen more often to those who are most successful. So it goes to follow that the more mistakes you make, the more successful you will be.

Secondly, whenever possible learn from others’ mistakes so you don’t have to repeat them.

So here are three of the most common mistakes made when creating Info-products (and how to avoid them).

1) You create a product your clients, customers or patients don’t want.  Sometimes, especially when starting out in info-marketing, businesses create a product that their target audience doesn’t want. In fact, this happens more often than you think.  You have a great idea for a product, but it turns out that your clients have no interest in it. Or maybe they don’t like the format it’s delivered in. For example, you create a set of videos or an audio program when your customers would prefer something they can read and write notes on instead.

How to avoid: Find out if your new product or service will be successful BEFORE you create it.

With the help of computer-generated imagery, you can design a virtual product and showcase it on a web page. You can test colors, the price of your product, the benefits of using it and more before you ever actually create the product. Then, take orders and with sales already in hand, create the product.

Using Pay Per Click (PPC) is one of the quickest and cheapest ways to gather information about key points such as pricing, features that are most important to your potential consumers, who your target audience is, offers, guarantees and more.

Focus on things that will make the biggest difference, such as your Unique Selling Proposition (USP), the benefits of your product or service, pricing and things that make your product different.

You can also write a sales letter for your product and see if your target audience will buy it. If they do, then create the product, and try mailing to a larger segment of your target audience. Remember to start small when testing, using a small geographic area to test first.

What to do if you’ve already created the product and it didn’t sell? This doesn’t mean it’s a bad product. It might just mean you need to market to a different audience. Test different audience segments to see if the product will sell in a different market.

2) A weak guarantee. Two facts you have to get used to with the info-marketing business are that there will be returns and there will be people that try to cheat you. However, most people won’t cheat you and as Dan Kennedy says, if you aren’t getting at least 10% asking for a refund, you aren’t selling hard enough.

How to avoid: Because people are afraid of refunds and being cheated, often times the guarantee is weak, if there even is one. You will sell far more with a strong guarantee, even with refunds, when you have a guarantee that removes all the risk from your customer making a purchase.

The instinct here is to have a short money-back guarantee. A week, two weeks, maybe a month. However testing has shown that a longer guarantee, 90 days or a year, out pulls the shorter guarantee.

3) You take too long to create your info-product. Of course, if you follow my advice to not create your product until after you know there is a demand for it, you’ll have no choice but to create your product quickly, because you’ll have orders waiting. However, if you don’t follow my advice, you may fall into this category.  Keep in mind that the longer you take, the less money you will make. Plus, if you have a great idea and take too long to bring it to market, there is a chance someone else will start marketing an info-product based on your idea before you do. Get it done and out there.

How to avoid: Instead of waiting for the perfect version, plan to create new versions with updated or improved material. Or, if you’re having trouble, invest in whatever you need to get it done, whether that is a ghost writer or resources that hand you shortcuts to creating an info-product. For instance, Dan Kennedy’s Info-Product Recipe includes the ingredients and how to’s for developing an enduring, successful million dollar info-product that cannot fail.

Adding info-products to your business is one of the smartest (and most lucrative) business decisions you can make. Don’t let the fear of making mistakes stop you. But avoid them whenever possible. And remember every day you wait is another day you aren’t making money on your idea.

NOTE:  Make this the year you reach an incredible new level of success with new info-products. And if you really want to avoid making mistakes and create the most profitable info-marketing business possible,  plan to sign up for Dan Kennedy’s A- Z Info-Biz Blueprints Re-boot in April. No one has guided more people to millions through info-marketing than Dan. Spending three days with him you will quickly get the most complete and detailed and valuable training on this subject that he has ever created. [Link]

Four ways to add quick profits to your business…

By: Darcy Juarez on: December 28th, 2012 2 Comments

“Publish or perish.”

That’s what Dan Kennedy and Matt Zagula say in their new book, No B.S. Trust-based Marketing.

Dan continues, “Even if you are a proprietor of a local hardware store, landscape company, home remodeling company, etc., …you need to write and publish your own book as well as other information media such as newsletters, special reports, how-to-guides, and more. Anyone who seeks trusted authority and advisor status will publish, or perish.”

In an age of diminishing trust, establishing credibility and authority are increasingly becoming key factors to success. And there’s no doubt that published authors are considered trusted authorities.

In chapter 7, Dan starts out by saying that Matt Zagula points out that “author is in the word authority.”

But before you start thinking you need to run out and write a book, I’ll let you in on a little secret: That is not what I, nor Dan are suggesting here.

There are many things you can publish. In fact, information products don’t even have to be written. You can create video and audio information products too. Or create an audio program and have it transcribed to create a book or report.

Here’s a sample of some of the info-products you might want to consider for your business:

  • Newsletters
  • E-books
  • Special Reports
  • How-to Guides
  • Lists of resources
  • Insider reports
  • Expert interviews

Information products establish trust and credibility—making it easier to sell your core products and services at premium prices.

In addition, here are four additional reasons why you should consider adding information products to your business:

  1. High profit margins.  Consider that people value information differently than they do physical products. For example, the cost of an iPhone is worth a set amount. But an information product that promises to double your income in 90 days is worth a subjective amount to each person considering purchasing it. Combine this with the fact that you can create information products at a very low cost (especially if you create digital products that consumers download) and you have an extremely high profit margin.
  2. Create enduring information products once, get paid on them forever.  When you create evergreen information products they retain their selling power year and year. That means you do the work once and make money year after year.
  3. Easy and low cost distribution. You can create an e-book or a video series or special report with very low costs. You can use video, audio, and PDF files to create low-cost information products and with inexpensive distribution channels such as email, you can distribute your products instantly, automatically, easily and inexpensively.
  4. Eliminate commoditization. In a world where commoditization is a problem, you can set yourself and your business apart by leveraging your knowledge to create information products. Plus while there may be products similar to yours, there is virtually no competition for your product because no one knows exactly what you know, nor will they present it in exactly the same way you do. That means your info-product will be unique and won’t exist in any other place. You can also use your info-product to set your business apart even further by incorporating your unique selling proposition throughout your product. For example, if your unique proposition is that you are the only health club that includes a custom diet for your customers, you might want to talk about the benefits and importance of combining proper diet with exercise throughout your info-product.

Increase your credibility and authority this year by creating an information product. You’ll find it a low-cost way to increase your income  and set yourself apart from your competition.

NOTE: As you know GKIC is an Info-marketing business created and launched by Dan Kennedy. For the first time, Dan is going to reveal the single most important and powerful concept on which he based his entire business, that made possible what you know of today as GKIC, an inspiration that has “launched a thousand ships.”

Dan has NEVER taught this concept as he’ll describe it during his A-Z Info-Biz Blueprints Reboot. He will also reveal the checklists behind his approach to info-marketing and their sources, and the very-short-list of authors that he’s most closely emulated.

If you are sensibly curious about the “SOURCE(S)” of the power Dan’s demonstrated during his successful career as a professional info-marketer, builder of brand and empire, and builder of others’ info-businesses as well, then you will walk barefoot across a 500-mile fire walk if need be, to be at this event. To Learn More About This Event Click Here

Hunt “Whales” And Get Rich…

By: Dan Kennedy on: December 26th, 2012 10 Comments

January marks my 40th year in this business.

I have sold myself as a consultant, a copywriter, a speaker. I’ve sold products through info-marketing.  You can see a pretty complete list by clicking here…and even find a number of my info-marketing products at 25% through the end of the year.

I’ve sold my services and products in wildly prosperous times when customers were practically falling over themselves buying. And I’ve sold my services and products during dark times, with a shrinking economy, and seemingly nowhere in sight.

At the recent GKIC Info-Summit, legendary copywriter John Carlton joined me, and we presented three sessions on copywriting. John isn’t actively seeking new clients nor am I, but we both know there are “whales” in that pond and by sheer force of habit, we want to be seen by them, showing off.  (In the casino industry, a “whale” is a high-roller; a rich, repeat customer. I use the term to mean a desirable, valuable client.)

In this instance, John picked up a nice chunk of change from purchases of his copywriting course in “back of the room sales.” I was compensated too, by my relationship with GKIC.

Speaking on Peter Lowe’s Success tour, I built my herd (and my income) by sending letters to everyone in attendance, whether they stayed to see me or not.

I did not always get to show off in such nice places or in front of such qualified prospects. However even in the most unlikely places, I’ve found speaking a great way to grow my business.

I recall a bad speaking gig  in the 90’s, done as a favor, with a room of utterly unqualified prospects—but for one guy, who had just sold his company for $50 million.  He wanted to be a famous author and speaker, and paid me six figures to be his ghost writer and copywriter. This sort of thing is whale-hunting in the desert. There’s no good reason to expect any to be there, but then again you never know.  So you always show off what you know.

There were times I was on panels, with others better known than I, but a chance to show off, which I took, and used more smartly than the others, showing off broader knowledge. And I snagged a whales.

You may be about to tell me that showing off isn’t natural for you. That the very idea of speaking to a group terrifies you.  That you are shy.  Or that you find all this unseemly.  Or worst, that you resent it, and feel entitled to get work as whatever your profession is because you are skilled or talented at “whatever your profession” is.

Sorry, you’re not entitled to anything by skill or talent.

Even the U.S. Constitution was wisely written to guarantee only the right of pursuit of.  Nothing more. They said: go get it if you can.  And none of it has to come naturally or easily to you.  That, fortunately, is not a prerequisite for success. I stuttered uncontrollably in childhood and never totally erased it. I’m an anti-social, reclusive, bookworm by nature, not a born performer. I learned to show-off. So you can decide whether you want to stay glued to whatever your reasons are that you “can’t” or “shouldn’t have to” do these things, or you can be rich.

In speaking at GKIC Info-Summit, John and I know for certain there are whales. Whether you are in a room that is certain to have whales, or not, it is better to be showing off somewhere than nowhere.  And these days with the Internet, you can conduct webinars and promote them broadly and cheaply and hunt for whales at home. There is someplace available to you today and every day; to show off what you know.

NOTE:  As I mentioned, I’ve been in this business 40 years. I am in the trenches and intimately involved with clients’ and my own info-marketing on a day to day basis, adjusting to (and coping with!) changes, creating new blueprints as needed, creating new opportunities, making millions of dollars materialize from the thin air if ideas and initiative. I also have the richest background from long tenure and broad diversity in the field, dating back a full 40 YEARS (!) from 2013.

I’m currently preparing, re-assembling, re-organizing, up-dating, fully detailing everything I’ve learned in those 40 years, and presenting it at The A-Z Info-Biz Blueprints Re-Boot. This will be the most complete and detailed and valuable multi-day training on this business that has ever been built. So if you’re serious about adding substantial income to your bottom line, then this is the place to learn how to do that. To Learn More About This Event Click Here

 

Want An Army Of “Elves” To Promote Your Products?

By: Darcy Juarez on: December 25th, 2012 No Comments

“How does Santa get all those toys made and delivered?”

It’s a question kids have wondered throughout the years.

And with today being Christmas, as kids open their stockings and gifts, it’s a question that will be asked millions of times around the world.

Movies throughout the years have shown their explanation of how it’s done.

In the 2011 movie, Arthur Christmas, Santa’s oldest son Steve runs the command center for Santa, while a younger son, Arthur reads the letters to Santa and makes sure the children’s “orders” are filled. Armies of elves load up the sleigh with presents requested from kids around the world and a team of elves help Santa in an ultra-high tech sleigh, the S-1.

Sort of like being one of the elves, if you don’t want to come up with your own info-product to sell, or aren’t sure what to sell, becoming an affiliate for someone else’s products gives you the opportunity to participate and earn money without having the responsibility of running the operation.

You can find products that complement the products and services you already sell without having to incur the costs or hassle of distribution.

Or you can build your own command center and build an army of affiliates eager to sell your product for you—creating a significant increase to your income.

Here are seven additional reasons to consider adding an affiliate program to your business in 2013:

  1. You eliminate costs associated with selling your own product such as production costs,, order processing, shipping and distribution. Plus there are no licensing fees.
  2. You don’t have to carry inventory.
  3. You don’t have to hire any additional employees.
  4. You can choose from thousands of products and services.
  5. You don’t have to have any experience.
  6. You don’t have to deal with customer complaints.
  7. Often your affiliate provides you with the necessary marketing materials saving you time and money.

On the flip side, if you round up your own army of affiliates to promote your products or services:

  1. You can make money while you sleep. Having affiliates sell your products means you have a team of people selling your product at all hours of the day. Super Affiliate Secrets (now available at 50% off through this series) reveals that the secret to selling millions is to lure the best affiliates and build relationships with them.
  2. You can build an army of affiliates to help sell your products or services—without having to pay anything unless they bring someone to you.
  3. Building an army of affiliates can help you build your list faster.
  4. Affiliate armies can generate massive traffic to your site.
  5. You can create a mass affect and generate huge amounts of cash during launches.

There are two money-making sides to affiliate marketing. Whether you cash in on one side or both, affiliate marketing is one of the easiest ways to rake in six to seven figures per year. In fact, the amount you can earn is only limited by your desire, effort and imagination.

NOTE: If you’re interested in meeting super-affiliates to promote your products and services or want to get the exact, nitty-gritty details of how Dan Kennedy’s built his army of affiliates and cashed in being an affiliate for others, then plan to attend The A-Z Info-Biz Blueprints Re-Boot in April. Dan guarantees this will be information worth a million dollars to you—in fact he’s offering a double your money back guarantee plus documented airfare up to $1000, if you don’t agree.

Not only will you learn everything you need to know and walk away with a blueprint to build your own profitable info-marketing business in whatever area you desire, it’s a great place to start relationships with super-affiliates that you may otherwise  not have the chance to meet. [Learn more]

“Fall Forward Faster” A Tip To Make Your Business the Most Successful It Can Be!

By: Dave Dee on: November 13th, 2012 3 Comments

I just got back from Opryland Hotel in Nashville where we held INFO-Summit 2012 …

There was so much great information flying around that it would be easy for attendees to go home and put their info in a drawer…and wait until they have some free time to put the new ideas they’ve learned into action …especially with the holidays just around the corner.

It’s a common occurrence. You mean to do something with the ideas you get, but after sitting the materials on your desk a while, you move them to a drawer to get them out of the way telling yourself that you’ll get to them ASAP.

I’ve seen members do this with their newsletters and other materials too—the information is great, but you feel overwhelmed—and unsure what to do first.

So you put it aside intending to get to it “some day.”

But here’s the thing…it truly only takes one idea…one strategy to change your business and your life.

Just one.

That means you don’t need to do ALL the ideas that come your way. You just need to pick one and get started.

During a Q & A with a panel of Dan Kennedy’s Platinum Mastermind members, Dr. Tom Orent gave a great piece of advice. In fact, it was his answer when Dan asked, “What is your best piece of advice?” Dr. Orent said, “Fall forward faster. Because the people who have failed the most are the most successful.”

Then he gave a great way to deal with overwhelm that I want to share with you today—so that you can make sure you get some stuff done before the end of the year!

Dr. Orent suggested that you take out a piece of paper and write down all the ideas you want to try.

Next he said to narrow your list down to the top ten ideas on your list and set the other ideas aside in a tickler file to review at a later date.

From your top ten list, pick just two ideas that you will implement in November and two ideas from the list you will implement in December.

Focus on only the two ideas you’ve chosen for the month.

Not sure what ideas you should do first? Here are some tips:

 

1)     Pick the ideas which are the best speed marketing strategies. In the Phenomenon Dan teaches you how to get more done in the next 12 months than you did in the previous 12 years.

One of his strategies is to focus on speed marketing strategies that will multiply and expand your business. For example, you could focus on a key area of your business where you haven’t yet converted to GKIC marketing. This might be something such as not having a lead magnet in place to attract new prospects to your business.

 

2)     Circle the desk before you sit down. During John Carlton’s conversation with Dan about copywriting at INFO-Summit, John talked about how he had observed how a dog turns in circles before it lays down. He said that in order to avoid wasting time, before he writes a single word of copy, he circles his desk and doesn’t sit down until he is ready to write.

Similarly, to get things done, you need to be “ready” to go when you implement a new process, strategy or idea. If an idea on your list leaves you feeling unsure of where to start or what to do, that might be a sign to leave that one for a later date.

Instead pick an idea that you feel more confident about starting on immediately.  (If you are looking for how you can find the time to implement new ideas, Dan shows you how to “find” that extra hour to work on the “thing” you’ve been meaning to get to in No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs.)

 

3)      Evaluate what is easiest to do based on what you already have.  One thing to consider is what can you do with the tools you already have in place.

While this isn’t always the best criteria, some action is better than no action. This means that sometimes to get started, this is excellent criteria and will make it easier to get going.

If you have an email system already in place, it might be easier to set up a follow-up email sequence for new prospects than it would be to send out a postcard when you have no list with physical addresses and have never dealt with a list broker before.

 

4)     Do what are you most excited about. Call it your gut instinct or intuition…but what do you feel the most excited about on your list? The things you are most excited about will be the easiest to get done versus the things you are apprehensive about. Trusting your enthusiasm about an idea or project can be a key to helping put your idea into motion.

 

I don’t want you to wait until next year to start seeing a shift in your success.

Do you?

So right now, take a few minutes to write down the top ideas and strategies you want to implement in your business. Use the four tips I’ve given you to pick your top two and get started today. If you do, you’ll be celebrating at the end of the year and will have started a new tradition of getting things done to move your business forward.

NOTE: If you’re still not sure what to do or how to do it, then check out our FAST Implementation Bootcamp—open to all GKIC members for FREE. We’ll take you through all the steps and show you the best strategies to start with to get your business in high gear now. In fact, our 2012 GKIC Marketer of the Year, Walter Bergeron completely transformed his business in just 90 days by going to Fast Implementation Bootcamp—and just one year later, he just signed a deal that will take his company to the 8-Figure level!  Find out when our next bootcamp is here.

How to transform your life (and your bank account) with what you already know

By: Darcy Juarez on: November 8th, 2012 4 Comments

Yesterday I arrived in Nashville for what promises to be the best INFO-Summit GKIC has ever held.

I know, I know. You’ve heard that before. But the reason why I say it with such confidence is I’ve never seen so many big hitters from the information marketing world in one place before.

Picture bumping elbows with Rich Schefren, Alex Mandossian, Ali Brown, Dave VanHoose, Yanik Silver, Dave Dee and Vince Palko. Imagine having a conversation with Dan Kennedy and John Carlton about the sales-generating, hard-core selling intricacies of info-marketing and copywriting that separates great marketers from so-so marketers.

Hundreds of GKIC members excited and eager to get that one golden nugget… or make that one connection that will catapult their businesses to the next level.

Information marketing is a phenomenal business. It allows you—no matter what your background, experience or education level — to achieve financial and personal freedom very quickly, from scratch and with limited resources.

What’s more, you can do it using what you already know.

However, despite all its benefits and advantages, people still ask me what type of opportunities info-marketing provides.

So today, I thought I’d share some stories from a few info-marketers:

  • In 1980, Gene Kelly hit rock bottom. A law enforcement officer turned salesman turned manufacturing company owner, he decided to try a new path after he ended up “dead broke.”  He bought some surplus junk and figured out how to make a kit. He used this as a template and created an information product with instructions on how to make your own “junk” into whatever you want. He went on to sell well over a million dollars with that one product. Kelly also created a video from all the questions he received, turning the video into a $10,000 product.
  • Marc Lerner created his info-marketing business because of his personal struggle with multiple sclerosis (MS.) After discovering that every struggle in life demands the same life skills, he created Life Skills Inc. to teach others his approach to managing intellectual, emotional, spiritual and physical needs to achieve wellness. Marc’s first product was seminars that he taught and expanded to e-books.
  • Bob Sterling started as a software engineer. Because he could write, he started turning computer manuals into something people could understand. Writing manuals lead him to copywriting until one day when he realized he was giving away a lot of information for free.  It was then that he created his first information product and started getting paid for what he knew.

One of the big misconceptions about info marketing is that people sometimes confuse info-marketing with Internet marketing.

It’s important to understand that a lot of info marketing is done through direct mail.

For example, Brett Fogle  with Options University took the e-books he was selling online and started using direct mail and other media to build his business into a full-scale information marketing business. (You can find more stories like this in the Official Get Rich Guide to Information Marketing.)

To jumpstart your thinking about how you can convert what you already know into your own information marketing product, here are some different types of information products you can sell.

Paper and ink products:  There are dozens of paper and ink products you can sell, some of them like books, reports and manuals you may have already thought of.  However, you can also sell tip sheets, checklists, correspondence templates, back issues of your newsletters, forms you use for business, time management forms, and sets of cards such as recipe cards or flash cards, etc.

Audio and video products: If you’re not big on writing, record yourself instead. (You can even take a recording and have it transcribed to create a second paper and ink product.) Record speeches, webinars, teleseminars, consultations, interviews, mastermind groups, coaching sessions and more.

Internet products: This can range from e-books to downloads, to online lessons and membership to a content-rich website.

Miscellaneous products: Information can come in many forms. Ideas include packages of information, services, private labeled products, memberships, customized products or services, training kits, software and more.

One of the big advantages of info-marketing is you don’t even need to know how to create these products yourself. All you need is the idea for the product.

Mike Capuzzi created software to sell his idea of CopyDoodles. The beauty is, Mike says you don’t even need to know anything about software to develop it. All you need is an idea and you can pay someone to develop the software for you.

By leveraging what you already know and creating an information marketing product, you can add an additional stream of income. Even better, for many information marketers, they soon discover that they can make more and have greater freedom with their information marketing products than they can with their regular business.

So if you have an idea for a product or every newsletter you’ve ever printed or there is something your customers are always asking you about—consider that an invitation to try information marketing. You might be surprised at just how lucrative and fascinating this business can be…

…and wonder why it took you so long to try it!

NOTE: In case you weren’t aware, this coming Friday AND Saturday
we’re going to give you 100% FREE peek inside the Info-SUMMIT with
LIVECASTs of two very special sessions:

First off, on Friday November 9th at 10:45AM ET, Dave Dee will
present:

————————————————————

“How to Easily Make Six Figures (or More) Online Over and
Over Again Using Absolutely Free Technology!”

————————————————————

Here’s what you’ll discover:

* The Super-Simple, Insanely Compelling FREE Technology that
enables anyone to instantly achieve mass-media “GURU” status!

* 3 Simple Keys to Structuring Your Online Presentation
to Make Certain they Remain Riveted to their Seats from
Start to Finish

* How to Craft the “Perfect Blend” between teaching
and selling during your presentation

* The Critical Factors you MUST take into account when
doing an ONLINE presentation broadcast… if you miss
these, you’ll lose your audience right from the get go!

* And MUCH MUCH MORE!

 Click Here to Sign Me Up With Dave!

Next, on Saturday November 10th at 10:15AM ET, Colin Daymude
lets you in on:

————————————————————

“The World’s Greatest Business Opportunity!”… A Step By
Step Expose of EXACTLY What to Look For When Seeking Out
New Opportunities as an Informed Info-Entrepreneur

————————————————————

Colin will reveal:

* The insanely high value of “SIMPLE” in any opportunity
and why “baffling them with BS” complexity should make
you run for the hills in a heartbeat!

* Key factors you need to look for in any info-marketing
opportunity – such as ease of content creation, ongoing
support, proven marketing materials, building your herd,
and setting yourself up as the “go-to-expert” in your niche.

* Why “Slow and Steady Wins the Race” can prove FATAL to
your success… and how to apply the “leap frog” principle
to quickly establish you as “lead dog” in the market!

* With a lot more besides!..

Click Here to Sign Up With Colin!

Hope you’ll be able to join me for BOTH.

The Best And Most Profitable Business Ever Devised

By: Dan Kennedy on: November 1st, 2012 8 Comments

On Tuesday, Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger discussed some of the reasoning behind the purchase of Lucasfilm Ltd., the film company behind Star Wars.

He said that the Star Wars films have “more than 17,000 characters inhabiting several thousand planets and spans 20,000 years” – giving “infinite inspiration and opportunities” for Disney artists to work with.

When you look at your life, interests and business, you’ll discover that you too have a lot of inspirations to work with. From how you run a successful business to your hobbies, past and present, to what you do to stay in shape, there are many things you have a level of expertise in that others are eager to find out more about.

When I first started in business some 35+ years ago, one of the first persons I studied had begun selling a $5 booklet (about ridding your garden of gophers) via tiny classified ads in rural newspapers and farm magazines.

Since then, I have witnessed thousands of people from all sorts of backgrounds, walks of life, businesses, and interests who have created extraordinary incomes, lifestyles, wealth, and positive influences on others. Often from scratch and very quickly, and in some cases, with limited resources.

Some are highly educated. Some are barely educated. Some young. Some old. Some are brilliant. Some are anything but. Some are pretty good writers. Some can’t write a grocery list. Some come from successful businesses. Others do not.

And here’s the thing…

There is absolutely nothing extraordinarily special about them that you lack.

In other words, if they can do it, you can do it too.

There are fascinating and lucrative opportunities that await you. All you have to do is take your interests and knowledge…your own personal “fodder” so to speak and turn it into an info marketing business.

There are two main pieces to succeeding in this business. The first is mindset.

In my experience of coaching countless people to million-dollar-a-year incomes, virtually all stumbling blocks are inside people’s minds about what they believe they can or cannot do, what people will and will not pay, or how fast results can occur. In other words, it’s been their mindset that determines success, not their experience or qualifications.

The other piece of the puzzle is the mechanics. If you look at the people who’ve succeeded in the info-marketing business, the same basic steps are repeated, the same strategies employed. The products, markets served, whom you sell to, what you choose to sell in what order and at what price all differ. But the structure of the successful info-marketing business is the same.  (The structure is too much to cover here, however you can find more in A-Z Information Marketing Blueprints Seminar.)

One of the first stumbling blocks many have is…what would I sell? Pretty much anything. If you can name it, someone is probably selling it. From Yoga for Golfers, to Teaching Parrots to Talk to Making Money on Ebay to Business niche marketing systems—there are literally thousands of topics to choose from.

Everybody has useful information to share. Personally I believe in picking topics that can be developed into long-lasting info-products which have longevity and can create enduring, million dollar assets, pushing out sales for years to come (as discussed in my Dan Kennedy Info-Product Recipe.) Some of the more successful topics I’ve seen covered have been:

 

Business Niche Marketing Systems. Teaching other businesses in your niche how you successfully market your business is very lucrative and offers endless opportunities for what you can sell. Restaurant owners, dentists, chiropractors, gym owners, auto repair shop owners, real estate agents, lawyers, and more all need to know how to market their business.

“How to” products. People are forever wanting to know how to do something. How to do magic tricks. How to trim trees. How to get a job. How to make more money. How to bake the perfect dessert.  This is a great topic and one with a benefit built in.

Money-making systems. Selling information about how to make money is one of the oldest and I’d venture a guess to say the most popular info-marketing businesses of all time.

Fitness and Health products and systems. One of the largest markets in the world, there are an infinite source of themes to choose from…such as nutrition and diet, weight-loss, organic eating, working out, safe materials for storing food, and many, many more.

Specialty Topics. These tend to be great evergreen topics. For example, financial topics, real estate, the entertainment industry and law have been around forever. People will always be looking to gain knowledge about topics like this—plus they tend to be ever-changing in what is working and what isn’t, which means a continuing source of issues for you to cover.

 There are virtually an endless number of topics you can choose from. You can have products which you charge a little money for or ones you charge a lot for. One info-business I helped launch started out selling a $40,000 coaching program.

You can work when you please, where you please, as you please. You can have some employees, lots of employees or no employees.  You can outsource whatever you aren’t good at or interested in. You can personally interact with your customers or you can make millions without ever meeting a single one of your customers face to face.

I could go on and on with a long list of the flexibility you have when in info-marketing. The point is you make the rules. You bend this business to your preferences. And you need sacrifice nothing for enormous financial success. Quite simply, it’s one of the best and most profitable businesses ever devised.

A Checklist To Maximize Your Wealth

By: Darcy Juarez on: October 30th, 2012 4 Comments

With Halloween just around the corner, I can’t help but think about the schemes kids come up with for getting the most candy…

Such as plotting your route to make sure you hit the houses that give out the best and most candy or going to a neighborhood with smaller yards so you can “hit” more houses.

I’ve even heard of people changing into a second costume so they can go to the same houses a second time on their way back home.

Articles (yes, there are articles on this subject) advise that you should do things like put extra care into creating a clever costume, not linger at houses with haunted houses, and offer to take younger siblings or neighbors out so you can start trick or treating earlier.

Funny how so much thought can go into getting as much candy as possible. Yet, how many put the same level of thought (or greater) into making a list to help them make as much money as possible?

Based on a fundamental understanding of what makes people millionaires while others fail to reach that status, here are seven items you should have on your “wealth checklist” to maximize your income:

Leverage what you know. No matter what you do—whether you are in a professional field such as a doctor, lawyer, CPA, etc, or you are in a job working for someone else—you have one thing in common: if you stop working, your paycheck goes away. No matter how much education or how many degrees you have, that truth will never change.

To maximize your income, you must be able to stop trading hours for dollars and instead “multiply yourself” by leveraging what you know.

Have an abundance mindset. Many people believe you can only be wealthy at the expense of family time. Another common fear—I’m a consultant, doctor, lawyer, etc., if I create a product that explains my entire process, won’t people just do it themselves and stop hiring me?

What the truly wealthy already know is that when you have an abundance mindset, you can have anything you want. In fact, in The Official Get Rich Guide to Information Marketing (Build a Million Dollar Business within 12 Months.) The information marketing association says that people who buy your information products that reveal your systems are more likely to hire you and buy more from you than any other customer.

Focus on earning.  Author Steve Siebold says in his book How Rich People Think that “the wealthy focus on what they’ll gain by taking risks, rather than how to save what they have.” He writes “The masses are so focused on clipping coupons and living frugally they miss major opportunities.”

Don’t be fooled into thinking that you can start a business or build a business with no investment. Some people think that getting a certain education or developing a product or service is enough to get a flood of customers. This is a myth and will cause you to fail.

Hang around rich people.  Because rich people have a different mindset about money, you will pick up a certain way of thinking by being around them. You’ll want to adopt their same positive money mentality- rich people often don’t want to nor can they afford to hang around people who are doom and gloom about money.

Know when to take risks—and take them.  Everyone loses money from time to time—even the savviest businessperson or investor. But if you keep the abundance mindset, you’ll know that no matter what happens, you will always be able to earn more. Taking business risks which have proven successful for others is one way you can minimize risk. For example, in Dan Kennedy’s Marketing to the Affluent  he reveals the strategies used by wealthy, successful companies such as Lamborghini, Disney, Starbucks, and more than 50 true-life examples. Adapting their successful strategies to your business can help you take calculated risks.

Value education over entertainment.  Wealthy people read books and courses that educate them on how to be more successful. Not-so-wealthy people read for entertainment—such as novels and entertainment magazines.

Have an action mentality. Don’t wait for the “market to recover,” a particular client to “come through,” or for a windfall to solve your money problems. Take action to solve them instead. If you take the approach of waiting for someone else, you will always be waiting.

 

Once you start observing millionaires and hanging around them, you’ll find additional items to add beyond this checklist. However, these will help you boost your income and make better choices about the opportunities that lie before you. Plus, when you use these, you will find the course of your business and your wealth changed positively forever.

NOTE: If you’re interested in BIG money, information marketing employs the items on this checklist and can help you build a Million-Dollar business in as little as 12 months.

You don’t need a formal education, special equipment or a huge start-up investment either. In fact, instead of increasing the number of hours you work or the amount of formal education you have to boost income, info-marketers leverage what they already know.  Then using this knowledge, they create a product once and sell it many times over a long period of time without having to learn more or do any more work.

And if you hurry, you can still get in on THE FASTEST way to transform your income from upside down to living like royalty with a king’s ransom tucked away by registering for Info-Summit.

Have an action mentality and act now to take advantage of a serious proven opportunity—where you can rub elbows and observe millionaires first hand and learn the secrets of the most powerful and successful info-marketers in the business. [Learn more or register now here]

Clark Kent Quits (and how you can too!)

By: Dave Dee on: October 25th, 2012 1 Comment

Yesterday, in Superman issue 13, Clark Kent quit his long-time job at the Metropolis newspaper.

Kent, Superman’s alter ego, has been employed by the newspaper since the comic book series started in the 1940’s.

But new Superman writer Scott Lobodell says they wanted to “explore Superman through a modern-day lens.”

As far as what Kent will be doing now that he’s quit—Lobodell says you are going to see him “come into his own in the next few years as far as being the guy who takes to the Internet and…starts speaking an unvarnished truth.”

Lobodell also says that Kent won’t be filling out an application anywhere, but instead will be “more likely to start the next Huffington Post or the next Drudge Report than he is to go find someone else to get assignments or draw a paycheck from.”

It’s likely that Kent will make more money being his own boss.

Clark Kent isn’t the only one redefining their working roles and exploring things through a different lens.

Take financial advisor Matt Zagula.  Matt is combining his expertise as a marketer and a financial advisor and teaching other financial advisors how to market their businesses better.

Rory Fatt teaches restaurateurs how to market their restaurants—helping them routinely increase income 100% to a 1000% after attending his Boot Camp.

Pat Flynn and Somnath Sikdar are helping gym owners increase their income by teaching and marketing Kettlebell training.

Julie Steinbacher and Adrianne Stahl, both lawyers, coach attorneys from across the United States to make their firms more productive and efficient.

Marketer of the year finalist Donna Galante is using her marketing knowledge from her experience successfully growing her orthodontic practice to teach other dentists how to grow their businesses too.

Steve and Bill Harrison use their knowledge, experience and skills in journalism to help others launch books and get media coverage.

Information marketing ISN’T about creating big e-commerce sites that require a big cash budget to run.

It ISN’T about giving up or selling the business you’ve always run (although you may decide you want to after you see how profitable and fun it is.)

Information marketing IS about making money in return for your time, passion and your knowledge and expertise in the thing you love to do.

As you can see, it doesn’t matter where your expertise lies. Whether it’s repairing cars, gardening or dog obedience training—information marketing fits well with every field.

Taking your expertise in your field and leveraging it to expand your income is a smart and profitable decision.

When I was doing magic shows, I learned how to fill my schedule with shows until it was over-flowing. I learned the most profitable type of shows to do to increase my income. But I was maxed out.

I couldn’t hold another magic show even if I wanted to because there was only so much time in a day…and I wanted to have a life too. I didn’t like the way things were going.  I was starting to not like doing magic shows—the thing I had always loved—because I felt like I was always working.

Information marketing was how I expanded my income. It was my ticket to freedom. It brought me face-to-face with modern times—where people want more and more and more information.

Of course, information marketing will give you much more than money. You’ll have more time. You’ll be excited about your business again. It will make your business easier too…

Because using reports, newsletters, books, mastermind groups, events, coaching programs, speaking engagements… have helped information marketers who come from vastly different arenas to:

  • Raise their status to celebrity within their niche making them appear to be “the expert” to prospects and customers.
  • Charge more for their services because of their new expert status.
  • Create multiple streams of income so that if one stream dries up or isn’t doing well, they don’t have to worry about experiencing financial difficulties.
  • Attract new customers to them who are already pre-conditioned to buy.

Take a clue from Clark Kent and look at modern day trends. People craving information is not going away. You can provide it and get paid for it, or someone else (like your competitor) will.

No matter what business you are in, if you are looking for ideas you can turn into a profit, cost-effective ways to expand your business, new ways to promote your business and attract customers and/or a way to add hours to your day, information marketing is your ticket to a better life.

If you are ready to expand your income by leveraging your expertise in your field and make money in return for your time, passion and your knowledge and expertise in the thing you love to do then you don’t want to miss this year’s InfoSummit.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: Join me today to hear a huge announcement from GKIC….hint…this is a first-time-ever event that we’re really excited to be offering.  Don’t be last to find out and miss out…click this link www.dankennedy.com/seminar and join me at 4:30 ET today to see what we’re up to now.