If you have been thinking about creating an information product but hesitate because you don't consider yourself enough of an expert, this month's ezine was written with you in mind.
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True Story: the $50 Challenge
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Dana was a client of mine who was working with me to fund a non-profit she was starting: a private school for local at-risk kids. She had years of experience working with these kids as an elementary school teacher and was confident she could help. But raising money to fund her new school was very intimidating. One day we were talking about the idea of creating and selling information products to help her fund her school. She loved the idea of selling information products but balked at the idea of selling ones she created. Why? Because she was *just* a school teacher. She didn't have a Ph.D. in her field. She hadn't written any important papers that were published in scholarly journals. Why in the world would anyone want to hear what she had to say, let alone PAY to hear it.
I disagreed with Dana and gave her a challenge: "I bet you know something that I would happily pay you to teach me." I picked up my checkbook, "I bet you could help me with a problem that's worth at least $50."
Dana was intrigued by the challenge and to get started, we made a list of her teaching accomplishments. One accomplishment that piqued my interest was how she had taught her first grade class to keep their classroom tidy.
I was interested because getting my own first grader to pick up after himself was a constant struggle. I felt like I had tried everything; nagging, bribes, and threats. Nothing worked.
"Dana," I said, "If you could teach me how to teach my son to clean up after himself, that would easily be worth $50 to me."
My offer amazed Dana. She never imagined that anyone would value something that, to her, was so ordinary.
She took me up on it and wrote a great article on training kids to pick up after themselves. I still apply her advice now and then when my son, now eleven, forgets to tidy up. Dana got $50 which she applied as a donation to her new school (now the Park Hill Preparatory School in Denver, Colorado).
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The Lesson Learned
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Like Dana, most of us know how to do things that are almost second nature TO US. And that's the problem. When you're good at something and have been doing it for a long time, there's a tendency to devalue it. We assume that it's easy for us so isn't it easy for everyone else?
NO! IT ISN'T EASY FOR EVERYONE ELSE.
I had been doing everything I could think of to get my son to clean up after himself and it wasn't working. Dana had spent years with kids and through her own training plus lots of trial and error she had developed a simple, straightforward process for teaching kids to take responsibility for keeping their classroom clean.
A neater, more peaceful home was worth at least $50 to me.
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3 Steps to Developing an Information Product (Even if You're Not a Famous Expert)
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I'm willing to bet there's a $50 information product in you. Maybe more than one.
Try this:
Step #1
Write down at least 10 things that you know how to do. It's easiest to look at what you've accomplished recently but that doesn't mean you can't go back further. Your list items can be related to your current business but it's not a requirement. Please don't get stuck because you can't think of anything grand you accomplished in your business this year. Jot down what comes to mind.
Step #2
Pick one item on your list that you enjoyed doing and that you're pretty sure you could teach someone else to do.
Step #3
For the item you picked, write a very short story about what you did, how you did it, and what you would do differently to improve your results.
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Ta-DAH! You have an information product
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Is it rough around the edges? Yes, probably. Are you going to put it out to the marketplace? Probably not. But that's not the point. The point is you don't need to be an acclaimed expert to know something others value.
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Bottom Line
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The main requirement to create an information product is experience doing something others would like to learn. If you own a small business, I have no doubt that you have at least two or three valuable information products based on your experience, know-how, and knowledge. My client, Dana, didn't think anyone would pay her $50 for what she knew about getting kids to clean up. Little did she know!
Copyright: Copyright © 2008 Judy Murdoch
About the Author:| Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, "Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!" go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm |
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