I learned early on in my career that no matter how well I thought I knew a market, no matter how close or far away I was from that market or how badly I was sure they needed a product or service – especially information – a market match could never be assumed!
We are often asked by new menbers of InfoMarketer'sZone – "do we really have to follow the steps in the 6-Week InfoProduct Profits system" if we really know our market and our customers…my answer is if you are thinking that you 100% KNOW your market then you especially have to follow the process because it is this assumptive thinking that has burned many information marketers I've coached and worked with in the past.
Because of the processes we follow, we have not had a product flop , but believe me, we have had lots of idea flops!
What do you think costs you more time, energy, and money – an idea that turns out to be a flop or a fully developed product and business that ends in a flop?
AVOID INFOPRODUCT FLOPS!
I was lucky when I first started out to be coached by someone who kept pounding into me "start with your gut, but don't trust it completely" – who urged me to constantly ease my way into markets with specific methods of website design, advertising, mini-products and then expand when you hit something the market goes for.
Even having done this 12 different times, we still follow the same system and it works everytime – but stray from it and your chances of success with your own infoproduct fall to below 1 in 5 in our experience.
Why risk it?
The system we outlined is contained and frequently updated inside the Infomarketer'sZone InfoProduct Guru Resource Site…in short you want to:
1. Design a simple, quick website that is built to test the preferences of your prospects
2. Build a list quickly that you can get to tell you exactly what they want to buy
3. Turn that feedback into a product idea, outline and "living product concept" that can be validated with your market BEFORE you sink any time or financial investment into the business
4.Quickly pick out the winners and turn them around into high profit infoproducts without missing a beat.
That's what I've done and I have to say I get people coming to me constantly who have NOT followed that path, where they went with their gut and put load of work and time (and sometimes money) into a business or product only to find out it is a flop.
Test, test, test builds trust, trust, trust in your idea.
Do you have an infoproduct story you want to tell us about or are you considering a topic that you would like feedback on…leave us a comment.
Filed under info product, info-publishing, infoproducts, information marketing by
Picking a niche market that will make money on the internet is a tricky exercise, and more often than not, people are getting outright FOOLED!
Each week I have dozens of people come to me within InfoMarketer'sZone looking for advice on how to find a niche market or how to turn their chosen niche market into profit…and therein lies the critical success factor for choosing niche markets.
NICHE MARKET DEAD-END's
Your goal for picking a market and starting an internet business is presumably to make money – and ideally, lot's of money without killing yourself right?
And it stands to reason that you want a crowd of hungry people that are eagerly interested in something to target as your niche market…may as well tap into demand, correct?
Right so far…but here is where the mistake is often made.
Just like a dog chasing his tail, you can chase hot niche markets until you are frustrated, broke and dejected and still not make a buck, and unfortunately, that is what many people do.
Here are a few examples of niche markets that may "seem" like good targets, but will most likely result in a Dead-end result:
1. World Cup. Millions and millions of people are hot about the World Cup – searches are extremely high and websites are popping up everywhere, so it seems like that would be a good trend to ride correct? No – for two main reasons. First, do you know how you would monetize hundreds of thousands of users who have an interest in the world cup? What would they buy? Are you sure they aren't just looking for game information? And second, how long will that trend last…about another 3-4 days in my estimation…that isn't even enough time to begin to draw in traffic even if you could get your site up today.
Bad IDEA!
2. Summer niches – swimming, sunbathing, etc… Again, lots of searches but extremely unclear how you would monetize these niches – you would be better to target specific things that people BUY in the summer like jacuzzi's, pools, barbecues, etc…
3. Weight loss…what is the challenge here? No it is NOT competition, it is that your niche market is not specific enough. Don't get me wrong, I love the sub-niches within weight loss, but targeting overall weight loss is not what people have in mind when they jump on the internet. Instead, they have in mind "toning their legs", "getting rid of belly fat", "building six-pack abs", etc… Ask yourself, is your niche too general? Can you target a more specific RESULT for a subset of people within your niche?
NOW…GETTING GREAT AT PICKING HIGH PROFIT NICHES
You may be seeing the pattern from reading about the niches that turn out to be BAD ideas…
To succeed wildly your niche market MUST be organized around:
1. An existing desire for something that costs money…
A hot niche to me is not a topic that is just seeing a lot of buzz or search activity, you can go poor VERY quickly chasing after these niches — instead, go after niches where there is evidence of MONEY changing hands.
What is selling? Either physical products or information products – what is moving and what is not – THAT will tell you which niche is hot from a money-in-your-pocket perspective.
Or — you could choose to go the ad route, in which case you want to study where ad spending is happening. If you check Google Adwords and see that people are spending 3$, $4 or more per click, then it stands to reason there is more ad revenue opportunity in those niches – cha ching!
Go where the money is flowing NOT just where the traffic is going…follow the money trail.
The first several trainings in the 6-week Information Product Profit Secrets training course inside InfoMarketer'sZone walks you through a dozen or so ways to uncover existing buying patterns on the internet so you know exactly what people are spending money on…a massive advantage for you to step in and immediately begin to take part in an active niche making profit right away.
2. A specifc desire for a RESULT
We humans are peculiar creatures, we constantly long to be different, better, experience less pain, overcome limitiations we are convinced we have…and we will go to the ends of earth to make that happen!
When we work with ebook writers and information product creators they are often amazed at how irrational and strong the desire is for their products once they tap into the right niche and hit the right marketing buttons – it all comes down to targeting a result that a particular market wants backed by strong emotional attachment.
Believe me, for anyone that has tried everything to market a product or service on the internet and can't muster more than a few sales, you will be amazed when you put the right product in front of a hungry audience how easy making money really becomes.
What result do you target with your information product or online niche business?
If you can't answer that question easily, don't undersatnd fully how to identify these emotionally charged desired results within markets or can't undersatnd if your targeted result is missing the mark, then I highly recommend that you step inside Infomarketer'sZone, take the InfoMarketer's Product Profit training system and you will have a skill that you can use forever to identify and monetize hot niche markets.
Filed under niche markets, online business by
Could you create and market a Million dollar ebook like the top sellers within Amazon and Clickbank do?
How about your own private membership site that charges between $17-$69/month for access to information within niche markets as diverse as Running a Restaurant Business, Financial Planning to Relationship or Health advice?
Or maybe you could develop 4 powerpoint training modules and operate a home-study program delivered on DVD or via webinar/teleconference coaching sessions – these commonly range from $97-$997 depending on the content & target audience.
THERE IS MORE MONEY IN INFORMATION MARKETING THAN EVER BEFORE
The number of top selling ebooks continues to rapidly increase, we have dozens dn dozens of members over at InfoMarketer'sZone that have launched brand new careers for themselves with their own infoproducts – and now, for the first time in years – have a viable business that earns them ongoing income from products they developed once.
Not every information product is a success of course, but understand and apply these 3 tips and your chances are extremely high:
1. Narrow your search for a market & specific problem down by looking at existing demand for information. To start with, focus on topics within health & wellness, business/finance, relationships, or certain hobbies where there has been proof of people buying information
2. Make sure you target a highly desired RESULT expected by your niche market…in other words, don't author an ebook about Losing Weight, but be specific about exactly what ugly fat your prospect is wrestling with emotionally – arm fat, belly fat, "get rid of thunder thighs"…etc Think about it, the first thing someone thinks about is not losing weight but rather how do I get rid of these ugly…
3. Begin by putting up a website/blog now and start building traffic & a list so as you create your infoproduct you can survey your market, get some early testimonials & reviews and have a base to launch your product when it is done.
Here are several free/open articles, tutorials and videos on infoproduct creation and marketing you may find helpful. Create & market infoproducts.
Filed under info product, info-publishing, infoproducts, information marketing by
As human beings we come loaded with beliefs that tend to define and limit our view on life. That's ok, the fact that we have learned and experienced life is a good thing, but it does sometimes get in the way of how we personally develop and how successful we are at growing our businesses.
When you start a business, you have an idea of who you are targeting, what that market wants and the messaging required to get that market to take an interest and buy what you are offering.
The smallest error in either your assumptions around market, their desires or their "hot buttons" can mean a massive difference in your sales, profits and future in your business.
So why are we so confident that WE know the market, what they want and how they want to hear about it?
TOUGH LESSONS LEARNED
When I first started my own information product business I wrote an ebook that bundled a ton of knowledge into a guidebook that helped others put together their own products highly focused on the creative process…but after several reviews and being hit over the head enough times I was told "You have one really GREAT chapter in your ebook which talks about packaging that information into info products so people can leverage their time & energy by packaging their knowledge for profit – why not just go with that?"
You have to understand, the entire book was my baby, I didn't WANT to give up the other chapters, but as time went on it became more obvious that I had to fit my knowledge to the market instead of the other way around.
SO…AFTER ALL, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK
Just this morning I was speaking to another marketer who had yet to learn the same lesson…
He mentioned how much he hated a certain subject line that marketers often use in broadcast emails out to their list, the subject line was "If you are reading this, chances are…"
The fact is there are many email subject lines that may personally dirve me nuts but one thing I've learned to do in marketing is to trust the results…
So, I would not dismiss using any email subject line unless a) It were obviously offensive or would hurt someone or b) Test results showed it was abismal in its response.
There are two aspects to email marketing that are important…
1. Getting people to open the email
2. Getting people to read and take action on your post
It may be that the subject line you mention will do neither OR it could be that it accomplishes both, do we really know?
If not, then I would be willing to test it with some solid content relevant to the post.
Look – if you have a list of 5000 people and what you are writing about is highly relevant to those people, AND the subject line "If you are reading this, chances are… gets them to open and read your email at a rate 1.5 times higher than other subject lines, would you still think it is stupid?
When it comes right down to it, there are two extremely important factors that will improve our business results:
1. Getting to know our market at a deeper and much more comprehensive level…who they are, what is causing them pain, what they badly want and why. The more we know about our market, the more we will be able to speak their language in terms of product offerings and marketing
2. Suspend disbelief long enough to test. One thing I have learned in my decades creating information products and marketing is that more than half the time my gut is wrong…so it is much better for me to dig in and know more about my market and then suspend disbelief until I have tested.
Could you have missed something in your product planning or marketing because of how YOU feel or beliefs YOU have instead of taking guidance from your market? Leave us a comment, it may help others to expand their thinking and breakthrough current limitations.
Filed under Entrepreneurship, building business, information marketing, internet business by
We've tackled 4 different niche markets in which we have positioned dozens of different products and helped countless others target their niche markets with niche products.
Without a doubt the most important element to how much profit you make on the internet and how easy it is to attract traffic and customers who pay for what you offer is understanding what it means to find niche markets.
Knowing how to find profitable niche ideas means:
- You will naturally (without even trying) attract a storm of traffic and eager buyers without having to "sell" or "market" your product to an audience that just doesn't seem to be listening or responsive
- Customers, partners, publicity and profit comes to YOU instead of you scraping the bottom of the barrel trying to pay your monthly expenses
- There will be an endless number of niche product ideas and opportunities because there are millions and millions of people that want more and more information about how to achieve their desires or overcome their challenges
- Business is FUN and exciting because customers like you…they are looking for you…and appreciate that you understand them and offer them the niche content and niche products they are looking for
And…the coolest thing of all is that the internet makes niche research so fast and simple, watch this video as we show you IN DETAIL a free way to find niche markets that are RED hot with existing buying activity…
Do you have a niche market, idea or topic you are thinking of turning into a website, business or product that you want to ask about or a question about finding niche markets – post a comment, lets hear from you.
Filed under niche markets, start a business by
Logged into my Paypal account to pay my affiliates earlier today and checked out the latest Policy Updates and found this one that indicates a new Refund Fee for sellers that comes into effect August 10, 2010:
- Amendment to the PayPal User Agreement
Section 8.5 (Additional Fees) is amended to add a new refund fee. If you refund a Purchase Payment, we will retain the Fixed Fee portion of the Purchase Payment Fee. The buyer’s Account will be credited with the full Purchase Payment amount and the Fixed Fee portion of the Purchase Payment Fee will be deducted from your Account in addition to the amount of the refunded payment. The Fixed Fee will depend on the currency of the Purchase Payment and is listed in 8.4(c).
Can't say I am totally shocked, though I would have preferred to have seen accounts that experience an exceptionally high rate of refunds penalized rather than all of us
We've worked hard to keep our refund rates extremely low over the last few years, even as sales have gone up by a factor of 10X – measures such as…
1. Gone to higher priced infoproducts where the refund rates are actually quite allot lower
2. Moved to recurring revenue (membership, coaching program and paid X of the month) programs where there is little or no refunds, cancellations may occur for future payments, but requests for refunds are pretty much non-existant
3. Sell physical infoproducts – as long as the quality is good, refund requests are exceptionally low
4. Over-deliver – I like to add surprise bonuses post sale so the customer rarely requests a refund
5. Spread delivery of the product out over 30-90 days where they get the main product right away, an additional bonus after 30-days, a coaching call 45-days later, etc… this both deters fraudsters because they are looking for everything for nothing right away and don't like these periodically delivered programs AND keeps legitimate customers plugged in
6. Finally – if there is an error or a problem with delivery or some aspect of your product (occurs from time to time) – then I make it right by offering additional products, free access to a membership site, etc… quickly – it was our mistake, so we own up and give them more value to make up for the fact which means they likely will not request a refund.
More fees are never good, but it may be more positive for your business if you think a little about how to lower your refund rate – if you lower your rate by just 1%, then the .30 (depending on currency) fee will be nothing…
Filed under internet business, internet marketing by
Making Your Book Marketing Profitable
So you want to write a book?
There is no better feeling than putting the finishing touches on your own book, ebook or information product and either seeing your book in bookstores or marketing a book online.
Wait a minute, yes there is…
When you see your first check – not only have people purchased something with your name on it, but the checks will not continue to roll in for months and years to come, right?
Not always…in fact 9 out of 10 books written won't make money, but for students of InfoMarketer'sZone that ratio is MUCH more favorable.
A big part of what makes the difference between a top selling book or ebook is in preparation – here are 3 MUSTS of preparation before you write a book:
- Pick a niche market and topic that fill an emotional need or desire in your prospect base. So many non-fiction writers are 99% focused on sharing their expertise, research or writing skill only to forget that the MAIN reason people buy non-fiction, information-based ebooks, books and infoproducts is to solve an immediate need or desire to achieve something in their life. Watch this free video – an excellent 3-step system for making sure your book topic will sell.
- Pre-market…otherwise known in the book marketing and promotion segment as building your platform, or in wider marketing circles, building your brand. This is where the internet holds so much potential, you can market your book online using blogs, articles, teleseminars and webinars, free report giveaways and leverage the power of joint ventures and partners who can help you promote your book online for you.
- Higher-end products: Understand what business you are in…you are in the "results GETTING" business as far as your customers are concerned. What other products and services can you offer to help them get results (lose weight, live with less stress, raise a child, overcome an illness, travel more affordably, improve their financial situation or relationships, etc…) Your book or ebook should be part of a broader set of offerings – part of a bigger information publishing plan that may involve additional product creation OR licensing/affiliate marketing opportunities.
Writing a book, ebook or information product can be an incredibly enjoyable, exciting and very profitable internet business – you improve your chances substantially by focusing on these 3 critical areas before you write a book and market it online.
Filed under write a book, write an ebook by
Each month now we see dozens and dozens of new product launches within the Internet Marketing space and hundreds of others in hot markets including health & wellness, personal development, relationships, and hobby niche markets.
They follow roughly the same formula…
- They give you an initial email telling you something is coming
- They begin to give away lots of content – videos, reports and email content
- In the background they put together a high-priced product usually in the range of $297 to upwards of $10,000 and they attract a group of hungry affiliates and JV partners
- Finally, they turn up the heat and orchestrate a massive email campaign to existing and partner niches culminating in 5-figure and 6-figure payouts…
But the question is WHY do they continue to work, even after we have seen launch after launch?
In fact, these orchestrated launches have been happening offline for years…new movie launches, Apple's product launches, book releases, and so on…
There is no black magic or secrets – these are well known processes that when followed – definitely do work again and again…without exception.
Jeff Walker is credited with bringing the product launch process to the market and has worked with hundreds of Guru's and little-known marketers to help them turn their launches into massive successes.
Watch this free video where Jeff shares REAL tips and REAL results (actual earnings numbers) for the first time ever…believe me, this video gives "inside" information that nobody else has…for free!
How Guru's Are Made With Product Launches
Jeff touches on some pretty sensitive topics in this video:
- How much guru's and non-guru's are making with their product launches
- Are the "Guru's" organizing or "syndicating" their launches? This may be shocking!
- What comes first – the product launch or guru status? We all assume we must be a guru to do a launch yet Jeff sets the record straight – most guru's didn't become guru's UNTIL they did a launch
- Is there still money to be made with product launches and especially, product launches inside of IM?
- And…a little known TYPE of product launch that doesn't even require going out and getting a heap of JV partners
Be sure to watch this one folks – if you want quick and massive success building your online business and brand then this information is definitely for you.
Filed under product launch formula, start a business by
Each day I talk and email with dozens of writers, information product entrepreneurs, trainers and entrepreneurs that want to leverage marketing on the internet, but have to deal with getting their site online, specifically they ask…
- What html editor should I use to build my website
- How can I build my website pages myself fast instead of having to pay someone thousands of dollars to do it for me?
- How do I make sure what I'm building uses the best principles of on-page search engine optimization so I get Google feeding me as much traffic as possible?
- How can I create dozens (or even hundreds) of pages in minutes instead of hand-coding these taking days or weeks?
- How do I make my websites look great – including images, columns, tables, pictures – without knowing the technical side of html?
I've been using XsitePro for my html sites for years and highly recommend it as one of the most affordable, easy-to-use and extremely powerful website builders out there.
XsitePro is built both to make your websites look great, but more important, with internet marketers in mind.
Watch this quick video that shows the power of XsitePro to build a multi-page website:
Click to Watch This XsitePro Vide
There really is no better way to quickly, easily and effectively create your own html-based website.
Add a dynamic blog using Wordpress and you have the basis of a very strong internet marketing foundation for your internet business.
Filed under Xsite Pro, information marketing by
What is the difference between an information product that sells for $27 and one that sells for $1000?
$29M Information Product entrepreneur Eban Pagan just released his third powerful information product training video – and you can access it for free right here:
Go and get this "Content is Cash" video FAST (while it is still free) – this 43-minute video will share with you the #1 secret of understanding how to value your information to be 10X more valuable than any book or ebook…
How many of you have wondered how to…
- Best position information to attract a rabid market
- How to take your information, knowledge and research and package it into high-priced infoproducts – $397 home study courses, $1000 video series, $10,000 coaching programs and so on…
- Turn content that seems to be freely available and re-position it to have a massive perceived value (if you GET this, you will NEVER lose the ability to make money on demand again!)
- Create insanely hot videos that persuade people to buy right from your own home computer (watch him do it while you watch in this video)
Go and get Eben's latest video "Content Is Cash" and you will get all of the answers for FREE!
Filed under Eban Pagan, info product, information publishing by
