I came across a site today that typifies a common mistake ebook writers and marketers make when offering “how to”, information products to their marketplace.

Before I show you the site, here are a few background points to keep in mind…

1. There is BIG money in marketing “how to”, information based ebooks, reports, audio and video products online…our own business is expanding so fast we can’t keep up and I know several other 7-figure earners that have built incredible internet businesses for themselves in the last year alone.

2. The big money earners understand that one of the key methods of making really huge profits with infoproduct creation and marketing  is to make their package not only attractive to their marketplace – but to make it equally attractive to distribution through partners – otherwise known as JV’s (joint venture partners) or affiliates. 

A major emphasis of our top selling course and info product mentor system over at InfoMarketer’sZone is to increase the perceived value of your ebooks and info products so that customers will pay you top prices and you have very attractive commission levels to offer affiliate motivating them to put your offer in front of millions of their most trusted eyeballs.

Here’s what I mean…

If you have a dog training ebook that you sell for $10 – then even if you decide to start an affiliate program and give affiliates 50% – they only earn $5 per sale and are far less likely to promote your product where you will miss out on hundreds of potential sales each month….

But if you improve the targeting of your ebook, turn it into a step-by-step course, add in some audio interviews with clients or other experts, and throw in a live Q&A call once each month – then you can charge more for it – say $67 and give your affiliates 50% which now starts to look much more appealing at $30+ commissions per sale. 

Suddenly you have 20, top-tier affiliates putting your website in front of their best subscribers and customers where you convert many of them into customers.  Now that is leverage and that is the secret of making BIG money with your own ebooks and info products.

OK, so back to my example…

Take a look at this site on the topic of meditation – and the products they are offering under the “books” tab.  Notice anything strange?

I do!

They have some incredible products targeting a sweet spot in a market that badly needs their information – how overcome the difficulty so many people have with meditation. 

At stake is our very happiness, health and quality of life – but for all of that they will charge $9-$19 an ebook? 

What is the message to someone who visits their site? 

What is the enticement for someone who has a list full of those eager to learn and advance their meditation studies to offer their ebook – there doesn’t even appear to be an affiliate program!

Folks, when we put together information for our customers, we MUST know that our information can change their life in meaningful ways and that for them to really understand that, we must charge a fair price in exchange for our effort and expertise. 

This author could easily bundle some guided meditations, an interview with an experienced meditator to walk them through the most common questions and obstacles, perhaps even a meditation video series and price their product in the $47-$97 range. 

Why is that important?

It tells me that when I discover their site that they really must have something special, something worth buying. 

As an affiliate, I am immediately interested in promoting a $97 product that pays 40% in commission to my list of those intrested in meditation because each sale will earn me about $40 – not bad! 

So – if you really want to get BIG results with your information marketing business, you need to start thinking bigger – how do you increase the value of your package so that both your customers badly WANT what you have and partners are attracted to your products to help drive automated sales for you.