Are you an expert, speaker or consultant?
If you are, then you are probably spending the bulk of your time on the road, meeting customers.
And there’s nothing wrong with that, I used to do that a LOT a few years ago. And still do, but not to the detriment of other things in my life.
And therein, as The Bard would say, lies the rub.
If you’re spending all your time with your customers, you’re not only making it hard for yourself to maintain physical and mental health and agility, you can’t really do what you REALLY want to be doing.
photo credit: internets_dairy
Because let’s face it, if you’re a recognized, high-level expert, speaker or consultant (or all of the three!) and you’re not CREATING something out of it… then your most important asset isn’t growing, at all!
And as soon as you stop doing it, your income stops as well. It just doesn’t add up – it’s not a sustainable model.
So if you ever wanted to give attention to your pet project, your PhD dissertation, your family, anything that you REALLY want to be doing… you can’t! Or, you run around double intensively in advance, so that you can take the time off (and then end up using it all to recover yourself).
Vicious, isn’t it? But it doesn’t have to be that way.
The answer is simple, and surprisingly few people still know about it, and even fewer actually act on it.
INFORMATION PRODUCTS.
That’s right. Good old books, audios, DVD sets, webinars, even digital products… what have you.
Example of an extensive information product: Mike Filsaime’s The Seven Figure code
(content produced from material already presented at a one-time event!)
Why then do information products make particularly good sense for experts, then?
Why not, say, merchandising or media deals instead?
Here’s why:
- It’s the ultimate hands-off business (leaving you free to enjoy the fruits of your labor)
- It’s a ‘set it and forget it‘ revenue generator (once set up, it can generate high margin profits for you indefinitely)
- When digital, there’s not even shipping (no capital tied up with stocking, delivery, staff etc.)
- Your partners (or ours) can do the selling for you (they’ll actually want to!)
- Create once, profit forever (put your hard-earned credibility to work for you, while you focus on new avenues)
- The prestige and respect for having books etc. to your name (let’s face it, being ‘the one who wrote the book on xyz‘ always helps)
- Take advantage of the freedom Internet provides (generating income for you all day long, while you focus on your most interesting projects)
That’s quite a lot of good, valid reasons, I would say.
photo credit: Jerry Thompson1
Then why don’t most people who would benefit from having info products simply do it?
It’s a combination of reasons, all valid in their own right, but ultimately none of them hold up to scrutiny.
- It can seem like too much work to get your knowledge into a book, course, or other tangible sellable (truth: it’s no harder than being interviewed by a reporter)
- You may feel like capturing your information into a set structure might undermine your live events (the reverse is actually true: your live attendants will love getting a memento, plus the product will drive even more attendance to your live events)
- It may feel awkward at first, putting your name and likeness to a product (actually, it will help your credibility and perceived value even more)
Whatever your thinking may be right now, you have to admit it’s a pretty attractive proposition: having your knowledge packaged into a product, selling for you while you do what you most like doing (or even taking a break from it all).
It’s being done everywhere, so why not you?
To that end, I’ve gone to work and defined a set process to help experts and performers of all kinds get their first information products produced, marketed and selling for them – while they do what they do best.
If you’d like more information, just leave a comment below, or visit my company web site.
Isn’t it time you put your knowledge work for you, letting you relax into your most appealing projects?
It IS time. 🙂
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