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HOW TO TURN YOUR COMPUTER INTO A MONEY-MAKING BATTLEAXE! (Part 1 of 2)

Why did you buy your computer? Did you buy it to play games? Fair enough. Did you buy it to help you keep track of your current business? Good answer, too. Not sure why you bought it? That’s okay. That probably describes most people.

Here’s something you should know… your computer is an important tool that can springboard you into a very high-profit business! How high? 1000% profits good enough for you? If not, you’re too greedy, but if that sounds good to you, read this report. You’ll learn how you can start a highly profitable business creating and selling INFORMATION PRODUCTS with your computer.

Selling information is, in my opinion, THE best business. Why? Well, there are a number of reasons. Among them,

• It’s easy and inexpensive to start
• It’s easy and inexpensive to run on an ongoing basis
• It can be run in spare time or full time
• Anyone, young or old, male or female can do it
• It can be run from the home
• It can have incredibly high profits
• There’s no need to tie up a bunch of money in inventory

A very important aspect of this business is that people will ALWAYS want information. It’s not a business based on trends or fads (unless you’re writing about them), and competition isn’t as big a factor as in other businesses. There may be other people writing about the same subjects as you, but there will always be many angles and approaches that can be taken toward the same subject. This will make your information product unique.

There is no limit to the types of subjects that can successfully be sold. People will always want to know: ways they can make or save money; information about hobbies they either are involved in or want to start; travel tips and techniques; how-to information about various trades and businesses; and much more. The secret to doing this successfully is called TARGETING.

Targeting means that you are producing specialized information that will appeal to a specific group of people. To paraphrase an old adage, if you try to be all things to all people, you won’t succeed. But, if you try to be a certain thing for a certain group, you WILL succeed.

The trend that has shaped and reshaped this business, more than any other, has been the explosion of direct mail marketing. People are buying more and more by mail, and it seems like each year doubles the previous year. The great thing about direct mail marketing is that there are many ways you can isolate a specific group of people and market directly to that group.

To put this another way, if you put an ad in a newspaper that has a circulation of 25,000, maybe only 5,000, or even 1,000 or less, will be interested in what you have to offer. However, if you put your ad in a publication that has a circulation of 25,000 people interested in fishing, you’ve just targeted a group that will be interested in what you have to offer (as long as your offer has to do with fishing). The more you narrow down your target group to the exact people who will be interested in your information products, the more success you will see. This is targeting.

So how does your computer help you in this business? Well, besides the obvious uses of keeping your customer list and organizing your accounting needs, your computer can completely eliminate the need for inventory. That’s right! Create your info-products with your word processing program, and you can print them out whenever you need them, however many you need. That way, you don’t tie up a lot of money in printing and storage, plus, if you happen to create an info-product that DOESN’T sell (everyone does - just ask me!), you don’t get stuck with a bunch of product you can’t sell.

Also, the computer makes it easier to create these products. You say you can’t write? Well, don’t get scared away. You don’t have to be Tolstoy in this business. Here’s the secret: WHEN YOU WRITE SOMETHING, PRETEND YOU’RE TALKING TO A FRIEND! MAKE IT LIKE A CONVERSATION, AND IT WILL BE EASY TO WRITE, AND EASY TO READ. That’s exactly how I write. I do all my writing just like I’m sitting across the table from a friend of mine, or writing a friendly letter. Too many people churn out stilted, boring, college professor-type writing, thinking it sounds “high-minded” or “educated.” It’s just hard to read, that’s all. Conversational writing is the best, and the computer makes it easy. If you can type with any reasonable speed, you can type faster and longer than you could write, without getting tired.

PICKING YOUR SUBJECTS

What to write about? Make a list of everything you know. I know, that can be easier said than done. You may think you don’t know enough about much of anything to write about, but that’s not true. All of your hobbies, interests, work experiences, etc. can be great starting points.

Don’t worry about how much information you can pull out of a subject. Info-products aren’t all 200 page books. Successful information products have ranges from large books all the way down to single page reports! A three page report that costs less than 50 cents to print out and send can be sold for $5. What percent profit is that?

Pick a subject from your list that you think would interest a good number of people. Now, list the possible questions you could answer. The best way to organize them for an info-product is usually the “problem-solution” method, where you state the problem or question, then give the solution or answer. Now, talk to your imaginary friend! Tell him or her story. If it helps, talk out loud into a tape recorder! Then, type it with your word processor. You’ve just created your first info-product!

Another, more powerful way to create an information product is to find a market that is hungry for information, then research and write products that will feed this hunger. If you know the market is already there, then half your work is done for you!

How do you go about finding these markets? By doing a little creative research. The simplest method is to go to your library, and get at least eight consecutive months or more of magazines that have large classified and mail order ad sections. Look through the ads and find the ones that keep appearing in each issue. These ads are obviously drawing orders, or else they wouldn’t keep running. Make a list of the subjects of these ads. These will be some good markets to explore. And don’t worry about the competition! Offer these markets something different and better, and you’ll find success.

Part 2

The second and final part of “HOW TO TURN YOUR COMPUTER INTO A MONEY-MAKING BATTLEAXE! (2 of 2)” will be available next Monday.