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

Part 1

The first part of “HOW TO TURN YOUR COMPUTER INTO A MONEY-MAKING BATTLEAXE! (1 of 2)” was published last Friday.

WHY DO PEOPLE BUY INFORMATION?

An important thing to keep in mind is that every single person who buys an information product does it for one of two reasons: to avoid a pain, or to find a pleasure. Sometimes the reason they bought the product could be both. For example, why did you buy this issue (or subscription)? Did you want to learn ways to make extra money? That’s finding a pleasure. Or, did you want independence from working for someone else for the rest of your life? That’s avoiding a pain. Use this fact as a guide that will help you attack an information subject from the proper angle. Show your target market how to find the pleasure or avoid the pain, and they will buy.

How do you find information on a subject you’re writing about? There are many ways. Your local library can provide most of the information you’ll need. You can interview experts on the subject, either in person, or through the mail or phone. Write to groups and associations connected with the subject. Whatever you do, though, DON’T just copy the information you find. This will more than likely violate copyright rules.

DON’T WANT TO WRITE?

If you still don’t feel like you can successfully write an information product, or just don’t want to, there is still a way you can get a successful start in this business. What you need to do is find information that is either PUBLIC DOMAIN or includes REPRINT RIGHTS.

Public domain means no one controls the copyright. Either it is older material that never had the copyright renewed, or it was released free of copyright to the public. One excellent source of copyright-free material on a myriad of subjects is the U.S. Government Printing Office. If you want some information on a certain subject, or want to get on their mailing list, write:

Superintendent of Documents
Government Printing Office
Washington, DC 20402

The best type of material to look for, though, is information products that include reprint rights. In other words, when you buy the product, you also buy the right to reproduce it and resell it. Many times, a sales flyer or advertisement is included, with a spot left open for your name and address, so you can immediately start making a profit. This is a secret of the business that has been kept our of the general public eye. You can find droves of material like this mostly from mail order dealers who specialize in informational products. Everything from single page reports to full books are available. Besides being great for starting out, reprintable materials are also fantastic as add-ons to your own line of products. That’s what I do, and it works great!

When you purchase an information package including reprint rights, the smart thing to do is type the material into your word processor, and save it to your hard disk. That way, when you receive an order, all you need to do is print out a copy.

A breakthrough in the reprint rights business has been the emergence of reprintable material already on disk. Most of the products are contained in ASCII text files, which can be loaded by almost any word processor. Some of the disks even contain menu and printing programs, so your word processor isn’t required. I have an excellent product like this available, called the INFO-DISK Business Report System, which contains over 120 reports that you can print out and sell. The package includes personalized flyers and ads, so you can get started right away. I’ll tell you more about this later… back to the information!

By the way, you don’t have to limit yourself to the printed page. Information can be published on audio cassette, computer disk, video tape, use your imagination! If you’re writing about how to refurbish old bicycles make a video! You can do it with a regular home video camera, with some practice. Or, create your product on audio tape. This can be as simple as reading your printed info-product into a tape recorder. Thus, your customer can listen and learn while driving, riding a bike, or whatever.

Whatever publishing method you use, be sure to copyright your original material (even if you’re creating a product that will be sold with reprint rights - you still own the copyright, you just give certain people the right to reprint your work). This can be done easily and with no expense by putting a copyright notice on your product, such as this: Copyright 1993, Pat Flanagan Publishing & Design. Either spell out “Copyright” or use the official copyright symbol (the letter “c” with a circle around it). Don’t use (c), as this is not legally acceptable. If you have put together valuable information that people may want to copy, you can officially register your copyright. Call the U.S. Copyright Office at (202) 287-9100, and they will send an application form, along with full instructions.

MARKETING YOUR INFO-PRODUCT

I’ve written a lot about marketing in many of the articles in my own and other publications. All of the methods I’ve discussed are applicable for info-products. For example, read the report on this disk titled “Power marketing with your Modem” for some good low cost publicity methods.

The most important marketing methods you can use are press releases (send them frequently); reviewers (get your product to as many of them as you can); articles/columns (offer to write articles on your subjects for publications free of charge - as long as they include a short paragraph you supply that contains your name and address, and a short description of how readers can benefit from you and your products); and, of course advertising.

When advertising, the best method to use is the two-step. That’s not a dance; it’s advertising that asks for inquiries instead of selling the product outright. People write for more information, and you send them a ton of info on your products and services. This is what draws the order. It’s much less expensive, easier, and produces better results than a bunch of expensive ads which will send you to the poorhouse if they don’t pull.

There are many ways to cut your mail order ad expenses. You can use expanding classified ads (your classified ad gives a “teaser” message with a phone number - callers get an answering machine that delivers a 2-3 minute sales message, and takes credit card or COD orders); you can use print & mail dealers (they will print and mail your flyers or ads by bulk mail to large numbers of people - usually opportunity seekers - for much cheaper than if you tried to do it yourself); you can advertise electronically on computer Bulletin Board Systems; you can create your own ad sheets (your ad takes up part of a sheet or sheets of paper, and you sell the rest of the space to pay your ad’s way - this is a business in and of itself); and you can set up your own advertising agency (most large magazines and newspapers give agencies a 15% discount and an additional 2% discount if paying in advance - create a new business name with new letterhead to do this).

IMPORTANT RULES TO FOLLOW FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS

Guarantee your products - Offer a money back guarantee on your products. If you feel uneasy doing this, maybe your product isn’t as good as it could be. If you are proud and confident about what you’ve created, you shouldn’t have any qualms about doing this. A guarantee will boost your sales by building customer confidence.

Always be good-natured with your customers, even when they complain - If you’re surly with your customers, they’ll tell others not to do business with you. Enough said.

Keep your ears and eyes open - Watch what others in your field are doing. If you see a company that has come up with a good idea, think about how to adapt it to your own business.

Walk a straight path - Be honest, pay your taxes, be ethical, etc. You’ll sleep much better at night.

Don’t be afraid to admit your mistakes or failures - You won’t hit a home run every time you go to bat. If you create a product that doesn’t sell, don’t run your business into the ground trying to get it to sell. Drop it and move on. Keep plugging away, because mail order is a “get-rich-slow” business when done right.

Share your knowledge - Once you’re good at this business, help others get in. Teach a beginner what you’ve learned. This is called mentoring, and I feel it’s an important concept. It helps you stay in touch with your business, and helps the home business and small business industries grow and advance.

Above all, HAVE FUN! - Why work so hard to get into your own business if you don’t even like it? Take things lightly, and have a bit of fun. Self-publishing can be a very rewarding, relaxing and fun business. Stay at home with the family, work a few hours a day, and enjoy what you’ve accomplished.

CONCLUSION

Self-publishing your own info-products can be done by anyone who’s willing to apply themselves and reach past their limits. It’s not as hard or expensive as you think. Start small, with a few short reports, and work your way up. Look at me - I’ve publish a newsletter, a book, this disk, and literally hundreds of info-products, all from an office in my home. If I can, you can too!

Part 1

The first part of “HOW TO TURN YOUR COMPUTER INTO A MONEY-MAKING BATTLEAXE! (1 of 2)” was published last Friday.