So many people with a small business dream of writing a book. They dream of getting thousands published and getting them into the hands and hearts of the people who need them.
And, if we’re honest, they are also dreaming about the potential profits that could come from said book.
Let me tell you straight from the heart: if your business doesn’t yet have a great deal of momentum on it, then don’t yet publish a book. Instead, start by creating an information product.
The difference between a book and an information product.
A book is just that: 100-300 pages between a pretty cover. An information product is a more complete package. It may include some audio, a CD or DVD. It may come with a workbook, or other bonuses.
The difference is intention: with an information product, you’re intending to provide a self-study program that walks someone into getting significant results.
Sounds pretty ambitious. Seems like it would be easier to just start with a book. Except for one thing.
A book is another word for struggle.
The publishing industry is set up for everyone to make a living except for the author. The publisher makes a profit, the printer makes a profit, and if you go the traditional route, the agent makes a profit.
And you, as the author, are left with the responsibility of promotion. That means you have to sell your books. The first 50-100 will sell easily to friends and family. After that comes the hard work.
I know authors with email lists of 4000, 5000, 8000 people who are still struggling to sell significant numbers of a $15-$20 book. And even when they do, the profit that comes in to feed their family… well, let’s just say it’s not paying the rent, or even the grocery bill.
You’re a -small- business owner, not an empire.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t dream of having a growing, thriving business. But, are you really trying to amass an email list of 100,000 people? Are you really trying to reach the mainstream at the level of Oprah?
Actually, come to think of it, I just spoke with someone whose business had been portrayed on the Today Show on prime-time television… and saw absolutely no business results come from that appearance.
I don’t mean to be a downer. It is absolutely possible to build a thriving business. But, when you’re starting out, or if you feel like you’re miles and miles from that arrival point, take my advice: create an information product and not a book.
People want the help.
Your clients will quite happily purchase homestudy programs. And, if you’re selling them for a price that represents their significance, then you don’t have to sell very many of them in a month to be able to take care of the mortgage and the grocery bill.
Plus, as an information product or homestudy program, you still get all the benefits of having a book- the credibility, the access, and the reputation.
The only difference is that you’ll actually be making a living selling these, as opposed to selling a book.
Is there ever a time for a book?
Sure there is. When you’ve sold a significant number of information products, when you have built up a large list of blog readers or email subscribers, when you’re ready to focus on wide-reach marketing, then a fifteen dollar book is going to be an invaluable tool in that process.
But, if you don’t have yet have momentum in your business, then think information product.
Uh, but how much do I really have to put into an info product? Let’s take a look, shall we?
Keys to Creating an Information Product
• Pick a foundational problem that all of your clients deal with.
Start with some common issue that everyone deals with, that if you had your druthers, that every client who came to you would already have worked through some of the basic, foundational something that you picked for your information product.
• Write the (work)book. (huh?)
Yes, start with writing the book. Although it won’t just be a book, written material will form the core of it. And you’ll want to make it a workbook. Meaning that while there will be anecdotes, examples, and narrative, the real meat will be exercises, steps and how-to’s.
You don’t have to write War and Peace. It can be 80-120 pages, but you want it to be really helpful and effective.
• What will help make it really useful?
Illustrations? A video that explains or walks people through it? The recording of a teleclass or live presentation that you gave on the subject?
Include those other pieces, so that people with different strengths in learning, whether audio, visual, or kinesthetic learners, have something to engage with.
By taking the extra effort to create an info product that will help people really get results, you’ll have created something that your clients will love, that you’ll feel proud about, and that will actually bring some healthy profit into your business.
And you can publish your mainstream book later, while riding the momentum that your info product helped to build.
