How to Create, Sell and Distribute Your Own Informational
Product
With the rising popularity of the Internet, there is absolutely
no better time than right now to develop your own informational
product. Not only is there no better time, but it has never been
any easier for anyone to develop and sell their own products.
Information is the number one best-selling product on the
Internet. There are literally hundreds of Internet entrepreneurs
quietly making a fortune simply by selling information. The
first step in creating your product is to decide upon a subject.
Select a subject in which you have a great deal of knowledge.
The knowledge you have within your own mind is extremely
valuable. Simply write about what you know and teach others how
to do the same thing. It's that simple. Creating an Outline The
easiest way to begin writing is to create an outline. Begin your
outline with an opening statement or Introduction followed by a
Foreword. Your opening statement might tell your readers a
little bit about what they are going to learn or may be a
statement in regard to the subject matter. Your Foreword might
include information in regard to who you are, your credentials,
copyrights, and what you want your readers to learn. Your next
step will be to either create a Table of Contents or go directly
into creating your Chapter Titles. If you're writing your
information in the form of a how-to manual, you may want to use
a Table of Contents. This will enable your readers to quickly
locate important information. If you're writing your information
in the form of a book, then you can leave out the Table of
Contents and simply use Chapter Titles. Whether you're using a
Table of Contents or Chapter Titles, write your titles so that
when they're read, they tell the story. In other words, when you
scan your titles they will give you a step by step description
of what your information is all about. Finally, at the bottom of
your outline, wrap everything up by including a closing
statement. Once you've completed your outline you can begin
filling in the spaces. Write your text in small blocks and leave
a space between your paragraphs. Select a font that is easy to
read and use black text on a white background. In addition,
write in an everyday language that everyone can understand.
Delivering Your Information In order to deliver your information
to your customers, you'll need to compress it into a
downloadable file, better known as an ebook. There are different
types of compilation methods however, for this example we will
focus on HTML compiled ebooks. Ebooks or electronic books are
self-contained "executable" files of HTML. This HTML may be a
web site you've created or HTML you've specifically prepared to
be compiled into a downloadable .exe file for distribution. When
downloaded, this file will self install on your clients desktop.
Your first step in creating your ebook will be to turn your text
into HTML. Simply divide your text into sections such as,
Introduction, Table of Contents, Chapters, etc., and create a
web page for each. Make sure you include good navigational links
to and from each page you create. You can include graphics, live
links, and almost everything that HTML 4.0 supports. Selecting a
Compiler There are many good ebook compilers available on the
Internet, but only three that I can personally recommend. Each
of the following compilers support almost everything that HTML
4.0 supports and will compile your HTML into a downloadable .exe
format. They are as follows: E-ditor Pro - This is by far the
easiest compiler to use. The step by step interface will guide
you through the entire process. This program includes a pop-up
message box that loads prior to your ebook loading when your
ebook is launched. This box can contain system requirements,
copyrights or whatever text you'd like. Cost: $69.95
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/web/jump.cgi?ID=2884
WebCompiler - This program is a little complicated the first
time you use it however, once you've figured it out, you can
easily create an ebook. This program will allow you to use your
own product icon. Cost: $149.00
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/web/jump.cgi?ID=2889 Activ
Ebook - This program isn't as easy as E-ditor Pro, but with the
aid of the instructions you can easily create a nice ebook. The
great thing about this compiler is that it assigns an ESBN
number to each ebook you compile. It also has a free demo that
is fully functional for up to 10 files to be compiled. You can
create and distribute ebooks with the free demo, but you must
register the software if you'd like to sell your ebooks. Cost:
$29.95 http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/web/jump.cgi?ID=105
They are all good compilers and each will enable you to password
protect your work however, for features and price, Activ Ebook
is the best buy all the way around. Once you've created your
ebook and you're ready to upload it to your server, simply
create a new directory where you store your HTML files. You can
name the directory "Ebooks" or whatever you'd like. Upload your
ebook in binary mode. To create a download link on your web
site, most servers will allow you to simply link to the address:
http://www.yourdomain.com/ebooks/ebook.exe If this method of
linking doesn't work for you, contact your server administrator
for assistance. Taking Orders In order for you to begin taking
orders for your ebook, you'll need to have the ability to accept
credit cards. Unless you'd like to get your own merchant
account, the best way to accept credit cards is to use an online
service. The best service I've found is ClickBank. This company
will enable you to accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express,
Discover, Eurocard, and Visa-Debit, MasterCard-Debit, and Novus
cards. They charge a one-time $49.95 activation fee, and a $1 +
7.5% fee per sale. There are no monthly fees. The great thing
about this company is that over 60,000 affiliates can choose to
sell your products for you. ClickBank enables any web seller to
automatically pay sales commissions to affiliates. Clickbank
will bill your customers, pay you, and pay your affiliates a
commission. In other words, they'll run your entire affiliate
program for you. http://hop.clickbank.net/?wsnet There is
absolutely no reason why you can't create your own informational
product. Think about it... Think about some special talent you
may have or knowledge you could share and write about. Creating
your own product will be one of the best business decisions
you'll ever make.