Before the internet, in order to create your own products for distribution, you needed a staff. Since all products were physical, they had to be created and then distributed through the mail or other service.
With the internet you have many more options for creating and distributing products. You can make them digital or physical, you can create software or ebooks, and even create audio or video using just your computer.
Before you get started though, you need to make several decisions so that your product becomes a success. Ask yourself these questions, and use your answers to create a successful product.
1. What will be the topic of your products?
Is there a specific topic you are an expert in? Do you have a hobby you've been very successful at and can share your knowledge? Is there a topic you are passionate about?
Regardless of what your skill is, there's probably a market for it. The first step in getting started here is to do your research, once you've chosen your topic, find out if there is a market for what you do. You can search for your topic in the search engines. Look for forums, social networking sites, and other sites that offer products similiar to the ones you want to create. If you find sites like these, you have a market.
2. What format will you use to create your products?
Although writing is one of the easiest ways to communicate your information to others, writing a book isn't the only way to create an information product. With sites like Lulu, Cafe Press, and Create Space, you have the option of creating different types of products to meet the needs of your audience, including video and audio. You can also create strictly digital products that can be downloaded from your website.
3. What tools will you need to create your products?
If you plan to write books or ebooks, you'll a word processing program, as well as a program to create PDFs. A PDF is a universal format that can be distributed to anyone and read on any type of computer. If you plan to self publish your manuscript as a book, you'll need to convert your document to PDF before publishing.
With video and audio, you'll either need a video camera, or some type of software on your computer to create your audios and videos. You can do a search at any of the freeware websites to find software for creating your projects in these formats.
4. How will you distribute your products?
Once you know what format you will create your product in, you'll need to decide how to distribute it. This means taking orders, as well as processing payments. The secret here is to automate every aspect of the order, payment, and distribution process so your products are available 24/7. It will also save you a lot of time, and you can use your time to market your products. The companies I mentioned before can help you here.
5. How will you market your products?
The type of product you sell can largely determine how you will market your product. Will you create a website to send your traffic to? Do you plan to pay for traffic, as in pay per clicks? Articles and press releases are a great way to get the word out about your business and drive traffic. You can also advertise your business using classified ads, as well as share your knowledge on forums and social network sites.
There are many ways to market your business that will get you the traffic to sell your products. Create your marketing plan before you create your products and then launch as soon as you are ready to begin distributing your products. Then you will more quickly see success.
