I’ve created three information products in the past six months that have collectively earned about $25,000 in profit. This averages out to a little over $4,000 per month which is a very livable wage and coupled with a few other online income sources could put you well on your way to a secure self employment.
How To Get Started: Niche Selection
The most important thing you need to decide is what will your product be about. What need is there in the market that you can help solve?
Example 1: I created a product that teaches people how I build websites that make money with Amazon’s affiliate program: Niche Profit Course. I created this product as a response to the hundreds of comments and emails I received after writing this article outlining a few of the tips I used to make $42k with Amazon Associates in 2009. It became pretty clear that the readers of my blog wanted more details so I set out to create an in depth step by step course to show people how I make money with Amazon’s affiliate program.
Example 2: I was a professional Halo player for several years and in fact that’s largely how I got started making money online. I used to sell Halo lessons for $30 an hour and eventually $50 an hour. So when a new version of Halo came out in September 2010 I saw an opportunity to stop trading hours for dollars and instead to create an online training course designed to teach people how to get better at Halo. I knew from giving countless lessons that beginner and intermediate players make many of the same mistakes throughout every new version of Halo. So I simply created a course going through the wide range of things I’d discuss in a typical lesson and started selling it.
Example 3: It takes far too long to create Amazon affiliate links for a blog the manual way so I wanted all the functionality of being able to create Amazon affiliate links but to do it all without leaving my WordPress dashboard. This was the very first premium plugin I released and it’s since undergone 3 major revisions (and free upgrades for customers – even those that bought it cheap the first time). Get it here.
How To Find A Niche:
In all three of the examples I shared above, you probably noticed a few common themes: Expert Subject Knowledge and Solves A Common Problem
Expert Subject Knowledge:
If you know a lot about a particular subject it’s very easy to bundle that knowledge into an easily digestible package and sell it, particularly if that knowledge is in a high value area that people are willing to pay for like with my Niche Profit Course. However, as you saw with Example 2 you aren’t limited to typical “high value area’s” and in fact people are willing to pay for a lot more than you’d think. I bet you’d be surprised by how many people pay me to get better at Halo.
In both cases I used my expert knowledge to create and sell a product to a market I knew existed because of the comments and emails I got asking for more information about Amazon’s Affiliate Program and I knew people were willing to pay for Halo lessons based on past experience so why not a training course?
Bottom Line: If you know a lot about a subject consider developing a product to serve that niche. When possible avoid highly saturated niches particularly those found in the make money online space that so many people foolishly flock to – especially if you don’t know anything groundbreaking.
Solves A Common Problem:
The best products in the world were created with the explicit purpose to solve a common problem. The more common the problem the larger your market; however, there is also an opportunity to make a substantial amount of money in smaller niche markets too. Easy Azon has done very well and it focuses on solving a problem that helps you save time. Whenever the problem you set out to solve can directly save time it helps out.
Bottom Line: There are countless problems in thousands of niche markets and if you can solve the problem with an affordable product you can make some money.
Wrap Up:
Next week I’ll cover how to actually create a product and after that I’ll tell you how to sell the product. One of the things I’m going to continue doing in 2011 is creating, marketing and selling more information products both in niches related to this blog and in niches outside this blog like my Halo Training Course. There is a ton of money to be made in the information marketing space and the places I’m looking at most in 2011 are for obscure niches with problems that need solving.
Be sure to catch Part 2 of my info product series by subscribing to my blog.
thanks a lot telling everything.
About coupon code i have to say you save my life as i share lots of coupon code and not able to convert those into sales. Would love to check out this plugin.
Selecting a niche it necessary because after sometime it will play a major role in your success
4k A month on autopilot is great stuff! Have you seen a decline in that though in the past few months or are all your products still advertised and going strong?
Everything’s going pretty strong and some are doing better than others. I’m going to be launching several more info style products in niches completely unrelated to this blog and I anticipate each of those have the potential to make $1k profit per month with no upkeep after the initial set up 🙂
Hi Chris I look forward to part two. I purchased your Niche Profit Course and recommend it to others as one of the most valuable info products I’ve purchased. It was really great, and I’ve finished setting up a few niche product sites after doing my research. Next up traffic generation.
I’m going the product route too after debating which format to put things in. Expert knowledge combined with the right questions to the right people makes niche selection that much easier.
Congrats on your success.
Hey Robert, thanks for the support and recommendations to your friends 🙂 yah I’m working on part 2 now but I may spread it out a bit.
Hey Chris,
Always love reading what you’re getting upto. You have helped me find a way to make money online thats so workable. Just finished my first site, i quite like it and am already on page 5 of google…should be page 1 by next week or so. Keep up the goodwork.
Gary
Hey Gary,
I’m excited for you glad to see you’re taking what you learn and putting it into action.
Chris
Hey Chris,
Awesome blog, and I just joined your Facebook page.
Wicked interview with Pat Flynn as well!
I’m about to launch my second product next week, a Facebook training system called Facebook Power, and I am looking forward to your sales insights.
Keep up the wicked money making work!
Just subscribed via the checkbox below. Can you tell me what plugin that is, or if it is custom code? I just might migrate from DISQUS to integrate it.
Cheers,
Garin
@Garin on Twitter
Hey Garin,
Sorry for the delayed response your comment was actually flagged as spam at first and I almost didn’t see it. That’s a plugin called action comments. It comes free with Action Pop Up.
Looks interesting Chris. I’m still trying to find time to go over your niche site info, I think I could do well with a niche site (or two) but I think an info product on spreadsheets and programming macros in Excel might be the ticket I was looking for. I could probably use your help in your second article!
Keep up the good work.
Hey Rick,
That sounds like a good fit to me. Macro’s were always something I could never figure out in Excel and for people that are trying how to do them but struggling (I’m sure there are plenty of us) your product could fit a good need. Be sure to keep in touch with me after you launch it and tell me how it goes.
[…] know about this more than Chris Guthrie from MakeMoneyOnTheInternet.com.�In his latest post, How To Make A Profitable Info Product Part 1 [Ultimate Guide], Chris talks about the three very successful–and very different–infoproducts he’s […]
Great article…. Just thought I’d mention that the coupon links do not work, both the 2 links and also the coupon pic.
Doh! Thanks for letting me know it’s working now (I accidentally pasted in a messed up link)
Great information Chris. It absolutely amazes me how much money can be made selling information. I cannot wait to read your next blog post as I already have an information product that I wrote and is ready to bring to market. I am an absolute beginner in regards to online marketing and have read lots and lots of free ebooks on the subject. At this point I think I have information overload. I an honestly at a point where I would pay somebody to get this ebook to market and share a percent of sales just so I can start making some money with my product. Thanks again for providing such a great wealth of information on your blog.
Hey David,
That’s great – hopefully I can give you some good advice to help you make more money with it.
Thanks a lot Chris for this blog post and the following two. I am looking forward to read them and learn. I have been thinking about creating an info product myself but as a rookie at blogging, I usually find myself between the wall and a hard place. I am also interested in the Azon theme; is that the same as the ReviewAzon theme? I am a little confused since I’ve seen it at different web locations.
I am looking forward to learn how to share knowledge on the internet!
Elias
It’s different than ReviewAzon. Azon Theme I give away for free with Niche Profit Course.
Thank you Chris.
Just proves the old adage. It’s an ill wind that blows a bad one. – Madam, there’s no such thing as a tough child – if you parboil them first for seven hours, they always come out tender. – W.C.Filelds 1880 1959
Hi there,
Thank you very much for this great incites of yours. Anyway, I am wondering how much would be the cost if I will launch my own products. What those tools that are necessary to use.
Can you provide some of the those tools? Your tips are very much appreciated.
– Felix
There usually are not many websites with information like this man! Bookmarked!
Now i know, thanks for the info, I value your opinion alot more.:)
Hey, I just had to put this video out there. This girl is soooo funny! Here is the Youtube video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdOeDsAR2ho
This really solved my problem, thank you!
Почему в блоке пишет у вас сайт не прошел модерацию
Great post! Definitely been developing a few e-books for the coming year and I’m really looking forward to the advice you have to offer the rest of us.
wow this is great stuff Chris, i’m amazed. I also plan on creating an info product but I’m more focused in creating a membership site.
One needs to really be an expert of a particular field that they want to write an ebook about. You are truly one of those few online gurus who really does it because you truly are an expert of that field versus those countless others out there who just copy and rewrite what you’re saying.
Thanks! Yah it’s tough to navigate through all the different people sharing tips online these days 🙁
Hi chris,
Just wanted to say thanks. Made my first sale a few days ago and made my comission. Okay it was only 3 pounds but this is amazing, seeing as I havent made money online before, havent had your course long, this is my first site and is less than a week old. Im not even top of the serps yet and someone managed to find me. Just imagine how much more I could be making weekly, with a bit more SEO. Thanks again Chris. I have just made my newest site, for a search term that gets 33000 per month and has low competition.
Hey Gary, glad things are working out for you and you got your first sale and I’m happy I could help 😀
I also want to create an affiliate product, but first I need to know more reading post like yours, thanks for sharing. Waiting for the second part…
Your Informations are really useful for me. Subscribed your blog to get more tips. Thanks for sharing your secrets.
Hi Chris!
I want to ask you something, have you ever thought about creating a membership website of any of these products? For example, turning the Amazon’s product into a step by step online course, with a nice forum and direct support?
Hey Peter,
This is why I created MarketingOracles.com actually which is the only monthly membership website I’m involved in right now (and it is the best way to get 1 on 1 tips from me now)
Chris