If you were hungry and could choose to eat at one of two restaurants, which restaurant would you choose? (Everything else being equal):

a. the restaurant with a cook who is happy and loves her work

b. the restaurant with a cook who sees her work as a paycheck

Me, I’d rather eat at the place where the cook is happy and loves her work.

Love Matters Even (Especially) in Business

My friend and teacher, Mark Silver, brought my attention to how love matters in business.

We were discussing why heart-centered products matter and he said, “It’s why I’d rather eat a restaurant where the cook is happy.”

There was a time not so long ago, however, when I would have disagreed.

Back in My Consumer Research Days

I remember an argument I had many years ago with colleague about whether higher quality mattered if the consumer couldn’t tell the difference.

“It’s always better to have a higher quality product,” he argued.

“But if it costs more and no one notices the difference, who cares,” I argued back.

The argument was over an instant rice product which tasted like salty cardboard regardless of any quality improvements.

Still it usually came down to dollars and cents, why in the world would you pay extra for something that was hard to describe let alone likely to remain unnoticed by most of your customers?

For the same reason most people would prefer to eat at a restaurant where the cook is happy.

The Intangible Reasons

In our consumer economy the majority of products and services introduced every day are conceptualized, produced, and marketed from a place of fear and scarcity.

Does this sound a bit extreme to you? Let me explain.

When most large, corporate businesses make decisions about whether to introduce a new product, the decision is based largely on how it will help or hurt their position in the competitive landscape.

That just makes sense, right?

But since most consumer products are basically commodities in low-growth markets, market share is a zero sum game: a one-point gain in product A’s share comes at the expense of product B or product C.

In this “eat or be eaten” world there’s not a whole lot of space for peace, love, and Kumbaya.

And the way these products are marketed isn’t exactly making our world a better place either.

The message in most marketing and advertising goes something like this:

Buy this product (or service) because when you do, you will be more

• popular
• successful
• wealthy

The not so subtle message being if you don’t buy, well, if you’re happy being a loser …

Again, the constant message that we’re somehow broken and not good enough unless we get a faster car, a bigger house, and use a shampoo/conditioner in one, isn’t making the world a better place.

In my humble opinion, even if you can’t think of a single tangible reason, the world still needs more products made by happy cooks and fewer products made by scared executives.

The Measurable, Tangible Reasons

For the first time in years, I’m seriously considering replacing my very decent Windows-based notebook computer with an Apple MacBook Pro.

It’s not because Macs cost less.

It’s because the experience of using a Mac is more pleasurable, more engaging, and more satisfying.

It could be argued that Apple is a giant, evil corporation…every bit as evil and money-grubbing as, well, You Know Who.

On the other hand, however fixated Apple may be on their quarterly results, the company was founded on a passion for well-designed products that offer a great customer experience.

And people who use Apple products love those products. They tend to remain loyal despite the number of cheaper competitive products in the marketplace.

Keys for Creating Products Customers Love

#1. Begin with Your Heart

You need to be like that cook who loves her work.

That means the product or service you sell is an expression of something you care deeply about. Otherwise, no matter how much you try to motivate yourself, there’s going to be a flatness to the experience customers have with your business.

“Caring deeply” isn’t limited to creating cutting edge technology or gourmet cooking. Recently we needed to hire someone to take care of our cats while we were on vacation. I spoke to a couple different people. The person I hired clearly loved animals and our cat, Inky, who is very shy, actually made an appearance when Julianna, our pet sitter, dropped by to pick up the keys.

#2. A Consistently Great Customer’s Experience

Even if you care deeply about the product or service you offer, it doesn’t end with creating the product.

I believe that every time customers or prospective customers come into contact with your business, whether that contact is a quick look at your website, a chance meeting at the grocery store, or attending a $1,000 workshop, you have an opportunity to make that experience one that leaves the other person feeling happy to have interacted with you; leaves them a little better off than they were prior to the encounter.

Or not …

Even worse, leaving that person feeling ignored or annoyed.

And if you mess up, and we all do from time to time, you do your best to make things up to your customer in a way that feels complete for you both.

#3. People Actually Use What You Sell

How many books to you own? Of those books, how many do you turn look at on a regular basis?

I own hundreds of books. So many they overflow my bookcase and are in stacks on the floor. And of course I have many more e-books on my computer’s hard drive.

And of all these books how many do I turn to on a regular basis?

Ten or so. Fewer than 10%.

There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that.

But given a choice I’d rather be the one writing the 10% that get regularly used. I want my books to be the ones with the coffee stains and bent pages.

Why? Well for one thing, if customers are using your products, chances are good that they are getting good results.

Which means they are likely to buy something else from you. It also means they will tell their friends and colleagues about the terrific products you sell.

Bottom Line

Clearly, it matters if the cook is happy.

And no matter what your small business does, it matters that you’re happy and love the work you do and the products you sell.

Because when you’re happy and inspired in your work, you are far more likely to create products your customers love to buy and use and recommend to others.

When that happens people are happy, the world is a better place and your business thrives.

A few months ago, I received an email from one of my readers in response to an article I wrote.

She ran a website that sold second hand clothes, furniture, etc and in her email said, “I can’t sell information products in my kind of business. Your marketing doesn’t make sense for me.”

Maybe you feel the same way. Information products sound like a good idea. It would be great to have more ways to bring money into your business. But you aren’t seeing how you can create, much less sell information products for the kind of business you run.

Like the subscriber who ran an online thrift store.

Information Products are Not Just for Gurus

It may seem to you that information products are strictly for guru-types who are well-known in their fields.

But I feel…strongly…that any business owner can benefit from creating and selling information products.

Example:  Information Products for an Online Thrift Store

Let’s start with how our web-based thrift store owner can create an information product or two that can bring some extra money into her business.

The owner, Lori, runs a business called Grandmas Treasures (www.grandmastreasures.com).* She sells vintage clothing, jewelry, dishes and serving pieces, etc. If she can lift it herself and put it in a box, she sells it.

Although Lori’s stock is eclectic, she’s been collecting costume jewelry from the 1930′s and 1940′s since she was a kid. Over the years she has amassed a ton of information on how to spot fakes, which designs are most valuable, best sources, etc.

Lori could easily, with a little time and effort, write a 3-page article on vintage jewelry, “Don’t Get Taken: Ten Ways to Make Sure Your Vintage Jewels are the Real Thing.” With some digital photos, a few good stories, and resource links, Lori has an information product she can sell on her website.

That’s just one idea. I can think of several more. Can you?

How to Create an Information Product for Your Business in Four Easy Steps

This time we’ll use a massage therapy business as an example.

Step 1. List the questions customers frequently ask you.

Types of questions a massage therapist might get:

• How many sessions will I need?
• How long will it take before I start to feel better?
• Is there anything else I should be doing to get better faster?
• How is what you do different from a chiropractor?
• Can you help me with this kind of pain?
• Do you take insurance?
• Etc.

Each question has in it the seed of a potential information product.

Step 2. Looking at the list, in which questions is there the greatest desire for a solution

The more someone wants an answer, the more they are likely to value the answer, and the better candidate the question is for a paid information product.

In the case of a massage therapist, prospects and clients are likely to be in physical pain and people in pain are motivated to make the pain go away. The question I especially like is:

What can I do to get better faster?

An information product that helps the client get better results when they work with you means a more satisfied client, repeat business, and referrals.

Step 3. Answer the question using any of the following:

• Step by step instructions
• Tips for avoiding common mistakes, for improving results
• Stories illustrating how you help people
• Specific resources such as websites, books, organizations, and businesses

Our massage therapist creates a 12-page e-booklet called:

Ten Steps to a Pain Free Back.

In this booklet he covers ten actions asks his clients to take to improve lower back pain and keep it from coming back. The steps address issues like posture, exercise, relaxation, and stress reduction to name just a few. He also includes a page of resources with links and phone numbers.

Step 4. Make your product easy for customers to buy

Jack sells the booklet on his website for $12. Website visitors pay for the booklet by credit card or using Paypal. Then they download the booklet using a link Jack emails them.

What About Your Business?

You just learned how two different types of businesses can create information products their customers will buy.

How about your business? What information products could you be selling that serve more customers and add to your bottom line?

*Not persons or business’s real name

Introduction: Saga of the Sea Monkeys

When I was about 10-years old, I really wanted a cat. My mom, however, was opposed to this idea. In her opinion cats (and dogs) were bringers of dirt and chaos into a home she tried so hard to keep clean and orderly.

The exception to my moms rule were things like goldfish and turtles because they were small and were not going to wander through the house, get into the garbage, or scratch the furniture.

But, let’s face it, goldfish and turtles are boring and the ones I bought at the dime store had an unfortunate tendency to die within the week.

So I was delighted when I saw an ad for Sea Monkeys on the back of comic book.

Maybe you remember Sea Monkeys from your own childhood. Maybe you don’t have a clue what I’m talking about.

Sea Monkeys were introduced in the 1960′s by Harold Von Braunhut (who also marketed X-Ray Specs). The ads were brilliant: a well-known comic illustrator portrayed sea monkeys as cute, human-looking sea creatures. One illustration showed a Sea Monkey family with a mom, dad, and two kids. The mom even had a bow in her hair.

For a ten-year old who wanting a cool pet, Sea Monkeys seemed like the perfect solution. Sea Monkeys could be kept in a fish tank so they wouldn’t disrupt the household AND according the ad, you could train Sea Monkeys to do cool tricks.

So I put two-dollars in an envelope and anxiously awaited the arrival of my awesome new friends.

When the package arrived, I immediately got to work setting up the little Sea Monkey habitat and opened the packet of Sea Monkey “eggs.”

Then I waited for my Sea Monkeys to hatch so I could play with my Sea Monkey family.

After waiting the prescribed time I check the Sea Monkey habitat, but I couldn’t see anything. I re-read the instructions which told me Sea Monkeys are actually quite small and putting the habitat near a good light source would make them easier to see.

And there they were, my Sea Monkeys, tiny, nearly transparent, and insect-like. I didn’t get a rockin family to play with. I got plankton.

Now I’m not bashing Sea Monkeys which are currently marketed by Transcience Corp. Most kids, including me, knew at some level that those comic book ads sounded a little “too good to be true.”

Which brings me to the subject of this article.

“Instant Product” – Really!?

There are lots of books and programs promising you that you can “create a product in a day.”

If you are a busy, busy business owner, this sounds fantastic. Imagine, you don’t need to buy fancy software or special equipment. You can create a product that you can sell to customers in the time it takes to, say, get your car washed, go to the post office, get through your email, and fix dinner.

How totally cool would that be?

The Reality: Kind of

I work a lot with small business owners who want to create information products.  Specifically information products that customers will love because those products are relevant, easy to use, and get results.

Is it really possible to create a substantive, useful information product in a few hours?

The answer is, yes, but it’s important to keep in mind that a product you create in a few hours is likely the result of months even years of training and experience.

For example, a couple weeks ago a client was having trouble writing a sales page for a new service she was offering.

She just couldn’t figure out what information should go in what part of her offer. Did she need to include some sort of marketing copy? Where should details like class time and dates go? Should she include a money-back guarantee, etc.

It seemed to me that a “map” of a sales page might help. So I created a screen shot of a sales page I had worked on and added labels and call outs which explained each section of the offer.

It took a few hours to put the sales page map together and then it was ready to go.

BUT …

The reason I was able to put together the sales page map so quickly is because I’ve been creating sales pages for years and teaching business owners how to do sales pages for years. Over time I’ve developed a perspective around what works and what doesn’t work.

All of this time, experience, and care went into the product I created.

If I had created a product but

• didn’t know what I was talking about or
• just parroted information I’d learned from a book or a course without adding my own perspective and voice
• did the equivalent of a “data dump” in which I simply wrote down what I knew as a disorganized, jargon-filled mish mosh.

I might have a product but it wouldn’t be a product that my customers would see as valuable. And if they don’t get value chances are pretty good that:

• They won’t be coming back to buy more from me
• They aren’t going to tell their friends and colleagues to buy from me
• They may even have some not so nice things to say about me which they will share on Facebook and Twitter

You probably can create a quality information product in an hour but the “one hour” is misleading because:

• the product is based on years of experience in the field; knowing what works and what doesn’t, personal analysis and thought, and learning
• the product is also likely the result of collaboration – from beta testers, from peer input, and from ??
• the product is going to be tweaked and refined before it’s in a space to really stand on it’s own and make money

Otherwise, your one hour product is probably info crap and you can expect people to pay what they usually pay for crap…nuthin.

One of my favorite parts of heling clients design information products is, once we’ve chosen the customers we’ll serve and the topic, we get to think how we want to “package” the information.

“Package” refers to the form we’re using that allows customers to consume in the way that enables them to use the information.

Different packages = different information products

Packaging: Beyond Boxes and Bags

I use the term “consume” loosely because we’re talking about something intangible that doesn’t get “used up” like say, a chocolate bar (where once you eat the chocolate bar it’s gone.)

Package refers to

For intangible products:

• HOW MUCH information they’re getting (for example, are they getting the entire book, a chapter, the table of contents, etc.)
• TOPICS are you talking about how to adopt a dog, how to train a dog, best breeds for people living in appartments, etc.
• SEQUENCE what should your audience read/listen to/watch first, then second, and so on. Does it vary by the audience member’s expertise? Can they jump around and be fine?
• TYPES OF INFORMATION Information can take many different forms: sequential steps (1., 2., 3., etc.), tips, graphics, illustrations, narrative, etc.

For TANGIBLE Products you need to make decisions about what medium you’ll use (paper, DVD, cards, etc.)

Benefits of Using Variety in Packaging

When thinking about packaging it’s easy to get stuck in the rut of considering “tried and true” forms we’re all familiar with: ebooks, articles, powerpoint presentations, and mp3 audio.

But I am encouraging you to think bigger because:

1. People learn in different ways

Although it seems that the written word is THE way to inform and education, it wasn’t always this way. In fact the written word is a relatively new way of learning.

Just a few hundred years ago, books were only for those who could afford them. Everyone else learned through the spoken word; through rote memorization and through story.

It’s no accident that some of oldest stories, Beowulf and Odyssey, were originally spoken verse. Verse is easier to remember.

I, myself, am a visual learner. For me, literally, a picture IS worth a thousand words.

2. Unexpected Forms get attention and are more memorable.

I remember attending a 3-day conference a few years back. During the conference I easily sat through 8 presentations and 3 keynote speeches.

The ones I best remember were:

• A workshop on “Excellence” during which the presenter delivered his conclusion as a rap.
• Another presentation in which the presenter used Hawaiian music and dance to teach key points.

I realize the above examples may seem gimmicky but they weren’t because they started out as strong, original, substantive content.

35+ Ways to Package Information Products

Here are over 35 ways you can package and deliver your solid, original content for your clients and customers:

1. e-books
2. comic strips
3. graphic novels
4. flash cards
5. bookmarks
6. mini kits
7. kits
8. postcards
9. board games
10. trivia games
11. bingo
12. charade-type games
13. role plays
14. scripted exercises
15. presentations
16. audios
17. story boards
18. videos
19. calendars
20. “page a day” calendars
21. computer wall paper
22. computer screen savers
23. magnets
24. posters
25. e-learning courses
26. case studies
27. action figures
28. maps
29. charts
30. narratives (story telling)
31. dance
32. songs
33. artwork
34. poetry/spoken word
35. haiku
36. post-it notes
37. self-paced tutorials
38. instructor-led classes

Some of these idea may seem goofy or silly. I encourage you to pick one or two that intrigue you and play with the idea of how you might use them to create information products.

I also encourage you to ask me questions if you have any.

(Thanks to RecipeCurio.com for the cool card image and recipe!)

When I was a kid growing up in the 70′s, girls in junior high school (middle school for you Gen Y’s out there) were required to take Home Economics for two years!!

In 7th grade we learned how to cook; in 8th grade we learned to sew. Our Home Economics teacher, Mrs. Schue (Shoe) was a very nice woman who had to teach 25 13-year old girls the basics of cooking. Some girls were already fairly skilled and some would burn water if left unsupervised.

I was somewhere in the middle of the cooking skills spectrum.

The Basic, Adaptable Recipe

How did you teach 25 assorted 13-year old how to cook? Mrs. Schue was smart. She started us off with very, very basic recipes. Not perfectly foolproof but pretty darn close.

My favorite of these recipes was for muffins. We started with a no-frills recipe and then once we mastered plain muffins we learned how to adapt the recipe to make fancier muffin varieties: blueberry muffins, “Hidden Treasure” muffins (regular muffins with a blob of jelly in the middle), apple cinnamon muffins, etc. etc.

You could even make quick breads by pouring muffin batter in a loaf pan instead of using a muffin tin!

So many good things from a very simple recipe!

If you want to be able to cook decently enough to fix a few nice meals for yourself and your family, I highly recommend beginning with the “basics then adapt” approach.

A Basic Adaptable Recipe to Create an Information Product?

Now let’s say you’re a small business owner reading this article. You’ve been knocking around the idea of creating some information products that you can sell to earn extra revenue, offer as a way for prospects to sample your work, etc.

You really like the idea of creating and selling information products. But when it comes to taking the first step you feel overwhelmed by:

• where to even begin! what is the first step?
• technology – do you need learn complicated software? buy expensive equipment or applications?
• requirements to be an expert – do you need a PhD for people to take you seriously?
• time and energy – how long does it take anyway and is it really worth all that effort?

Take a deep breath and relax. We’re going to create the basic muffin version of an information product.

Muffins OK? Not chocolate souffle.

In the case of information products, one of the easiest information products to create is a How-to Guide.

How-to Guides: Perfect Starter Information Products

A how-to guide is a wonderful information product to begin with when you’re just getting started.

As the name implies, a how-to guide is simple a list of ordered steps to create something or solve a problem.

The reasons I love how-to guides as beginner info products are:

1. Every business owner knows how to get things done and solve problems. That what we get paid for, right? So the how-to material is already in our heads.
2. You can start with your simple steps and then add things that will help your customers get better results: you can include stories, photos, tips,  etc.
3. Customers love how-tos because they will get something useful from following the steps.
4. How tos are easy to sell because the value is fairly obvious to customers

The Basic (Foolproof) How-to Guide Recipe

So here’s the basic, foolproof, recipe for creating a how-to guide.

Ingredients:

2-3 stories about how you helped your customer get something done or to solve a problem

Clean sheets of of paper

Pen or pencil

(a computer and a word processing program can be substituted for paper and pen)

Steps:

#1. Write a story explaining exactly what you did to help a customer solve a problem (or get something done).

Example: Using a nail clipper to trim your cat’s claws.

Dr. Andrew, a veterinarian, sees a lot of people who don’t like being scratched by their cats but don’t want to declaw their cats (most veterinarians now advise against surgically declawing cats).

He often shows cat owners how they can trim their cats claws using a common nail clipper without stressing themselves, their cats, and without hurting the cat.

#2 Identify the specific steps in your problem-solving or how-to story

Dr. Andrew reads through his story and picks out the steps his clients need to follow:

“Let’s see, well, first, it’s important to make sure your cat is relaxed and calm. It helps to pet them and talk in a gentle voice as you get ready.”

“Then you want to make sure everything is ready. You need a large-sized nail clipper which you can buy at any drugstore and have a towel available too.”

“I advise people to put the towel in their lap and then hold their cat gently but firmly in their lap.”

“Keep talking quietly to our cat and holding a front paw, gently take the first digit and press enough so that the cat’s claw is extended. You don’t need to press very hard.”

and so on.

As you read the above example, can you see how the narrative falls naturally into specific steps?

Step #3 Write or type each step

Dr. Andrew’s steps for trimming a cat’s claws look good. Now all he needs to do is to number the steps in order.

I’d also recommend he add a “summary sentence” for each step.

For example:

From the steps Dr. Andrews wrote down:

“Let’s see, well, first, it’s important to make sure your cat is relaxed and calm. It helps to pet them and talk in a gentle voice as you get ready.”

He adds a step number and summary sentence:

Step 1. Prepare your cat. Pet your cat and talk to her in a gentle voice as you get ready.

Step #4 Test your How to Guide

Before your how-to guide is ready for pubic consumption, it’s important to test your how to at least twice:

First, do a walk through following the steps as you wrote them. If something is missing or you need to do some re-organizing, make the changes.

Second, ask a customer or someone very similar to an ideal customer to test your how-to. Tell them to be honest and to let you know if there are any spots in which they’re confused or get stuck.

Honest feedback here is very important. Your how-to needs to work. If people get confused or stuck (imagine someone getting stuck trying to trim their cat’s claws!), it can hurt your credibility; worse, you lose customer!

Best Advice: Keep it Simple!

I hope that sentence didn’t scare you. Please keep your first how-to guide as clear and simple as possible.

If you find yourself getting overwhelmed it’s possible you’re trying to explain how to do more than one how-to.

Bottom Line

If you’re a small business owner and want to create information products but are feeling too intimidated to get started, I recommend you try out my foolproof recipe for writing a how-to guide.

It is my hope that as you begin creating your how-to guide, you’ll discover it’s a straightforward, even fun, thing to do.

And of course you can eventually begin earning revenue from your efforts.

Even better than making good muffins!

Last week, I was talking with a colleague about information products.

My colleague works with managers who are struggling with software  development projects helps get those projects back on track.

He’s great a what he does, loves his work and has tons of great ideas for creating information products.

But he hasn’t made much progress around creating an information product.

Why?

In his own words, “I’ve created one product but no one bought it. I’m not sure why but I’m worried that what I know just doesn’t translate well into something people will pay for.”

It’s a common issue: you love your work and the clients you work with love your work too. But you wonder whether what you do will translate well if you’re not doing it in person.

Love + Market Need = $$$

If you want a product that practically sells itself and that you feel good about offering to your customers your product must meet two conditions:

#1. Your product is based on your talent, expertise, and joy

#2. Your product helps other people solve a problem that is bothering them right now!

If the product doesn’t meet condition #1, it doesn’t matter how much people want it, you will not be able to solve their problem because you lack the expertise and passion to do so.

If the product doesn’t meet condition #2, people won’t buy your info product because they don’t want or need it.

Finding the “Sweetspot”

The “sweetspot” is the set of problems which meet both conditions:

1. the problems you are good at and enjoy solving AND
2. for which there is market opportunity (problems customers really want solved).

Envision two circles whose edges overlap so that they share a common area (like the Mastercard logo). The area of overlap is the sweetspot for your product.

If you’re going to create just one information product this year, you want to create one in this sweet spot.

There are 4 steps for identifying products in the sweet spot.

Step 1. List Common Problems You Help Customers With

Take a moment and think about the customers you’ve been working with over the last three months or so.

Once you have some specific customers in mind, jot down all of the problems you helped them with.

(Although your clients typically come with one specific problem, there are usually several others related problems or you may uncover a larger, more basic problem as you learn more).

For example, here are common problems that a project management consultant deals with:

• Project team members lack skills to complete their tasks
• Team members fail to communicate progress and/or problems with each other
• Project manager isn’t available enough to give team direction
• Team lacks good tools for tracking their progress
• Upper management doesn’t support project & doesn’t provide enough money, right people, etc.
• Unrealistic deadlines and goals
• Project gets bogged down because of unnecessary steps

Step 2. Identify Your Favorite Problems to Solve

Looking at your list put a check mark next to the ones that evoke an “I want to do that more!” response in your heart.

Don’t over-think this. The response you’re looking for is a sincere ”More!” not a “should want to do more.”

Shoulds, woulds, and coulds lead to products that don’t sell.

Now, do the same thing but this time check ones in which you feel genuinely proud of the results you helped the client achieve.

Also include those which are still works in process but you feel good about your contribution so far. Again, don’t overthink this step.

Now circle all the problems you listed that have two check marks.

These are the product ideas that go into the “Love” part of the equation.

For example, our project management consultant looks at his list and realizes that some of the problems are “people problems” (right people with right skills and knowledge) and other problems are ”tools and resource problems” (right software and procedures).

Because his background is in software design he decides the problems he really wants to create products around are the tools and resource problems.

Step 3. Identifying Marketplace Needs

Now that you have identified one or two problems that you enjoy helping people with and excel at providing, let’s look at opportunities in the marketplace.

Some specific actions to find those opportunities include:

• What is already selling in your area of expertise: Search Google, Bing, and Amazon.com using keywords that describe the problem area.
• What frustrates people most in your area of expertise: Monitor discussion forums (Yahoo groups and Google groups), blogs and social network sites (Facebook, Linked in, Twitter)
• What recurring topics show up in publications on your topic?

As you look at the marketplace, jot down the problems/questions that keep coming up.

Important: A “gap” doesn’t necessarily mean there are no products or services out there providing solutions.

If a  question seems to be coming up again and again it suggests there’s a need for fresh insights, perspectives, and voices.

Maybe yours.

Example: Among the problems our project management consultant sees coming up:

• Whether or not a project needs project management software
• What to do when you need to “fire” someone from your project team
• What to do when team members are sabotaging your project
• What is the best project management software for a project
• How to find bottlenecks in a project
• How to create a good time estimate for completing projects
• How to convince upper level management to increase your project’s budget

Step 4. Finding Sweetspot Product Ideas

You’ve identified problems you’re good at solving; you’ve identified gaps in the marketplace, now it’s time to identify the “Sweet Spot” for your products.

Looking at the problems you circled in Step #2 and the problems and questions you listed in Step #3, look for any problems that satisfy both conditions:

#1. Problems you are good at solving and enjoy solving

#2. Problems that continually crop up in the marketplace

Create a new list with the problems that meet both conditions.

These are your “sweetspot” product ideas: products that, with the right marketing message and support, will practically sell themselves.

Example: Looking at both lists, the project management consultant chooses the following problem as a basis for his next information product:

• Finding and dealing with bottlenecks in your project

Since his expertise and interest is in process improvement, it makes to create a product that will help teams find and eliminate steps causing bottlenecks.

Bottom Line

You can create products that will practically sell themselves if your products solve problems you love to solve and solve problems that your customers keep asking about.

With one or two products that meet these criteria plus a good marketing message and timely promotions to your prospective buyers you really can make a difference and grow your bottom line.

As I wrote this article, the film, Julie and Julia, has so far,  been a quite the summer hit.

Julie and Julia is a light drama that tells the story of New Yorker, Julie Powell who challenged herself to cook every recipe in Julia Child’s famous cookbook: Mastering the Art of French Cooking within one year.

In a parallel plot, the film covers Julia Child’s early years in France which inspired her to write the cookbook.

The film’s popularity has inspired a renewed interest in the Julia Child and the fascinating story about how Mastering the Art of French Cooking came to be.

The Story Behind the Bestseller

It wasn’t very long ago when a typical American dinner was meatloaf, canned peas, and mashed potatoes. Maybe a salad made with iceberg lettuce, grated carrot and 1000 island dressing. And Jell-O for dessert.

You couldn’t go out for Mexican food unless you lived in Southern California or Texas. Chinese food was chop suey and egg rolls. And Italian was pizza or spaghetti and meatballs.

The choices we now have at the grocery store, when we go out to eat, and the cook books and cooking shows are in part thanks to Julia Child’s desire to prepare dishes she loved and to teach others to prepare those dishes as well.

When it was published in 1961, Mastering the Art of French Cooking became a “must-have” for many aspiring young wives.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking and the following it inspired made it possible for the hundreds of Italian, Mexican, and Asian foods now common in American grocery stores. It opened up possibilities for the extraordinary range of cuisines we can find in restaurants, not to mention the billion dollar business in cookbooks and cooking shows.

Product Development Lessons á la Julia Child

You may be thinking, “nice story but what does it have to do with me and my business and creating information products?”

Here are the points I think are important:

#1 You Gotta Love It

Mastering the Art of French Cooking was the result of Julia Child’s love of French cuisine. She didn’t set out to make millions or to revolutionize how middle-class Americans thought about food.

She discovered something wonderful and amazing and wanted others to have that experience too.

The importance of love is that when you have that level of enthusiasm for something, you’ll put up with a lot of crap.

Writing the book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, was not all Crêpes Suzette and champagne.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking began as a very different kind of book: it was a cookbook written by two French women who were fellow Cordon Bleu graduates. The cookbook was being published by an American publisher and they asked Julia to provide an American perspective and review the recipes.

But as Julia reviewed the recipes she realized that they would be very difficult for American cooks to follow. Because many of the French ingredients, tools, and traditions simply didn’t exist in the United States, American cooks would end up with dishes that simply didn’t taste like the delicious French cuisine Julia had fallen in love with.

So Child decided to rework and rewrite the book and create foolproof recipes for classic French dishes that Americans could create in American kitchens with American ingredients.

Completely rewriting those recipes was not a small task. But Julia was determined to make it possible for Americans to prepare and enjoy the food she had fallen in love with.

Lesson: Make sure your product or service is based on something that energizes and inspires you. Otherwise, no amount of money will make up for the inevitable obstacles and frustrations that come up along the way.

#2 Love Trumps Market Need

Whoa, sacrilege at the alter of marketing!

It’s a fine line for me to be suggesting sometimes the fact that you have a deep love or passion in your heart for something should be a reason for you to create a product or service. Especially when you have little solid evidence supporting you.

What if no one buys your product? What if everyone thinks it’s stupid?

Lots and lots of “what ifs.”

The world was not throwing money at Julia Child to write her cookbook so that they could cook Duck á l’Orange.

In fact the majority of publishers saw absolutely no commercial value in her project believing that American women were interested only in convenience: packaged mixes, canned and frozen vegetables, and TV dinners.

They couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to take on the arduous task of preparing dishes from recipes with multiple steps, many of which involved creating things from scratch!

But she had a strong conviction French food was something wonderful that more people should experience and kept going despite rejection after rejection.

Lesson: I’m not suggesting you ditch everything and devote all your time, effort, and money into creating a love child product. No no no!

But I do think if you have a product or service that is an expression of something you sincerely love, you need to take action towards creating that product or service.

Do not allow it to languish.

#3. Use Market Trends to Guide Your Marketing

Although you don’t need to let apparent market needs dictate what you can and cannot do, it helps to offer a product that is in sync with trends that affect how your customers spend.

One of the reasons Mastering the Art of French Cooking became such a monster success was its publishing occurred during a time when Americans were beginning to look outward.

After World War II the United States was enjoying a period of unprecedented prosperity. When John F. Kennedy became president in 1960, first lady, Jacqueline Kennedy brought in a French chef and began serving fine French food and wines at White House functions.

An entire generation of young American women were fascinated by Jackie Kennedy’s sophisticated style and imitated her way of dressing, her hair styles, and her interest in French food.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking was published in 1961 coinciding perfectly with the growing interest in culture and fine arts.

Lesson: Looking at the product or service you’re developing, how do they fit into the trends which are shaping your customer’s values, needs, and spending patterns.

#4. You Need a Few Others Who Love What You’re Doing

No matter how deeply you care; no matter how in sync you are with current trends, you cannot do it alone.

We all need at least one cheerleader.

Julia Child was a maverick. As the daughter of well-to-do parents, she was expected to marry someone from a “good” family, have children, and spend her days doing what other well-to-do young wives did: play golf and tennis, have lunch at the club, volunteer at charitable events, and so on.

When she did marry instead of settling down and having babies she decided to go to cooking school and learn to cook classic French cuisine! Other Americans in the diplomatic services who were living in France at the time thought she was nuts. Why was she pursuing cooking: something typically left to housekeepers and other domestic workers?

But Julia’s husband, Paul, who was himself, a decidedly unconventional type, encouraged her to pursue her passion. In fact he was actively involved in creating her book, helping her edit the massive 700+ page manuscript that would become Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Julia also had an editor, Judith Jones at Knopf, who, unlike her peers in the publishing world, immediately “got” Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

It was Jones who championed Mastering the Art of French Cooking and who was instrumental in getting first edition to press.

Lesson: If you are a small business owner who wants to make a real difference and wants to create a product that will help you, you need at least one devoted fan to help you get there.

Bottom Line

If you care deeply about leaving the world a little better off and have an idea for a product or service that will make a difference, I encourage you to follow Julia Child’s example and to make a commitment to creating your product and bringing it to the marketplace.

There’s no guarantee that you’ll have a monster hit on your hands but one thing I know for certain:

• You can’t make a difference if your idea never sees the light of day
• You can’t make a difference creating products and services that your heart just isn’t into.

If you are a small business owner and you have a choice between creating another me-too product and a product on something you genuinely care about at that your customers care about why not make a little extra effort and put something out into the world that puts a little more love out there?

If you are selling products and services on the Internet you are probably very aware of how valuable a list of subscribers is.

Periodic, relevant information is the main way to build the trust and credibility needed for customers and prospects to take action:

• to click the Buy Now button
• to pick up the phone to schedule an appointment
• to complete an application
• etc.

I cannot over-emphasize the importance of creating trust-based relationships in business. This is what periodic emails to your list allow you to do.

If your business is relatively new to online marketing, building a subscription list can feel pretty daunting.

I’ve had many conversations with small business owners who are love the idea of email marketing and inevitably the question, “How do you get all these subscribers anyway?”

And that is the question I’m going to answer in this article.

Why Building Your List Can Be a Struggle

I know when I began my ezine, after the initial signups by folks in my immediate circle, adding new subscribers was a painfully slow process.

I received some glowing complements from subscribers and a couple marketing experts whose opinion I valued. And everything I read insisted that content is the most important component to succeeding in the online marketing game.

So I had good content; where was the rush of subscribers?

Simple: I was competing with thousands of other requests to subscribe.

People need a good reason to subscribe to your ezine. Why they should choose your ezine rather than the hundred other on the same topic.

One way to make your ezine the best choice is to give your subscribers something they can immediately use and get value from.

This is why a free product you give people when they subscribe to your ezine is so important.

Providing Some Relief

A lesson I learned from my coach, Mark Silver, is the importance of providing prospects some relief from a problem they’re struggling with.

After all that’s why most people are at your website to begin with yes? They have some sort of question or problem and they’re looking for help.

Whether they found your website doing a Google search or through a link on someone’s blog, they’re wanting help and they’re hoping you’ll provide it.

Free products that they can quickly download from your website are ideal for meeting this need.

In addition, when they use your free product and get some relief there is no better way to build your credibility! People are far more likely to purchase from you when they’ve already gotten a demonstration of the difference you make.

What’s the Best Free Product to Offer?

The one question that comes up more than any other around the free give-away is “what should my give-away be?”

4 Keys to Choosing a Free Product (with Subscription)

Key #1 Easy to Get Online

Remember whatever it is you offer, you want to make it very easy for your prospect to get online.

Fortunately, it’s cheap and simple to create a product that is easy to download. I recommend:

• An article, report, or how-to guide people can download as an Adobe Acrobat file (.pdf)
• An audio recording they can listen to on the Internet (mp3 is currently the most popular format)
• A video they can watch from your website (many computers now have a built-in camera making it easy to create short videos)

Key #2 Solves a Problem Most of Your Ideal Customers Struggle With

When I was trying to decide what free product would be best to offer with my ezine, I initially chose a report on getting more referrals from customers.

How to get referrals is a hugely popular topic among small business owners for very good reasons. But there were a couple drawbacks to this product:

1. You need a few satisfied customers who will refer you to others. This can be difficult for many new businesses.
2. Referrals are largely an in-person phenomenon. Referral programs work best when you offer local, in-person services. This isn’t to say that an online business can’t leverage referrals but it takes a lot longer because you don’t have the non-verbal cues that naturally come from live contact.

Instead I decided to offer a how-to workbook showing business owners how to create an “audio-logo”–a simple, conversational introduction they could use in situations in which they might be meeting prospective customers.

Most business owners I know struggle with introducing themselves in a way that tells the other person “this is who I help” without sounding like they’re reading their “elevator script.”

Voila, this is how my free workbook came about.

Key #3. Is a first Step (Not the Entire Solution)

It’s important to offer a solution that is appropriate to the level of trust and commitment your intended user has with your business.

It’s meant to be an appetizer; not a meal

One of my clients offers money management services for people working in the arts many of whom find the topic of money boring, painful, and distasteful.

Rather than immediately ask them to get into the numbers, she created a fun, easy to do Money Beliefs Assessment.

The assessment is light-hearted and empathetic AND anyone who takes the assessment will learn something important about how their money beliefs may be getting in the way of their success.

Key #4. Easy to Use So People Get Results

The reason you want to offer a first step to solving a common problem is you want to give your client an easy win.

Remember, the purpose of your product is to provide relief. If it doesn’t help the person get some relief you hurt your credibility.

A product that gets used and produces results is more valuable than any claim you could make in your advertising.

When they get results what happens? They come back for more. They begin to trust you to help with their more complex problems.

They feel safe to invest more time, effort, and money to work with you.

Bottom Line

If you are trying to build your email list, offering a free product with the subscription will help you attract subscribers faster than if you were offering the subscription alone.

The best product to give away with your subscription is one that:

• is easy to get online
• solves a problem that is common to most of your clients
• addresses the first step to solving that problem
• and is likely to produce a positive result

I’ve always been a stickler for documenting what I do. Partly because it’s simply more effective: I don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Partly because documenting what I do is an invaluable source of material for information products.

I’ve been doing audio recordings for years but it’s always been a slightly cumbersome process: I record phone conversations using an Olympus DS-30 digital recorder. It’s a terrific little recorder and it’s still great for recording live events.

But turning those recordings into downloadable mp3 files requires several steps to get the file from the recorder to an MP3 uploaded to my web server.

And I’ve tried recording phone calls directly to my PC & skipping the recorder step but the sound quality sucks.

So I’ve invested in a couple services which will make it just about seamless to record and distribute audio:

1. Callburner

I use Skype for about half of my calls. To record Skype calls I use Callburner.

I started with a free trial version of the full-featured Call burner which will record any call through my Skype connection.

If you choose not to purchase the full version of Call Burner after the 30-day trial, you can continue using the free version of Call Burner which will record Skype to Skype calls in which all parties have Call Burner installed.

When the full version period expired I decided to purchase the full version license (about US$65) because the recording quality was excellent and Call Burner produces a labeled MP3 file I can easily upload.

2. FreeConference.com Unlimited Recordings for US$9/mo.

I’ve been using FreeConference.com’s free plain vanilla services for years. They’ve always been fantastic when it comes to offering a reliable conference line.

They just recently added an unlimited recording feature for US$9/mo which my colleague Jim Brosseau recommended.

I used FreeConference.com’s recording service yesterday doing an interview with Eliana Gilad (Voices of Eden). The service worked without a hitch and FreeConference emailed me a link allowing me to download the recorded call.

Even better I don’t have to upload the audio file to my own server to make it available to others. I simply send them the email with the link information.

An unfortunate side effect of an economic slowdown like the one we’re in currently, is spending slows down.

If you’re a small business owner the slowdown in spending shows up in two ways:

1. Some prospects and customers who might have said “yes” in the past are now saying no because they simply don’t have the resources to pay you
2. Those who DO have the resources are take longer to say yes

This means less revenue coming in and if you own a small business, that’s a big “ouch” for your bottom line.

Oh, the Irony of It All!

What’s funny about this situation in a not-so-funny way is that during economic downturns, your clients and customers need what you offer More Than Ever!

Why? Because we’re all in business to solve problems people have, right? Recessions typically multiply problems and amplify the pain we feel from those problems.

But we also become hyper-aware of the downside of our actions and we feel there’s no wiggle room for error. We become extremely Risk Averse.

Whether or not their fear is founded in reality, customers step back and become less willing to do anything that is new or risky because they don’t feel safe.

If you’re having doubts whether you are offering something customers really need because your sales have slowed down, I’m suggesting it
isn’t that they don’t need what you’re selling—it’s because these scary times are making them unusually risk averse and less willing to take chances.

Reducing Perceived Risk Using Information Products

To help your prospects and customers feel safer to spend, you need to reduce their perceived risk of working with you. There are many ways to do this including lowering your prices, doing one-day sales, etc. But I’m partial to creating information products because the benefits extend far beyond the immediate revenue streams they provide.

Information products reduce perceived risk for prospects and customers in two important ways:

1. It’s easier to say “yes” to buying a $19 how-to guide than a six-month $4,000 consulting engagement.
2. When customers get results using your information products they develop confidence in your ability to deliver what you promise.

This makes it easy for your customers to feel good about buying your more expensive products and services.

Two Easy Information Products Small Business Owners Can Create and Sell

How-to guides and tip sheets are my favorite low cost information products to offer because it’s easy for your prospects to see the value they’ll get.

• How-to guides teach them how to do something they’ve always wanted to do; step by step
• Tips sheets tell them how to do something better and get better results

The other thing I love about how to guides and tip sheets is they’re easy to create because all you’re really doing is answering common questions you get from customers.

Example: Using a How-to Guide as a Low Cost Information Product

Amy is a coach who works with what she called the “walking wounded”; typically high level managers who have successful corporate careers but are tired of the cost to their personal lives.

Amy’s core service is one on one coaching; typically clients work with her for six month intervals at $600 per month.

Amy has noticed that even though stress levels are higher than ever, people who once would have said “yes” to becoming one-on-one clients are now saying things like,

“I’m just happy to have a job.”
“What if I get laid off, I’ll need that $600″
“What if I work with you and you don’t help me?”

And they’re putting off the possibility of working with her.

Amy asked herself “If there were just one thing I could do to help these folks what would that thing be?”

She realized that for busy, stressed out professionals, taking on something new would require very small, simple steps. Small to the point of being ridiculous. Anything feeling too big would create overwhelm and the client wouldn’t take action and get the help they need.

So she did some brainstorming around small but significant changes her clients made and came up with over 100 small actions. She edited the steps down to 101 and created a booklet: 101 Ways to Have More Fun and Less Stress at Work.

She sells it on her website and brings a dozen hard copies to sell at networking events.

Amy is very clear that this booklet is not a substitute for her coaching services. However people who buy the booklet get some substantive help and a percentage of those who buy the booklet like what Amy has to say enough to eventually become one-on-one clients.

The results:

• Amy reduced the perceived risk of her services and has helped 50 prospective customers who otherwise would have put off working with her
• In addition, two prospects who otherwise may not have hired her, felt confident enough about what she had to offer that they signed up and became one-on-one coaching clients.

Bottom Line

During challenging times such as our current economic uncertainty, your customers become very sensitive to perceived risk and less willing to to commit their time and money—especially when it comes to buying new products and services.

If you aren’t currently selling information products that enable prospects to get a small but significant taste of what you can do for them, you are missing an opportunity to bring more revenue to your business and to help more customers sooner than later.