Today, I want to share my thoughts and ideas on how to make money as an infopreneur. This is something I have been doing successfully for more than 10-years now. It is a wonderful way to make money online, create residual income, and build up an asset and brand at the same time.
What is an Infopreneur?
In case you aren’t familiar with the term, here is a definition from Wikipedia.
An infopreneur is an entrepreneur who identifies opportunities for creating enterprising information-based businesses by identifying knowledge deficiency situations and selling target-based information products and services, mainly through the internet.
In my own words, an infopreneur is someone who sells information to a specific group of people, in the form of books, CDs, courses, etc. The infopreneur has an area of expertise and they create information products around that area of expertise, and then they sell their products and services for a profit.
Example Information Products
Just to get you thinking, here are some example information products you could create.
# 1: A Website or Blog
One option you have is simply to create your own website or blog. This is how I started out. As you build up an audience, you can start creating information products to sell, or you could simply sell advertising and promote affiliate products on your website.
# 2: An eBook
I wrote and published my first eBook nearly 10-years ago. That one eBook has generated more than $30,000 in sales. An eBook is simply a PDF document that people can purchase and download. Basically, you write a 20 to 100 page MS Word Document, save it as a PDF, and then sell it. I like eBooks because they are delivered digitally and 100% of the selling price is profit.
eBook publishing has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for independent authors. Gone are the days where you need to have an agent and a connection to a major publishing house to create, distribute and market your book. Instead, you can publish your very own business ebook and sell your eBooks online.
Source: SmallBizTrends
# 3: A CD or DVD
CDs and DVDs are still very popular, contrary to what you might believe. You could record yourself teaching, read some of your blog posts out loud and record them, or record different classes or speeches you give at your live events, and sell them.
Some specialty DVDs can sell for upward of $50 to $100 each, depending on the niche. As an example, I have a 16-CD audio course I sell for $97. My cost to manufacture it is about $18, so I more than 5x my money. Not bad!
# 4: Online Courses
Online courses are growing in popularity. Sites like UDEMY make it easy for anyone to publish a course about a specific topic. The beauty of an online course is that you do the work one-time and you can keep getting paid for it, over and over.
# 5: Seminars
Seminars are big business. Depending on your niche, you could do weekend seminars and charge $297 to $997 per attendee. If you can fill up the seats with attendees, you could have a BIG payday.
# 6: Webinars
Webinars are a great information product. You can use webinars to sell your products OR your webinar could be the product itself.
# 7: Membership Site
Membership sites are a great way to make money as an infopreneur. You could charge people a monthly fee to be a member of your site, and keep uploading new content to it each week. This provides ongoing income.
# 8: Printables
Printables are simple 1-2 page Word or PDF documents that people can buy and download from your website. It could be a best tips list, instructions on how to do something, a checklist, etc.
# 9: Workbooks
Workbooks are very popular. You could create a manual or workbook that comes with questions and homework assignments. People could follow along with the instructions to learn something new.
This is just a small list of example information products to give you an idea as to what is possible.
Example Niches
There are literally thousands of niches you can choose from. Here are just a few quick ideas to help get you thinking.
- Sex
- Love
- Relationships
- LGBT
- Investing
- Careers
- Buying a House
- Investing
- FOREX
- Make Money Online
- Divorce
- Losing Weight
- Raising Kits
- Essential Oils
- Natural Remedies
- Automotive
- Fly Fishing
- Boar Hunting
- ATVs
- Gaming
- Blogging
- Car Repair
- Traveling
- RV Lifestyle
- Snowmobiling
- Raw/Organic Food
- Coffee
- BBQ
- Crock Pot Recipes
- Small Business
- Postcard Marketing
I put together this list in less than 2-minutes. These were just the first things that came to mind. The possibilities are endless.
How to Pick Your Niche
When it comes to picking a niche for your infopreneur business, I can offer you a few tips that have helped me.
# 1: Pick something you are knowledgeable about. Think about your past work experience or hobbies. What is something you are naturally good at? Think of all the jobs and experiences you have ever had and start brainstorming. You might not be an expert in that area, but you probably know enough information about it to get started as an infopreneur.
# 2: Pick something you are passionate about. Passion trumps everything. Pick something you are passionate about. For example, I chose two niches: military and network marketing. I am very knowledgeable and passionate about those two niches so it is VERY EASY to come up with articles and information products.
Evaluate your passions and skills. It’s also important to think about which areas you have special skills or experience in. What do people regularly tell you you’re good at? What’s your training or education in? What special skills or knowledge have you developed through your work?
Source: Forbes
# 3: Make sure there is an audience of buyers for that niche. The next step is to make sure your niche is not to small, but not too big. I tell people it’s better to be a big fish in a small pond than be a minnow in the ocean. For example, if you are considering weight loss, natural weight loss or juicing for weight loss would be a better niche, because they are smaller and less competitive. Also, make sure your niche is ACTIVELY buying information about these topics.
# 4: Make sure you can identify WHERE and HOW to reach that audience. You need to make sure you have different ways of reaching your target audience. Are there certain forums and websites just for people in that audience? Are there trade journals or magazines for people in that audience? You need to know these things upfront so you have different ways to advertise and market your information products.
Identifying a target market helps your company develop effective marketing communication strategies. A target market is a set of individuals sharing similar needs or characteristics that your company hopes to serve. These individuals are usually the end users most likely to purchase your product.
Source: Chron
6 Reasons to Become an Infopreneur
At this point, you might be wondering, Chuck, why should I become an infopreneur? Here are 6 good reasons I can think of.
# 1: Residual Income
One of the best reasons to become an infopreneur is residual income. You can literally create a product ONE TIME and get paid on the sales of it for many years to come. I have courses I created five to ten years ago that still sell every month and generate me residual income. This is very powerful once you understand it.
# 2: Become a Celebrity
You might not become famous like President Trump or Michael Jordan, but you can definitely become famous with people in your niche. It’s pretty humbling to have people you’ve never met before call you and THANK YOU or praise you.
# 3: Earn Lots of Money
You can do infopreneuring as a side hustle or even as a full-time gig. The sky is the limit. You can earn as much or as little as you want to. There is no cap on your earnings.
# 4: Give Back & Help Others
It’s very fulfilling to give back and share my knowledge with others. It gives me a sense of purpose knowing that I am sharing my thoughts and real world experiences with others and helping them improve at the same time.
There is a Chinese saying that goes: “If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.” For centuries, the greatest thinkers have suggested the same thing: Happiness is found in helping others.
Source: Time
# 5: Do Something You Love
Another good reason to become an infopreneur is to do something you love. Let’s face it; you only live once. Why not make a living doing something you absolutely love?
# 6: New Opportunities
The biggest and best reason to be an infopreneur is what it might lead you to. It could lead you to a book deal. You could get hired as a coach, consultant or public speaker. You could be hired by companies in your niche as a trainer. The options are endless. I’ve always said that being an infopreneur will help get your foot in the door and create new opportunities you never could have dreamed of.
How to Get Started as an Infopreneur
Here is a simple checklist to follow to help you get started as an infopreneur.
# 1: Brainstorm Niches
Your first step is to take a day or two and brainstorm as many possible niches as you can think of. Make a list of your hobbies. Make a list of every job you have ever had. Make a list of things that interest you. Think of all the classes in school that you enjoyed and write them down. Try to come up with at least 10 different potential niches.
# 2: Evaluate Your Competition
Your next step is to evaluate your competition. Take your list of potential niches and start researching your top three choices. See who your competitors will be. Check out what they are selling and at what price points.
To build a successful business, you have to come up with products and services that stand out from the competition. But to create those unique offerings, you need to know who your competitors are and what they are bringing to the market.
Source: BDC
# 3: Identify a Need
Once you have found a niche that you like, your next step is to identify a need. What topics or issues are they asking for information about? Visit popular forums and look at the questions people are asking. Check out Amazon and look at the titles of the best-selling books in your niche. Study keywords for your niche to see what keywords get a lot of searches.
# 4: Determine Your USP
Your next step is to determine your unique selling proposition. How are you going to be different from everyone else in your niche? What makes you unique? You need to be able to answer this question.
# 5: Pick Your Niche
Your next step is to pick your niche. Pick the one niche you think you will enjoy the most AND offers the most potential. Only you can decide.
If you are passionate about some aspect of running the business, you will stick with it. If you don’t care about the topic, you may not be able to find the drive within to persevere.
Source: Entrepreneur Asia Pacific
# 6: Create Your First Information Product
Once you have chosen your niche, it’s time to create your first information product. Choose the format you want to use and get it done. If you sit down and focus, you should be able to create your first information product in less than one week. For example, you could interview 3-5 successful people in your niche and launch a webinar or DVD with their interviews (make sure you have their permission in writing). The options are endless.
Infopreneur Success Tips
Here are some of my best success tips on how to succeed and make money as an infopreneur.
# 1: Don’t Sell Cheap Products
It’s hard to make money selling $5 and $10 information products. You can trust me on that one. I learned the hard way. Ideally, you want products that sell for $297 to $997. If that is not possible, then at least pick a product that you can earn $50 to $100 profit per sale. You have to have enough markup on each product so you can afford to advertise.
“..the most important thing you must get right from the very beginning is exactly what you sell and how you price those products.
Source: BigCommerce
# 2: Over Deliver & Under Promise
Make sure your information product is high quality and provides a good value at the suggested price. You want people to feel like they got a great deal when they purchase your information product, rather than feeling like they got ripped off.
# 3: Focus on SELLING Your Products
This one area is where most people mess up. If you want to succeed as an infopreneur, you must learn and master marketing. You must have a marketing plan to SELL your information products. They will not sell themselves. You could leverage sites like Clickbank, JV Zoo, or Share a Sale to tap into their affiliates. Otherwise, you are on your own.
# 4: Build Your List
Whatever you do, make sure you build up an email list of people in your niche. This is one of your top priorities. As you do this, you will always have a list of hungry buyers for your future information products. I can’t speak for anyone else, but my email list is my most valuable business asset.
There’s a lot to be said for the human touch, and these ideas rely on good old-fashioned human interaction to help you build your email list.
Source: Vertical Response
# 5: Develop Good Up-sells & Cross-Sells
Find other information products that are affiliate products that you can sell to your list. These can be up-sells or cross-sells. Also, create your information products in multiple formats. For example, you could take your DVD and turn it into an audio CD, a webinar, an eBook, a work book and other formats. And remember this, the real money comes from back-end sales and repeat sales, not one-time sales.
Suggested Resources
If you want to get started as an infopreneur, the easiest way to do it is to start your own blog. I HIGHLY recommend you check out Wealthy Affiliate. Not only do they provide hosting, but they walk you through step-by-step on how to build and monetize your website.
I also suggest you check out this eBook that teaches you how to write and publish your own eBook in 7-days or less.
Final Thoughts
In review, these are my best tips on how to make money as an infopreneur. I honestly believe that infopreneuring is one of the best businesses you can choose. If you get started, learn the ropes and follow through, the sky is the limit.
Everyone, and I mean everyone, has something they can specialize in. Just look at your past hobbies, jobs and interests and come up with your winning idea.
What are your thoughts about infopreneuring? Have you tried it before? Leave a comment below to let me know what you think. I look forward to hearing from you.
Chuck Holmes
20+ Year Network Marketing Professional
Top Earner & Top Recruiter
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
P.S. Learn how to grow a successful network marketing business. Secret tips, training, and practical ideas. Free training delivered by email.
I didn’t know the term “infopreneur.” Only out of curiosity I started reading this blog, and I’m so glad I did it. It’s super interesting. Even when reading the title, I was like, “What’s an infopreneur?”
Anyway, I handle a page on IG for writers and freelancers. It’s more like a consultancy page, so could it be considered as inforpreneuring?
I, too, like eBooks, and I’m actually fond of eBooks, but I didn’t start my own book yet. I just have the outline ready. Udemy is my favorite; I’ve learned a lot through Udemy.
The list is so generous, and it helps newbies understand that there are plenty of choices for them. Good job with that, Chuck 🙂
There are many ways to make money as an infopreneur. You can create videos, ebooks, reports, courses, or anything else. Even a blogger is essentially an infopreneur.