Blogging an Information Product: books, classes, CDs, etc

Bloggers produce a lot of valuable information.

Often that information can be repackaged and sold as an information product, like a book (paper, ebook, tips booklet, etc.), audio/CD, video, special reports, course, speech, blah blah blah.

Why would anyone pay for information that is free, for example a book based on 6-12 months of blog posts?

First of all, lots of people will!

For example, I know Seth Godin will sell a lot of his book Small is the New Big, despite it being a collection of blog posts. I know I will.

But why?

• The reverse chronological order of blog posts is not the preferred method for consuming large amounts of data for most people.
• An organized and updated version of the information is often preferred, even if it costs money.
• Different people have different learning preferences and styles – for example I love audio as I can listen while driving and other times reading is inappropriate or impossible.
• Books can be read more conveniently than a computer screen – for example while lying on a couch (my favorite).
• Some products, for example a speech or instructor-led class, are very different than just reading the information involved. For example, I blogged most of my keynote The Future of IT and The IT Business. The Department of Defense even gave me an award – they wouldn't have given me that award for my blog posts, nor would they have had the same effect if their people read them.
• Books have a different impact. As Seth Godin says in this interview, "handing them a book instead of emailing them a link" is quite different.

So, how do you start? How much planning should you do. How do you – gasp –"sell" it?

Fascinating questions I'll be covering in future posts, and I hope to have some friends and clients join in with some guest posts on their real-life experiences.

Part II to come

Comments

[Ralph Johnston]

Yo Jughead,

So what info products have you produced? I know there are some, but . . .

[T Demop, Blogging for Business]

Hi Ralphie,

Most of my speeches originate as a series of blog posts, the courses I teach, my Videos at WatchIT.com, parts of both of my books, teleseminars I've done, etc.

Working on: a couple of ebooks, an audio series, and a tips booklets - all on using new media effectively for biz, e.g. blogs and podcasts