Here are a few tips for outsourcing your information product creation:

Get samples from any writer you’re considering before committing to the job. You should also have them write a set number of “test” pages or a small section of the book before fully committing. You’ll need to pay them for this and if you’re not happy with the work it may mean you do lose that money but it’s better to find out early on in the project than when you’ve fully committed.

Visit online forums and ask for recommendations. There are various online marketing discussion forums where you may be able to find recommendations for writers. Just keep in mind everyone’s opinions vary so you shouldn’t take what other people say as gospel but it may give you an idea of who to contact.

If you don’t feel up to fully outsourcing the whole task you can simply outsource the research side of things or even the product outline or both the outline and the research. It really is up to you. The writing part will usually be the most expensive and time consuming so if you’re on a budget perhaps you could outsource the first two and do the writing yourself.

You can outsource research and product outline to a virtual assistant. Again, you can visit online marketing discussion forums and ask for recommendations. You can also do a search under “virtual assistant” and you should find a number of different services, but recommendations are always best, especially when working with people online whom you won’t see face to face.

Visit places like elance.com or guru.com. In these places you can post a project and freelancers will bid on different projects. You can also view samples of the person’s work (in many cases) and read past reviews and feedback they’ve been given.

Outsourcing is a great idea, especially if you’ve been holding back on getting started.

As an affiliate marketer it’s a good idea to differentiate yourself from your competition. A good way to do this is by offering bonuses or in some cases a discount for people that purchase through your affiliate link. This is an especially good strategy when dealing with high-end products, which are quite pricey to purchase.

For example, a very well known internet marketer launches his latest and most anticipated course on “How to Get More Traffic to your Website.” Being a well-known guru, this marketer already has a small army of affiliates lined up and waiting for launch date to simultaneously shoot out a series of emails to their list promoting this most anticipated product… ouch, how do you compete with that?

Well, here’s a little strategy that some very top super affiliates use – give them a little bit extra.

Instead of just sending just another email promoting this new product, take the time to set up a special promotion for customers who purchase the product through your link. This can vary depending on the product and your services, but it can be a number of things such as a private tele-class where you teach some of the affiliates your own strategies or tips you’ve learned; or a recorded interview with transcribed notes on a related subject to the product. You can even offer some one-on-one coaching time with you, although be careful with this one as it can get very time consuming, you may want to limit this to the first 5 or first 10 purchases made through your link.

You can also offer a discount to people who purchase through your link. Say you’re promoting a high-ticket item which costs $950 and you’re commissions are 50%, it may be well worth it to give people who purchase through your link a $100 or $150 dollar discount. This is a great incentive for people to buy through you, after all who doesn’t want to save money.

It’s worth to note, a few programs may not like the use of the above mentioned promotional tactics. It’s always a good idea to do your homework and if in doubt of what is appropriate, you can contact the program manager directly and ask questions.

But always remember, the more time and effort you put into a product you believe in, the better your chances of making more sales with that product. People will see your efforts and think “Wow, he must really believe in this product to do all of this” and if you’re focusing on choosing and promoting the right products then this is probably very true.

Here are a few tips to help you on your way to your first information product:

Do Your Research: Before spending a lot of time putting a product together, you should research to learn if there really is a need for it. You can start by visiting online forums related to your target market. Other websites which offer similar products or services to yours are also a good place to start.

You can also ask your customers what they need. If you have newsletter subscribers send an email out asking what they would like to see more of. You can even give them a free giveaway in exchange for their feedback. A poll on your website also works well. No matter which way you do it, just make sure you do your research before starting your writing.

Write an Outline: The easiest way to get started is to write an outline of what your product will include. Go through the outline and brainstorm each section until you’re happy with the results. Then you will need to go through each section and research that specific topic.

You can easily get help with the research part by hiring a VA (virtual assistant) to help you. An outline breaks the process down into attainable steps and once you have the outline you can start writing each section. You can also record your thoughts or you have another person interview you, then have the audio transcribed and you should have a big portion of your product. Of course, it won’t be completely ready, which leads us to the next part.

Putting it all Together: Once you have your research, it’s a matter of sitting down and doing the writing. With your research already pre-written then it won’t be too difficult to go through (following your structure) and put the first phase of the product together. Once you have that very, very rough draft go back through the book again and start editing, changing things around, omitting things here and there and so on until you have a finished draft.

Leave it aside for at least 24 hours then go back to it and repeat the editing process all over again. And then keep doing this until you feel comfortable and happy with what you have produced. The final step is to hand it over to a trusted relative or friend who can look it over and give you constructive criticism.

And finally if you really don’t feel like writing your own product, you can consider outsourcing the whole job. You can find experienced writers at elance.com or guru.com. You can also search online for qualified or recommended ghostwriters. With a project of this size you may want to have the person write a trial chapter before committing to the complete product. No matter how you decide to go about it, finishing your first information product should be a very rewarding experience.

Here are a few steps to creating your information product outline:

You may want to take a legal pad or notebook and on one page just start jotting down ideas you would like to include in your product as they come to you. Don’t worry too much about structure at this point, you just want to get all your ideas out on paper. Anything you can think off which may be a good fit for your product, write it down.

You can also write questions down such as “who needs this product?” “why this product is necessary”, etc.

Once you’ve written all your thoughts, take a second sheet of paper and create an outline. You want to write things down in the actual order they will appear in the book. Your outline may include some of the following things:

* Introduction
* Copyright page
* Disclaimer page
* Body of the book
* Closing
* Recommended Resources

Now you want to take the body of the book and break that into main sections. For example one section may be called “Getting Started” while another may be called “Marketing your Business”. Of course, it will depend on your subject but this should give you a general structure idea.

Now for each section such as “Getting Started” write down each sub section that corresponds to “Getting Started”. Lets say you’re product is about starting a website design business then under getting started you may include – “Who Needs Web Design Services?” – “How Much Can a Web designer Expect to Earn?” and so on.

By the time you finish going through each section you have a rough outline. Now read through it. Does it all flow nicely? Would some of the information fit better in another section of the book? Did you leave something out or should you add something else? Edit and tweak it a little then leave it for at least 24 hours.

After a nice rest go back to it and look it over again with a fresh and open mind and make any necessary changes. Once you’re happy with your structure it’s time to start writing!

Here are a few copywriting tips to help you get started:

Know your Target Market – Good copywriters know exactly who they’re writing for before starting. They speak directly to ONE person and keep that same person in mind at all times. If you try to reach too many people with your copy you’ll end up missing your target altogether and not reaching anyone at all. Before starting, know exactly who you’re writing your copy for and stick to it.

Headlines that Intrigue – Use clear headlines throughout your copy to guide the reader. Your main headline should be in bold and large letters to grab the reader’s attention. It is often the headline which can either make or break your copy. Use a benefit-focused headline, which explains in powerful detail how you can help solve the customer’s problem. Then use sub-headlines throughout the copy to keep the reader intrigued so they will keep reading.

Don’t use Big Words – Online writing is different to the writing you did in English class. Throw out the text book and forget all those rules your teacher taught you. Online writing is casual and needs to convey emotion and a clear purpose. You need to speak to the person as though you’re sitting down with them and chatting over a coffee… stay away from big words and long adjectives or risk boring (and losing) your prospects!

Be Persuasive – If you love your product that’s great but it’s also a bit biased. Your customers want to hear from other unbiased people who have used your product. Include customer testimonials but not just any testimonial will do, the more information you can include the better. Try to include the person’s full name, city, state, website URL and if possible a picture of that person. The more information your testimonial includes the more persuasive and believable.

It’s not all about you! – In fact, it’s not about you at all. Effective copywriting is concerned with the needs of the customer. The writer doesn’t really matter… Of course, you may need to add a little personal information about yourself in order to gain trust and to explain why your customer should trust you, but even in this case it’s all about what you can do for them. Go through your copy, does it contain a lot of “I’s” then it’s time for a serious re-write. Go back and change most of those “I’s” to “You’s”. Your writing should always be about the customer.

Don’t forget the call – The call to action that is. You must guide your visitors and tell them what you expect them to do. If you want them to click over and purchase your weight loss product, say so, and say so in a clear way which promotes all the benefits of your products “Click here to learn how you can lose those last 10 pounds and keep it off for good” . Be precise in your wording and always include a clear call to action.

- white hat seo ~ good natural ways of building your website
- black hat seo ~ sneaky and not so honest ways of building your website can get you banned from SE’s ultimately

Do you want to put the “super” in your affiliate marketing? Read on and learn the secrets of the super affiliates.

Super affiliates treat affiliate marketing like a business. These people aren’t “playing” business, they have carefully studied their target market, advertising options and test and track how well products convert for them. In a nutshell, they take affiliate marketing seriously.

They know their target market. Super affiliates know who they’re marketing to before they start promoting a product. It can be very tempting to want to promote a few different unrelated products, but good affiliates know this isn’t smart. By choosing a select number of related products they can review and test, and are more able to effectively communicate the benefits of those products.

They put in the time. Super affiliates take time to not only carefully study their prospective customers but they also take the time to write promotional materials, free reports, articles and anything else that could help their business. They put time and effort into the products they promote.

They create trust. Savvy super affiliates know this is a must. Once you create a certain level of trust with your customers it’s hard not to sell. People buy from people they like and trust. Super affiliates always behave in a way which will endear customers to them and create trust and confidence in their customers. The best way to do this is by providing honest product reviews and information to your customers. Once a super affiliate builds up their reputation, they know the key to keeping that reputation is also never to promote products they haven’t tested themselves or at least are very familiar with. Trust and credibility is very important to super affiliates.

In summary, super affiliates are willing to work hard (and smart) to find the best products to promote, they know their target market and they put in the time and effort to communicate effectively with that target market.

Using the example above, you’ll write an eCourse with tips on how to write an information product. You can tell people how to do research, how to write an outline, outsourcing options and so on – anything related to writing an information product. You don’t want to give out too much information because you do want them to go on and purchase the actual paid product, but you can give them some good tips without revealing exactly how to do it all.

And as mentioned already you’ll add your affiliate link to the bottom of this eCourse or when appropriate in the body of the email. You can simply say something like:

“To Learn How to Easily Write Your First Information Product Visit, http://www.affiliatelinktoproductgoeshere.com”

Once the 5-day course is finished you can follow-up with periodical emails and information related to writing an information product. As you can see offering your customers a free eCourse is another great way to stand out and increase your affiliate commissions.

- gives your website a “face” and a “voice” all at the same time

- video can be viral (embeding on blogs and sites)
*www.youtube.com
*http://video.google.com/

- perfect for doing product demonstrations

- quickly and easily distribute tutorials on your topic

- video testimonials gives extra credibility to you, your product, and your clients

- can increase conversion rates quickly and easily

- combine easily with affiliate links

- a video “show” can be sent to an ipod and watching on the go, appeals to busy visitors

- editing can be done from your PC using windows movie maker