So, Are You an Information Marketer or a Fulfillment House?

Congratulations, you’re an information marketer. Maybe you’ve just developed your first product or maybe you’re an old pro who’s been at it for a while.

If you’re approaching your business the correct way you’re continually building your own information products empire in your area of expertise.

That means you’re producing books or manuals, or audio and video- based training materials. Maybe it’s CDs or DVDs. Doesn’t matter. The important thing is you’ve got a number of products you can promote via you speaking engagements, through your website, by joint venturing, or by any other number of methods.

Now let’s ask the tough question. If you’re having any degree of success you may now be wearing all of these hats (and more):

• public speaker
• marketer of your speaking services
• information product developer
• shipping clerk
• CD or tape duplicator
• binder assembler
• customer service manager
• order taker
• travel planner
• delivery person

So you’ve got to ask yourself which of these hats should you be wearing? Where should you be applying your time and efforts to maximize your business?

When you’re first starting out you probably should do it all yourself. You need to have an understanding of what is involved in producing and delivering your products to your customers.

But if your business is growing you’ll quickly find out that too much of your time is being spent on the mundane tasks - copying binders (or running to Kinko’s), duplicating CDs and labeling them, packaging things together, putting products in boxes, running down to the post office or UPS, etc. Which means you’re not spending your time where you get the biggest bang for your buck – sales, marketing, product creation and, for some, public speaking.

When is the right time to outsource your duplication and fulfillment requirements? Ultimately, you’ll have to decide when that time is for yourself. But what do you value your time at? $100 per hour, $200 per hour, more? Then how long does it make sense for you to be spending your time doing $10 or $20 per hour tasks? If you’re spending an hour per day running products to the post office that’s an hour you’re not investing in your real bread and butter. And what is your opportunity cost?

When you’re spending time working in your business rather than working on your business then opportunities will slip by without you even noticing them. There is a time when outsourcing your product duplication and fulfillment requirements makes sense - both from a time management and a financial standpoint. When is that time right for you?

————

Trying to do your own product fulfillment is Mistake #3 in Bret Ridgway’s course
“The 50 Biggest Mistakes I See Information Marketers Make.” How many of the mistakes are you making and what’s it costing you? For more info visit: http://cart.sfsbookstore.com/shop/cgi/tracker?shopID=7&adID=472

Perceived Value: What is it and Why is it Important to You as an Information Marketer?

In the information marketing world you’ll frequently hear the phrase “perceived value” uttered. Simply put, it means how much people think your product is worth. How you choose to package the information you’re selling will have a tremendous impact on how your customers perceive its value.

Let’s take a look at the relative perceived values of different products from lowest perceived value to highest perceived value. Keep in mind the content is identical regardless of the packaging.

Example 1: Single CD

Low —> Medium —> High

Paper Sleeve —– Jewel Case —– DVD Style Case

If the CD is a free lead generation tool or a bonus item then a paper sleeve may be your best choice. The price that you’re asking for the product will, to a large extent, determine what kind of packaging you want to utilize. If you’re giving it away you need to go bare bones on your packaging.

But, if the product is selling for $47, $97 or more than you need to dress up the package. It needs to be more impressive so a jewel case with full color inserts or a DVD style case with a full color outsert will be called for. Remember, the content is identical. You are influencing the perceived value of your content by packaging it differently.

Example 2: 100 Page Manual

Low —> Medium —> High

Saddle Stiched — Perfect Bound — Spiral Bound — 3-ring Binder

Again, the content is identical in each of the formats. But the public has been conditioned to equate the value of a perfect bound book with a $19.95 price or so you’ll find in your traditional bookstore. Put that same information into an 8-1/2” x 11” spiral bound document or a 3-ring binder then it appears to be more specialized knowledge and people are willing to pay more for it.

If you’re selling a multifaceted product that consists of many CDs and/or DVDs and some printed materials that going to have a ticket price of $497 or higher then you definitely want to stay toward the upper medium to high end of the perceived value scale.

How you choose to package the components of your information product is critical to how people will perceive its value. Be aware of the value scales above when you’re deciding how you want your product to look and make sure your packaging is consistent with what you want the perceived value of your product to be.

————

Packaging inconsistent with the selling price of your product is Mistake #18 in Bret Ridgway’s new course “The 50 Biggest Mistakes I See Information Marketers Make”. How many of the mistakes are you making and what’s it costing you? Visit http://cart.sfsbookstore.com/shop/cgi/tracker?shopID=7&adID=472 for more info.