Like lots of things in life, creating an info product is easy when you know how.

It’s those first steps that are often tentative and most of us need some kind of help to lead us through the process.

At the very least, use a checklist to make sure that you don’t miss anything obvious. But also check out these steps as well:

Decide on a topic for your new info product.

This should be something that is well defined. The precise nature and size of the niche you’re targeting will determine at least part of your decision. But, as a general rule, the more you drill down the easier it will be to find potential buyers.

For instance, internet marketing for plumbers would be a lot easier to target than just internet marketing.

Decide on the topics to cover in your info product

This will serve two purposes: it will help you create an outline for your new product and it will also give you the points to cover in the sales letter you write to promote it.

Some people find that creating the sales letter (complete with sub headings and bullet points) actually clarifies what needs to be included in their product and they create the sales letter first before even starting on the product creation.

Experiment to see what works best for you.

Gather any necessary information

The research stage of your product is critical.

If you’re a seasoned veteran in the niche then it won’t take long to brush up any information you already know but if you’re fairly new to the niche (ideally not a total novice, otherwise it would be a case of the blind leading the blind!) then you’ll need to spend some time making sure your knowledge is sufficient to be able to teach other people.

Start collating your knowledge

I like to use a spreadsheet to easily create a list if I’m making a relatively simple product. I find the ability to add columns and assign numbers to them, then sort the columns, is easier than copying and pasting inside a word processing document.

For more complicated products, a mind map is my method of choice. It’s easy to create a mind map with free software such as FreeMind and the resultant mind map acts as a quick refresher for what to cover. I’ve attended a two day seminar where the entire outline of the seminar fitted on one sheet of paper – it’s that powerful.

Start producing your product

This will of course depend on the format you’ve chosen.

If you’re going to produce a PDF or a printed product then this will be on your word processor (or maybe dictated first and then transcribed).

If you’re creating audios or videos then you’ll need to make sure that the recording levels are correct and your machine is set up correctly. If you’re not sure, it’s well worth recording a short audio or video first rather than spending a long time and finding that things aren’t set up as well as they should be.

Because your future income will be relying on the product you create, you should also make sure that you keep an off-site backup of your work using an automated service like this one.

Finalise your sales letter, upload the necessary files

Your sales letter is naturally important.

The headline is the most important part – if it doesn’t “grab” people then the rest of your letter will be in vain. So experiment with your headlines. Ideally, come up with ten or more and then choose the best one.

Or, even better, do a split test once you start getting enough traffic to your site to see which works best in the real world.

You can upload files using WordPress, the control panel of your host or FTP software. If you’re not sure of the best way to do any of those, there are plenty of tutorial videos available on places like YouTube.

Start promoting!

This is the moment you’ve been working up to with your new info product so make the most of it.

Promotion can take all sorts of forms – announcing the product on sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn; politely telling people on forums; advertising with Google, etc; recruiting affiliates to help with your sales; writing articles and press releases; creating videos and podcasts; uploading presentations to document sharing sites; etc.

And keep at the promotion – most of these techniques build up over time.