How To Create An Instant Information Product

You've probably heard me state time and again the importance of producing valuable content for your marketing efforts and then offering that content, free of charge, in your advertising. This type of 2-step lead generation strategy is a powerful way to stand out in a crowded field and allow prospects to sell themselves.

But, and this is always the rub, creating good content is time consuming. Well, today I'm going to let you in a little powerhouse tactic that will let you create dozens of information rich reports and viral giveaways with a few mouse clicks.

Thousands of business owners and marketers are pumping out articles and tip sheets every day and posting them on content hungry article directories with the hope that you will come along and grab an article and post it on your web site. This is a good strategy and one that I often recommend.

However, this practice also offers the small business marketer a great opportunity. If you know you would like to offer a free report to entice web site visitors to sign-up for your newsletter or just let you know that they are interested in what you do, you can use these article directories to create a "collection of articles" on nearly any topic on the planet.

All you need to do is visit one of the more active directories that I have listed below and search for content that meets your industry, solution or even keyword phrase.

Next, take 10-50 of the best articles you find and drop them into a Word document and give the entire collection a name that rings true with the theme of the collection. You should add a cover page that lists you and your web site as the publisher, an introduction that sets the table for the collection and contact information for anyone who wants to find out more about you and your services.

With this approach you can create a very valuable information product in about an hour. And, the authors who spent the time to produce this content will love you for doing it. (Of course, follow any rules that the article directories require and always credit the originating authors with the link that they provide in their resource box.)

Now that you have your product, you can feature it as introductory giveaway, print and bind copies as an offline marketing piece, use it a bonus with the purchase of another product. There really is no limit to how many uses you can find. Now that you know how easy it is to produce such a product, you may be tempted to produce one on every niche topic within your business.

Here's another powerful twist on this strategy. If you do plan to use your new report as a tool to promote your business or products, you may find that the authors you feature in your publication will help you. After you compile your publication and convert it to a PDF file, send a complimentary copy to each author and offer to host the report for them if they want to send offer it to their readers or subscribers. This may really send you some additional traffic and subscribers.

If you are using this report to promote your product, offer to brand it for your guest authors and allow them to use it to promote your product with their own affiliate link.

Okay, so get on over to these article directories and do a little searching. Don't forget to add some of your own content too!

Add Me - http://www.addme.com/index.htm
Article Central - http://thewhir.com/find/articlecentral/
Article City - http://www.articlecity.com/
Article Finders - http://www.articlefinders.com/
BPubs - http://www.bpubs.com/
Constant Content - http://constant-content.com/
Ezine Articles - http://www.ezinearticles.com/
Free Sticky - http://www.freesticky.com/stickyweb/
Go Articles - http://www.goarticles.com/
Small Business Outpost - http://www.smallbusinessoutpost.com/
Submit Your Articles - http://www.submityourarticle.com
Webmasters Library - http://www.webmasterslibrary.com/articles/
Zinos - http://www.zinos.com/
 

John Jantsch is a veteran marketing coach, award winning blogger and author of Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide published by Thomas Nelson

He is the creator of the Duct Tape Marketing small business marketing system. You can find more information by visiting http://www.ducttapemarketing.com.