| Have you put off, or given up entirely, the idea of | | | | wallflower. High school wasn't much better, but I was |
| writing that book, or creating a CD or DVD, for your | | | | able to retreat into punk rock and avoid the 'popular' |
| business? | | | | high school scene. |
| Maybe you've let that idea slip away because you | | | | Even today, as my 20th high school reunion |
| thought your business wasn't suited to it. I mean, | | | | approaches, I can find myself in wallflower situations. |
| what you do is so individual and personal, or too | | | | I have better coping mechanisms, but it's still painful. |
| complicated to explain, or so intuitive in nature, that it | | | | How many wallflowers are in your business' dance |
| can't be captured in a product. | | | | hall? |
| Or maybe you already sell a product, and you can't | | | | People who are struggling with something are unsure |
| imagine what a book or CD would possibly do for | | | | of themselves. They are upset, insecure, hesitant. |
| your business. | | | | They want to dance the tango, but they don't want |
| These kinds of products- books, CDs, DVDs and | | | | to look foolish and be rejected. |
| their digital downloadable equivalents: pdfs, mp3s, | | | | Do you think it might be easier for those wallflowers |
| mpegs - are called information products, 'info | | | | if you met them at their seat with a glass of punch, |
| products' for short. | | | | and talked with them awhile, before you even asked |
| And, if you are putting off creating one, you are | | | | them to dance? |
| doing a disservice to all the people who are waiting | | | | A good information product doesn't recreate your |
| for you. | | | | business to give the full dance-hall experience. It |
| What's the purpose of having an info product? | | | | doesn't deliver the same intimacy, or the same |
| Some people will tell you the purpose is to have | | | | instruction, or the same in-depth support, or the |
| 'multiple streams of income' or to 'fill your business to | | | | same results that your main products or services do. |
| overflowing.' It's true, a good info product can create | | | | That's not its job. |
| these kinds of results. | | | | The job of a good information product is to help |
| But that's not why you create one. If you create it | | | | people dance along off to the side, out of the |
| for that reason, you are chasing the money, and | | | | spotlight. This will not only help them get some of |
| you'll end up chasing away your customers. | | | | the results they need, but it will also get them ready |
| The purpose of an info product is to help the | | | | to get out on your dance floor and engage more |
| wallflowers. | | | | deeply with what will really help them: your main |
| A wallflower is that term used at dances and other | | | | products and services. |
| social events where someone who is feeling a little | | | | And, it's not a bad thing that info products can |
| shy or awkward will take a seat next to a wall, and | | | | create a nice flow of income for you as well. |
| plant themselves there, and never get out on the | | | | Ready to deliver that glass of punch and create an |
| dance floor. | | | | info product? |
| In junior high I was painfully shy, and lived as a | | | | |