Get into the Information Products Business!

Selling information products is the second-biggest business
on the Internet (selling software is first). Writing How-To
manuals is one of the easiest and most profitable ways of
creating and selling information products on the Internet.

There are two principal ways people come into the How-To
manual business.

The first way is that you have an idea for a how-to manual,
you sit down and write it, then try to sell it.

The second way is that you have a problem, you go looking
for a solution, and you either don't find one and decide to
solve it yourself then write a how-to manual to share what
you've learned with others who may be having the same
problem, or else you find information about your problem,
but it is so badly written or so confusing or doesn't really
solve your problem that you say to yourself, "I could do
better than that!" So you sit down and write a how-to
manual.

Whichever way you arrive at the front door of the how-to
manual business, understand that almost certainly you have
the ability to put down on paper (on into electronic form
with a word processing program, or dictate into a tape
recorder) your experience or knowledge. And that experience
or knowledge can be of benefit to other people. Potentially
a LOT of other people. A lot of other people who want and
need what you know so much that they are willing to pay for
your manual. And pay handsomely.

Let me tell you something right away, based on my years of
experience in this business: you do not need a college
degree in English to write how-to manuals! You just need an
idea, a plan, and the persistence to see it through to
completion.

I have been writing, publishing, marketing and promoting my
manuals for over seven years. I got started because of a
problem I had that there didn't seem to be any good, clear,
simple written solutions for. So I did my homework -- it
turned out everything I needed to know to solve the problem
what already out there, just in scattered bits and pieces --
put the ideas together in a logical order, wrote it all up
in my style, using my own words, and voila! I had a how-to
manual.

That’s the secret to writing, publishing, marketing and
promoting how-to manuals: identify what concepts,
experiences, and special knowledge you have that other
people want and need in order to solve the problems they
have. Key point: people do not buy "how-to manuals", they
buy solutions to their problems.

As you begin taking your first steps in this exciting
business, keep in mind that it should be treated as a
business. Also, recognize that any real business is not
going to make you rich overnight. If your how-to manual
fills a big enough need in the marketplace, you could find
your self running a lucrative full-time enterprise (if
that’s what you want). Beware of the many scam artists out
there who will make claims like "Learn the Secret Formula
That Will Make Your Products Sell Like Crazy" or "Make
$7,000 On The Internet In Seven Days Or Less" or "Increase
Your Sales 1700% in Seventeen Days".

As a by-product of writing, publishing, marketing and
promoting my other manuals, I learned from experience what
has worked, as well as what hasn't. I won't jive you; the
path to profitability in this business (as in virtually all
others) is not a short one. Be prepared to "stay the
course".