When we think about ecommerce, more often than not, we think about selling physical products — stuff that may be sold online, but has to be boxed up and shipped in the real world. But products that you have to handle offline aren’t the only options for ecommerce, especially if you already have an established presence online. Information products can be a good alternative.
The Benefits of Information Products in Ecommerce
The obvious benefit for dealing in information products online is that you eliminate the need to ship your products to your clients. They pay their money and can immediately download a copy of your product. There’s no inventory to manage — just a digital file that you make available through your ecommerce website.
But there are other benefits, as well. Information products can complement physical products, letting impatient buyers get a head-start on giving you money, even if they’re not prepared to wait for a shipment of a physical product. They can also help you become the expert in your niche, leading buyers to you even if all they need is answers to questions they have with a product they’ve already purchased.
Information products can cover a wide range of niches: an software seller could offer an online training course on using QuickBooks effectively, while a vacuum shop could offer an ebook on how to remove stubborn stains. The real question in creating an information product is if your customers have a need for specific types of information, to the point that they’ll pay money to have that need addressed quickly.
Start With What You’re Already Offering
Odds are good that you’ve already got some options for creating ebooks, audio courses and other information products. If you offer any kind of consulting or technical support for the products you sell, those areas could be ripe for creating some sort of training or resource. Similarly, if you’ve had to create a FAQ page or you routinely get the same questions over and over again, those questions may be expanded into an information product. More than a few companies have been able to take materials originally created for internal use (like a consultant’s guide to training new buyers) and, with a little adaptation, put it on the market.
If you’re already taking steps to market your business, you may not have to do much to separately promote any information products you decide to sell. That is, of course, provided that your information products are targeted towards the same audience that buys your physical products. If you decide to look for other markets — such as selling templates or internal tools you’ve created for running your business, your marketing efforts may have to grow to reach out to potential buyers who aren’t necessarily interested in the products you’re already selling online.
In general, focusing on what you’re already offering and augmenting it is the best way to move into creating and selling digital products. It’s not a perfect fit for every ecommerce website, but you may be surprised how easy it is to add information products to your line up.
Image by Flickr user Edans
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