Last week, I was talking with a colleague about information products. 

My colleague works with managers who are struggling with software development projects helps get those projects back on track.

He's great a what he does, loves his work and has tons of great ideas for creating information products.

But he hasn't made much progress around creating an information product.

Why?

In his own words, "I've created one product but no one bought it. I'm not sure why but I'm worried that what I know just doesn't translate well into something people will pay for."

It's a common issue: you love your work and the clients you work with love your work too. But you wonder whether what you do will translate well if you're not doing it in person.

Love + Market Need = $$$

If you want a product that practically sells itself and that you feel good about offering to your customers your product must meet two conditions:

#1. Your product is based on your talent, expertise, and joy

#2. Your product helps other people solve a problem that is bothering them right now

If the product doesn't meet condition #1, it doesn't matter how much people want it, you will not be able to solve their problem because you lack the expertise and passion to do so.

If the product doesn't meet condition #2, people won't buy your info product because they don't want or need it.

Finding the "Sweetspot"

The "sweetspot" is the set of problems which meet both conditions:

the problems you are good at and enjoy solving and for which there is market opportunity (problems customers really want solved).

Envision two circles whose edges overlap so that they share a common area (like the Mastercard logo). The area of overlap is the sweetspot for your product.

If you're going to create just one information product this year, you want to create one in this sweet spot.

There are 4 steps for identifying products in the sweet spot.

Step 1. List Common Problems You Help Customers With

Take a moment and think about the customers you've been working with over the last three months or so.

Once you have some specific customers in mind, jot down all of the problems you helped them with.

(Although your clients typically come with one specific problem, there are usually several others related problems or you may uncover a larger, more basic problem as you learn more).

For example, here are common problems that a project management consultant deals with:

• Project team members lack skills to complete their tasks
• Team members fail to communicate progress and/or problems with each other
• Project manager isn't available enough to give team direction
• Team lacks good tools for tracking their progress
• Upper management doesn't support project & doesn't provide enough money, right people, etc.
• Unrealistic deadlines and goals
• Project gets bogged down because of unnecessary steps

Step 2. Identify Your Favorite Problems to Solve

Looking at your list put a check mark next to the ones that evoke an "I want to do that more!" response in your heart.

Don't over-think this. The response you're looking for is a sincere "More!" not a "should want to do more."

Shoulds, woulds, and coulds lead to products that don't sell.

Now, do the same thing but this time check ones in which you feel genuinely proud of the results you helped the client achieve.

Also include those which are still works in process but you feel good about your contribution so far. Again, don't over-think this step.

Now circle all the problems you listed that have two check marks.

These are the product ideas that go into the "Love" part of the equation.

For example, our project management consultant looks at his list and realizes that some of the problems are "people problems" (right people with right skills and knowledge) and other problems are "tools and resource problems" (right software and procedures).

Because his background is in software design he decides the problems he really wants to create products around are the tools and resource problems.

Step 3. Identifying Marketplace Needs

Now that you have identified one or two problems that you enjoy helping people with and excel at providing, let's look at opportunities in the marketplace.

Some specific actions to find those opportunities include:

• What is already selling in your area of expertise:  Search Google, Bing , and Amazon.com using keywords that describe the problem area.
• What frustrates people most in your area of expertise: Monitor discussion forums (Yahoo groups and Google groups ), blogs  and social network sites (Facebook, Linked in, Twitter)
• What recurring topics show up in publications on your topic?

As you look at the marketplace, jot down the problems/questions that keep coming up.

Important: A "gap" doesn't necessarily mean there are no products or services out there providing solutions. If a  question seems to be coming up again and again it suggests there's a need for fresh insights, perspectives, and voices.

Maybe yours.

Example: Among the problems our project management consultant sees coming up:

• Whether or not a project needs project management software
• What to do when you need to "fire" someone from your project team
• What to do when team members are sabotaging your project
• What is the best project management software for a project
• How to find bottlenecks in a project
• How to create a good time estimate for completing projects
• How to convince upper level management to increase your project's  budget

Step 4. Finding Sweetspot Product Ideas

You've identified problems you're good at solving; you've identified gaps in the marketplace, now it's time to identify the "Sweet Spot" for your products.

Looking at the problems you circled in Step #2 and the problems and questions you listed in Step #3, look for any problems that satisfy both conditions:

#1. Problems you are good at solving and enjoy solving

#2. Problems that continually crop up in the marketplace

Create a new list with the problems that meet both conditions.

These are your "sweetspot" product ideas. Products that, with the right marketing message and support, will practically sell themselves.

Example: Looking at both lists, the project management consultant chooses the following problem as a basis for his next information product:

• Finding and dealing with bottlenecks in your project

Since his expertise and interest is in process improvement, it makes sense to create a product that will help teams find and eliminate steps causing bottlenecks.

Bottom Line

You can create products that will practically sell themselves if your products solve problems you love to solve and solve problems that your customers keep asking about.

With one or two products that meet these criteria plus a good marketing message and timely promotions to your prospective buyers you really can make a difference and grow your bottom line.

An unfortunate side effect of an economic slowdown like the one we're in currently, is spending slows down. If you're a small business owner the slowdown in spending shows up in two ways:

1. Some prospects and customers who might have said "yes" in the past are now saying no because they simply don't have the resources to pay you
2. Those who DO have the resources are take longer to say yes

This means less revenue coming in and if you own a small business, that's a big "ouch" for your bottom line.

Oh, the Irony of It All!

What's funny about this situation in a not-so-funny way is that during economic downturns, your clients and customers need what you offer More Than Ever!

Why? Because we're all in business to solve problems people have, right? Recessions typically multiply problems and amplify the pain we feel from those problems.

But we also become hyper-aware of the downside of our actions and we feel there's no wiggle room for error. We become extremely Risk Averse.

Whether or not their fear is founded in reality, customers step back and become less willing to do anything that is new or risky because they don't feel safe.

If you're having doubts whether you are offering something customers really need because your sales have slowed down, I'm suggesting it isn't that they don't need what you're selling—it's because these scary times are making them unusually risk averse and less willing to take chances.

Reducing Perceived Risk Using Information Products

To help your prospects and customers feel safer to spend, you need to reduce their perceived risk of working with you. There are many ways to do this including lowering your prices, doing one-day sales, etc. But I'm partial to creating information products because the benefits extend far beyond the immediate revenue streams they provide.

Information products reduce perceived risk for prospects and customers in two important ways:

1. It's easier to say "yes" to buying a $19 how-to guide than a six-month $4,000 consulting engagement.
2. When customers get results using your information products they develop confidence in your ability to deliver what you promise.

This makes it easy for your customers to feel good about buying your more expensive products and services.

Two Easy Information Products Small Business Owners Can Create and Sell

How-to guides and tip sheets are my favorite low cost information products to offer because it's easy for your prospects to see the value they'll get.

• How-to guides teach them how to do something they've always wanted to do; step by step
• Tips sheets tell them how to do something better and get better results

The other thing I love about how to guides and tip sheets is they're easy to create because all you're really doing is answering common questions you get from customers.

Example: Using a How-to Guide as a Low Cost Information Product

Amy is a coach who works with what she called the "walking wounded"; typically high level managers who have successful corporate careers but are tired of the cost to their personal lives.

Amy's core service is one on one coaching; typically clients work with her for six month intervals at $600 per month.

Amy has noticed that even though stress levels are higher than ever, people who once would have said "yes" to becoming one-on-one clients are now saying things like,

"I'm just happy to have a job."

"What if I get laid off, I'll need that $600"

"What if I work with you and you don't help me?"

And they're putting off the possibility of working with her.

Amy asked herself "If there were just one thing I could do to help these folks what would that thing be?"

She realized that for busy, stressed out professionals, taking on something new would require very small, simple steps. Small to the point of being ridiculous. Anything feeling too big would create overwhelm and the client wouldn't take action and get the help they need.

So she did some brainstorming around small but significant changes her clients made and came up with over 100 small actions. She edited the steps down to 101 and created a booklet: 101 Ways to Have More Fun and Less Stress at Work.

She sells it on her website and brings a dozen hard copies to sell at networking events.

Amy is very clear that this booklet is not a substitute for her coaching services. However people who buy the booklet get some substantive help and a percentage of those who buy the booklet like what Amy has to say enough to eventually become one-on-one clients.

The results:

• Amy reduced the perceived risk of her services and has helped 50 prospective customers who otherwise would have put off working with her
• In addition, two prospects who otherwise may not have hired her, felt confident enough about what she had to offer that they signed up and became one-on-one coaching clients.

Bottom Line

During challenging times such as our current economic uncertainty, your customers become very sensitive to perceived risk and less willing to to commit their time and money—especially when it comes to buying new products and services.

If you aren't currently selling information products that enable prospects to get a small but significant taste of what you can do for them, you are missing an opportunity to bring more revenue to your business and to help more customers sooner than later.