It’s all about creating and marketing  information products built from your intellectual capital.

Imagine the possibilities!

Information products are newsletters, e-books, booklets, audio files, CDs, training programs, how-to videos, and other similar resources you produce to help others learn more about a topic that you know a lot about.

While writers tend to lean toward booklets and e-books because they’re often more comfortable at a keyboard than in front of a microphone or a video camera, written content can often generate even more income when it’s re-packaged in audio or video formats. Using different formats is smart because people learn in different ways. I like to read and listen; others prefer to watch videos to get the information they need.

Many novelists speak about or teach workshops on specific elements of craft — writing believable dialogue, creating unforgettable characters, or doing historical research. Have you thought about turning those lectures into audio files or videos that you sell from your website?

Nonfiction authors can turn an out-of-print book into a series of shorter e-books, create an online workshop out of a how-to book’s material, or create a series of value-added videos that demonstrate examples mentioned in the book.

Writers can find new uses for content that was cut from a project, or find new ways to package and sell material that has just been sitting in files.

Free report gets you started

If thinking about tapping your intellectual capital, your manuscripts, or your files for new product ideas generates an itch you have to scratch, get a copy of a free report on this topic that I just created with my friend Marcia Layton Turner, founder of the Association of Ghostwriters. Go to our new website, Information Products for Writers, and use the template on the right side of the screen to get your free copy of 10 Steps to Creating Your First Information Product immediately.

The opportunities to use what you know to earn more are out there — you just need to know how to make it happen. Our free eight-page report will help you get started.

Have you created any information products yet? What are they?