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Information marketing is one of the earliest business models on the Internet. It goes way back to the pioneer days of the internet when it was still in its infancy. The idea was simple; you find hungry buyers markets, create information products that solve problems within that niche and sell it to them.

This information was originally a simple word document. Payment was sent via bank transfer or check, and the vendor sent the document in the post or email in return. The same idea exists to the present day. Nowadays the information can come in virtually any format: audio, video, memberships, special events, webinars and of course the traditional written form.

But what is an infopreneur?

An infopreneur is one who has chosen this model as his or her primary business. Multiple info-products are created and sold on a continuous basis.

Why do people buy information when you can find it for free on the web?

Even though you can get pretty much any information you want for free with a quick search on Google or YouTube, do you feel you can get the right kind of value from this?

For example, if you wanted to learn how to train your cat to use the litter tray, would you rather use YouTube, Google and random forum threads to come to a conclusion? Or would you feel better enrolling on a recommended online course that presented the information to you in a logical, clear step by step way, and offered support?

The beauty of selling information products for a living is the fact that they can be duplicated so easily, costing next to nothing. Imagine this; you created a guide that was well received and costs $27 for access. After purchase, the customer downloads their info-product from a server, or are given login details to access the membership area.

What does it cost to duplicate a PDF or a set of videos? Hardly anything. You upload it once, and each time someone makes a purchase they receive login details to download the file or access the membership. Even if you sold 50 of these a day, your outgoings would be close to zero.

Now, what if you had 10 of these products, and produced new information products fairly frequently. Each of these sold well, and consistently. Even one product, at $10 sold ten times a day is $100 a day. That’s a $36,000 income from very little work.

How do you come up with an idea or something to sell?

There are two directions you can take here. The first is to find a market that is already buying. It can be a huge, evergreen niche like weight loss and fitness, or a tiny niche like “how to train your pet parrot.” To coin a phrase by the late great Gary Halbert, “find a starving crowd.” If you ran a hamburger stand, who would your best buyers be? To find the starving crowd for your niche, the best way is to research products that are already selling well, and create a better version of it.

The second direction you could take is to follow your passion. Create information products about subjects you already know, topics you are passionate about. The motivation will always be there to carry on through the difficult times, as you love what you are creating products about, and your enthusiasm for the subject will shine through.

There are advantages and disadvantages of both directions. When choosing a “starving market,” if the niche isn’t something you’re familiar with or interested in, it can be difficult to keep striving. You can become bored quickly and burn out.

The second direction, to follow your passions can be great in one way because you will love creating the products and sharing the passion you have for the subject, but if there is not a buyers market for the niche, all that work may result in low sales.

Okay, I’ve created a product – now what do I do?

Creating a product may seem like the biggest task of your business, but it is not always the most important. The number one thing that should take up most of your time in an infopreneur business is selling. You could create one decent product, and spend the rest of your time promoting and selling it and things will really take off.

On the other hand, you could spend months creating multiple products, but if no one knows about them, sales will be minuscule.

You need to spend most of your time building a brand, getting the word out there that you have something to offer. Gather a following, give away reports and advice to build up your list of prospects.

Running an information product marketing business is a great way to make a real income working from home. There have been many internet marketers that have earned millions from creating an info product empire.