The fact is people – each individual person – can only read so many newsletters. They can only process so much information. So there comes a point where they have to say no, I’ve got to choose between the newsletter on topic ‘A’ or the newsletter on topic ‘B’ or the information product on topic ‘A’ or the information product on topic ‘B’, because I just don’t have the time.

It becomes your duty as a newsletter marketer to do what you can to convince them that you’re the right choice. This is where there is a missed opportunity for a lot of people.

There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of newsletter people cans select from in the information marketing and Internet marketing niches. Some are digital only, others are physical only. Some are a combination of both. Some includes CDs or DVDs, some don’t.

Is it true that you can get that information delivered to you online in a digital format and that the entrepreneurs and marketers who sell digital only can deliver their product less expensively if they mailed it to their subscribers.

Yes it is true, but the fact is that people typically find it more valuable to have the info in their own hands, so it’s more portable, You don’t have to be connected to the Internet. You can stick it in your briefcase or attaché or put it in a file folder so that when you’re traveling on a plane, waiting at the dentist’s office or any time that you don’t have convenient access to the Internet you have the info readily available.

People can have a folder they carry around and I keep certain newsletters and other information like that in that folder so if I’m even running errands and I get stuck in a waiting room somewhere I can read that.

It’s still more portable than the Internet. Even if you have an iPhone and you can get full access to the web through your iPhone, the screen is still small, the load times are still slow, there’s all kinds of advantages that an actual physical newsletter or CD has over digital.

That’s not to downplay the digital stuff and that’s not to say you should do it or that it shouldn’t be part of your business mix. What we’re seeing is the smart people, the people who are surviving long-term and actually thriving even during challenging economic times is they’re offering this physical component.

Add a physical component, retain more long-term customers.

Bret Ridgway is co-founder of Newsletter Formula along with Heather Seitz. For your copy of their free report “7 Ways to Make Money with Newsletters and Continuity Programs” visit www.NewsletterFormula.com

Congratulations, you’re an information marketer.  Maybe it’s your first product or maybe you’ve been on the scene for quite a while. But unless you’re a high-priced for a fee speakers, the only way you’re going to make any real money is from product sales.

Appearance fee engagements for speakers are great – if you can get them. Unfortunately, that’s not the reality for most speakers. The Colin Powells, Norman Schwartzkoffs, and Bill Clinton’s of the speaking world are few and far between.

Which means your ability to make money is almost entirely predicated on your ability to sell your products and/or services.

If you’re approaching your business the correct way you’re continually building your own information products empire in your area of expertise
That means you’re producing books or manuals, or audio and video-based training materials.

Maybe it’s CDs or DVDs. Doesn’t matter. The important thing is you’ve got a number of products you can promote via speaking engagements, through your website, by joint venturing, or by any other number of methods.

Now let’s ask the tough question. If you’re having any degree of success your now wearing all of these hats (and more):

public speaker
marketer of your speaking services
information product developer
shipping clerk
CD or tape duplicator
binder assembler
customer service manager
order taker
travel planner

So you’ve got to ask yourself which of these hats should you be wearing? Where should you be applying your time and efforts to maximize your business?

When you’re first starting out you probably should do it all yourself. You need to have an understanding of what is involved in producing and delivering your products to your customers.

But if your business is growing you’ll quickly find out that too much of your time is being spent on the mundane tasks – copying binders (or running to Kinko’s), duplicating CDs and labeling them, packaging things together, putting products in boxes, running down to the post office or UPS, etc.

Which means you’re not spending your time where  you get the biggest bang for your buck -developing and marketing your products.

When is the right time to outsource your duplication and fulfillment
requirements? Ultimately, you’ll have to decide when that time is for
yourself. But what do you value your time at? $100 per hour, $200 per hour, more? Then how long does it make sense for you to be spending your time doing $10 or $20 per hour tasks? If you’re spending an hour per day running products to the post office that’s an hour you’re not investing in your real bread and butter.

And what is your opportunity cost?

When you’re spending time working in your business rather than working on your business then opportunities will slip by without you even noticing them. There is a time when outsourcing your product duplication and fulfillment requirements makes sense -both from a time management and a financial standpoint. When is that time right for you?

New Product Launch Checklist

More than 2 Months Pre-Launch

1.  Create the content – record audio(s) and/or videos, write manual
2.  Determine what the product components will be – DVDs, Audio CDs, Data CDs,  manuals, downloads, etc.
3.  If CDs or DVDs are included in product determine packaging (individual DVD style cases, multi-disc DVD style cases, plastic sleeves in 2 or 3-ring albums, paper sleeves, plastic sleeves included in print binder, jewel cases, other).
4.  If print component is to be included decide on desired binding method (3-ring binders including size, spiral binding, comb binding or perfect binding.
5.  Determine if printed component is to include tabs
6.  Determine if any components are to be shrunk wrapped
7.  Determine if printed components are to be single our double sided
8.  Determine if printed components are to be printed black and white or color
9.  Determine if product will have any bonus items (physical or download)
10.  Get pricing from SFS.
11.  Begin lining up your affiliate and joint venture partners.

8 Weeks Before Launch

1.  If transcripts are to be included get audio transcribed.
2.  Get artwork developed for all printed pieces (CD labels, CD/DVD packaging, binders, etc.)
3.  Proof all artwork.
4.  Determine desired audio format for final product (.wav or MP3 files)
5.  Inform SFS of launch date and quantity to be produced.
6.  Decide if discs are to be thermally printed or paper labeled
7.  Develop complete assembly instruction document for SFS (see sample)
8.  Provide SFS with at least two contact names with phone and emails to ask questions.
9.  Continue work on affiliate and joint venture partners.

6 Weeks Before Launch

1.  Format transcripts into final “print” version (PDF or Word document).
2.  Proofread your transcripts and other written documents.
3.  Send transcripts and other written documents to SFS.
4.  Quality check your audios and/or videos.
5.  Write thank you letter to include with product.
6.  Send all artwork to SFS via disc or downloadable links.
7.  Convert MP3 files to .wav format.
8.  Break audio into tracks and add front/back music if desired.
9.  Send SFS physical address where you want product mockup sent.
10.  Write sales copy for website.
11.  Develop your website.
12.  Continue work on affiliate and joint venture partners.

4 Weeks Before Launch

1.  Determine preferred shipping method and notify fulfillment house.
2.  Proof mockup.
3.  Notify SFS if mockup is okayed or if changes need to be made.
4.  Add the product to your online shopping cart.
5.  Inform SFS of product name(s) which product may be sold under and
accompanying SKU numbers.
6.  Pay SFS deposit on production job.
7.  Continue work on affiliate and joint venture partners.

2 Weeks Before Launch

1.  Setup and test the order notice delivery mechanism with SFS

Launch Date

1.  Make website live

Post Launch

1.  If your launch exceeded expectation notify SFS immediately so additional units can be put into production.

If you’re a 1ShoppingCart user and accept PayPal as a payment method than there’s a neat little trick you should be aware of that will enable 1ShoppingCart and PayPal to work better together.  It’s called a “PDT Identity Token” and we highly encourage you to follow the steps below to improve the interaction between these two systems.

Please note:  You need to have a Business or Premier Account with PayPal, not a personal account for this to work.

Step #1  Log into your 1ShoppingCart.com account

Step #2  On the left menu bar click on “Cart Setup” and then on “Gateway Setup”

Step #3  Scroll down to the box that reads “PayPal PDT (Payment Data Transfer)”

Step #4  Click on the link that says “click here” within that grey box

Step #5  A new window will open up with the heading “Using Payment Data Transfer (PDT) For PayPal Standard Transactions”.  Go to Section III, which is titled “I have a Premier or Business Account with PayPal.”  In step 4 of those instructions you’ll see the URL  http://www.mcssl.com/app/postauthorizeb1pp.asp.  Highlight and copy this URL.

Step #6  Open up a new window and login to your PayPal account.

Step #7  On the top menu bar click on the link that says “Profile”

Step #8  Under the heading “Selling Preferences” click on the link that reads “Website Payment Preferences”.

Step #9  Set “Auto Return for Website Payments” to “On”.

Step #10  Paste that URL you highlighted and copied in Step #5 into the box in PayPal that says “Return URL”.

Step #11  Set “Payment Data Transfer” to “On”.

Step #12  Highlight and copy the alphanumeric “Identity Token” listed underneath this.

Step #13  Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the “Save” button.

Step #14  Return to your open 1ShoppingCart.com window and place a check in the little box titled “Enable PDT” that is just to the right of the PayPal PDT box.

Step #15  Paste the Identity Token into the box labeled “PDT Identity Token”.

Step #16  Click the “Save Changes” button.

This may seem like quite a few steps but you can do it in just a few minutes and shopping cart experts like Christina Hills of  ShoppingCartQueen.com report that it has significantly improved their PayPal/1ShoppingCart interaction.

In the information marketing world you’ll frequently hear the phrase “perceived value” uttered.  Simply put, it means how much people think your product is worth.  How you choose to package the information you’re selling will have a tremendous impact on how your customers perceive its value.

Let’s take a look at the relative perceived values of different products from lowest perceived value to highest perceived value.  Keep in mind the content is identical regardless of the packaging.

Example 1:  Single CD

Low                                             Medium                                             High

Paper Sleeve  ————-  Jewel Case  —————    DVD Style Case

If the CD is a free lead generation tool or a bonus item then a paper sleeve may be your best choice.  The price that you’re asking for the product will, to a large extent, determine what kind of packaging you want to utilize.  If you’re giving it away you need to go bare bones on your packaging.

But, if the product is selling for $47, $97 or more than you need to dress up the package.  It needs to be more impressive so a jewel case with full color inserts or a DVD style case with a full color outsert will be called for.  Remember, the content is identical.  You are influencing the perceived value of your content by packaging it differently.

Example 2:  100 Page Manual

Low                                                   Medium                                             High

Saddle Stiched —-  Perfect Bound  —-  Spiral Bound  —-  3-ring Binder

Again, the content is identical in each of the formats.  But the public has been conditioned to equate the value of a perfect bound book with a $19.95 price or so you’ll find in your traditional bookstore.  Put that same information into an 8-1/2” x 11” spiral bound document or a 3-ring binder then it appears to be more specialized knowledge and people are willing to pay more for it.

If you’re selling a multifaceted product that consists of many CDs and/or DVDs and some printed materials that going to have a ticket price of $497 or higher then you definitely want to stay toward the upper medium to high end of the perceived value scale.

How you choose to package the components of your information product is critical to how people will perceive its value.  Be aware of the value scales above when you’re deciding how you want your product to look.

Speaker Fulfillment Services has been providing manufacturing of information products for our clients for a few years. Typically these products contain CDs and/or DVDs as part of the package. We’re frequently asked if we replicate or duplicate the discs we produce for people. People want to know what’s the difference between the two and does it matter at all? This article takes a look at the two methods and what it means to you.

CD/DVD duplication in its purest definition means to copy discs. Actually, there are two different means to copy a disc – replication and duplication

Replication – Starting with a glass master that contains the data for the disc, a metal stamper is formed. The stamper is loaded into a molding machine and molten polycarbonate is injected into the mold thereby manufacturing the disc with the data stamped into the disc. A reflective aluminum layer is applied and the discs are printed with artwork.

Duplication – Starting with pre-manufactured blank recordable discs, the data is “burned” onto the discs one at a time. The process takes several minutes per disc depending on the speed of the recorder and the amount of information you are recording.

Does It Matter?

Some people will tell you not to duplicate audio or video but only replicate. Others say there’s no difference at all. There is no data difference between a processed duplication and a glass mastered replication disc

Duplication Starting with blank media, your discs are duplicated by “burning” your data onto them. . . . Ideal for short runs Fastest turnaround Some drives cannot read recordable media Replication Starting with a glass master, your discs are replicated by “stamping” your data into molten plastic as they are molded. . . . Ideal for large runs (500 units +) Longer turnaround vs. duplication Compatible with all discs. But, there are some differences and sometimes they do have an impact. The reality has more to do with the playback equipment than the manufacturing process. Older, “set top” DVD players (hooks to your tv) sometimes have problems playing dupli-cated discs but rarely have prob-lems with replicated discs (rarely doesn’t mean never).

Industry experts estimate that among the current installed drive base (computers and players) about 98% of the CD players will play duplicated CDs, and about 90% of the DVD players will play duplicated DVDs. Recordable media is somewhat vulnerable to sunlight.

Printing

No matter which way you go, your discs should have a label. Why? So people will know which side is up and which side is the read side of your disc. Replicated discs are typically silk screened. Duplicated discs are usually either thermal printed or paper labeled. Most of our clients are doing small to mid-sized runs (less than 500 units) so these discs are duplicated on a system such as the one shown below.

The ultimate decision is yours of course as to whether you’ll have your discs replicated or duplicated. You’ll have to weigh the larger up front cash commitment with replication vs. your ability to sell your product and the potential differences between replicated and duplicated discs.

What’s the 10 to 1 rule of thumb of information marketing? Simply put, it means the price at which you’re selling your information product (assuming it’s a physical product vs. digital delivery) must be priced a minimum of ten times your production cost for that product to be a viable product long term.

The 10:1 rule is one of the major reasons why information marketing is such a popular business model. Info marketers routinely get a ten to twelve times markup or more (in many cases, much much more) over their cost to produce the product. The attractive markup is why new information marketers come into the market every day.

No more busting your butt for a measly 10%, 15% or 20% margin over costs. The 1000% markup allows you to recoup developments costs quickly, pay affiliate partners a meaningful percentage, and build a business of real value.

So, what’s it all mean in real numbers? If it costs you $10 to produce your product then you should be selling it at around $100 or more. If you follow the pricing rule of “7” then it might be a $97 retail product.

If it’s $30 to produce then it needs to be a $297 or higher product. If it’s $100 to produce then that’s at least a $997 product. And so on and so forth.

But let’s look at it from another standpoint. What if you’re producing an info product that costs you $30, but the market you’re selling into won’t spend more than $97 on that type of information product. What should you do?

If $97 seems to be the “number” in your market then you need to figure out what you can package for them that costs you no more than around $10. You may have to eliminate some of the content you were wanting to include in your product to bring your numbers in line.

Maybe the additional material can be bonus downloadable information or be saved for a separate product. You decide what will work best for you. But the bottom line is you need to bring your production costs as close in line to the 10:1 rule as you can.

Now, if the product is simply a lead generation product for other higher ticket items that you sell then you can throw the 10:1 rule out altogether. Many marketers are even okay with losing money on that initial sale because they know their back end conversion numbers so well they know they don’t have to make any money on that initial sale.

But if the product you’re selling is one you want to be a highly profitable cash producer for you then make sure you follow the 10:1 rule.

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If you’re involved in marketing information products on-line then there’s no disputing the need for you to accept credit cards in order to increase your overall sales. Typically in a retail environment your sales will increase anywhere from 15 to 40% when you have the ability to accept credit cards.

Visa and MasterCard account for over 90% of all credit card transactions, so the acceptance of those two card types is mandatory. Amex and Discover are the other two significant players, but account for only 5-7% of the market. If you’re selling higher priced information products acceptance of Amex is highly recommended.

There are four primary components involved in the processing of credit cards. The first is the actual card issuing entity, be it Visa, MasterCard, or other. The second is the company that sets you up to be able to accept credit cards, which is called the Merchant Account Provider. The third component needed for online processing of cards is a payment gateway, such as Authorize.net or Plug ‘n Pay. And the fourth is your online shopping cart system. All are required to do business on the Internet.

When a new information marketer applies for a merchant account the primary thing the merchant account provider is looking at is the personal credit of the requestor. The underwriters for the company will be looking to see if you pay your bills on time first and foremost. Then they’ll be looking to see if you own real estate. In the processing industry, owning real estate and having decent credit says to them this is a stable merchant.

Another big component of the underwriting process is your refund warranty policy. What type of refund policy are you giving? From the viewpoint of the merchant account provider the longer the guarantee period the less desirable it is. Why? Because it stretches out the risk of a refund even longer. The greater the length of potential liability the increased chances there are for a chargeback of the sale.

There can be many different reasons for a chargeback, but the bottom line is the customer is saying they don’t agree with something regarding that transaction. It could range from the product not being received to the wrong product received, to the product not being as described to any number of other reasons.

Chargebacks can typically be made anytime from six months up to a year. In fact, on international sales there are some regions that may allow customers up to a year and a half to request a chargeback on a purchase.

I was at Mike Filsaime and Tom Beal’s 7 Figure Business Workshop a while backand one of the hot questions for the expert panel was “Are Interview Products Dead?” With yours truly being just one of the around twenty ‘experts’ on the stage I didn’t have an opportunity at the event to put in my two cents on this subject so I’ll do it now.

Interview products in the Internet Marketing niche are not dead if and only if you have a unique slant or marketing approach that will stand your interview product apart from the crowd. If you’re doing another “me too” product that is nearly identical to bunches of other products already done your chances of having great success with that product are pretty slim.

Great marketing alone can give you a chance – but how many of us are great marketers?  Your interview product is in a more specialized niche then you’ll probably find very few interview products even exist in your area. If you can identify the experts in your niche (not Internet Marketing) then an interview style product is still quite viable.

Here’s an interesting note. Speaker Fulfillment Services duplicates and fulfills products for a lot of information marketers. Here are the top 5 topics which we currently ship products on:

1. Nutrition
2. Stock trading
3. Dating women
4. Playing the guitar
5. Cake decorating

What don’t you see on that list? Internet marketing. There’s a reason for that. There is more money to be made in specialized niches. Find your niche and avoid the overcrowded markets with all the “me too” interview products.