Can you sell information?
moneyrelations :: Nov.13.2007
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Last month, there was big buzz around a new launch in the meta-blogging world - blogs that blog about blogging.
And after you say that five times fast, you can try: Betty and Bob brought back blue balloons from the big bazaar.
Anyway, my routine reads include both Problogger and Dosh Dosh. They each had written articles regarding a new free report about making money online by Copyblogger’s Brian Clark. And even though Copyblogger is one of the Internet biggest blogs, I had never heard of it. Trusting these sources, I decided to check this report out.
The report was centered around the concept of “Teaching Sells” and that there’s a market for selling information. Pshaw! Why would anyone buy information when they can Google it for free? The report makes a good analogy to free TV and paying for specialty channels like HBO. We pay because those channels offer award winning content. We all know that the Internet is filled with a tremendous amount of information but how much of it is useful when you have hobbyist bloggers like me polluting the waters? There is perceived value in an authority who can reorganize the information for the masses.
The free report was a teaser for the launch of the Teaching Sells website which teaches how to create membership websites that sell information. Although I have nothing to sell, I still paid for their site membership for them to educate me. I got in at the introductory offer of $97 U.S. for a 3 month course. Now it’s at $197 which I think is quite steep.
So, how do I feel about the course so far? Well, to be honest, I haven’t had much time to look at the material but it’s learn at your own pace. I’ve only gone through the first of 5 courses:
- How to Create Content That Sells
- How to Effectively Market Interactive Learning Environments
- How to Create Killer Multimedia Content with Quick and Easy Tools
- Seven Profitable Business Models for Interactive Content Developers
- Your Blueprint for Building Membership Sites with Open Source and Low-Cost Software
Each course is subdivided into multiple topics and each one is a quick read - a few pages at the most. It does have a feel of a blog series but better written. And sometimes it comes with an mp3 discussion or an interactive component which drives home the information more. Also, there is a discussion board which I think is vital for course feedback, not to mention networking possibilities. Overall, for the price I paid, the information has merit and is worth it.
Now, is this information practical? I think it would be difficult to realize… but achievable with a lot of hard work. You need to be researcher, writer, teacher, coder, networker, marketer. You can argue that these are the same skills required from a blogger - and that’s why I’m skeptical. How many people can be a pro blogger?
Therefore, if you have the skills to go pro or can funnel traffic from an established site to a new site, then yes selling information might be more profitable than just plain adsense, selling ads/links and affiliate marketing. For the rest of us hobbyists, we can still take away useful information, but maybe apply it to other projects.
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