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I’ve sort of written about this topic before but for books only and from a slightly different point of view (sourcing).
When it comes to strategy there are four ways to obtain an information product or learning content (including books). You can:
- Create it as an original piece
- Put it together as a collection of smaller pieces
- Steal it (legally of course)
- Repurpose it
And of course you can combine techniques. Each of these has benefits and disadvantages.
Creating an original information product is a complex, task; the difficulty of which should not be underestimated. We discussed the relative “cost” of each format in the last blogticle so I’m not going to repeat myself. Except to state that the length of the finished product defines the level of complexity. Generally speaking, they compare as:
- 500-1000 word article vs a 1-1/2 hour webinar, seminar, or podcast
- 2500-5000 word white paper vs a 1/2 day webinar etc. or a 1-1/2 hr interview
- 10,000-25,000 word eBook vs a 1-2 day seminar
- 50,000-100,000 word Book vs a 2 day-1 week seminar
A much simpler method is to combine other pieces together. Two long white papers on a related subject can be combined into a short eBook. Or five to seven long articles or short white papers (always on a related subject) can be combined with customized introduction and summary chapters into an Executive level book. One issue to remember when estimating the cost of this technique is that articles often have a different tone to them, even when written close together. They may also have different views of the same information. This means that they need to be edited as a unit before being release otherwise they will not hang together as a unified whole.
It’s a little harder to conceive of a pre-recorded version of this. The fact that even a short recording is actually a version makes it hard to see. However, most “gurus” have a package of DVDs or CDs that they sell. Often these consist of a dozen or so DVDs or CDs with an introductory DVD and (if they are skilled information product creators) a summary DVD. Or at least a scene or two fulfilling that purpose. Most will simply combine the original pieces however, if there is a great variation in recording quality they may re-record the scripts. Exactly the same as with a written version.
There are three versions of “stealing it”. And I want to be clear that in no case am I suggesting violating copyright. I’m just exagerating.
The first version is to connect with an expert, develop a series of questions your audience would want answered and then ask the expert and record their answers. A classic interview in other words.
The second version is called PLR or Private Label Rights. Essentially you obtain (purchase) the right to resell the information product. Each information product will have different rights assigned. These can include the right to relabel the product with a different title and cover (and author’s name). It may also include the right to rewrite the product or incorporate it into another product. It may also limit your ability to sell or give away the product. And so on. The big issues with PLR information products are twofold. The first is the overall quality of the product. Sometimes these are not well done or they contain information which is incorrect. The second issue is the age of the product. This can cause the information to be out of date and inaccurate. It can also mean that the information product has made the rounds (meaning everyone’s got a copy already).
The third version of stealing is to reference someone else’s information product. You’ll notice a few days ago I recommended a YouTube video to you (Will’s Wisdom). This is an example of referencing or recommending or reviewing to create an information product (in this case the blog entry). I am constantly reading trade journals related to project management. I maintain a list of my clients and their interests. As I run into an article they might like, I add it to their list and then send it out as a bulk mail. This is probably the easiest method to create an information product there is — although the research will kill you! 
Finally, you can repurpose information products into other information products. Anthony Robbins has a great example of this in his Masters of Marketing/The New Money Masters offering. With this series he takes and does an interview with an internet marketing guru. This interview is professionally videotaped (actually digitally recorded in HD but that sounds dumb), titles added and then released as a DVD. It is then reedited into an audio product and placed on CD. The interview is then sent to be transcribed. Now a key quality point here is that the transcription is then re-written and combined with an article on the subject to create a 20 page mini-book. The result is a package which is still not worth what I pay for it but is too good to lose (grrumble, grrumble, grrumble … hint for you folks in the U.S., there is no point in using International Air shipping for us Canucks. US & Canadian mail/shipping is all a mix of land and air regardless. So you’re costing me extra for nothing PLUS if sent by International Air it goes through customs as if it were worth big bucks meaning I end up paying GST & duties on the product and shipping. So the $26 bucks plus shipping ends up costing me $100. Not cool!). It’s also a package that can be split up into 3 components and resold individually, given away as a bonus or free offer or otherwise monetized.
So that’s the choices you have. The trick now is to determine how much it will cost you to create content in the various formats and using the various techniques. That’s going to be the point of our next post in this series.
