One of the keys to succeeding in information product creation is to break the process up into discrete steps. This frequently isn’t an instinctive reaction for the typical information marketer. Especially on the internet where small sized learning products are the norm.

However, it is extremely important to your ultimate success. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if you don’t do this you probably won’t succeed… even when you are starting out let alone as you move forward.

Your product creation system should do this for you if only to help you to understand the overall task.

But why?

In this article, I’m going to ignore chunking and focus on the practical aspects. That’s not to say that chunking isn’t important. It is. It’s important to understanding and to learning the process. But while you can use the same chunks as you move forward, long term your focus needs to be on the operation of the system not the understanding of it. Unless of course you are constantly training new people!

So why is chunking important to long term use of the product creation process? (Yes, I know systems design uses a different term for this process but I’m not teaching you systems design. So I’m going to use the word learning content designers use.)

The first reason that having individual discrete tasks is important is one of schedule estimation. Frequently it is very difficult to estimate how long the total task of creating a product will take. After all, the size and type of the products matters as does the number of products in your product funnel. And those are just the most obvious elements. However, estimating a discrete task is often much easier. The total can then be estimated as the total of the discrete tasks.

Secondly, scheduling a large task can be problematic. However, by segmenting the task into a number of discrete tasks, you gain a much greater flexibility in scheduling. Not only that but as your business begins to add people you are able to schedule multiple people to the product creation.

Finally, segmenting a large task into smaller discrete tasks allows you to have much better control over the product creation. This affects two different areas — status and quality.

By segmenting your process into discrete tasks you are able to schedule and record the progress at much more detailed level. As a result you are more in control of the status of the product creation. You know what everyone is doing. When they should complete it. And how much it should cost. You also know exactly what has been done.

You also improve your overall quality. Instead of waiting until everything is done you can check quality as you go. This allows you to immediate react to low quality products without absorbing their costs. This means that you have less rework and your rework costs less. And if the product is not going to meet its quality requirement you will know about it in time to stop the development, change the requirement or fix the product.

Cottage Industries have long been an important segment of American Business. In fact, most small home-based businesses fall into this category. Merriam Webster actually defines cottage industry as “An industry whose labor force consists of…individuals working at home with their own equipment.”With the advent of the World Wide Web, new cottage industry home-based business start-ups are at an all-time high. There are currently more than 234 million websites, and in 2009 alone, an additional 47 million were created. Now, more than ever, businesses are heavily marketing online. Social Media sites are dominating the internet and smart businesses are using these sites as a very effective part of their online marketing strategies.Article writing as a means to advertise businesses online is proving to be a very viable work-from-home cottage industry. Network-marketing, social media marketing, Mult-level marketing (MLM) businesses- it seems as if every business has incorporated article writing into their marketing campaigns, so the demand for these writers is great.Article writing helps with “branding” a particular business or product. Articles are written and then published online as a way to get name and product recognition. It is a very simple, proven, effective step in accomplishing the “branding” that every business must have in order to stay ahead of their competition and remain successful financially.Home-based business typically do not require a large capital investment, which is why so many people are drawn to these cottage industry endeavors. A reliable computer and an internet connection allow you to work from home, set your own hours, allow a viable income while you work from home, and provide the life-style flexibility that so many people are looking for these days. There are many programs available online to assist you with your article writing as a cottage industry home-based business.There are internet marketing and coaching programs available online and the amount of marketing information that they can provide you with is astounding. A good, legitimate, reputable internet coaching and mentoring center will not come cheaply. Remember, you are getting what you pay for. If a program promises to teach you “everything you need to know” about internet marketing for just a couple hundred dollars, you aren’t going to get anywhere near everything you will need to know. A comprehensive internet marketing coaching and mentoring program will probably cost somewhere just under $3,000. 00. Many offer payment plans to make the cost more manageable for the average new home-based business owner. I tell people to think of this an investment in your education and future financial success. If you can pay someone $3,000.00 to teach you how to earn anywhere from a couple thousand to a few thousand dollars monthly, then your initial investment is actually pretty small, and can be recovered in a relatively short period of time. Pretty good investment, right?The beauty of internet marketing and article writing as a viable cottage industry home-based business is that, if done correctly, an individual can earn residual income long after he or she has stopped working. If you can expect a few hundred dollars to trickle in every month, you’ve got a residual income that will provide you with some extra spending money! Not to mention the fact that you will, forever, have the ability to be your own boss and work from home!

Product creation could be a frightening subject for a lot of Internet marketers to face. Some folks who get in the game with the intention of making a full time income are completely ignorant as to how an online business operates. One of the most profitable ways to create online cash is by creating a product that others are happy to pay for.

Product creation is legitimate method of generating money through internet marketing but many entrepreneurs get it wrong. They start by imitating their Internet marketing gurus by creating information products on Internet marketing in hopes of getting rich the way their heroes did. The problem is that they usually don’t know what they are doing and enter a highly competitive niche with very little marketing experience or connections.

Here are a few tips for effective product creation that may help you get on the right track:
Start by finding a profitable niche with low to moderate competition. If you conduct some rudimentary market research and keyword research, you’ll find many opportunities in areas that will surprise you. Amazon and eBay are two great places to brainstorm for product ideas.

Developing Your Product does not have to be a difficult project. You can find experts in the right field for your niche and pay them to write the material while an artist designs the packaging and website or blog. You can outsource the entire product creation part of the project after you conduct the research and testing to ensure profitability.

Sales and marketing strategies should be created while developing the product and learning about the market. Some experienced marketers use pay per click to drive traffic to their offer page; some folks outsource the entire marketing campaign to affiliates through ClickBank or other affiliate programs.

Product creation does not need to be hard, particularly when the merchandise is electronic. E-books, videos, audio and multi-media products sell very well. They are distributed immediately to customers electronically. Once you have a good feel for a niche market, try to service your customers with associated products and upgrades. If you want to earn money online through product creation, you must understand supply and demand. The majority of new online marketers fail miserably because they go after highly competitive markets or forget to research their chosen niche properly. You have to create your products according to the needs, wants and desires of the prospective customers.