The Great Infopreneur Hoax

 

It’s the great infopreneur hoax. And exposing it will become your competitive edge!

I’ve been accused of being abstract. Talking more about purpose and vision, energy and passion, impact and meaning – rather than laying out a blueprint to follow, or teaching the exact steps I took to reach my level of success in information marketing.

But there’s a very good reason for my approach.

You see, you’ve fallen victim to a massive hoax. A myth that has spread far and wide, fooling thousands of eager information marketers and leading them astray. Lies that greedy sellers of ‘how to’ guides like to tell, so that you’ll just keep on buying more and more of their stuff.

Let’s shatter the illusion and cut right to the chase. Information marketing success is not about knowing ‘how to’. It never was.

Infopreneur success is about caring, sharing and growing.

I’ll explain what I mean.

Why Not More ‘How To’ Information?

Things are very different from when I first started working online in 1995. Even in those early days of the Web’s growth, there was far too much data for anyone to comfortably consume and make sense of. And we all sought feedback, guidance and advice from others about the best way to put the available information to good use.

Back then, everyone was learning. There were no ‘experts’ who knew what to do and how to do it – because everything was new, changing, evolving. Models were innovated, validated and either adopted or abandoned – at warp speed.

These days, it is easy to find any number of detailed, step-by-step ‘how to’ guides.

They outline tested-and-proven methods that work. Always. And across multiple niches.

Many people who came up with these methods, or followed them, have taken the time and trouble to describe what worked for them, often in exquisite detail.

A simple search on Google or Bing will bring you most of this information, usually in multiple formats to fit your learning needs.

What you need is not more ‘how to’ information.

What you need is knowledge and guidance on how best to put that to use – in your information business.

This requires a dimension beyond ‘how to’ – and that looks at ‘why’.

Not ‘How’ – But ‘Why’!

This is the reason why things I share with students and peers about information marketing sometimes appear esoteric, abstract and vague.

It often deals with the ‘why’ rather than the ‘how’ of information marketing.

If you’re just getting started building your online presence, creating an infoproduct, setting up a website to launch it, and dreaming of your own empire on the Web, this may sound trivial, unnecessary and even boring.

Yet if you get this wrong, everything else will be doomed to failure. Or mediocrity.

97% of hopeful infopreneurs give up within 3 years of starting. I’ve stuck with this for over 15 years. The key to this persistence is something that goes further than merely tactical superiority.

There are only so many techniques, approaches and tricks that anyone can use. Once you’ve learned and mastered them, there’s little difference between you and others who have done it too.

Except for these ‘abstract’ concepts.

They make the BIG difference.

That’s why I spend so much time, energy and effort teaching them to infopreneurs like you. Learn them, internalize them, and you’re ahead of the game. Even if it takes a little longer to find your initial information marketing success, you’ll know that it will be more long-lasting and sustainable.

Imagine it as the difference between building a sky-scraper on quicksand – and solid rock.

No matter how fast the edifice goes up, the one constructed on shaky soil will sink and crash soon. The building on a great foundation will last forever – and let you build upon it further over time.

Convinced?

Great.

Now that I’ve set the stage for how important this discussion will be, let’s start with the first core concept of becoming an Internet infopreneur.

Infopreneurs CARE

Caring lies at the very core of being an infopreneur.

What does information marketing have to do with caring? Well, let’s see.

First of all, infopreneurs take the time and effort to:

• identify a niche market
• find out what its problems are
• create or source solutions for them
• present these solutions to the audience
• keep expanding upon this over time

Why would they do it – unless they care?

• Care about a problem or situation that exists out there in the world.
• Care about the people (or entities) that suffer from that situation.
• Care about solving them in a way that relieves pain or provides pleasure.

The really successful infopreneurs, those who stick on and thrive, have this in common.

The ones who give up after a year or two (or a month or two) generally are the opposite. They hop aboard the infopreneur bandwagon because someone told them (or they read/heard somewhere) that creating and selling ebooks was a quick way to make some cash. They liked the idea of getting rich quick, and decided to give it a go.

You’ll find people like that everywhere. On forums. On blogs. On social networks. Everywhere.

They’re generally the ones asking questions like:

* How can I find a writer to quickly rewrite an ebook for me to publish?
* What’s the fastest way to turn PLR content into my own ebook to sell?
* Will changing the title and book cover make my book unique enough?

Their emphasis is on two things: ‘quick’ and ‘easy’.

These are the digital equivalent of yesteryears’ snake-oil salesmen. Remember? Those colorful, garrulous types with fancy bags and garish caravans, who rode into villages across the countryside pitching their wares with the sole aim of selling as much as possible, as quickly as possible… so that they could escape with their booty while the getting was good!

But that’s not how true infopreneurs operate.

Because they care, infopreneurs focus on something different –

Delivering Value.

Their goal is to deliver as much value as possible in every interaction with their prospective client.

And behind this goal is a very powerful principle which is the real message I’m driving at here (yes, everything until now was an extended prelude!)

Before telling you what it is, let me ask you a quick question:

Why Do You Do What You Do In Your Business?

Each morning, you go to work and do certain things. They are tasks related to your business – building it, growing it, marketing it. You do these things day after day, week after week, month after month.

But why?

Maybe you believe it’s necessity. Or passion. Even curiosity or compulsion.

When you take a closer look, however, you begin to see a special, magical, fascinating force at play – guiding your actions, directing your thoughts, influencing your feelings about the things you do every day. And that is…

Your Purpose.

Every information marketer who succeeds at dominating a marketplace is driven by a remarkable, powerful and meaningful purpose. A purpose that consumes and fires them up. A purpose that goes far beyond the everyday tasks they engage upon while running their business. A purpose that’s even deeper than their efforts to provide value and solve problems might indicate.

And your purpose will vary from other people’s purpose. It may be unique – or shared with thousands of others. It doesn’t matter. It will be YOUR purpose in a very special way, because you care about it.

Your purpose will guide you, encourage you and inspire you to build and grow your information business in a manner and fashion that nobody else can emulate, copy or beat out.

Your purpose is uniquely yours – and that’s the competitive edge every solopreneur has over the rest of the world.

But before going any further, let me clearly define what I mean by ‘purpose’.

What Really Is ‘Purpose’?

Some people misunderstand it to be the same as ‘goals’ or ‘targets’ for a business or venture. Yes, your purpose may share (superficially) some things with goals and targets – but purpose is more.

There are 4 characteristics of your purpose that are different from others.

1. Your Purpose Goes Deeper

Maybe you set out to write and sell ebooks because you wanted to make money from it. Nothing wrong with that. It’s a goal I share with you. Purpose, however, strikes at the ‘reason why’ you want to make more money!

Here’s a quick and easy way to discover it. Ask yourself how much money you want to make as an information marketer. Did you come up with an answer? Was it $1,000 a month? Or $10,000 more? Or even a million bucks this year?

Ok. Now ask yourself what you want that money for.

That’s your purpose.

You may want to provide a better lifestyle for your family, give your kids a college education that secures their future, provide employment opportunities for struggling graduates through your business, solve world hunger, or any other reason.

Doing that may require money. So your information business has a goal of making money, and a target for how much money you want to make. Tying it all together is that underlying purpose which drives you to go out and do things that are necessary to hit those goals and targets.

Purpose is the engine that powers the rocket that’s your life. It’s the axle around which the wheel of your business spins. Without a purpose, your life and business lacks force, direction and will spiral out of control. With it, you’ll find incredible fulfillment and inspiration to make things happen.

2. Your Purpose Will Evolve

Nothing remains static forever, and that’s true of your purpose too. When you set out to start from scratch, your purpose may be determined by your current circumstances. When you’re struggling to feed your family, your primary purpose will be security and stability that ensures you can provide for their daily needs.

But sooner or later, you’ll achieve that purpose. And interestingly, you’ll notice your purpose will evolve. Scale. Grow bigger. More meaningful.

Maybe you now want your family to have a better quality of life. More choice. Enjoy some luxuries. Build up savings to guard against future downturns. Relax more.

Your purpose has evolved. And it will continue to evolve as you keep growing.

3. Your Purpose Will Expand

You may start your information business with a specific, limited purpose. For me, it was something as mundane as finding a creative outlet which would be distinct from my professional life as a doctor. Too many of my colleagues got obsessively immersed in just one facet of their life. I wanted to create a diversion against ending up that way – and started to write.

But that purpose grew and expanded in unexpected ways. I’ve shared the story about how a talent scout from About.com found me through my website, and set me upon a journey that turned me into an Internet infopreneur. When financial success followed, my purpose expanded from being merely focused on my personal needs to support those of children I treated – born with life-threatening congenital heart disease and unable to afford surgery.

My purpose expanded to creating a non-profit organization, funding it through my information marketing, and that has led to 80 children having heart surgery until now.

Your purpose, too, will expand and extend as you hit one milestone after another.

4. Your Purpose Will Endure

Goals and targets are defined by their existence to be reached. Once you reach a goal or hit a target, it’s no longer one. Not so with your purpose. It will outlast your accomplishments in reaching it.

My friend and mentor, bestselling author and speaker Guy Kawasaki, puts it nicely in his book, “The Art of the Start”:

Make Meaning, Not Money

Too many people go through their exciting careers as infopreneurs focused entirely on the amount of money they make from it. But while sometimes it does take money to make meaning, it’s usually the meaning (which is guided by your purpose) that matters more – and lasts longer.

You’ll eventually reach your target to make more money. But when fired by a worthwhile purpose, you’ll only keep steadily expanding the scope of your dreams and making a bigger impact through your work than being content about hitting a pre-defined mark.

Turning Purpose Into Your Competitive Advantage

Some years ago, I polled my audience about why they purchased my infoproducts.

Among the answers I got were some I had expected.

“Great quality information”
“Reasonably (even attractively) priced”
“Based on rich experience”
“Tested and proven to work”
“Reliable and trustworthy”

But the one answer I received over FIVE TIMES more often than any other was totally unexpected. It was this one:

“Because I’m Helping Save a Child’s Life”

You see, I send everyone who buys my infoproducts a quick note briefly explaining how a share of my business profits is donated to my non-profit work with under-privileged children born with heart defects.

It was done with the intention of making them aware of their contribution to the survival and well-being of a child in need.

And unintentionally, I had been creating my unique competitive advantage in the marketplace… one that sets me apart from any other infopreneur in my niche!

Now, to be honest, I’m not sure if doing this in a premeditated fashion, deliberately setting out to create a competitive edge through purpose, will work quite as well. In my case, it was completely natural – and it resonated deeply in the hearts and minds of my prospects. It was only years later, through a survey, that I even became aware of how powerful a motivator it was.

But the principle itself is valid. And relevant to everyone. Including you.

Become An Infopreneur Who Cares

Being an infopreneur involves caring deeply enough about things that you build a business around.

When you start out your information business driven by a deeper purpose, you call into action several powerful, hidden and mysterious forces that synergize into a tidal wave that will sweep you to unbelievable success.

More importantly, an overwhelming purpose that keeps you plugging away against all odds, that sustains you in the face of every challenge and obstacle, that inspires and energizes you during the inevitable dark periods of building a business… that purpose will keep you going until you succeed.

Success is, in many instances, merely a case of stick-to-it-iveness – a stubborn, pig-headed determination to do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, in order to win through.

Purpose will give you the energy, inspiration and motivation to keep going.

That’s why every caring infopreneur is guided by a passionate purpose. It doesn’t have to be a purpose directly connected to the business you create – in my case, nothing could be further apart than heart surgery and writing ebooks.

But it does have to be a purpose close to YOUR heart.

It’s what makes your purpose such a competitive advantage that’ll beat out everyone else, leaving you the unquestioned master of your niche!

All success

p.s. If you haven't yet read my free "The Smilenaire Way" report, grab your copy here - and decide if you're ready to start smiling every day in your business. (When you are, click here)

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Tags: care, caring, infopreneur, information marketing, passion, purpose

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