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The human mind works in mysterious ways.  We are visual creatures.  We always will be.

When you walk into Macy’s, you expect to look at things.  When you walk into Best Buy, you want to feel and touch stuff.  If they have a game console hooked up, that’s all the better.

When you view a webpage, you want to be similarly stimulated.

No pictures – no purchase.

So how to you make your informational product look real?  What can you do to give your prospective buyer that eye-candy that they want.  Oftentimes, it’s a simple graphic that is the distinction between a product that makes hundreds a day or a couple bucks a day.

Thankfully, you don’t need to be a designer to create stunning graphics.  Nor do you need to put out a boatload of cash.

It’s usually as simple as a couple clicks of a mouse button.

The product I am referring to is CoverActionPro.

CoverActionPro is a series of Photoshop Actions that let you style a cover or a DVD template however you like, then it outputs the finished hi-def image for you to put on your site.

Here’s some examples:

I felt some of you cringe when I said Photoshop…  There’s a solution.  CAP has step by step tutorials that make the process of creating your covers painless.  In fact, this is how I learned Photoshop – these tutorials.

CoverActionPro truly is remarkable software.  I have used it to make thousands off of info products.  I have even sold the graphics it produced to other clients.  It more than paid for itself within about 7 days…

Have you used any other cover creation products?  What did you think?

JD

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When most people think of digital products, they immediately conjure an image of an ebook.  Digital products can really be any number of things, though.  They can be audio or video based, or text based products and workbooks!

A lot of times, your audience is going to be what determines the style of the content you create.  If you are doing how-to stuff, video is the way to go.  If you are doing something that has learning sections like a workbook, text is best.

With the emergence of free and cheap tools, it’s easier than ever to record audio and put screencasts together.  No need for a programmer or expensive computer equipment, just pick up a mic at Target and you’re all set.

As with content based products – you still have to type.  There’s nothing I can do about that!

8 Cheap And Low Cost Tools That Make Building Informational Products Easy:

• Audacity

  Audacity is audio recording software.  It will interface with your mic and record anything you say!  You can even use it to record interviews and presentations!  Once you’re done, export it as a .mp3 and upload it to your web server.

• GoView

  GoView is a brand new screen recording software put out by Citrix.  It lets you record your screen and your mic and bundle it together and distribute it on the Internet. 

• Camtasia

  Camtasia is by far the industry standard in screencasting software.  They support HD output and will convert the project into any video format imaginable.  The video editing tools and wizards really make you look like a pro in no time.

• Microsoft Word and Open Office

  As much as I hate adding this, I have to.  Microsoft is the default editor for for anyone writing anything.  Both export directly to PDF too.

• Adobe or Gimp

  Being that we’re human beings and we like to look at stuff rather than just read, you’re going to need to do some graphic work in order to sell much of anything.  If you aren’t familiar with Adobe Photoshop, I suggest you start there.  Gimp is the free, open source version and does a lot of graphic type work very well!

• Articulate

  If you plan on teaching anything, this software is what you want to do it in.  Articulate is by far my favorite e-learning software suite for making dramatic, fluid presentations.  You can teach people anything, voice over and narrate a powerpoint, or build quizzes.

There are other tools and software applications out there that do some of the tasks that these do, but none are more complete.  I would hate to see you buy a screen recording application and realize it didn’t do what you needed it to.

If you know of any others, please feel free to let me know if the comments!  I love trying new tools, especially if they help me make money..

JD