This is a guest post from Kelly McCausey of Solo Smarts.

Back in 2002 when I first started to make some extra money on the internet, I only knew of two or three basic ways to do it.

• Do something for someone and get paid for it. (Graphic & Web Design, Writing, etc.)
• Sell something I owned to someone else. (eBay.)
• Sell something someone else owned and keep a little bit of the money. (Direct Sales.)

I dabbled a bit in all three and ended up spending most of my time that first year or so trading hours for dollars.

Of course my eyes were soon opened to all kinds of ways to earn money online but most of it seemed far fetched to me, like Affiliate Marketing and the whole big world of selling Information Products.

I stuck my toe in the water and signed up for a couple affiliate programs.  I slapped up my affiliate links and looked for the least obnoxious ways of promoting them. Naturally, I never made a dime that way.  I wrote it off as something that could only work for someone with huge amounts of traffic or a giant mailing list.   I figured if affiliate marketing was a bust for me, information marketing was probably a waste of time too.

Oh, how glad I am that I was wrong.

The truth is, I had approached affiliate marketing all wrong. A year later I returned to it with fresh perspective and with smarter actions I was earning a bit of regular affiliate income in a few months time.  That gave me hope.

Can you relate to my early years?  Maybe you're in your early years right now?  If you are, let me cast you a line of great hope.  Everyone has to start somewhere and sooner is always better than later.

If I hadn't given up on affiliate marketing when I did, I'd be a richer person today.  Today affiliate income represents a solid 30% of my annual profits.  A chunk of that is residual commission from products and services I've been recommending since way back in 2005 – imagine if I'd gotten it right sooner!

Just so my message is clear:

Make understanding affiliate marketing a priority.  You won't regret it.

As SOON as you have a handle on that, it's time to tackle creating your own info products.

I'm talking about eBooks, audios, webinars, videos, Kindle books and all that – anything you can sell.  These are your pathway to new income streams and a great way to tap into other people's interest in affiliate commissions. (Because they'll want to promote your products for a commission!)

I created and sold my first Information Product in 2005 and I've been creating and selling new products ever since.  If I'd never done it, I'd still be making all of my online income trading hours for dollars and probably still working a full time job.  (I don't think I would have ever given up the regular paycheck if it weren't for having multiple income streams to rely on.)

I'm not going to lie and say that ‘anyone' can make an info product.  You do have to have some knowledge that other people are willing to pay for.  Some special experience or a unique perspective helps too.  I am going to say that a whole lot of people have all that (knowledge, experience and perspective) and never go for it – and that's a shame.

What is holding you back from your first Information Product?

This I can guess. A few common stumbling blocks are:

• You don't know what to sell.
• You don't know how to put it together.
• You don't know how to set it up to sell.
• You don't know how to market it.
• You worry nobody will buy it.

Nobody comes to this table with all the answers.   Everyone has a ‘first time' and while it will involve doing things you've never done before, with a simple enough plan to follow – it can be tackled.

Let's just get you started, what do you say?

I challenge you to sit down and decide what you'd like to sell first.  I even have a cool free tool you can use to get rolling.  It's a worksheet that guides you through thinking about what you have to offer – starting with what you already offer for free, then building up to what you can offer for a price.

Right click this link to download:  Brainstorming Your Offer Funnel Worksheet (PDF)

This is a simple three page PDF.  Page one is the workshop, pages two and three explain how to fill it out.  Everyone I give it to says that it gets their information product ideas flowing pretty quickly so be prepared to get excited!

A personal note from Tracy: Kelly just coached me through the launch of my product, Moms Making Money Online and I'm sure I'd still be ‘working on it' without her guidance and accountability.  Once you've identified the topics you'd like to create an information product around, I highly recommend you grab her 42 Day Launch Incubator course.  It gives you a detailed six week plan to follow, step by step.  There's a timeline, a checklist, audios and extra tools included to fill in gaps for first time product creators.  I found it invaluable.  (And yes, I also recommend her coaching if you're looking for someone to work with one on one!)