Information products can range from a simple eBook to a full course with manual, DVDs and CDs. Don't sweat creating your information product, even if it's your first. The most important thing about information products is that they convey quality information to the person who buys your product.
My first recommendation to my coaching students is to go with whatever medium you are most comfortable with. If you enjoy writing, then write an ebook, book or manual. Many people, even people who like to write are intimidated by the thought of writing a book. Take some pressure off yourself and start with an eBook or manual. You aren't writing the Great American Novel; you are writing an information product. An information product should impart the information clearly, concisely and thoroughly. People will purchase it because they are looking for specific information, not an involved story line.
If you are not at all comfortable with the idea of writing an information product, you can also record the information using an audio or video format. Many people nowadays either don't like to read or don't have the time to read. They would rather listen to a CD in their car or download the information and listen to it on their IPod. Other people learn best by watching a video.
If you feel strange just talking into a microphone and recording it, you can have a friend help you out by interviewing you. Come up with ten to twenty questions about your topic (depending on how long you want your recording to be), arrange them in a logical progression and then have your friend ask you the questions. You may want to write down various points that you don't want to miss for each answer. That way you're not reading from a full script (and you won't sound stiff which is the way most people sound when reading from a script) and you'll make sure you have the most important information in your answers. If you can get a conversational tone going in your "interview" the audio will be that much easier for people to follow and learn from.
You can also create a video, either of yourself demonstrating how to do something, an interview of you or you can create a Camtasia-style instructional video with a voice over. Camtasia is a software program that allows you to record your voice with whatever is on your screen or integrate video with PowerPoint and other media. I use Camtasia to record my PowerPoint presentations. I create a PowerPoint on my topic then talk through the presentation as if I were in front of a live audience. Camtasia records it and I can put it into a variety of formats (.avi,.mpv, etc.) for uploading to the internet or to burn on DVDs. Another way to record presentations is to use a webinar software such as gotowebinar or dimdim. Both of these sites can be used to conduct webinars or just to record a PowerPoint presentation. In addition, DimDim.com has the capacity to record whatever is on your screen or even capture from your computer's video camera.
Of course, nothing says you can put out your information product in only one format. As a matter of fact, if you can offer a package with the information in several formats, all the better. Everybody learns in different ways. If people have the option to read, listen to AND watch the information, you are more likely to hit on the way they like to learn.
Bottom line, go with the medium you are most comfortable in. However, don't be afraid to put your product into different formats. If you write an info product, you may want to read it aloud and record it on CDs or into MP3 files. If you like doing videos, you can create a video and then pay to have the audio portion of the video transcribed so you can offer a written accompaniment to the video. Either way, you are increasing your odds of having the right product for your target market.
Remember: It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be done.
