Do info products really teach?

This is 100% nail on the head. If YOU wouldn't pay great money for it, don't bother selling it. That's my golden rule.

Info-products are valuable to the extent that they lay out a solution and show step-by-step, how to solve the specific problem that it's supposed to solve.

When creating my own info-products, my goal is simple... if I were to buy my own product, would I be extremely happy with it? (and after 15 years of buying products, I have some strong filters and very high standards)

I can't stand products that either don't lay out the basic problem / strategy. They just go straight into the steps that you are supposed to take, without giving you any preparatory info.

We owe our customers a good, solid product - that's what we'd want, if we were buying...

Dave

I was totally put off from product creation for years due to the quality of some of the ones I came across.

I thought the whole thing was a little sleazy to be honest. The more experience I got developing my own business models along with gaining the knowledge to spot the difference between the golden nuggets and the "quick hitters" as someone pointed out - you do get used to spotting the ones that "teach" and the ones that "trick".

What I think is really awesome is the ones that get a mastermind/community group going as there is then potential to learn so much off other like minded members!

I will never forget the day I saw a WSO seller offering a money-back guarantee on a $1 WSO.

Yes, you read that correctly, a money-back guarantee on a $1 WSO!

-Chris

Yes. Just do it. You can't control the products that others release. You can make your own products great by doing what you say.

Steve

There are many great info products that I have obtained that have great value. It is always important to check reviews from other people that have read the material, and this will help you make a decision as whether or not to buy the product.

I have bought literally tens of thousands of dollars of info products and coaching. I've paid BIG bucks for it, so I have some experience with this as a buyer. (Almost none of it has been here on the WF.)

As others have mentioned, of course some products aren't worth the paper they're written on, and some are worth far more than their price tag.

JensSteyaert hit it:

Many times, a low-priced product ($7) is just an entry-level, introduction designed to upsell you into a more expensive course or program. The point is to build a list of buyers instead of freebie-seekers.

It's a solid strategy for many reasons.

Generally, a low-priced product like this is designed to tell you the "what" but not the "how." I don't know what you bought, but low-priced products like these are by nature, often designed to be somewhat general. Detailed, how-to info is typically much more expensive.

Be careful that you're not expecting too much for your money. In my own business, almost nothing is worth $7. Either it's grossly underpriced (which makes me suspicious of it), or it's not worth having at all. However, I recognize a low-priced entry-level offer when I see it and fully expect to be upsold once I've purchased said $7 offer. Assuming I'm otherwise interested in what that person offers, I'll bite.

But I can't think of any stand-alone offer priced at $7 which is worth having.

Everyone else's points are valid, but mostly aimed at Warriors. The WF is a very insular community, much of it made up of IMers selling to other IMers. It's incestuous and I stay away from that like the plague. I've bought very few things here in my more than 10 years here. And complete IM newbies are NOT my market at all. I don't sell to Warriors.

Alexa makes excellent points. It's mostly broke newbies who are selling $7 stuff and they've cannibalized their own market by always competing on price. They have no business and I don't trust anything they sell.

Remember, there are certain situations where low prices actually HURT you. Think about a Ferrarri. You can't sell a Ferrarri for $20K. People would be instantly suspicious and distrust you. The price tag is part of the status symbol. If you charge only $20K, you kill the status symbol of buying a Ferrarri.

Same thing goes for jewelry from Tiffany's. You wouldn't trust me if I tried to sell you a diamond tennis bracelet from Tiffany's for $50, right?

The same is true in a lot of different markets for a lot of different products and services. In my case, I paid my own business coach a hefty amount of money for her coaching. Given her experience and area of expertise, I would have been suspicious if she'd charged only $50 for her coaching. (I paid her over $12K over a 2-year period.)

That doesn't count the high-priced courses I purchased, including Ali Brown's "Online Success Blueprint" ($1500 -- which I bought TWICE), Jeff Walker's "Product Launch Formula" ($2K), Lisa Sasevich's "6-Figure Teleseminar Secrets" ($1K), etc. Plus the multitude of smaller e-books and audios.

Wouldn't YOU be suspicious if someone were selling you serious business-building information for only $7???

You should be. Those people immediately blow their own credibility with these kinds of offers.

I'm not talking about introductory $7 offers designed to build a list of buyers and then immediately upsell them something more expensive. I'm knowledgeable enough that I can usually spot that. I'm talking about stand-alone products that promise the world for $7. (Ha!)

My advice is to get serious. (And get OFF the WF! I found the best info off of this site.) If you really want to build a real business, get serious and invest some real money. A few $7 e-books is laughable.

Hope that helps!

Michelle