So you've decided to start publishing an e-newsletter, or you'd like to develop a Special Report as an added-value for your customers, or maybe you've even decided to teach a teleclass or a seminar as a way to bring prospects into your business.

So now you have to decide what youre going to write or speak about. So just how do you come up with content for your free information products that you know your prospects and customers will be interested in?

Well, you can start with looking at the knowledge you have that could truly benefit your prospects and customers. What do you know a lot about, that your customers and prospects don't? What information could you provide that could help them to improve their business, or make them happier, or show them a different way to do something, or provide them with tips on how to buy or use the product or service you provide?

The key is finding out what information your prospects and customers need or want most. Asking them is the easiest way to find out, and it is a great way to generate content for your information products.

If you have made arrangements to speak to a group, ask the person coordinating your talk if there is a way to survey the group as to their most important questions relative to your line of business. For example, if you offer Wellness Coaching Services and you are speaking to a group of corporate executives, find out what their burning questions are related to wellness.

In a corporate environment, they should be able to quickly and easily compile this information via an email sent out to all employees who have been invited to your talk. Knowing that your goal is to speak directly to their concerns, they will probably be more likely to attend as well.

When you get the results of your survey, look for common or recurring questions and focus your talk on the answers to these questions. Save any remaining questions as topics for your e-newsletter. You can use this as an incentive to get attendees to register for your e-newsletter by saying at the end of your talk If I didnt cover your most pressing question, I invite you to register for my free e-newsletter where I will address all remaining questions.

Here are five more ways to generate ideas and content:

1) Add a page to your web site where visitors can submit questions.

You could title it "What is your most pressing question about [insert your topic of expertise here]. Make sure the page is visible and accessible from all of your web pages. Consider promoting this service throughout your web site to drive people to that page to submit a question.

2) Purchase the domain name "askYOURNAME.com" (where "YOURNAME" is your first and last name).

Publicize this web page as a service and great place for consumers to get their most pressing questions, in your subject area, answered. Registering domains is cheap, and you can always point it to a page in your existing web site if you don't want to pay additional web hosting fees.

3) Include an email address, or web page address in your e-newsletter.

Or in any other forms of regular communication. Use this email address to invite your prospects and clients to submit their questions. Odds are if one prospect or client has a question, there are many others who also have the same question.

4) Create a survey.

If you do presentations or seminars, hand out a survey at the end to find out what attendees liked best about your presentation (it's always a good idea to get feedback anyway), and to find out if there are other relevant areas they would like to see you speak on, or if they have questions they'd like answered.

5) Keep your eyes open and your customers in mind when you read trade publications, magazines or newspapers.

If you come across something you think would be of interest to your prospects and customers, share it. Is something going on in the news that is relevant to your product or service? Write about it.

In addition to using this information to drive newsletter or presentation content, you can also use it to develop articles and content for your website, or to write Special Reports, Tips Sheets, or How-To Guides.

These are all great ways to provide added value to your prospects and customers, and to give them a chance to get to know you. Consumers do business with those they know and trust. Creating relationships with your prospects and customers using free information products is a great way to develop this trust. And it's one of the cheapest, easiest and most effective ways you can market your business.

(C) Copyright 2005 Debbie LaChusa

Debbie LaChusa

Debbie LaChusa is a marketing veteran with 20 years in the business. After 13 years in the advertising and marketing agency business, Debbie founded DLC Marketing, Inc., a marketing consulting and coaching business. Her goal? To give entrepreneurs and small business owners affordable access to the same high-level strategic marketing and advertising expertise that typically only large companies with big budgets can afford.

Debbie's commitment to making marketing expertise accessible to small business also led her to pursue speaking engagements and teaching. She has spoken at meetings and conventions across the United States and in Canada. She also is on the faculty of Wellcoaches Corporation, where she teaches wellness coach trainees around the world how to successfully market their new coaching practices.

Debbie has written and self-published two marketing workbooks, "A Step-by-Step Marketing Guide" and "A Step-by-Step Marketing Guide for Your Fitness Business" which have sold copies worldwide. Her advice is also featured in Entrepreneur Magazine's "How to Start a Personal Training Business," part of the magazine's Business Start-Up Series. And she is a contributor to the San Diego Business Journal.

Debbie created The 10stepmarketing? System to provide small business owners, coaches, consultants and other independent professionals with all the tools they need to market themselves.

This simple, step-by-step system, features an easy-to-use question-and-answer format that walks business owners through every step they need to take to develop and implement their own marketing plan designed to achieve the success they desire and deserve.

On a more personal note, Debbie LaChusa is a fraternal twin. In 2004 she launched Twin Connections, a web site that celebrates the unique and mysterious bond shared by twins. She collects twin stories and hopes to compile them into a book.