How to create lead-generating information
products 

Just start with something simple. Be sure to choose an attention-grabbing title. And let people

know you as a person. Let them see who you really are. When you write your information product, be sure to remember the first rule of relationship management: Customers don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. If you’re starting from scratch, here’s how to take advantage of the enormous opportunity that information products provide for generating leads and establishing yourself as an expert in your field: • Offer readers an insight into how you dealt with a problem or crisis in your own work or personal life.

Build Me a Big List, FAST!

It would be easy to notice a purple cow if we suddenly encountered one, of course. But
how do you spot purple cows in the business world? To be a purple cow in the business
world, Godin explains, “Stop advertising and start innovating.”
Consumers are immune to most of the advertising that reaches
them, but they are hungrier than ever for real solutions to real
problems. The secret of successful Internet marketing is to create
and drive word of mouth.
When fifty-two JetBlue planes were frozen on runways in an ice
storm last February, passengers were stuck inside the grounded
—Seth GodinBuild Me a Big List, FAST! 4
planes for hours. Other airlines cancelled flights in anticipation of the winter storm, but
JetBlue vowed to get customers to their destinations.
When it didn’t work out as planned, the company had a customer service nightmare to
deal with. Police were called in as irate passengers argued with JetBlue employees at
airport check-in counters.
At the height of this public relations disaster, David Neeleman, founder and CEO of
JetBlue Airlines, posted a video message on YouTube to apologize to customers. As far
as I know, this was the first time the CEO of a major corporation posted a video message
on YouTube directed at customers.
In his YouTube message, Neeleman explained that steps were being taken to prevent the
same thing from happening again. And he outlined a new customer protection plan with
enough substance behind it to show customers that he wasn’t just blowing hot air.
Customers may not have forgotten what happened, but they seem to have forgiven
JetBlue. When the situation got out of control, Neeleman didn’t do what other corporate
leaders have frequently done. He didn’t call in his staff to manage the crisis. He didn’t
hire a public relations expert. He did what Purple Cows do—he innovated. He created an
innovative information product. And it worked.

Build Me a Big List, FAST!

Build Me a Big List,
FAST!

26 Superpower Tactics for RapidFire
List Building

Master marketer and best-selling author Seth Godin says that

companies that resist innovation are like brown cows—after a

while, they all look the same. If you’ve seen one brown cow,

you’ve seen every brown cow there is to see. You don’t notice

them even when they’re standing on the side of the highway.

They might as well be invisible.

But when a purple cow comes on the scene, it stands out at

once. You can’t take a brown cow and paint it purple, Godin

explains. Purple cows are purple from the inside out—or they might be blue from

the inside out, as in the case of JetBlue Airlines, a company that meets Godin’s

criteria for excellence.

What is Seth Godin trying to teach us about marketing this time? If I’ve learned anything

from Godin since his 1999 Permission Marketing, it is that he doesn’t waste his readers’

valuable time. So I’ve learned to listen to what he has to say. What does he have to say in

Purple Cow? It all comes down to two words: Be remarkable.

I hope you’re listening, too. “You’re either a Purple Cow or you’re not,” says Godin.

“You’re either remarkable or invisible. Make your choice.” I think you have made the

right choice; otherwise, you wouldn’t be taking the time to read this. You’ve taken the

first step toward becoming remarkable. This report will show you how to separate

yourself from the millions of invisible brown cows on the Information highway.

When you finish this report, you won’t be a brown cow any more. You may discover that

you’re not a purple cow either. You might be a blue cow, a red cow, or even a pink cow.

But one thing is certain: You’ll know what it takes to build the kind of list that can

skyrocket your Internet business. You’ll know what it takes to be remarkable.