Passive Income for Mediators- Oh yeah!

If this turns into a marketing rant, we can thank Geoff Sharp over at Mediator blah blah for his recent post on passive income in which he gently reminded me to talk about ways to eliminate the drugery of time-based practice,create a lasting legacy and earn more.

I posted a comment on his blog and promised to continue here. As I was saying:

Mediators absolutely can create passive revenue, and easily at that.

The $64K question, of course is: how? Mediators can generate consistent income that supplements their ‘traditional’ practice by adapting the strategies and tactics of online marketing.

Did you know that information market is booming? Three of the top non-fiction bestsellers are information based products. The beauty, of course, is that once you create information products it’s like the energizer bunny- it keeps going and going, producing an income stream that doesn’t require you!

You can probably tell I’m pretty excited by this notion. Multiple income streams part of the foundation of ADRPracticebuilder.com and I’ve spend a lot of time studying what works for mediators.

First, we need to examine our assumptions, much like we ask parties to do in mediation. Is there a way to help people in advance of getting them to the table? Is mediation the only product we have to offer? Absolutely not.

Mediators have an abundance of knowledge and skills to share with people who want help even before they get to mediation. We can ‘unbundling’ our
mediation expertise into smaller chucks of information that prospective clients can consume. (I talk more about unbundling on my monthly free marketing call.)

This post has grown so long I think I’ll continue it over at my blog, MediationMensch.com. Thanks Geoff for being my inspiration once again.

Finishing that thought…unbundling

When I say unbundling I mean, repackaging the knowledge we possess about problem-solving and negotiation into marketable information products. Information products are the fastest, most profitable segment of online sales. Don’t believe me? Check out all the ebooks on Amazon and Ebay.

Mediators who want to give lasting value should consider developing a product funnel. The funnel starts with products like low risk/good value articles or top ten lists that enable the user to ‘sample’ the mediator. It ends with an actual mediation which is the best use of a mediator’s precious time.

Each product in between enhances the users knowledge/skills while increasing their trust of and familiarity with the mediator and mediation itself. Oh, and these products put a bit of cash in the mediator’s pocket, too. If you had one info product priced at 19.99 that sold one per day online, you’d gross about $7300 annually in addition to your practice revenues. Add more products and you see where I’m going.

Once you learn the fundamentals-niche development, becoming known- that we teach at ADRPracticebuilder.com, it’s simple to start developing a product. I’m working on a new audio/workbook product now. I expect to have it tested, completed, and on the market in 45-60 days. If all goes well, I forecast the product will generate around $24K this year.

Try. Fail. Learn. Grow!
Dina

                       

Dina Beach Lynch

Dina Beach Lynch is a Workplace Mediator and Conflict Coach who supports professional practice groups. MORE >