Eben Pagan teaches how to create profitable information products by focusing on customer needs rather than your expertise. He reveals the system-building approach that transforms bland content into compelling products customers actively seek out.
Building Info Product
Eben establishes the fundamental principle that successful information products must be based entirely on customer needs rather than the creator's expertise. He warns against the expert mindset and emphasizes the importance of understanding customer fears, frustrations, wants, and aspirations.
Rather than creating general content, Eben teaches entrepreneurs to develop specific methodologies and action steps that deliver guaranteed results. This shift from selling products to offering proven systems changes the entire value proposition and customer perception.
Eben provides a specific framework for organizing information products: 10 chapters based on emotionally driven needs, with 7-10 actionable bullet points per chapter. He emphasizes putting the highest impact ideas first and prioritizing new concepts over familiar material.
The key to overcoming perfectionism and actually completing products is scheduling live training events. Eben shares his personal success stories and explains how public commitment activates urgency and focus that leads to profitable product creation.
“Always remember to base your product on your customer's needs. What we're trying to do is ask our customers what's going on inside of them. What's your big fear? What's your frustration? What's your want? What's your aspiration?”
— Eben Pagan▶ 0:30
Base your product entirely on customer needs rather than your expertise. Ask customers about their fears, frustrations, wants, and secret dreams, then align everything - headlines, content, training, and product names - with those specific needs.
“Prospective customers don't want products. They want a proven system or method to deliver a result. Start using the words proven system in your mind when you begin to create your next product or service.”
— Eben Pagan▶ 2:34
A product is general material with no impact, while a proven system is a specific methodology with action steps that delivers guaranteed results. Instead of saying 'buy my book,' you say 'invest in my proven system that takes you from here to your desired result.'
“If you need to talk your prospect into buying the product, it's not a good product. You shouldn't have to talk them into it. You should be able to essentially describe it, and they'll buy it.”
— Eben Pagan▶ 4:38
If you need to talk prospects into buying it, it's not a good product. Good products immediately telegraph their benefit, causing prospects to ask 'how can I get that?' The best information products are bought, not sold.
“Simple simple outline with 10 bullet points focused on the top 10 strongest emotionally driven needs. And these will be your chapters. Next, organize them in logical order of learning, ideally putting the highest impact ideas first just like they do with a hit record.”
— Eben Pagan▶ 5:26
Create 10 chapters based on your customers' strongest emotionally driven needs, organized in logical learning order with highest impact ideas first. Under each chapter, include 7-10 bullet points with specific insights and action steps.
“New or not yet known is perceived as more valuable than something I've heard before. Eliminate all familiar ideas and techniques and replace with new ones.”
— Eben Pagan▶ 7:49
No, prioritize new concepts customers haven't heard before over familiar material. New information is perceived as more valuable and establishes authority. Mix what they need to know with what they want to know by wrapping necessary information in compelling new frameworks.
“One of my secrets of success creating lots of information products is to schedule a live event. This forces me to get the content done and ready to go, often barely in time. Then I record the event and turn it into a product.”
— Eben Pagan▶ 12:55
Schedule a live training event and invite people, even for free. This forces completion by a deadline and activates urgency. Record the event and turn it into a product. Speed of implementation beats perfection.
Eben Pagan's proven system for creating customer-focused information products
Research Customer Needs
Ask customers about their fears, frustrations, wants, aspirations, and secret dreams. Identify what they want to have happen or avoid in the real world.
Create 10-Chapter Outline
Structure 10 chapters based on the strongest emotionally driven customer needs, organized in logical learning order with highest impact ideas first.
Develop Chapter Content
Under each chapter, create 7-10 bullet points with specific insights, techniques, and action steps that help achieve desired results.
Prioritize New Concepts
Focus on ideas customers haven't heard before. Mix what they need to know with what they want to know using compelling new frameworks.
Schedule Live Training
Set a date for live delivery to force completion. Invite people (even for free) to create accountability and urgency.
Record and Package
Record the live training and turn it into your information product. Focus on speed of implementation over perfection.
Base your product entirely on your customer's needs, not your expertise or knowledge you think deserves payment
Eben explicitly warns against the 'expert mindset of I deserve to get paid for my knowledge' and emphasizes repeatedly asking customers about their fears, frustrations, wants, aspirations, and secret dreams
Transform your offering from a product or service into a proven system or method that delivers specific results
Eben states that 'most experts who write books or offer seminars teach general bland material that has no impact' and emphasizes using the words 'proven system' when creating products
If you need to talk your prospect into buying the product, it's not a good product - they should want to buy it immediately upon hearing about it
Eben states this principle twice for emphasis and explains that good products telegraph their benefit immediately, causing prospects to ask 'how can I get that?'
Structure your information product with 10 chapters focused on the strongest emotionally driven needs, organized in logical learning order with highest impact ideas first
Eben provides specific framework: 10 bullet points for chapters based on top emotionally driven needs, then 7-10 bullet points per chapter for specific insights and action steps, using the analogy that hit records put the best song first like Britney Spears albums
Prioritize new concepts and ideas your customers haven't heard before over familiar material to be perceived as more valuable and authoritative
Eben explains that 'new or not yet known is perceived as more valuable than something I've heard before' and that people will dismiss you if they think they've already heard your content, connecting this to why news is called 'news' - the first three letters spell 'new'
Mix what customers want to know with what they need to know by wrapping necessary information inside compelling, new frameworks
Eben describes the specific technique of starting with what customers want, then integrating what they need 'wrapped up inside of something that's very yummy to their learning system' using new reframes and connecting back to desired outcomes
Schedule a live training event to force completion of your information product by a specific deadline
Eben reveals this as one of his 'secrets of success creating lots of information products' and explains that 'the large majority of my successful programs were created as part of live events' - he created his first successful audio program by scheduling four free teleclasses for a few dozen people
Use the 'throw your hat over the fence' principle - commit publicly to a live training before your content is ready to activate urgency and focus
Eben explains the fence-climbing analogy and describes how scheduling a live event 'activates a different part of your mind' and 'gets your priorities straight' because you realize '30 people are gonna show up, and they're gonna expect me to teach them'
Your first product will have flaws and embarrassing elements, but speed of implementation beats perfection for building a successful product business
Eben shares his personal story of his first seminar with 23 people, using borrowed video equipment with an inexperienced cameraman, creating a 'kinda ugly' product that 'was not done that well' but went on to sell 'millions of dollars worth'
Base your product entirely on your customer's needs, not your expertise or knowledge you think deserves payment
▶ 0:30Transform your offering from a product or service into a proven system or method that delivers specific results
▶ 2:34If you need to talk your prospect into buying the product, it's not a good product - they should want to buy it immediately upon hearing about it
▶ 4:38Structure your information product with 10 chapters focused on the strongest emotionally driven needs, organized in logical learning order with highest impact ideas first
▶ 5:26Prioritize new concepts and ideas your customers haven't heard before over familiar material to be perceived as more valuable and authoritative
▶ 7:49Mix what customers want to know with what they need to know by wrapping necessary information inside compelling, new frameworks
▶ 10:30Schedule a live training event to force completion of your information product by a specific deadline
▶ 12:55Use the 'throw your hat over the fence' principle - commit publicly to a live training before your content is ready to activate urgency and focus
▶ 13:32Your first product will have flaws and embarrassing elements, but speed of implementation beats perfection for building a successful product business
▶ 16:20Claim: “Experts deserve to get paid for their hard-earned knowledge and people should seek them out”
Reframe: Products must be carved custom by hand to fit your prospect's needs and reality - always base products on customer needs
Claim: “Create products or services and then find customers for them”
Reframe: Create proven systems and methods that deliver specific results customers are actively seeking
Claim: “Good products need good marketing and sales tactics to sell”
Reframe: The best information products are bought, not sold - if you need to talk prospects into buying, it's not a good product
Claim: “Teaching comprehensive information including familiar concepts makes you look thorough”
Reframe: Focus on new concepts customers haven't heard before - familiar ideas make you look less authoritative
“Always remember to base your product on your customer's needs.”
“If you need to talk your prospect into buying the product, it's not a good product.”
“The best information products are bought, not sold.”
“New or not yet known is perceived as more valuable than something I've heard before.”
“Don't worry about getting the first one perfect. Just worry about getting it done.”
The Right Product
Learn why your product is actually an obstacle to your customer getting what they want, and how to turn that insight into products that practically sell themselves.
Moving The Free Line
Discover the counterintuitive marketing strategy that helped Eben Pagan generate millions by giving away his best ideas for free.
Creating Elevator Pitch
Learn the exact 5-part formula that transforms boring 'what do you do' answers into powerful client-attracting elevator pitches.
Coaching Strategies
Business Frameworks
Common Mistakes
Successful business requires exchanging value where both parties get the better deal - you sell something for more than it costs to produce, while customers buy something worth more than they pay
Eben explains the fundamental business exchange: 'what you need to be able to do is sell something that costs you less to produce than you're getting in return from the customer' while 'from the customer's perspective, they need the same thing. They need to buy something that's worth more than the money they're spending.'
Start with something you know about when choosing your first business - use your existing expertise, talents, or gifts rather than diving into completely unfamiliar territory
Eben provides specific examples: 'if you happen to be excellent with money, you might want to start a service that helps people with their money' or 'If you're excellent at fixing cars, you might want to start a business that has something to do with fixing cars.'
The word 'free' is one of the most powerful marketing words in the English language, and moving the free line is the most important idea Eben has implemented that led to his business success
Eben states this is 'the most important idea I've implemented in my business that's led to the most success' and calls it 'a very powerful mindset, very powerful approach'
Moving the free line means taking your very best knowledge, techniques, and insights and packaging them into reports, ebooks, and videos that you give away to prospective customers
Eben defines the strategy as 'taking some of your very best knowledge, techniques, insights, and packaging it up into reports, ebooks, videos, and other forms that you can give away to prospective customers'
