ACCORDING to an estimate, of the 1.6 billion internet users in 2008, about 452 million people from all over the world speak English. Can you see yourself writing about something you enjoy or have a lot of knowledge about which others also might want to read?

Farlex, the Free Dictionary, defines “infopreneur“ to be a person whose primary business is gathering and selling electronic information. According to Stephanie Chandler in her book From Entrepreneur to Infopreneur, simply put, an infopreneur sells information in many different formats: books, ebooks, special reports, audio products, videos, and workbooks to name a few. The simple concept is that selling information offline or online can create new revenue streams for an existing business, or lay the foundation for a new business opportunity. As Chandler puts it, there are several advantages of becoming an Infopreneur in today's world.

The first advantage is passive income: Money generated without extensive ongoing effort by a business owner. One of the most cited examples of passive income is that obtained through rental property. The concept is that once a product is created (e.g., a piece of information), then distribution and sales could be done with minimal effort.

According to Chandler, a second advantage is cost of entry. If you already have a desktop and a word processing program at home, the biggest investment is likely to be your time. One could think of investing in a PDF creator program, though one could still generate products online without possessing one.

A third big advantage is infopreneur's own expertise. For example, having a book out en hances one's credibility and it could lead one to speech engagements and media coverage. The consequential media exposure could bring one a windfall of new business. Examples are numerous of the successes of authors who made to the Oprah Winfrey Show. Even writing an article in a local newspaper can prompt dozens of readers to buy one's products or visit one's website.

Moreover, according to Chandler, as one adds more information products to one's business, a web of opportunity is likely to emerge. For example, each product one sells could be made to appeal to each customer differently. Therefore, it is likely that someone buys one product, while others buy some other products, and ideally, most customers will return and purchase multiple products. In addition, adding of more information products to one's business also brings one more opportunities. For example, each new product is likely to help the infopreneur to reach new markets with his every growing advertising effort.

Chandler also points out the role of giveaways in becoming successful infopreneurs. According to her, “giveaways are a fan tastic use for info products.“ An infopreneur could reward new subscribers to his e-zine by giving away a free ebook or special report. Or an infopreneur could send one's downloadable product to other business owners and allow them to distribute it for free, provided they include the infopreneur's bio and a link to his website.

As a final word of advice: marketing your infopreneurial skills is important. Therefore, building a web site that specializes in topics related to products, finding public speaking engagements, taking advantage of media exposure, and putting advertisements on websites and e-zines that reach your target market are bound to help.

(The author is a doctoral candidate at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. Also, knowledge editor, Financial Chronicle, New Delhi)