As a psychologist we know a great deal about human behavior and how to help people who experience social, emotional and physical pain.  This knowledge is valuable and needed.  But one problem we have is we limit sharing this knowledge to our clients in our office, usually in a one-on-one therapy session.

We know many people who have best sellers based on psychological concepts who are not psychologists (John Gray comes to mind).  As psychologists these books can be useful to us and our clients, or potentially damaging and hurtful because they promote incorrect or unsafe information and treatment interventions.

The truth is, we do not have to let non-psychologists take owernership of our knowledge and expertise.  We need to be proactive in using our knowledge to educate the public and create multiple streams of income. 

Information products are a great way to create multiple streams of income and can be easy and inexpensive to create.  For example, you can write a book about your area of expertise and quickly self-publish it on CreateSpace.com, or BookSurge.com.  Or you can create an e-book that people can download from your website.  Other ways to distribute information and diversify your income is to:

• produce audio recordings on a specific topic that people can download, or you can sell as a CD
• create video of you speaking about your niche and sell as DVD
• develop a workbook that goes along with an audio or video to help people customize their experience of your materials.

I have started the process of developing information products and find my clients like the opportunity to bring home information, tips, reminders, or ideas that support them in their growth and understanding of themselves.  These products are not a substitution for therapy, but an adjunct support tool.

For example, if you are treating clients who have sleep difficulties, a helpful information product may be an audio CD that explains strategies to develop a relaxing evening routine and then walks them through a relaxation exercise.  You could sell this CD at a reasonable price (maybe $19-$29) and it is something your clients can use night after night. 

Action step:  Take some time to think about what information your clients (or potential) clients may want to have at home that can support, augment or extend their treatment with you.

Future posts will explore how to create your information products at a very low cost.