25 Small Business Ideas For African Infopreneurs ~ Information Guide Africa

An infopreneur is any entrepreneur that makes money by selling information instead of products or services.
It doesn't matter if you've got millions of followers or you're just starting, this article will guide you on some smart business ideas you can venture into for maximum profit.
An infopreneur identifies opportunities for creating enterprising information-based businesses by identifying knowledge deficiency situations and selling target-based information products and services.
The internet has made the world easier for infopreneurs, but the term doesn't apply to only internet based businesses. Business consultancy is also a form of infopreneurship, but based offline.

Prior to the internet age, information marketing already existed, but most infopreneurs sold their information in other mediums such as audio tapes, CD-ROMs, CDs, videos, conferences and talk shows.
But the introduction of internet made it very easy for infopreneurs that anyone with a computer can venture into it by publishing an information that may appeal to a specific market.

Infopreneur vs Entrepreneur: What are the differences?

While an entrepreneur is someone that sets up a business (or businesses) for the purpose of making profit, an infopreneur is any entrepreneur that sells information or knowledge instead of goods and services.
An infopreneur builds a business based on information products, and in most cases, targetting a particular audience. An infopreneur can operate without any physical office or shop, and doesn't have limitations to the number of products he or she can sell, as they are mostly in digital formats.
Are you a budding entrepreneur? Kindly check out our previous article on 7 business ideas for new age entrepreneurs in 2020. It was written by a business consultant and will guide you on the potential business ideas to venture into in 2020.

How to start your own information marketing business in Africa

We'd be sharing some great information marketing ideas to venture into as an African (or someone that intends targeting Africa) and guide on how to become a successful infopreneur.

Below are some great small business ideas for African infopreneurs:

• Become an author

Writing a book as still as lucrative as before, in fact generating sales is now far more easier. You can write virtually on anything; health tips, tutorials, inspirational books and/or even novels.
Your niche will determine your audience. You can find out more about publishing (including how to write and publish your book) by visiting this page, or check out our article on the top 7 publishing companies in Nigeria.

• eBook publishing

eBook publishing is an easier way of publishing your book. You can actually write and publish your book without working with a publishing company, especially when you don't intend selling it in a paper format.
Things you can publish in an eBook include fiction, non-fiction, tutorials, and other things. You can use Facebook or other traffic sources to advertise your eBook online.

• Podcasting

A podcast is also another easy way of sharing information to your followers, but this time around in audio formats. A podcast is a series of audio fines (mostly digital) that a user can download to his or her personal device in order to listen.
You can share your podcasts in platforms like Spotify, Google Podcasts and iTunes. You can check out our post on these 20+ places you can upload your audios to get better audience.

• Vlogging

A vlog is the same as a video blog (or video log). It is a form of blogging that involves only sharing of videos. In vlogging, you can combine embedded videos with supporting texts or images.
We have written an article on vlogging and you can check it out here, or also check out our post on how to earn a living vlogging.

• Public Speaker

Public speaking is a formal, face to face speaking of a single person to a group of listeners. It is the process or act of performing a speech to a live audience.
In becoming a successful public speaker, one of the first steps you'd be taking is to choose a niche. It can be health tips, inspirational tips, business talks, motivational tips or anything, including religious talks.

• Personal trainer/fitness instructor

Are you a fitness minded entrepreneurs interested in sharing expertise with individual clients, then becoming a fitness instructor might the best move you'd be making. It can be either with an individual client or with a group of people as shown in the photo above.
Becoming a personal trainer/fitness instructor is very easy, but you need to first be passionate about the career. You can approach any gym house around you, telling them of your plans and they'd guide you on the next step to take.
Some people also take theirs online, either through apps or social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube.

• Business plan service operator

Are you an expert in writing business plans? Then you can make good money from selling your services to various clients. It is a very lucrative and yet, less stressful business that can fetch you thousands of Naira on a monthly basis.
I've seen someone that charges up to ₦50,000 for a business plan, depending on the nature of the business. You can get clients by advertising your services or through your personal websites.

• Financial advisory

A financial adviser renders financial advises to clients based on their financial situations. Your roles as a financial adviser will include advising clients on things like investment planning, insurance coverage, cash management and other areas to aid them in reaching their financial objectives
In many parts of the world, becoming a financial adviser involves undergoing a specific training to obtain the necessary licenses to operate.

• Forex tutor

Forex trading is becoming so popular over the years and the younger generations are really trying to find out more about it; including how to trade on it for profit. If you can become an expert trader, you can make good money teaching people on how to trade.
Becoming a Forex tutor won't be taking you millions, with just a well-furnished office in a good location, you'd be good to go.

• Class instructor

You can become a class instructor, teaching anything from how to dance to Physics/Chemistry. The photo above is from a Yoga session in a gym room. You'd see the young lady teaching people of different races and ages.
Becoming a successful class instructor will involve choosing a niche. It can be educational, spiritual or recreational.

• Webinar host

A webinar is a kind seminar conducted over the Internet in real-time. It is an online meeting or presentation where a speaker, or small group of speakers, deliver a presentation to a large audience. The audience will participate by submitting questions, responding to polls and using other available interactive tools.

Becoming a webinar host doesn't require much, with the right software/tools and a waiting audience, you can set up in a matter of minutes.

• Music instructor

You can get paid for teaching how to play various music instruments like violin, guitar, piano, saxophone and the rest of them.
In some cases, a music instructor can be called a music teacher (or private music teacher), depending on where the nature of the classes. You can provide music lessons within your client's homes or in a school or college settings.

• Teach web designing/development

A web designer creates websites using HTML tags that define the content and metadata of each page. Web designing encompasses several different aspects, including webpage layout, content production, and graphic design using the different technology and CMS.
Web designing is also another lucrative skill that you can learn today. You won't only earn from teaching it, you can also decide to pick up and work on some gigs yourself.
Are you interested in learning web design/development in Nigeria? We have written an article on how you can do that without having to leave your house. Kindly find out more HERE.

• Magazine publisher

The duties of a magazine publisher include making publications an editorial and commercial success. In short, they make sure readers are provided with high quality contents while maximising revenue and profit.

Do you have what it takes to become a good magazine publisher? Then you can make a living creating your own magazines or similar publications and selling to consumers.

• Coach/consultant

You can also venture into consultancy or coaching in a specific field or niche. The difference between the both terms is that while a coach works with clients on a more personal note, a business consultant can help businesses or people deal with specific issues.
The first step you'd take as a consultant is identifying the niche in which you have knowledge and experience. That will be followed by acquiring the necessary licenses ad certifications from the necessary bodies.

• Social media manager

As a social media manager, you'd be in charge of representing a company across their various social media channels. Your duties will include responding to comments, compilation campaigns and creation of contents.

You can also become a consultant, providing various organisations with the necessary guidance required to enhance their online presence.

• Social media influencer

A social media influencer is a user on social media who has established credibility in a specific industry. He or she has access to a large audience, and can persuade them to purchase a certain product or service.

Brands enjoy working with social media influencers because they believe the followers can make a change in products when recommended by their choice influencer.

• Forum moderator

Big forums like Nairaland offer jobs to individuals who can manage different sections. We included that in the 10 amazing ways you can earn from Nairaland forum, but you can still check out the article for other ways.
What if you were unable to get hired by Nairaland or any other forum? Well, creating yours isn't such a hard task. The major issues lies in getting users. But with a defined niche and consistency, you won't have issues getting users to join you.

• Online course creator

You can make good money from creating and selling courses online. The courses can be in video formats, podcast or as an eBook. Your target audience will be determined by the type of knowledge you share on the course.
You can get sales by advertising the course on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other popular social networking platforms. Contacting blogs for adverts won't also be a bad idea, as many of them already have loyal followers.

• Freelance writing

If you can write very well, you can earn a living from offering your services in exchange for money. You can get clients on Fiverr, PeoplePerHour, Zeerk, UpWork, or other popular job boards.
Freelance blogging involves writing for other blogs and its a great way to sell your expertise in a specific subject.

• Ghost blogger

A ghost blogger is a writer hired to write for their clients without getting credits for their works. If you don't care about getting famous, this could be a great source of income to you.
You can produce contents for a variety of media, including blog posts, newspaper articles, internet content, songs and even books.

• Guest blogger

A guest blogger is someone that writes and publishes contents on a third party website/blog. It is a content marketing and SEO technique, and usually done to promote a particular brand.
You can meet your clients in job boards or contact brands directly to work with them. The more popular you get, the more clients will want to work with you.

• Teaching how to set up solar panels

This idea flashed into my mind while working on this article and I think it's worth learning. Nigeria is going solar, and many individuals are willing to learn how to set up solar plats themselves.
If you can offer tutorials on how to set up solar panels, you'd be creating a good source of income.

• Psychologist

Psychology involves studying an individuals mental processes and behaviours by observing, interpreting, and recording how the individual relates to other people in his or her environment.
Psychologists can either work with an already established organisation or independently, doing research or working only with patients or clients.

• Religious tutor

A religious tutor will help expose you to several different beliefs and practices. It is very important to many, as they believe it gives them a sense of self and background.
If you have a good knowledge of any religion, you can start a career by tutoring people on how to go deeper into it.

Guide on how to become a successful infopreneur online

Having seen some business ideas you can venture into, how about we see some tips on how you can become a successful infopreneur right from the comfort of your bedroom?

• Set up your brand

This will involve creating a brand on what you intend selling. You'd be needing a website, social media accounts, business plan and other basic things.

• Get an audience

There won't be any sales without an audience. This stage involves growing your brand by pushing it to the target audience. You'd be needing blog subscribers, social media followers and most importantly, traffic to your website.

After you've created a professional and neat website, it's always a great idea to add Instagram posts to web pages. This simple step will increase conversions and beautify the content of your blog.

We've already mapped out some amazing and basic free SEO tips for beginners, and I suggest you check them out. They'd help save you a lot of advertising budget.

• Sell your info product

Once you've set up a brand and gotten an audience, you can start creating and selling your information. Getting an audience doesn't mean that you should have a stand-by 1 million followers on Instagram, you can still start with less than 10 followers.
Advertising platforms give us the privilege of showing our ads to people not following our accounts, enjoy that in getting followers for your brands.
You can create your online course using platforms like Teachable, Thinkific, Teachery, Zippy Courses, Skilljar, Zenler, Pathwright, Academyofmine and Braincert.

The platforms listed above will make teaching easy for you, with a number of them allowing you to create a site for your course.

What more? Don't forget to drop us a comment and share with your friends. Before you leave, also check out our previous article on 15+ websites that you can learn online in Nigeria.

Information Guide Africa

We give you the best daily information on news, technology, lifestyle, career, health tips, agriculture, business and entertainment. If you can write very well and want to make a living writing online, click HERE!